Bradley ranked as 11th out of 263 midmajors over past 6 years

[Da Coach]

I never said anything about what defines a fan. But yes, cubs fans are losers

Again, I'll use your points against your argument. How many times during the same time span has Creighton made an appearance in the tournament? To the non-mvc fan, if you asked who is the more successful program over the past 6 years, the answer is still creighton. getting one more win in the tourney over them doesnt equal seeing your name on a million bracket sheets consistently each March. This is what SIU and CU have had over BU and from a recruiting and financial perspective to the university, those appearances are worth far more than the lack of success once in the tourney. Any knowledgable fan would take NCAA berths over 2nd rate tourney success. I dont even consider that an opinion, that's a fact Jack.

Despite the fact the midmajority poll does have Bradley above Creighton, I have not said that Bradley has the better recent history. Creighton is to be emulated, though Bradley has some successes of their own that most MVC schools, even Creighton, has to respect. Their fans have been grumbling for years about their lack of NCAA success, and many of their fans were not unhappy to see Dana Altman go, despite his having great success. However, I suspect that if we had the identical sucess that CU has had, there would still be about the same number of fans who were not satisfied and would complain.

[Lakeview Brave]

At what point should fans be satisfied? What about the coaches? Dont the coaches have goals to improve every year? If I were a Creighton fan i wouldnt be satisfied with no NCAA wins and i doubt Dana was. As a Bradley fan im not satisfied that we havent finished in the top 3 or won on Sunday and i doubt that Jim Les is either. Once you are satisfied with your performance you are doomed to failure.

[houstontxbrave]

I guess being 11th in this poll thing is great for tooting a horn and putting out to a potential recruit.

Bottom line for me though is the actual out come of those last 6 years:

04-05

13-15 record
6-12 in conference
Lost in play in to ISUblue
Lost 10 of last 12 games

05-06

22-11 record
11-7 in conference
2 NCAA Tournament wins.
Won 9 of last 11
Lost in MVC Championship tourney game

06-07

22-13 record
10-8 in conference
1 NIT win
2pt lose to SIU in Semis of MVC tourney

07-08

21-17 record
17-15 without the 4-2 record in CBI
9-9 in conference
Lost in first round of MVC tourney
2nd place in CBI

08-09

21-15 record
18-14 without the 3-1 record in CIT
10-8 in conference
Lost by 14 to UNI in Semis of MVC tourney
2nd CIT

09-10

16-15 record
9-9 in conference
Lost by 17 to UNI in Semis of MVC tourney
10-8 in conference

Total last 6 Bradley University Basketball seasons:

Overall record
115-86

Conference record
55-53

MVC Tourney
5-5

NCAA
2-1

NIT
1-1

CBI
4-2

CIT
3-1

Make your own conclusions about the success of Bradley Basketball in the last 6 years. My conclusion is even with the NCAA and the overall 29 games over .500 the conference record and the lack of success in the MVC tourny make it hard not to say the last 6 years have been average.

06 and 07 can not be ignored, but neither can 05 and 10. The other two were "successful" because we fell into two made up tournys that inflated the overall record for those two years.

[Lakeview Brave]

Every coach, whether D-I or lower -- will always highlight every single positive that they can for their program...
I am stumped as to why when we see any ranking that puts BU at the top -- it still somehow prompts negativity among people..
It's as if maybe we need to hire a John Calipari and start landing 5-Star and Top 10 kids...
Wake up -- this is still Peoria -- the nice new facilities will help, but we're never going to get the kid that a school in a bigger, better market gets..

We dont need 5 star players to win the Valley. We need the kids we have to play to rebound and play D.

[houstontxbrave]

Wake up -- this is still Peoria -- the nice new facilities will help, but we're never going to get the kid that a school in a bigger, better market gets..

I am shocked you said this Tornado.

Because that is the one thing about Les little can be debated, he is not afraid of going against anyone on the recruiting trail. And even before the new arena he was able to get some pretty high end recruits to visit.

So, for you to say that Bradley will NEVER get a recruit a school in a bigger better market will get is well in a word... NEGATIVE.

That attitude I thought left along time ago, atleast when it comes to recruiting.

[Dallas Brave]

I guess being 11th in this poll thing is great for tooting a horn and putting out to a potential recruit.

