Bradley's 2014-15 Schedule

[Chico]

Home schedule is getting to be a joke for a Division 1 program. Some past coaches would be proud of this schedule.

[tornado]

To be fair - scheduling is hard.. some people if you read their comments, think it's as easy as answering an ad on a web site - like buying a puppy
But there's all the money issues - who's gonna pay the costs and who gets how much of the take...plus dates, travel issues, and other particulars to hammer out.

Then of course, we've seen how demanding coaches can be...
Every year we hear about how hard it is for ISU, Wichita, or anyone else to complete their schedule - they get all the way into August and September and still have a couple games to finalize...
And yet - we read how their coaches make such demands like Jank or Marshall would never do such and such or ever play without a return game...they publicly complain about why Kansas or Duke won't play them home-and-home.
well what do you suspect? If you are that picky and demanding it's obvious why they can't fill their schedule and why some get such a lousy SOS.


btw the way - still 3 or 4 games yet to be revealed - one might be a DII (see ISU) and a final home game a low level opponent that is coming here as a guarantee game...
....and one more will be another road guarantee game - probably someone not too distant so to keep travel costs down (Butler, SLU, Mizzou, Nebraska, Iowa State?) - but BU is now forced financially to look at guarantee options.....

[Mikovio]

I really don't mind doing guarantee games if it's the only way we can bring up our SOS. What I won't be happy at all with is if our SOS is garbage and we're forced to play on Thursday because we lost a standings tiebreaker as a result. Ideally we'd get home and homes with good programs, but if Cross is having trouble with that I'll take 3 or 4 guarantee games if it's necessary for the SOS to balance out the guarantee games we're on the other end of.

I like the Las Vegas games (2 of the 3 won their conference) and I like Robert Morris (another conference champ) but the balance of the schedule can still fall one way or the other.

[Bobby Parker]

The latest addition to the 2014-15 men's basketball non-conference schedule is a Dec. 6 trip to Memphis: http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArt...DB_OEM_ID=3400

[molar50]

I have assumed that Memphis will not return to play in Peoria. It still is a good game for Bradley. I notice the game is on a Saturday and I hope it is on TV. I do not know how far (or long) a drive it is to Memphis, but this is worthy of consideration for a road trip to support the Braves.

[Da Coach]

I have assumed that Memphis will not return to play in Peoria. It still is a good game for Bradley. I notice the game is on a Saturday and I hope it is on TV. I do not know how far (or long) a drive it is to Memphis, but this is worthy of consideration for a road trip to support the Braves.

Memphis is about a 7 hour drive down I-55. I've been there a few times, the last was when we stopped there on a road trip to and from Starkville, Mississippi for the BU-Miss. State NIT game in 2007. It's a really fun city with lots to do, great restaurants, and a lot of history.

[tornado]

2014-15 Schedule - thus far
-two exhibitions likely - at least one at Ren-Col - ? West Virginia Wesleyan, Upper Iowa?
-November 14 - UT-Arlington - part of a 2-for1 deal
-November 19 Robert Morris at Bradley 7PM - this one or the UT-A game likely at Ren-Col
-UIC at BU date unknown
-a couple other non-conference games, at least one & likely two will be at Ren-Col - not known if the others will be home or road
-Late November - poss. host Texas A&M-CC and poss. meet Texas A&M, TCU, or North Texas in 4-game Corpus Christi Challenge
-December 2 - Central Michigan at Bradley - final game in a 2-for-1
-December 6 @ Memphis
-Dec. 9 @ Kansas State
-Dec. 21 vs. UC-Irvine in Las Vegas - game time set for 1:30pm (Pacific) and 3:30pm Central
-Dec. 22 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock or UW-Green Bay - game time will be 11:30pm Pacific/1:30pm Central if 3rd place game & 1:30pm Pacific/3:30pm Central if Championship
-18-game home-and-home MVC league schedule
-March 5-9, 2015 Missouri Valley Tournament in St. Louis

...still 3 or 4 games yet to be revealed .......
....and one more will be another road guarantee game - probably someone not too distant so to keep travel costs down.....

This will be the final road "guarantee game" and so there's still possibly a couple left to finalize.
Wonder why the RMU & UIC games are not yet mentioned even though we have confirmation from other sources about those games

[mexicobufan]

Guess who lives in Memphis during the week!!!! I will not be flying home that weekend I can assure you. If anyone needs anything in regards to Memphis let me know, I would be glad to help out. Very excited about this!!!

