Final score: Wichita State 69 Bradley 63

[BuAlum03]

Overall I would not cite the refs as much as our failure to hit the three when we needed it, and the turnovers that led to fast breaks.
Williams got away with a punch to Walt's crotch as I saw it - which angered Walt, caused the "T's and
then resulted in what was essentially a turnover because the ball went back to WSU on the possession arrow.
I understand the call as the refs did not see the action below the belt - and they completely missed one out-of-bounds call right under BU's basket in the final few minutes and gave it to WSU.

Pretty spot-on analysis IMO. Despite those two calls, i thought that overall the officiating was excellent. Bradley's failures against the press was the difference in the game. I'm proud of how we played, but next year I won't settle for moral victories.

[Bravesfan]

Overall I would not cite the refs as much as our failure to hit the three when we needed it, and the turnovers that led to fast breaks.
Williams got away with a punch to Walt's crotch as I saw it - which angered Walt, caused the "T's and
then resulted in what was essentially a turnover because the ball went back to WSU on the possession arrow.
I understand the call as the refs did not see the action below the belt - and they completely missed one out-of-bounds call right under BU's basket in the final few minutes and gave it to WSU.

Right, but they overcame that out-of-bounds call and as you said was not the reason they lost. WSU was a little more athletic and experienced, and outside of Creighton and Michigan, I don't think we will see any tougher team than them this year.

[Bravesfan]

Pretty spot-on analysis IMO. Despite those two calls, i thought that overall the officiating was excellent. Bradley's failures against the press was the difference in the game. I'm proud of how we played, but next year I won't settle for moral victories.

No. And just for once I would like to see us beat a great team when we play on ESPN!

[LittleBrave]

This was the kind of game I was hoping for.
We did not back down at all.
Will's presence was missed and the lack of production for JC was another missing piece that could have propelled us to victory.
DSE has been solid all season. He and Walt continue to play like All-Valley guys.
Walt is Mr. Clutch for us - I didn't see him force any shots but maybe 1. He let the game come to him and came up big. Was hoping to see him take the last shot, but they had him covered I guess.

As far as 3-point shooting, it has come around a bit since the start of the Valley, which we really need. If we can make 35% on threes consistently without shooting more than 15 every game, this will be adequate vs. the bottom half of the league.

I like hearing that Valley followers are seeing BU as a middle-pack team rather than last place caliber!

I think we all ache a little in our hearts after the close loss, but let's keep focused on how much improvement we've made since last season, and we are not far off from playing meaningful game in February! This team hasn't been in too many close games vs. quality opponents down to the wire, so I consider this something to build on, and maybe we'll come through the next time we're in this situation.

Not sure if intended for BU or Wichita, but the announcer on ESPNU made mention of Bradley in the last 4 minutes of the game after DSE streaked to the hoop and scored the layup to make it 60-59. He said, "Defense to Offense. That's what championship teams do!" I'm excited for more statements like this about BU in the years to come under Geno!!!

[Beninator]

As everyone has stated, this was a great effort last night. I think that SS played well. He had some lapses but his contributions IMO outweighed his mistakes. I really hope SS can build on this. We need to work on breaking a press and keep TP and SS from being the people stuck with bringing the ball across the half court line. WSU's press was nice, but it was far from unbreakable.
Aside from our handling of the press, the two parts of the game I was disappointed with last night was Jake taking the three at the end of the game after a time out, and TP's (I think) defensive lapse at the end of the game that resulted in a three point play. WSU was down three starters for the game, but the effort was there and I can see a lot of things that this team can build on for future games.

[LittleBrave]

I was pleased with Shayok's aggressiveness and energy, which helped us. He was not a deterrant, but a positive factor. Also, Bell gave us good minutes and seemed to fit in - I like that Geno is getting him into key situations to help him develop as a freshman. Bell and Fields are just going to help us so much in the next 3 years!!!
I can see Bell becoming our next pick-pocket - maybe not as prolific as DSE has been this year, but he has good hands. He also finds his way to the hoop well - something that DSE did as a freshman.

[Bravesfan]

This was the kind of game I was hoping for.
We did not back down at all.
Will's presence was missed and the lack of production for JC was another missing piece that could have propelled us to victory.
DSE has been solid all season. He and Walt continue to play like All-Valley guys.
Walt is Mr. Clutch for us - I didn't see him force any shots but maybe 1. He let the game come to him and came up big. Was hoping to see him take the last shot, but they had him covered I guess.

As far as 3-point shooting, it has come around a bit since the start of the Valley, which we really need. If we can make 35% on threes consistently without shooting more than 15 every game, this will be adequate vs. the bottom half of the league.

I like hearing that Valley followers are seeing BU as a middle-pack team rather than last place caliber!

I think we all ache a little in our hearts after the close loss, but let's keep focused on how much improvement we've made since last season, and we are not far off from playing meaningful game in February! This team hasn't been in too many close games vs. quality opponents down to the wire, so I consider this something to build on, and maybe we'll come through the next time we're in this situation.

Not sure if intended for BU or Wichita, but the announcer on ESPNU made mention of Bradley in the last 4 minutes of the game after DSE streaked to the hoop and scored the layup to make it 60-59. He said, "Defense to Offense. That's what championship teams do!" I'm excited for more statements like this about BU in the years to come under Geno!!!

Excellent analysis LittleBrave! Hopefully we are getting close to where we need to be. I like it that the national announcers and other Valley fans are beginning to take notice.

