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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three of the next four games will be at home for the University of Evansville men's basketball team, beginning on Saturday as the Purple Aces play host to Bradley in a 1:05 p.m. game.
 
Illinois State jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back as they cruised to a 77-51 win over the Purple Aces on Tuesday at Redbird Arena.  The Redbirds led by as many as 36 points before the Aces closed in the late minutes.  For just the 5th time in Coach Simmons' eight seasons, the Aces failed to hit a 3-pointer.
 
D.J. Balentine posted a team-best 12 points while Egidijus Mockevicius had 8 points and 8 rebounds.  Mislav Brzoja returned after missing four contests, he saw 16 minutes of action while hauling in six rebounds.
 
Over the home stretch, the Aces are set to take on Bradley, Missouri State and Drake with a game at Southern Illinois sandwiched in the middle.  Over the last three years, the Aces are 10-2 against those three opponents at home.
 
Despite being 1-8 in their last nine games, the Braves have continued to play tough, falling by just three points to Wichita State on Wednesday.  Bradley puts its 7-17 overall record and 2-9 mark in Valley play on the line against the Aces, who have won the last three home games versus BU.
 
Warren Jones remains the Braves' top scorer at 13.9 points per game; injury and suspension have limited him to just 14 games.  Their top regular this year has been Auston Barnes, who has played in 22 games, posting 10.7 PPG.  An interesting note on the Braves is that just two of their players have seen time in all 24 contests.
 
Evansville earned a 66-56 victory at Carver Arena in January and now trails Bradley 20-25 in the all-time series.  UE has been stellar at home versus Bradley as of late, winning five of the last six meetings in Evansville.  Overall, UE is 6-3 in the last nine meetings versus the Braves.