The 2020 Missouri Valley Conference championship will feature Bradley and Valparaiso following the Crusaders’ 89-82 win over Missouri State on Saturday night. It will be the first time a 7-seed in the tournament will run the floor on Sunday.
This will also be the first time in Bradley’s history that it will play in the championship game in back-to-back seasons.
“It’s a blessing,” senior Darrell Brown said. “We put in a bunch of work to get here. The coaching staff has been great. The younger guys have been great listeners and hard workers. It’s all coming together at the right time.”
Sophomore Javon Freeman-Liberty led Valparaiso to the win over the Bears, scoring 29 points, collecting nine rebounds and dishing out five assists. The Crusaders will be faced with the challenge of playing four games in four days, but head coach Matt Lottich wasn’t too concerned. He did cite the task of taking on Bradley’s experience in the championship game.
“They’re a heck of a ball club, and they’re experienced,” Lottich said. “So they’ve been in this moment, and it’s going to take a valiant effort for us tomorrow for sure.”
The Braves split the regular-season series with Valpo, winning at Carver Arena in January 80-69, but dropping the Feb. 22 game in Indiana 78-90. Junior Elijah Childs did not play in the first contest but scored 19 points in the latter. Senior Darrell Brown scored 17 and 14 points in each game.
In the semifinal matchup against Drake, Brown scored 25 and his teammates said his communication and leadership on the floor were effective.
“He does a lot for us,” redshirt-junior Danya Kingsby said. “I’m very proud of him. That’s our leader, our senior and I’m speechless right now what to say about him. He’s been leading us all year and we want to go out with a big bang.”
The title game will tip-off at 1:10 p.m. today and the Braves expect a large crowd from Peoria to filter into the building.
“Peoria supports Bradley like crazy,” senior Nate Kennell said. “It’s super fun. It’s awesome
just being from the area and just knowing how much people care … It just makes playing basketball so much more fun…”