[Bravesfan]

As everyone has stated, this was a great effort last night. I think that SS played well. He had some lapses but his contributions IMO outweighed his mistakes. I really hope SS can build on this. We need to work on breaking a press and keep TP and SS from being the people stuck with bringing the ball across the half court line. WSU's press was nice, but it was far from unbreakable.
Aside from our handling of the press, the two parts of the game I was disappointed with last night was Jake taking the three at the end of the game after a time out, and TP's (I think) defensive lapse at the end of the game that resulted in a three point play. WSU was down three starters for the game, but the effort was there and I can see a lot of things that this team can build on for future games.

Yeah, I think the press is always a challange to break. I'm sure most teams have a lot of difficulty in this department, but we are not at that point yet where we know how to break it with consistency. That may have been the biggest turning point in the game, outside of a few of the mistakes you mentioned above.

[LittleBrave]

...TP's (I think) defensive lapse at the end of the game that resulted in a three point play. WSU was down three starters for the game, but the effort was there and I can see a lot of things that this team can build on for future games.

I feel ya' on the 1st disappointment of the last shot by JE instead of a more high % shot where we could have maybe drawn a foul too. We didn't need to rush that possession.

But the other disappoinment you mentioned I can't fault.
What if TP had made a block on Williams? This could have given us a chance to win on the final possession. And if he had fouled him, then he makes 2 at best which still keeps it a 1-possession game.
He should have made sure that Williams couldn't get a shot off though. In the past we have been too soft, letting people make easy buckets. This just showed me that we were willing to make it harder for the oppostion to score. We had a couple other harder fouls that denied WSU from scoring easy buckets. I have no problem with TP contesting that layup - just could have done a better job at denying him the score.

[lefty]

As everyone has stated, this was a great effort last night. I think that SS played well. He had some lapses but his contributions IMO outweighed his mistakes. I really hope SS can build on this. We need to work on breaking a press and keep TP and SS from being the people stuck with bringing the ball across the half court line. WSU's press was nice, but it was far from unbreakable.
Aside from our handling of the press, the two parts of the game I was disappointed with last night was Jake taking the three at the end of the game after a time out, and TP's (I think) defensive lapse at the end of the game that resulted in a three point play. WSU was down three starters for the game, but the effort was there and I can see a lot of things that this team can build on for future games.

I thought the press was a good one and a little different than most. They backed off their pressure just enough that it made it difficult for us to pass AND attack and we lack the talent to handle the ball and to pass over it...
They were very long,active, and well rested playing 9 guys

I think TP missed the switch on that 3 pt play.....I was more bugged about that than anything......but it was a great overall effort by BU

[Rusty 54]

We seem to like getting caught in the corner just after crossing the half court line. Combine that with not being the best ball-handling team, and it hurt us. I'm sure Geno will have them working on that.

Wichita has incredible depth. To play at their level with 9 guys (taking your word for it lefty) and have 3 starters injured is impressive. Marshall is sure building a program down in Wichita.

[BUBalum05]

We seem to like getting caught in the corner just after crossing the half court line. Combine that with not being the best ball-handling team, and it hurt us. I'm sure Geno will have them working on that.

Wichita has incredible depth. To play at their level with 9 guys (taking your word for it lefty) and have 3 starters injured is impressive. Marshall is sure building a program down in Wichita.

I think Marshall is one NCAA tournament win away from getting a shot to coach at a BCS school.

[RedSoxDSM]

I don't think Marshall is going any where any time soon. I read an article about him last year some time where he felt like he was already coaching at a big time program. WSU sells out all of their home games. They get really good recruits and Marshall flies charter flights to all away games and recruiting trips. That is a huge advantage. He makes over $1 million a year with salary and other deals, so why would he leave? If he went to a BCS school, it would likely be a lesser BCS program like Auburn or maybe Oklahoma. The pressure to win at those schools is going to be higher than at WSU and he will likely have less resources to do it with. If he doesn't right the ship at the new job within 3 years, then he is probably canned. He has it really good at WSU and I don't see him jumping unless one of the top 5-10 programs in the country comes calling.

[Bravesfan]

I don't think Marshall is going any where any time soon. I read an article about him last year some time where he felt like he was already coaching at a big time program. WSU sells out all of their home games. They get really good recruits and Marshall flies charter flights to all away games and recruiting trips. That is a huge advantage. He makes over $1 million a year with salary and other deals, so why would he leave? If he went to a BCS school, it would likely be a lesser BCS program like Auburn or maybe Oklahoma. The pressure to win at those schools is going to be higher than at WSU and he will likely have less resources to do it with. If he doesn't right the ship at the new job within 3 years, then he is probably canned. He has it really good at WSU and I don't see him jumping unless one of the top 5-10 programs in the country comes calling.

Agreed, and there is no reason to think why a coach can't build a mid-major into a consistent top 25 program like Mark Few and Shaka Smart have done (see today's ESPN poll). Plus if the Catholic 7 get hold of Wichita St., they may play a BCS like schedule anyway. So yes, I think Marshall has a really good thing going at Wichita St. which is why I don't see him moving anytime soon.

[Future Walk-On]

I don't think Marshall is going any where any time soon. I read an article about him last year some time where he felt like he was already coaching at a big time program. WSU sells out all of their home games. They get really good recruits and Marshall flies charter flights to all away games and recruiting trips. That is a huge advantage. He makes over $1 million a year with salary and other deals, so why would he leave? If he went to a BCS school, it would likely be a lesser BCS program like Auburn or maybe Oklahoma. The pressure to win at those schools is going to be higher than at WSU and he will likely have less resources to do it with. If he doesn't right the ship at the new job within 3 years, then he is probably canned. He has it really good at WSU and I don't see him jumping unless one of the top 5-10 programs in the country comes calling.

We brought his name up on IllinoisLoyalty during the Illinois coaching search...

people were saying that he is hard to get along with... and kind of gets everything the way he wants at WSU... rubs people wrong way kinda guy.