62 BU @ 68 siu...post game

[Dubl R 1]

I thought the effort was good. The execution and 3-point shooting was substandard and not good enough to win on the road. Also, our defense was OK but not great. It needs to be great to win on the road.

I agree B4L. I thought we played hard except for the 4 minute stretch to close out the 1st half. We let the game get away right there. Too many missed free throws, which could have kept us in striking distance, and poor decisions to end a half. In the second half we never quit, and actually played some pretty good defense, but when you dig a hole like that it's very tough to overcome, especially on the road, We gotta shoot as well if we want to win on the road. Now we need to bounce back and steal one at N Iowa.

[SaintLouBrave22]

• 10 points combined from 4 of our 5 starters
• very poor defensive effort the first 10 min of the game
• very poor overall effort the first 32 minutes of the game
• once again, awful and one dimensional offense

Just plain unacceptable! Also, if the coach thinks the defense is the problem, once again its not...

Everything considered and without all the end of the game free throws, SIU would've been in the high 50's...

I'd like to believe that holding a team in the range we did on their home court will usually result in a W.

Our offense has been anemic and a lineup change and some kicks in the butt to jump start some players should be in order.

[bluedevils1]

Well, home teams are starting to win. SIU is a tough place to play and I always expect us to come out cold like tonight. We've just gotta start learning from these poor performances and let it lead to home wins and a few more road wins. We all know this team is capable.

[Bravesfan]

A lot of very good Bradley teams have lost there, including some a lot worse than tonight's loss. This current BU team is not as good as the BU team that was picked to finish 5th in the MVC (that pick came before Bradley lost AW and WE). Our weaknesses now- outside shooting and offense from the post position looked like areas that Bradley looked to be solid if those 2 key guys were still in the picture. Now we have little margin for error, we have to play a superb game to have a chance against the better MVC teams.

Well, I'm still confident we will beat some more good teams before the end of the season. We already took care of ISU red and SIU at home. Evansville is a terrible road team, so I think we beat them pretty easily at home. Drake is good, but not as consistent as last year, so I think that is a home win. Only UNI scares me in Peoria.

As far as any additional road wins, a win at UNI would easily offset the SIU loss from tonight. But if not, maybe we can steal one from ISU red and/or Creighton. I also believe we at least split against Evansville and Drake on the road, even if we don't have a lot of margin for error. The players we still have our very talented, and are certainly still capable of winning a lot more games for us.

Right now 11-7 or 12-6 in the Valley is still very possible. A win against UNI might even make 13-5 possible, though that is still a bit of a stretch.

[SaintLouBrave22]

Well, I'm still confident we will beat some more good teams before the end of the season. We already took care of ISU red and SIU at home. Evansville is a terrible road team, so I think we beat them pretty easily at home. Drake is good, but not as consistent as last year, so I think that is a home win. Only UNI scares me in Peoria.

As far as any additional road wins, a win at UNI would easily offset the SIU loss from tonight. But if not, maybe we can steal one from ISU red and/or Creighton. I also believe we at least split against Evansville and Drake on the road, even if we don't have a lot of margin for error. The players we still have our very talented, and are certainly still capable of winning a lot more games for us.

Right now 11-7 or 12-6 in the Valley is still very possible. A win against UNI might even make 13-5 possible, though that is still a bit of a stretch.

I just want to get at least 3rd...I'm really tired of being in the 4/5 game OR the Jim Les game as it seems to be the story of his life...

[Braves4Life]

Well, I'm still confident we will beat some more good teams before the end of the season. We already took care of ISU red and SIU at home. Evansville is a terrible road team, so I think we beat them pretty easily at home. Drake is good, but not as consistent as last year, so I think that is a home win. Only UNI scares me in Peoria.

As far as any additional road wins, a win at UNI would easily offset the SIU loss from tonight. But if not, maybe we can steal one from ISU red and/or Creighton. I also believe we at least split against Evansville and Drake on the road, even if we don't have a lot of margin for error. The players we still have our very talented, and are certainly still capable of winning a lot more games for us.

Right now 11-7 or 12-6 in the Valley is still very possible. A win against UNI might even make 13-5 possible, though that is still a bit of a stretch.

Excellent breakdown Bravesfan. Totally agree

I just want to get at least 3rd...I'm really tired of being in the 4/5 game OR the Jim Les game as it seems to be the story of his life...

Wow

[BradleyBrave]

I just want to get at least 3rd...I'm really tired of being in the 4/5 game OR the Jim Les game as it seems to be the story of his life...

Well, the 4-5 game is a far cry from 'Mr. Friday Night'!

[it's boogie time]

Very frustrating game to watch. It's odd watching this team knowing that they don't have the offensive firepower that they have had in the past couple of years.

Bradley needs to step it up on the road in Iowa. They aren't playing the Sycamores and Shockers anymore. It looks like UNI is hitting on all cylinders right now.

[Big Mike]

pjs on the siu loss.....

