Final score: BU 63 InSU 58

[bigjimmy]

Hands down our best effort of the year. I had said I thought we were on the verge and it's great to see their hard work pay off. For the most part we were more aggressive on offense and it turned into points. At one point midway to the 2nd half ISU Blue was 15 for 16 from the FT line and we were 9-18. ISU only made 4 of their last 8 while BU made 11 of the last 14 to help close it out. And how about NO ONE fouling out for BU in this game. It'll be nice if we can go back to back for the 1st time this season on Wednesday. Hopefully we can keep building on the effort they've shown the last few games.

[Da Coach]

Game story from BradleyBraves.com

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=210694589

Box score-

http://www.bradleybraves.com//ViewContent.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&CONTENT_ID=1645063

[Big Mike]

Reynolds:http://m.pjstar.com/sports/20160206/...-indiana-state

[tornado]

Not sure why he says the game went "back and forth" in the 2nd half..
I musta missed that - as if they led half the game??

The Indiana State version of what happened is more like what I saw....lots of desperate (even downright weird & lucky like the Smith basket that accidentally went in) efforts by the Sycamores to scratch & claw and stay close or even occasionally pull into a tie, but never enough on their part to take the lead down the stretch.
The game was tied at 49, 52, 54, and 55..but then they never tied or led again..
If that's "back and forth" then I don't see why, to me it was a game that we were the dominant team practically the whole way, we outhustled them, we outshot them, made fewer mistakes, and outplayed a far more mature & seasoned team. They played eight juniors & seniors - we have only one.

[tornado]

story from Indiana State writer - he knows InSU played poorly but gives a lot of credit to Bradley...

"Sycamores get burned by Bradley"
ISU fell 63-58, a loss that dropped the Sycamores to 7-5 in the MVC as it
became Bradley's first MVC victim at Carver Arena.

ISU trailed by 10 at halftime and was never able to pull in front. ISU tied the
game four times in the final 5:39, but couldn't get over the top.

Devonte Brown led ISU with 15 points, but there was little else from the
Sycamores on both ends of the floor.

.."A group of freshmen and sophomores (Bradley) were more mature and more competitive and tougher."
..ISU could do nothing right against Bradley's three-quarter court pressure
and the Braves' half-court defense. ISU couldn't get past the Braves.."

http://www.tribstar.com/sports/local_college_sports/isu_sports/sycamores-get-burned-at-bradley/article_bdfee1a6-344a-5f4c-a800-806dac94f55c.html

[Classof77]

That was great fun last night at the game. I hope coach Wardle pointed out to the kids the crowd noise they heard and fed on late in each half is just a taste of what they will experience when we start packing Carver again like the old days.

[tornado]

the fans were into it but I miss the seats being being 100% packed...that stopped happening shortly after the Michigan State and Michigan games a few years ago...
..but see what's been happening at SIU & Evansville (att. has been up with just one really good season!) - we're on the way there..

and it's already beginning to happen here..
Last year Bradley's average home attendance dropped all the way down to 5726...
..we're back up to 5936 this season with the average since Christmas at almost 6200
I think that's already pretty surprising looking at our record, a full roster of unfamiliar players and recent offensive struggles...


Luuk had another nice game-
keeping up his pace of hitting a couple 3-pointers each game and now his scoring numbers are just one point shy
of the team lead for freshmen and the MVC lead for freshmen that DLO still holds.

[Da Coach]

...
Last year Bradley's average home attendance dropped all the way down to 5726...
..we're back up to 5936 this season with the average since Christmas at almost 6200

Here are the season average attendance figures for the 10 MVC teams as of today.
Bradley still a strong 2nd place among MVC schools, though still a long way off their 9,000-10,000 averages of just a few years ago.

Wichita State..L...11-120064S10915
Bradley..............12-71227....5936
Northern Iowa..S.11-57493....5227
Southern Illinois..13-67957....5227
Illinois State.......13-64798....4984
Evansville......S...13-64454....4958
Missouri State.....12-51172....4264
Indiana State......11-39979....3634
Drake................11-33753....3068
Loyola Chicago....13-22652....1742

What is a disappointment and a bit of an embarrassment is Loyola's attendance. This year's average of 1742 is the lowest average attendance figure for them in many years.
There were people who predicted their attendance figures would rise significantly after they were added to the MVC, and after they remodeled their arena, but they haven't. They are drawing significantly less than they drew in the Horizon League, and way back when they played in the Midwestern Cities League.

Here are their average attendance figures for the last decade (earlier figures are not available on their website)- Despite a 24-win team last season, their attendance dropped!
2015-16 1742 MVC
2014-15 1745 MVC
2013-14 1928 MVC
2012-13 2278 Horizon
2011-12 2277 Horizon
2010-11 2428 Horizon
2009-10 2208 Horizon
2008-09 2270 Horizon
2007-08 1796 Horizon
2006-07 2850 Horizon

[Vent]

I don't know if Loyola's attendance will ever get to a respectable level. In the Chicago area, they rank behind Illinois, DePaul, Northwestern, Illinois State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and maybe UIC in fan interest and alumni. Most of their competition has several more games televised than they do. In addition, if you throw in the Bulls and Blackhawks into the equation, Loyola is a losing proposition. The only positive of Loyola joining the MVC is the fact they are a private schools and most seasons Bradley should get a season sweep over them and in a worst case scenario, as in this season, at least a split.