[tornado]

this is a quantum shift in policy....especially locking in to multiple guarantee games this early -- before mid-June...
It is something every BU coach and every BU AD, present guys included, have always said they would NOT do unless desperate and had absolutely zero alternative....
I recall we even had a debate whether we should do it for playing at Duke - but that was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
As I have gone on record before - I am OK with a couple of these games - at least it's a way (the only way) we're gonna get top quality opponents - but I guess I can read between the lines and see policy has dramatically turned on a dime at the exact same time the Board reared up about the $7 mil deficit

[mexicobufan]

I think we need to be pleased to have Kansas State and Memphis on the schedule. I think with our past performance you have to do this to get our guys some quality games that they will learn from. Our talent level is getting better and games like this will be good for recruiting as well. Build a reputation and we can get better teams coming into Carver.

[Da Coach]

I think we need to be pleased to have Kansas State and Memphis on the schedule. I think with our past performance you have to do this to get our guys some quality games that they will learn from. Our talent level is getting better and games like this will be good for recruiting as well. Build a reputation and we can get better teams coming into Carver.

I agree with you on the need to upgrade the schedule. If Bradley has any hope of an at-large NCAA bid or an NIT bid in the next couple years, we can't be playing 300+ non-conference SOS schedules year after year.
On the other hand, we also need to get some of these kinds of teams on the home schedule. Fans are disappearing fast and in large numbers, and with that goes maintenance fees and donations. That phenomenon has more to do with the awful home schedules these last 2 years (worst 2 BU non-con SOS's in Bradley history) than it has to do with the losing. But as of now, the best home game appears to be the Robert Morris game, which will not be a big draw for fans. It may also be the only game against a team with an RPI in the top 200, and it's looking like several will be 300+.

[tornado]

the problem with the Robert Morris game is the name recognition - you can talk 'til you're blue in the face
about them being good and winning their conference - but many if not most fans in Peoria Illinois are still gonna think we're playing
an NAIA team from Chicago or Springfield. But then if you are from out east, you wouldn't have thought of that.

[Da Coach]

Robert Morris won their conference last year- the Northeast Conference. However, on the down side, the Northeast Conference is one of the worst conferences in Division I. They ranked 26th last year in conference RPI out of 32 D1 conferences.
The other 9 teams in the Northeast Conference are not good teams. They range in RPI from 173 to 338.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/live-conf-rpi.html

Robert Morris did not beat any team last year during their regular season with an RPI better than 173 (they did pull an upset at St. John's in the postseason NIT). They lost 3 of their top 5 players who were seniors, including their top scorer and team MVP Karvel Anderson, who was the Northeast Conference Player of the Year, and was named AP Honorable Mention All American. Overall they return less than half of their scoring in 2014-15.

http://www.rmucolonials.com/news/2014/5/12/MBB_0512140613.aspx

As I've said before, I am happy to see a better quality team like RMU on the home schedule, but fans need to see more and better opponents for what they are paying for.

[tornado]

I hope we hear soon about some summer events for fans....

used to be that when the season ended in March - then we'd have events spaced out til next fall to keep us informed & interested....most all of those events are gone now..

-there was always a post-season banquet in April - but that's been gone 4-5 years
-there was the recruiting flurry with occasional spotting of some of the recruits in May & June
-then between June & September there were always a few events - cookouts, open gyms, the fall community events, the occas. August preseason exhibition trips, the fan breakfasts, the tailgates at soccer games, the ITOO supper, etc....
-then starting in September - we used to have lots of events to get the fans interested - Alumni Games, Red-White, scrimmages, Smokers, media day, unveiling of billboards around the area, madness events, even season-ticket pickups where we'd see some players or be able to wander inside the Fieldhouse & watch them practicing.
There are other ideas - but they've been mentioned lots of times before - but nobody seems to care what the fans think...
..even just an open house/gym once the new players get to campus....(as allowed by rules but similar to the ITOO - just a bit more informal)
...if fans can see the new kids and their athleticism surely it'll help with ticket sales and the buzz about the upcoming season..

[Chico]

But that was all done during, and before, the Coach Les era. Made too much sense.