Bottom line for me though is the actual out come of those last 6 years:

04-05

13-15 record
6-12 in conference
Lost in play in to ISUblue
Lost 10 of last 12 games

05-06

22-11 record
11-7 in conference
2 NCAA Tournament wins.
Won 9 of last 11
Lost in MVC Championship tourney game

06-07

22-13 record
10-8 in conference
1 NIT win
2pt lose to SIU in Semis of MVC tourney

07-08

21-17 record
17-15 without the 4-2 record in CBI
9-9 in conference
Lost in first round of MVC tourney
2nd place in CBI

08-09

21-15 record
18-14 without the 3-1 record in CIT
10-8 in conference
Lost by 14 to UNI in Semis of MVC tourney
2nd CIT

09-10

16-15 record
9-9 in conference
Lost by 17 to UNI in Semis of MVC tourney
10-8 in conference

Total last 6 Bradley University Basketball seasons:

Overall record
115-86

Conference record
55-53

MVC Tourney
5-5

NCAA
2-1

NIT
1-1

CBI
4-2

CIT
3-1

Make your own conclusions about the success of Bradley Basketball in the last 6 years. My conclusion is even with the NCAA and the overall 29 games over .500 the conference record and the lack of success in the MVC tourny make it hard not to say the last 6 years have been average.

06 and 07 can not be ignored, but neither can 05 and 10. The other two were "successful" because we fell into two made up tournys that inflated the overall record for those two years.

Can you provide the names of a couple of mid-major programs that you would consider above average during this period? Not top programs like Butler and Gonzaga, but programs that are somewhere between the top and the middle of the pack. Thanks

[shaunguth]

We should aspire to be Creighton? How many NCAA wins has Creighton had recently?
None in the last 8 years, only 1 since 1999, and only 3 since 1974! And in that time, they have never won more than a 1st round game and have never advanced to the Sweet 16.

C'mon....you know those things don't matter! That trip to the Sweet 16 is a distant memory, yet the years prior to that are forever being brought up!

Besides, we don't care about other teams!

[dogsrus]

There are only conference championships and NCAA berths. These are the only stats that matter as they are the mark of true winners, the elite, the pinnacle,etc. everything else is 2nd rate and deep down, the defenders of the mediocre know this but wont admit it. 1 tourney berth in past 6 years, albeit a great run to the sweet 16, does not put us above SIU and Creighton. Creighton is the class of this conference and is who we should aspire to emulate. Yay, we havent been woeful lately...do we get some sort of participation award like they give out in grade school these days??? When someone thinks about who the perrenial powers are from the MVC, I assure you, Bradley is not one of those teams mentioned. Let's start to change that this season. We have the talent to do it, let's hope Les finds ways to maximize the on court potential and minimize the off court distractions that have plagued him recently.

I couldn't agree more.....this poll is fun it makes a few good points but its flawed SERIOUSLY flawed. SIU, UNI and CU ALL have been in a class above us for the last 10 years.

[dogsrus]

Amen!

Classy as always.....

[dogsrus]

However, I suspect that if we had the identical sucess that CU has had, there would still be about the same number of fans who were not satisfied and would complain.

I wouldn't....I'd be thrilled.

[Braves4Life]

I couldn't agree more.....this poll is fun it makes a few good points but its flawed SERIOUSLY flawed. SIU, UNI and CU ALL have been in a class above us for the last 10 years.

I would agree with you on UNI and CU, but disagree on SIU based on the full 10 year "body of work". SIU has been so miserable the last few years that I would suggest Lowery's seat is MUCH, MUCH hotter than Les'. Those fans in Carbondale will burn him in effigy if this year mirros the past few. At least BU and Les can tout the MVC's best GPA and graduation rate (or one of the best..... I'm too lazy to look up the stat )

[saluki762]

I would agree with you on UNI and CU, but disagree on SIU based on the full 10 year "body of work". SIU has been so miserable the last few years that I would suggest Lowery's seat is MUCH, MUCH hotter than Les'. Those fans in Carbondale will burn him in effigy if this year mirros the past few. At least BU and Les can tout the MVC's best GPA and graduation rate (or one of the best..... I'm too lazy to look up the stat )

SIU has been miserable the last two years but over the last 10 years they come out #1. Check your stats again over a ten year body of work SIU is still clearly the top. This may change after 2-3 more Lowery seasons though.


Overall Record: 224-103 (.685)
Conference Record: 130-49 (.726)
Conference Championships: SIX
NCAA Tournament Appearances: SIX
NCAA Tournament Victories: FIVE
NCAA Sweet 16s: TWO
NIT Appearances: TWO

[Braves4Life]

SIU has been miserable the last two years but over the last 10 years they come out #1. Check your stats again over a ten year body of work SIU is still clearly the top. This may change after 2-3 more Lowery seasons though.


Overall Record: 224-103 (.685)
Conference Record: 130-49 (.726)
Conference Championships: SIX
NCAA Tournament Appearances: SIX
NCAA Tournament Victories: FIVE
NCAA Sweet 16s: TWO
NIT Appearances: TWO

I stand corrected.

[AZ BU Fan]

With my conscience bothering me for re-opening a can of worms.....

On a more positive note, lets hope BU becomes the #1 Ranked Mid Major for 2010-11, by virture of making the NCAA's next March and "shocking the world" in The Tournament (at least through to the second round!).

[saluki762]

I stand corrected.

I still expect this record to plummet over the next several years and BU will probably be better.