Final score: Loyola 62 Bradley 54

[ghunt]

I agree with the positive comments about the season. Bit, it is so frustrating that the defense and Loyola's inability to score the last 6 minutes, or so just put the opportunity to win on a tee for us and we just could not shoot to save our lives :-( I know some coaches whi have ran stretches of such gsme video for their teams as a motivational device to inspire teams and show them where improve, as well as place a chip on their shoulder for the following season. Although we have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly the past few years, we seen a whole lot of good this season, and I think we can have high expectations for next year.

Speaking of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly....the MVC Ecstasy of Gold promo video was awesome (of course anything put to that song seems dramatic :-) I have Googled and looked at the MVC website, but cannot find it to download. Anyone know where I can find it? I would like to share it on social media and give the MVC a shout-out :-)

[tornado]

Just couldn??™t get over that hump....

the killer was that scramble with us down 2 points and DLO got the ball clean and had full possession - we'd be shooting for a tie....
BUT- the ref saw something nobody else did and whistled a jump ball, giving Loyola possession and they hit a three..
so it went from shooting for a tie to a 5-point deficit in one terrible call....killer

[patrick_o'brian]

These men fought hard in the 2nd half. I will say I thought Loyola was going to run away with it out of the gate in the 2nd half. We defended so well, but just hit another 2nd half drought right when we needed to be hitting.

It??™s great to be a Bradley fan again!! That??™s really all i can say. I don??™t want to over analyze anything or go through the ???what if??™s???.

Thank you for everything Dante!! I, selfishly, hope we get a postseason game, but I will certainly respect Coach and Dr. Reynold??™s decision, if not.

Thanks for a great season!!! Go Braves!!

[Da Coach]

Here was the post-game press conference-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zASgac4THdU

I was not able to find the MVC video that was played prior to the game.

[Da Coach]

the killer was that scramble with us down 2 points and DLO got the ball clean and had full possession - we'd be shooting for a tie....
BUT- the ref saw something nobody else did and whistled a jump ball, giving Loyola possession and they hit a three..
so it went from shooting for a tie to a 5-point deficit in one terrible call....killer

The Loyola player had a hand making contact with the ball slightly, but in no way was there possession by the Loyola player. That should not have been called a jump ball. It was an extremely quick whistle. We have all seen scrums on the floor during games that lasted several seconds, and I have never seen a jump ball called that quickly unless players from each team have a good grip on the ball.
It's hard to blame the loss on that one play, especially since Bradley had several possessions with the score at 56-54 (was it 5 or 6 or more) where they could have tied or taken the lead by scoring. But they came up empty time and time again and even missed free throws during that cold spell.

[ihatetea]

When you don??™t score for the last ~4:45 it??™s impossible to blame one single play. That was a ridiculously quick whistle and seemed to deflate us a little bit but there were many plays in that last stretch that hurt.

I wish Eli could have seen the floor in the last 3 minutes. I??™m sure the next three years he??™ll be part of our closing units. I am so very happy to watch his career play out.

[Da Coach]

Game recap-

https://bradleybraves.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-braves-comeback-falls-short-in-mvc-semifinals.aspx

Official box score-

https://bradleybraves.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=15066

https://bradleybraves.com/documents/2018/3/3//Loyola_62_Bradley_54.pdf

[wily coyote]

The Loyola player had a hand making contact with the ball slightly, but in no way was there possession by the Loyola player. That should not have been called a jump ball. It was an extremely quick whistle. We have all seen scrums on the floor during games that lasted several seconds, and I have never seen a jump ball called that quickly unless players from each team have a good grip on the ball.
It's hard to blame the loss on that one play, especially since Bradley had several possessions with the score at 56-54 (was it 5 or 6 or more) where they could have tied or taken the lead by scoring. But they came up empty time and time again and even missed free throws during that cold spell.

