Beacons Face Tough Road Test at Bradley as Valley Race Tightens
Valparaiso’s road swing through the Missouri Valley Conference continues Tuesday night as the Beacons travel to Carver Arena for their first meeting of the season with a solid and disciplined Bradley squad. With the middle of the Valley standings tightly packed, the matchup carries meaningful implications for both teams as February begins.
Bradley enters the contest fresh off one of its most impressive offensive performances of the season, dispatching Drake 87–73 behind a historic shooting display from beyond the arc. The Braves connected on an eye-popping 17 of 26 three-point attempts, a blistering 65.4 percent, to put away a Bulldog team that refused to fade quietly.
Leading the charge was guard Alex Huibregtse, who caught fire in a way rarely seen, drilling 9 of 10 attempts from downtown on his way to a 29-point night. Bradley also received an unexpected boost from reserve big man Kai Yu, who logged season highs with 12 points and 15 minutes off the bench, providing valuable interior support in a game defined by perimeter efficiency.
Valparaiso, meanwhile, arrives in Peoria looking for momentum after an overtime win at Indiana State to open its road trip. The Beacons shooting struggles and defensive lapses allowed the Sycamores to control most of the game. Valpo had opportunities to secure the win in regulation late at the Hulman Center, but the Sycamores forced overtime before the Beacons ultimately escaped with a narrow victory. JT Pettigrew led Valpo with 17 points and nine rebounds, and four other players reached double figures.
Tuesday marks the first matchup between the Beacons and the Braves this season. Bradley sits at 8–4 in conference play, tied for second place with Murray State and UIC. While the Braves lack a signature Valley win, they have been steady throughout the year, handling teams they are expected to beat and avoiding damaging slip-ups. Their non-conference résumé includes a notable win over Liberty, and their Valley victories include a solid performance against Northern Iowa.
Statistically, Bradley has built its success on efficiency and discipline. The Braves are among the league’s best at protecting the basketball while forcing turnovers at a high rate defensively. They rebound well on the defensive end, generate steals, and shoot the three efficiently, ranking second in conference play from deep at 36.7 percent right ahead of Valpo.
However, Bradley is not without vulnerabilities. The Braves struggle to consistently limit opponents’ field-goal percentage and are prone to fouling. They also allow a higher three-point percentage defensively, an area Valpo may look to exploit if it can continue to improve its perimeter shooting. Offensively, Bradley is less efficient inside the arc and does not generate many second-chance opportunities through offensive rebounding.
The Braves are led by one of the Valley’s premier guards in Jaquan Johnson, who averages 16.7 points and 3.6 assists per game. Huibregtse adds 11.8 points per contest and leads the team in three-point shooting at 41.8 percent while converting nearly 90 percent from the free-throw line. Demarion Burch rounds out Bradley’s double-digit scorers at 10.2 points per game. Head coach Brian Wardle relies on a tight rotation, with eight regular contributors logging heavy minutes.
For Valparaiso to emerge with a second straight road victory, discipline will be paramount. The Beacons must run Bradley’s shooters off the three-point line and force the Braves’ smaller guards to attack the rim, where Valpo’s interior defense can contest shots without fouling. Limiting kick-out threes from post touches will be a key defensive priority.
Matchups in the paint could prove decisive. If Valpo can hold its own in single coverage, it may reduce the need for defensive rotations and allow the Beacons to stay attached to shooters on the perimeter. On-ball defense will also be under the microscope, as Johnson and fellow guard Wheeler possess the quickness and strength to pressure defenders.
Offensively, Valparaiso must handle Bradley’s ball pressure and limit turnovers, while making a concerted effort to establish the post. Drawing fouls against a Bradley team with limited depth could shift the game’s balance late. Improved shooting efficiency will be essential if the Beacons hope to leave Peoria with a win.
With momentum and standings positioning at stake, the game feels poised to swing our season either way. A Valpo victory would open a clearer path toward the top half of the Valley and inject confidence ahead of a pivotal home matchup with Evansville. KenPom projections favor Bradley, giving the Braves a 73–68 win and assigning Valparaiso a 33 percent chance of pulling the upset.
