Final score: SIU 85 Bradley 65

[tornado]

they have 16 offensive rebounds plus we can't hit a FT


and, omg-- THEIR broadcasters are bitc*ing about the refs!!!


and are those their shotputters wearing the swim suits...and do we have to see them on screen every minute or two?

[TNel]

Can't pass. Travel, travel, travel. Can't make free throws. Not ready to play from opening tip (down 17-2 tonight like a lot of other nights), no on-court leadership, no STUDS (pardon the '50s-'60s terminology). Fan since 1949-50, alum and long-time season ticket holders, but can't see an upside to this program in my lifetime. With our recent history, what "difference maker" would want to enroll at BU? With all due respect to coach Wardle and the mess he inherited, I think this program is history. Hope I'm wrong.

[Da Coach]

Again, there is not much to say. Bradley finished with a 47.8% field goal percentage, so you'd think they might have kept it close. But they were terrible on defense, were outrebounded 41-25, were 15-31 on FTs, and looked chaotic throughout the game.
I just don't see Bradley getting better in any facet of the game. What exactly do they do in practice?

Final: SIU 85 Bradley 65

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400918148

[Da Coach]

Box score from BradleyBraves.com

http://www.bubraves.com/boxscore.aspx?id=13656&path=mbball

[bigjimmy]

So Coach Wardle. We're running out of things to try to get us off in each half. How about playing some defense. How about making FT's. How about being able to get the ball inbounds. How about not having mind numbing turnovers. How about having any consistency from half to half, game to game. He also said we have no leaders. Whose fault is that. Tired of the same excuses game after game. The time to figure this out is rapidly coming to a point of no return.

[Braves2006]

[Da Coach]

I was too depressed to listen, but did anyone hear what was said on the postgame show?

[molar50]

Yeah, Wardle stated that we keep making the same defensive mistakes over and over. He is trying different players, but it isn't working. He stated we don't have a leader that will speak up and show some emotion. He sounded frustrated.

[battlebasset]

We play on Thursday. One and done. This is all over in a month.

[Da Coach]

After Bradley beat UNI on January 11, they had a 3-2 MVC record. Since that win, they have lost 6 games in a row, and by an average margin of loss of 17 points. Bradley's overall point margin in their 11 MVC games is -10.7 ppg, which is by far the worst in the MVC.
Bradley is now 3-8, and in 8th place in the MVC. They are 1 game out of 9th, and 2 games out of 10th place. The overall record is now 8-16. Only Drake, which is Bradley's next opponent, has a worse record- 7-16.

MVC standings-

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/standings/_/id/18/year/2017/missouri-valley-conference

We can list all the excuses we want, but personally, I am tired of excuses. Teams should at least show some improvement as the season progresses.
I would like to know if anyone can cite any area where this team has shown improvement.
And in today's newspaper, it now seems the coach is saying he doesn't know what can be done (article titled "Bradley coach at his wit's end as Braves pummeled again").

One more thing- Though it was only one of many factors that caused Bradley's loss, Bradley was absolutely annihilated last night on the boards (41-25) by a team that has a negative rebounding margin on the season, and doesn't have much height. Yet Bradley's 4 tallest players, Koch Bar only played 20 minutes, Luuk van Bree played 10 minutes, Callum Barker played 12 minutes, and Foster never got off the bench. Most of the game, Bradley played with 4 guards. We need to get something more from our big guys.

[Vent]

I'm not positive but I think Foster had concussion symptoms and was held out of practice on Tuesday. There is no way we would have beaten NIU if Jeremy Morgan played. That will be proven when we go there to play.

This is all part of the roller coaster ride. Unless we we get decent junior college help and clean out a lot of the sophomore class, we have two more years of this.

There has been no improvement in my eyes in the sophomore class. Without mentioning names there might be 2 out of that group I would keep. With the two freshmen coming in next year, you're asking this team to jump ahead of at least 5 teams to get to the middle of the conference standings. That ain't gonna happen. We're going the opposite direction of the other bottom dwellers in the league. It is a combination of talent and coaching.

You can blame the former coaching staff if you want but those days are gone. All fans want to see is improvement and we're not seeing it. What we're seeing is another train wreck. This season is over. For whatever reason, coaching or talent, Wardle has lost this team. You could hear it in his voice after the game and you can see it on the floor.

[Da Coach]

You are right about Foster. He has been said to have concusion symptoms.
I would have liked to see if he might have made a difference last night with SIU's dominance on the boards.

[lefty]

I didn't get to watch last night thankfully....we can't seem to put everything together in the same game. Turnovers have killed us all year and we only had 12 last night. Last year we needed shooters and we are shooting better overall and last night was decent shooting wise. Other times we have rebounded well but last night we were atrocious, the same with defense and ft shooting.....


We need better players for sure and I'm sure Wardle knows it

[Vent]

He probably would have only played the small amount of time when Suggs did. That was just in a desperate move to stop the bleeding.

[lefty]

One more thing- Though it was only one of many factors that caused Bradley's loss, Bradley was absolutely annihilated last night on the boards (41-25) by a team that has a negative rebounding margin on the season, and doesn't have much height. Yet Bradley's 4 tallest players, Koch Bar only played 20 minutes, Luuk van Bree played 10 minutes, Callum Barker played 12 minutes, and Foster never got off the bench. Most of the game, Bradley played with 4 guards. We need to get something more from our big guys.

No doubt about it....How does Bar get 1 rebound in 20 minutes and JoJo 1 in 30 minutes?


In the same token Bar is a deep sub or redshirted on most teams because they upperclassmen