Barnes leads Bradley against Southern Illinois after 20-point showing

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Bradley Braves (12-17, 6-12 MVC) at Southern Illinois Salukis (4-23, 2-16 MVC)

Carbondale, Illinois; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Bradley visits Southern Illinois after Soleil Barnes scored 20 points in Bradley's 65-54 victory over the UIC Flames.

The Salukis are 2-10 on their home court. Southern Illinois gives up 75.8 points and has been outscored by 18.5 points per game.

The Braves are 6-12 in MVC play. Bradley is 2-2 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

Southern Illinois is shooting 34.8% from the field this season, 5.4 percentage points lower than the 40.2% Bradley allows to opponents. Bradley averages 6.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 8.0 per game Southern Illinois gives up.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tkiyah Nelson is averaging 6.2 points for the Salukis. Gift Uchenna is averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games.

Barnes is shooting 38.7% and averaging 15.5 points for the Braves. Kaylen Nelson is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Salukis: 1-9, averaging 53.3 points, 30.0 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 34.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.6 points per game.

Braves: 4-6, averaging 58.8 points, 32.2 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 5.3 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.