At Carver Arena, the Beacons will aim to prove those numbers wrong.
Player Personnel Note: Mark Brown was ruled out of the Indiana State matchup and didn’t play, will he be rested in time for the quick turnaround this week. Additionally, Shon was listed as questionable for the Indiana State game but ultimately ended up playing. It was clear he wasn’t 100% in the last game and may have something lingering. These are two guys that could make a difference against Bradley, I will update the forum when the availability report posts for the Bradley game.
Booked 3 nights in St louis for the madness...lessgo guys...
Booked 3 nights in St louis for the madness...lessgo guys...
I'd get tickets sooner than later. Pretty sure there is a major concert at the Dome that same weekend
Booked 3 nights in St louis for the madness...lessgo guys...
hey, we will see you there! Let’s go, Thursday will be all rest for Friday 
Booked 3 nights in St louis for the madness...lessgo guys...
I'd get tickets sooner than later. Pretty sure there is a major concert at the Dome that same weekend
I heard Zach Bryan, a country singer. There were limited rooms left available at the team hotel when I checked a month ago!
No rooms at team hotel-sold out had to go down to hampton by the arch to get a room and it was almost last one.
Regardless of the scouting report says…we haven’t won there in forever and only one of the Lottich teams was competitive there, the rest were blowouts.last year was a tough loss in OT. I don’t have much confidence in winning there. Does anyone know the last time we won there? Or have we ever? Anyway…. We shoot like trash as we did in Cedar Falls this game is a blowout. Also can’t play one half of basketball like we did against Indians State.. any hope to win, must make 7-12 three pointers and 25 free throw attempts. Would love to see a road victory but doubtful. This could be a shootout. I’m more interested to see if our defense can keep them under 72 points.
Does anyone know the last time we won there? Or have we ever?
Bradley leads the all-time series 15-5 and is a perfect 9-0 in Peoria.
I understand the sentiment. However, I wouldn’t be much of an optimistic fan if I didn’t point out that this year’s matchup is metrically much closer than in the past. Bradley holds a 13-spot KenPom advantage, which is the smallest margin between the two teams since Valpo joined the Valley.
For context, the previous closest matchup in Peoria had a 33-spot margin, and that game also marked Valpo’s best performance at Bradley—a nine-point loss. All other losses there have been by double digits.
I can understand why you’d be wary of a blowout. Statistically, this is still an uphill battle for the Beacons. But there’s reason for optimism. By the numbers, this is the strongest position Valpo has ever been in heading into Peoria.
And honestly, after nine straight losses to the same team, and never winning at their venue you’d think the basketball gods might finally shine on us tonight.
Below is a chart I made showing the Valpo–Bradley matchups since Valpo joined the Valley.
Continue the winning streak. This team has proved to be competitive. I'd like to see some better shooting %'s.
Valpo 84 Bradley 78
Coach Wardle and his Braves are well aware of the problems we might give them. If we allow many open shots, lanes or offensive rebounds it could prove very difficult to keep it close.
Bradley by 5?
Bradley automatic from midrange, need to contest better on the shots and step out. Way too many open looks. JT nothing from him in the first half with two early fouls. Also Five or six unnecessary turnovers, that leads to five or six empty possessions one half to go.
Their guards are killing us. They simply are not going to have long scoring droughts to allow us to get back in the game. Not sure we can even get back under 10 points
In the 5 conference wins Valpo has averaged more than 30 free throws per game. Tonight they had just 10 and only made 4; Bradley made 11 and won by that 7 point spread. All other stats in the box score were almost dead level: each team made 27 field goals and 7 3-point shots; the rebound difference was merely 1, as was the total of bench points, the steals, the turnovers, and the points off turnovers. All were plus or minus 1, and it is hard to imagine a more even game. The simple formula is that VU wins when they get to the line and make the free throws.
