Final score: Missouri State 61 Bradley 42

[Da Coach]

Bradley's next game will be only their 2nd Saturday night home game of the season so far, Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7:00 PM against Missouri State.
Bradley is now 3-15, 1-4, after their win at Loyola Wednesday. Missouri State is now 6-11, 2-3 after their home loss to Wichita State.
The game is on ESPN3.com.

Standings and records-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFSKED.HTM

MVC RPI's-

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2016/conference/Missouri%20Valley

Missouri State basketball-

http://www.missouristatebears.com/sports/m-baskbl/mosu-m-baskbl-body.html

MSU stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/MSU.HTM#team.ind

Bradley stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/BRAD.HTM#team.ind

Conference stats (overall)-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFLDRS.HTM

Conference only stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

[tornado]

we need more Saturday night home games...I think it will help attendance some...plus it might be we'd draw more occasional fans or 1st time fans on a Saturday night - so that in time can maybe grow the attendance base.

....not that the attendance will be huge this time, given the low numbers the past few years - but I think it should be stronger "butts-in-the-seats" numbers...

The only other Saturday nite home game we had this year was North Dakota - and even tho it was hard to draw much from that game because it was a fairly unfamiliar non-conference opponent & in that stretch between Thanksgiving & Christmas - the attendance was on par with TCU & Ole Miss.

Last year the only conference Sat. nite game was Missouri State and it drew the best attendance except ISU & Wichita- even outdrawing SIU!

[pfcmsh]

Do we have a chance to keep it close with Missouri State?

[tornado]

Missouri State played well against Wichita and led almost the entire 1st half then even rallied some in the 2nd half..
They also won the two games before that against Loyola & UNI - two teams that we now see are not playing very well.

BUT note they also lost to SEMO, one of the worst teams in the nation (1-15 vs. DI with 330RPI)

so YES we can play with them but we have to play well and defend their scorers.

[Da Coach]

Do we have a chance to keep it close with Missouri State?

Missouri State has 2 good playmaking guards- 6'3" Senior Dorrian Williams- 4.4 assists per game, and 5'10" junior college transfer Dequon Miller 2.8 assists per game and a team-leading 12.4 ppg. He likes to dribble-drive to the basket.
And they are a pretty good rebounding team, considering they are not real big. But they are a bad 3-point shooting team. They shoot 28.9%, which ranks 9th in the MVC, ahead of only Bradley.
They only have 3 players who average more than 1 three pointer per game- Dequon Miller (see above), sophomore starting forward Chris Kendrix, and freshman reserve guard Ryan Kreklow.
They are not a good defensive team, in fact, by most measurements, they are the worst defensive team in the MVC. Their scoring defense (71.8 points per game), their field goal percentage defense (45.1%), and their 3-point FG percentage defense (38.2%) are all the worst in the MVC.

I think we have a good chance to stay with them. The game plan will probably be focused on tight interior defense, prevent their guards from penetrating, and force them to take mostly perimeter shots.

Here are their stats- they start the same 5 players most games, including freshman Obediah Church, who Bradley recruited.

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/MSU.HTM#team.ind

A couple guys who were starters last year for Missouri State- 6'3" junior guard Austin Ruder has been injured and played in only 5 games, and 6'11" junior Tyler McCullough has fallen way down the playing rotation, and is a deep reserve.

[Da Coach]

Game center-

http://www.bradleybraves.com//ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=210638496

[pfcmsh]

Thank you the analysis and information surrounding the game, guys!! Go Braves!

[letsgobears]

Dorian Williams has missed the last 4 games with a hamstring injury. No word as of yet but I doubt he plays.

Dequon Miller is a good shooter. He needs to work on being a better maker. Has had bouts of games where he goes 4-13 or 3-11 from the field - he can get to the basket and finish for the shortest guy on the court. Still trying to figure out the transition from juco to D1 but he's getting better every game and is nails on the Ty Edney imitation.

Chris Kendrix had been playing really well until back spasms during warmups at Loyola - he played and was effective against the Shockers. Stat sheet stuffer and he's the guy with the highest ceiling on the roster unless it's......

Obediah Church - run & jump Obi, run & jump. He has shown a consistent 15 foot jumper at times which makes him a handful. If he plays 4 years he will shatter the MO State career record for blocked shots.

Jared Dixon is a decent looking freshman (Bears will probably start 3 of them, that means 6-8 freshman on the floor for a lot of the game). Rangy, awkward enough to be effective.

Ryan Kreklow is another freshman guard. Good height, excellent 3 point shooter but has to learn how to quicken the trigger a little. Very active on both ends of the floor.

In my opinion MO State's advantage in this one is inside with Cam Boone. He has had some very good scoring games this season and it should be a man playing among boys.

Some flavor of Jordan Martin, Robin Thompson, & Tyler McCullough for big man rotation off the bench. There is no set rotation as to who plays when.

Forward Loomis Geering started @ Loyola 2 games ago when Kendrix went down right before tipoff, played 3 minutes, went to the bench never to be seen again & was the only player on the roster not to play in the last game against Wichita. He's liable to play 40 minutes.

The Bears backcourt bench is almost non-existent due to injuries. Either Kreklow or Kendrix will be on the bench to start and that's it for backup guards. Then again, who knows with Lusk because he gets on crazy lineup kicks that nobody can figure out (seems like especially the guys in the shorts & tank tops).

letsgobears!

[Da Coach]

Thanks for the rundown on the Bears.

[tornado]

Dave Reynolds' article

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20160115/what-will-bradley-carry-into-game-against-missouri-state?rssfeed=true&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

he's picking Bradley to win by 2

[Da Coach]

Another terrible half of basketball. Maybe the worst yet at home. They trail at half 34-18. Bradley shooting 25% and out rebounded 19-12. They are completely baffled with MSU's zone.

Doesn't look like there is much carryover.

[TNel]

Another terrible half of basketball. Maybe the worst yet at home. They trail at half 34-18. Bradley shooting 25% and out rebounded 19-12. They are completely baffled with MSU's zone.

Doesn't look like there is much carryover.

This team is going absolutely nowhere until someone pulls a point guard out of a hat. There is no semblance of leadership on the floor, no matter who is at the point

[LongTimeFan]

Will DLo see the floor any more?

[LongTimeFan]

Guess I was wrong as he is back in the game,

[Da Coach]

Final: Missouri State 61 Bradley 42

Bradley shot 27%.
Attendance 6076