# 2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by eighth-year head coach Brian Wardle, played their home games at Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 16–4 in MVC play to win the regular season championship for the first time since 1996. They defeated Northern Iowa and Indiana State in the MVC tournament before losing to Drake in the championship game. As a regular season champion who did not win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they lost to Wisconsin in the first round.

## Previous season

The Braves finished the 2021–22 season 17–14, 11–7 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost to Loyola in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 2, 2022* 7:00 pm | | Illinois Wesleyan | W 79–64 | – | Carver Arena (3,528) Peoria, IL |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 93–59 | 1–0 | Carver Arena (3,761) Peoria, IL |
| November 11, 2022* 8:00 pm, Mountain West Network | | at Utah State | L 62–84 | 1–1 | Smith Spectrum (6,875) Logan, UT |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 89–61 | 2–1 | Carver Arena (4,110) Peoria, IL |
| November 19, 2022* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 73–60 | 3–1 | Carver Arena (4,826) Peoria, IL |
| November 22, 2022* 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 13 Auburn Cancún Challenge Riviera semifinal | L 64–85 | 3–2 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (951) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 23, 2022* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Liberty Cancún Challenge Riviera consolation | L 44–55 | 3–3 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (271) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 26, 2022* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Merrimack | W 83–41 | 4–3 | Carver Arena (3,714) Peoria, IL |
| November 30, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 68–53 | 5–3 (1–0) | Carver Arena (4,043) Peoria, IL |
| December 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | W 58–40 | 6–3 (2–0) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,582) Springfield, MO |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 56–54 | 7–3 | First Community Arena (1,516) Edwardsville, IL |
| December 17, 2022* 3:00 pm | | vs. No. 10 Arkansas | L 57–76 | 7–4 | Simmons Bank Arena (16,675) North Little Rock, AR |
| December 19, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Stonehill | W 79–50 | 8–4 | Carver Arena (3,716) Peoria, IL |
| December 22, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Akron | W 74–55 | 9–4 | Carver Arena (3,530) Peoria, IL |
| December 28, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | at Belmont | L 60–63 | 9–5 (2–1) | Curb Event Center (2,019) Nashville, TN |
| December 31, 2022 1:00 pm, MVC TV | | UIC | W 79–45 | 10–5 (3–1) | Carver Arena (4,890) Peoria, IL |
| January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 58–67 | 10–6 (3–2) | CFSB Center (3,891) Murray, KY |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | Valparaiso | W 88–66 | 11–6 (4–2) | Carver Arena (4,476) Peoria, IL |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 91–46 | 12–6 (5–2) | Carver Arena (3,905) Peoria, IL |
| January 14, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Drake | L 61–86 | 12–7 (5–3) | Knapp Center (4,144) Des Moines, IA |
| January 18, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 78–67 | 13–7 (6–3) | Hulman Center (4,038) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 21, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | L 76–78 | 13–8 (6–4) | Carver Arena (5,584) Peoria, IL |
| January 25, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State I-74 Rivalry | W 79–75 $^{OT}$ | 14–8 (7–4) | Carver Arena (6,046) Peoria, IL |
| January 29, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 83–76 | 15–8 (8–4) | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,240) Chicago, IL |
| February 1, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 62–52 | 16–8 (9–4) | Carver Arena (4,817) Peoria, IL |
| February 4, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Northern Iowa | W 77–69 | 17–8 (10–4) | McLeod Center (4,392) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | at Illinois State I-74 Rivalry | W 79–61 | 18–8 (11–4) | CEFCU Arena (5,374) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Murray State | W 83–48 | 19–8 (12–4) | Carver Arena (6,213) Peoria, IL |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 64–54 | 20–8 (13–4) | Carver Arena (4,791) Peoria, IL |
| February 19, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN2/ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 50–48 | 21–8 (14–4) | Banterra Center (6,516) Carbondale, IL |
| February 22, 2023 6:00 pm, MVC TV | | at Valparaiso | W 76–66 | 22–8 (15–4) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,848) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 26, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Drake | W 73–61 | 23–8 (16–4) | Carver Arena (10,458) Peoria, IL |
| MVC Tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2023 12:00 pm, MVC TV | (1) | vs. (8) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals | W 72–66 | 24–8 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| March 4, 2023 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (5) Indiana State Semifinals | W 71–70 | 25–8 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| March 5, 2023 1:00 pm, CBS | (1) | vs. (2) Drake Championship | L 51–77 | 25–9 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| NIT ||||||
| March 14, 2023* 8:30 pm, ESPN | (7) | at (2) Wisconsin First round – Oregon bracket | L 62–81 | 25–10 | Kohl Center (3,919) Madison, WI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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