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After five games last season, many Bradley fans were starting to wonder what Jim Les had to do to stay out of hot water because of the Braves' play (in spite of the season-opening win against DePaul).
After five games this year, it would seem the Braves were grossly underestimated in lieu of the MVC pre-season coaches and sportswriter's poll. Still, we haven't played in a hostile road environment yet, although I suspect our crowd will be outnumbered tonight in Hoffman Estates.
Some people on message boards I peruse on occasion think the winner of tonight's Bradley-Illinois game ought to be ranked after this weekend. It wouldn't surprise me either way because there are more than 100 new division 1 teams playing basketball now than the last time the Braves beat the Illini. With more than 330 schools clamoring for national media attention, as opposed to 175 or so back in 1972, it makes it that much more difficult to crack into the top 25 (although back in '72 it was only a top 20 rating system).
I keep waiting for Bradley to have a God-awful shooting night like 4 of 21 from outside, but so far, it hasn't happened. Then again, we've still got to play about 25 more games until Selection Sunday! Even if the Braves falter and don't make the post-season, I'd still take a win over Illinois whether it's by 2 points or 22 points. The last time the Braves topped the Illini, afros were in style as were mutton chop sideburns. People wore belts made from beer and soda can pop tops, and the Partridge Family was selling a million albums a year
!
It's not often we get a crack at the Land of Lincoln's flagship university. I hope we give them a run for the money, win or lose. Maybe then we'll get a little respect from U of I fans like DePaul and Rutgers gave us after our impressive victories over the Blue Demons and Scarlet Knights. To be fair, there are a lot of Illinois fans that liked our success last year. Some couldn't stand it, while a majority seemed neutral on the subject. Come to think of it, I'd probably pull more for the Illini if weren't for some of their die-hard fans!
Good luck Braves--hope we keep the train a rollin'!
After five games this year, it would seem the Braves were grossly underestimated in lieu of the MVC pre-season coaches and sportswriter's poll. Still, we haven't played in a hostile road environment yet, although I suspect our crowd will be outnumbered tonight in Hoffman Estates.
Some people on message boards I peruse on occasion think the winner of tonight's Bradley-Illinois game ought to be ranked after this weekend. It wouldn't surprise me either way because there are more than 100 new division 1 teams playing basketball now than the last time the Braves beat the Illini. With more than 330 schools clamoring for national media attention, as opposed to 175 or so back in 1972, it makes it that much more difficult to crack into the top 25 (although back in '72 it was only a top 20 rating system).
I keep waiting for Bradley to have a God-awful shooting night like 4 of 21 from outside, but so far, it hasn't happened. Then again, we've still got to play about 25 more games until Selection Sunday! Even if the Braves falter and don't make the post-season, I'd still take a win over Illinois whether it's by 2 points or 22 points. The last time the Braves topped the Illini, afros were in style as were mutton chop sideburns. People wore belts made from beer and soda can pop tops, and the Partridge Family was selling a million albums a year
!It's not often we get a crack at the Land of Lincoln's flagship university. I hope we give them a run for the money, win or lose. Maybe then we'll get a little respect from U of I fans like DePaul and Rutgers gave us after our impressive victories over the Blue Demons and Scarlet Knights. To be fair, there are a lot of Illinois fans that liked our success last year. Some couldn't stand it, while a majority seemed neutral on the subject. Come to think of it, I'd probably pull more for the Illini if weren't for some of their die-hard fans!
Good luck Braves--hope we keep the train a rollin'!
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