Postgame: UE 56 BU 49

[lefty]

SFP, you are right on, but what you are dreaming about won't happen. Bradley needs to get out of the valley. I think getting rid of Jim Bain will help, but DE likes what he has created and will not allow it to become a BU dominated league, which will surely happen with the current level of talent...

A BU dominated league? Let's finish higher than 4th before we talk Valley dominance

[SFP]

A BU dominated league? Let's finish higher than 4th before we talk Valley dominance

Lefty I agree but what I really would like to see happen is that another league is formed with the likes of CU, WSU, Butler, Xavier, Memphis, BU, SLU, SIU and a few other schools that are really putting the effort into their programs. Otherwise we will only have ourselves to blame when the BCS really limits who plays in the NCAA/BCS Tourney. There is too much money and if there is something we all should have learned this year is that greedy people will do what benefits them and not worry about the whole.

[thefish7]

Lefty I agree but what I really would like to see happen is that another league is formed with the likes of CU, WSU, Butler, Xavier, Memphis, BU, SLU, SIU and a few other schools that are really putting the effort into their programs. Otherwise we will only have ourselves to blame when the BCS really limits who plays in the NCAA/BCS Tourney. There is too much money and if there is something we all should have learned this year is that greedy people will do what benefits them and not worry about the whole.

My "dream" conference would be-

1 Bradley
2 Creigton
3 Drake
4 Butler
5 St. Louis
6 Dayton
7 Xavier
8 DePaul
9 Notre Dame
10 Villanova

I can dream, right?

[lefty]

Lefty I agree but what I really would like to see happen is that another league is formed with the likes of CU, WSU, Butler, Xavier, Memphis, BU, SLU, SIU and a few other schools that are really putting the effort into their programs. Otherwise we will only have ourselves to blame when the BCS really limits who plays in the NCAA/BCS Tourney. There is too much money and if there is something we all should have learned this year is that greedy people will do what benefits them and not worry about the whole.

I just don't see any of them moving though. Especially Butler,Xavier and Memphis....it's a nice thought but I don't see us going anywhere unless there was some weaker Valley teams dropped out for some reason...

[thefish7]

Btw, thought 'Nova was in Pittsburgh for some reason, instead of Philly. Replace them with Valpo to keep the teams fairly close.

[thefish7]

Regarding the game... Was a tough one to watch. After a weak couple of minutes to start I think this Bradley team gave it their everything... just as Versace stated, it was unfortunately a sort of Murphy's Law kind of game. Game was hard to watch because of the way it was reffed, but I don't have complaints because I think the Braves gave great effort.

[SFP]

I just don't see any of them moving though. Especially Butler,Xavier and Memphis....it's a nice thought but I don't see us going anywhere unless there was some weaker Valley teams dropped out for some reason...

Never say never because some of these teams must be able to see that the way to make more money is to either join one of the big boys or create one that can conceivably get a TV deal and consistently get 4-5 teams a year into the dance. I would say we would be a prize with our consistent fan support, the capital we are investing in our facilities and Peoria being a decent size market.

[2bradleyfans]

EU, prepared for us for sure.

We couldn't dictate our tempo, beausedt they match tempo and tried to speed it up too.

There defense was smothering to say the least, we were molested all night.

[BUFAN]

I don't understand the logic that the MVC will be considered a first-tier (BCS) conference by addressing the officiating. I don't think that's gonna do it!

All you reallly need to do is watch one well officiated college bb game to appreciate what the kids can do. It's so much fun to see their intensity love for the game their tallent and how enjoyable it is for the fans. Here in Peoria and bradley for that matter we are denied that joy. I go back a long way and have such fond memories, what a shame it has became the local fans cannot realize the level of competiveness we once had. It was fun, and now the valley and I'm blaming Jim Bain is a flop, with a capitol f...

[thefish7]

BTW, one other thing about the game. GREAT GAME by DC! Pretty sure it's by far his best non-exhibition appearance in a Braves uniform. Here's to him building on it on Senior Night.

[TheHeemyMonster]

Good game by Collins, other than that I didnt see too many bright spots.
TB- I have critized JL for not giving you the minutes I thought you deserved but tonight you didnt do yourself any favors... 5 to's i believe and most of them were just plain awful plays... not a very good game
Dodie- IMO should not have played tonight. He didnt give us anything and is obviously in a lot of discomfort with that hand. He couldnt handle the ball and he didnt really attempt to shoot. Did you see his free throw? Save him for STL!!
TW- 1-5 on 3's, only played 20 minutes and had 4 fouls. He forced way too much to start and tried to make up for it a the end.
CR- played pretty good tonight but his shot just wasnt falling
EM- keep looking to score please!!

Evansville is not good and i hope we see them in STL on the same side bracket as UNI!!!

[Da Coach]

Box score-
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArt...ATCLID=3678998

[Bravesfan]

My "dream" conference would be-

1 Bradley
2 Creigton
3 Drake
4 Butler
5 St. Louis
6 Dayton
7 Xavier
8 DePaul
9 Notre Dame
10 Villanova

I can dream, right?

Oh yeah, let's have DePaul drag down this conference as well!

Seriously though, I think DePaul would at least have a fighting chance to be competitive in this conference, although not in their current state. Take this year's team and put them into this scenerio and they still finish toward the bottom. But at least they are not playing and getting spanked by ranked teams night in and night out.

[BUBraves04]

It's official, the leading scorer for the Braves was none other than 7-Foot Center David Collins with 10 points against Evansville.

A streak was also broken on Wednesday night...

A BU player standing taller than 6-foot-5 hasn't been the leading scorer for 79 consecutive games. The last player before D.C. taller than 6-foot-5 that led the Braves in scoring for a game was Zach Andrews against the Shockers in January of 2007!

[Tone Bone]

I'm curious as to why some of you think it would be advantageous for Bradley to leave the Valley? Unless there is a radical shift in conference affiliation elsewhere, where would BU go that would be a better "fit" than the Valley? The Valley has become a perennial top 10 league. We're never going to be the Big East or the ACC, but this isn't a pushover conference.

I do agree about the officiating. I've been at a handful of games this season where I wondered how it was that the officials could be so bad. Watch a Big 12 game or an ACC game and watch what the officials allow and then compare it to a Valley game. The BCS conferences ( spare me the it's not football rant) play more physical games against each other. A lot less ticky tack fouls are called in my opinion. They really let the kids play in ways that Valley refs don't. When the NCAA tournament rolls around, these guys are used to playing tough physical basketball without silly fouls interrupting play every single possession. Better officiating wouldn't automatically make the Valley a better conference, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.