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1992961696/That-smarts-Bradley-fallsout-of-first

DR grades the Braves.....

http://www.pjstar.com/sports_bu/x2119708009/Report-card-Southern-Illinois-68-Bradley-62

[KillerB]

Observations from the 5th row

I went to the game with a number of SIU fans and had seats about 5 rows back near center court. For what is worth here are my observations.

1-The interior defense was horrible. Way to many lay ups and uncontested shots.

2-I'm not sure the effort was lacking, but the execution for 3/4 of the game was down right bad. The team drove hard to the basket and then took numerous off balance and wild shots. SIU packed it in and contested everything. We badly needed someone to hit a few outside shots to loosen things up.. or maybe pull up a few times for a short jumper.
Those of you criticizing EM's effort.. the kid was working hard on defense all night. He played almost the entire 2nd half and tried to pressure the ball each and every SIU possession.

3-Free throw shooting & 3 pt shooting.. the stats say it all.

4-I have read a few posts about EM driving, leaving his feet, and having no were to go with the ball. Tonight SM, TW and just about every other Brave who drove did the same thing. This lead to some turnovers.. and there were way too many of those as well.

5-Having said all of that, and not having much to cheer for for 30 minutes.. the effort the last 10 minutes was pretty darn good. The team never quit and that was nice to see. It was a shame they could not make a run a little sooner. Wilson was an animal on the boards and the SIU fans hated him. That was a spectatular dunk he had late in the game! After the game Coach Lowrey commented they did not have anyone who could match up with Wilson.


***Interesting perspectives.. If you think the officiating was bad.. you should have heard the SIU fans screaming about how BU got all the calls. And as far as making this a physical game.. they all think that was the game plan by the Braves. I listened to two different call in shows after the game on the car ride home and that was their viewpoint.. they call this SIU team a "finesse" team.

Also in Lowrey's post game, he was very gracious. He made no comments about dirty plays.. just how hard and physical the Braves played and he was proud of how his team responded to the challenge.

[KillerB]

one other quick note from the game

SIU had two recruits at the game. I'm not sure that was a game for recruits to see.. it was on the ugly side.

But for those of you up on recruiting one kid was from Wyclift, IL.. and the other was from CBC .. a catholic school in St. Louis. I did not get either name.

[chitown fanatic]

The effort was very good tonight. The shots just weren't falling and too many missed free throws. It's very tough to play there, and the comeback had the SIU fans really fretting. The game was very physical, and that appeared to be SIU's game plan, and BU did not back down.
I think Bradley fans should be proud of this team, even though the results weren't what we wanted.

How do you write stuff like this and make yourself believe it? the effort was very good? 20+ turnovers is very good????? 9-19 at the line is very good???? Was it a tough place to play for Drake and UNI who've already won there this season? But I know I can always count on the rays of sunshine from Da Coach!

[doug shank's crossover]

None of us should be surprised

Nobody who's remotely familiar with this year's BU team (without Warren) should be surprised by the outcome of this game. We've talked ad-nauseum about how this team doesn't shoot well from the perimeter OR have offensive weapons in the post. This means you must win games with defense, rebounding and effort. When you don't play exemplary defense (like the isu game in Peoria) you lose. No shock here.

Having said that...BU has proven that they can beat anybody in the league on any given night. BU is still in the hunt. We get a chance to bring UNI down to earth Wednesday. This is going to be a dog-fight till the end.

[Da Coach]

How do you write stuff like this and make yourself believe it? the effort was very good? 20+ turnovers is very good????? 9-19 at the line is very good???? Was it a tough place to play for Drake and UNI who've already won there this season? But I know I can always count on the rays of sunshine from Da Coach!

Maybe you don't differentiate between effort and results, but that is simplistic. I never said 20 turnovers and 9-19 "is very good", did I?

I said the effort was very good, and anyone who was there could see that it was.

Here is Dave Reynolds' quote-
For most of Sunday night’s Missouri Valley Conference game against Southern Illinois, Bradley put forth a more-than-acceptable effort.

So I guess you don't think Dave knows what he's talking about? And I guess you think it is easy winning at SIU?

I know if I want to see what Chitown Fanatic thinks about this team, I have to wait until the team loses and then check the board for his rips.

[chitown fanatic]

Maybe you don't differentiate between effort and results, but that is simplistic. I never said 20 turnovers and 9-19 "is very good", did I?

I said the effort was very good, and anyone who was there could see that it was.

Here is Dave Reynolds' quote-
For most of Sunday night??™s Missouri Valley Conference game against Southern Illinois, Bradley put forth a more-than-acceptable effort.

So I guess you don't think Dave knows what he's talking about? And I guess you think it is easy winning at SIU?

I know if I want to see what Chitown Fanatic thinks about this team, I have to wait until the team loses and then check the board for his rips.

I'm just calling them as I see em and I post plenty after wins as well. I didn't come on here last night and rip the team either. I simply responded to yet another kool-aid drinking post that refuses to acknowledge realities of our team and would rather focus on being "proud" of them as you stated. And yes, more times than not, effort leads to results- they go hand in hand. careless turnovers and 17 points in a half are not good effort, even if Dave Reynolds thinks it is.