D C I agree with your post 100%. IMO it was a very quick whistle but the real killer here was the 5 or 6 possessions you refer to where we just couldn't put the ball in the basket to take the lead. It may have been 5 or 6 but I think it was 7. Not arguing with you because you may be right but I told my wife at the time it was 7 straight possessions before their 3 that killed us. Bottom line is we let one get away that was there for our taking but boy what a year it was. So happy for DT and his decision to stay. DT became a very special Brave . Can you imagine what this year would have looked like if Josh had the guts to stick it out like DT. What BW has accomplished in 3 years is just short of amazing from where we were when he came in. The future appears very bright and with just a couple of recruits that could come in and provide help right away next year we could definitely compete for the title. One last thing, for everyone who has given up their season tickets ,you better jump back on the bandwagon because it's gonna be a good ride as along as BW stays here. Thanks BW, staff, and roster for a very entertaining season. Can't wait until next year but got a lot of golf first.

[Mikovio]

Real proud of our guys! Just a couple bounces the other way and we get a different result against the 28 RPI team. Donte will be remembered for bringing us back to relevance. Hope these guys make him proud next year and finish the climb. November can??™t come soon enough!

[LittleBrave]

I don't see why we would NOT play in post-season tourney.
Any reason why we wouldn't accept an invite to CBI or CIT?

[Da Coach]

The reasons I have seen teams and coaches not want any part of the CBI or CIT is that they aren't tournaments that have any prestige like the NCAA or NIT, or because of the cost of playing in them.

But I can think of a few reasons it would be worth it. Bradley suffers from a lack of name recognition among teen-aged recruits, because it has been a decade since they had any kind of post-season success. And name recognition is important in reaching out to recruits, or getting them to consider a scholarship offer from Bradley over other offers they may have.
A post-season tournament, though not prestigious, can get the team on TV and get their name publicized.
There can also be benefits from the additional practices, especially if a team doesn't have many seniors, and most players are expected back next season.
And maybe the biggest benefit is the reward it gives the players and the fans for their hard work and loyalty.

[bradleyfan124]

The reasons I have seen teams and coaches not want any part of the CBI or CIT is that they aren't tournaments that have any prestige like the NCAA or NIT, or because of the cost of playing in them.

But I can think of a few reasons it would be worth it. Bradley suffers from a lack of name recognition among teen-aged recruits, because it has been a decade since they had any kind of post-season success. And name recognition is important in reaching out to recruits, or getting them to consider a scholarship offer from Bradley over other offers they may have.
A post-season tournament, though not prestigious, can get the team on TV and get their name publicized.
There can also be benefits from the additional practices, especially if a team doesn't have many seniors, and most players are expected back next season.
And maybe the biggest benefit is the reward it gives the players and the fans for their hard work and loyalty.

I agree with all of this but might add it also gives them some experience at playing in a tournament irregardless of how prestigious it is. Get them ready for next year

[pfcmsh]

The reasons I have seen teams and coaches not want any part of the CBI or CIT is that they aren't tournaments that have any prestige like the NCAA or NIT, or because of the cost of playing in them.

But I can think of a few reasons it would be worth it. Bradley suffers from a lack of name recognition among teen-aged recruits, because it has been a decade since they had any kind of post-season success. And name recognition is important in reaching out to recruits, or getting them to consider a scholarship offer from Bradley over other offers they may have.
A post-season tournament, though not prestigious, can get the team on TV and get their name publicized.
There can also be benefits from the additional practices, especially if a team doesn't have many seniors, and most players are expected back next season.
And maybe the biggest benefit is the reward it gives the players and the fans for their hard work and loyalty.

I had read, years ago, that Coach Versace sanctioned a dazzling presentation on the rich tradition of Bradley in NCAA BB history. It was a recruiting tool.

Does such a presentation exist today for Coach Wardle? I'd love to know if this exists in the current days and, if so, I'd love to see it.

[Da Coach]

I had read, years ago, that Coach Versace sanctioned a dazzling presentation on the rich tradition of Bradley in NCAA BB history. It was a recruiting tool.

Does such a presentation exist today for Coach Wardle? I'd love to know if this exists in the current days and, if so, I'd love to see it.

Dave Snell is an exceptional Bradley historian, and has made many great videos for past coaches specifically to show to recruits about Bradley's tradition, history, facilities, and fan support. Dave still works for the athletic department and though I don't know if Coach Wardle uses his video presentations, I suspect they still do.

https://bradleybraves.com/staff.aspx?staff=222

[Dub]

I don't see why we would NOT play in post-season tourney.
Any reason why we wouldn't accept an invite to CBI or CIT?

In past years when we had the opportunity, I was always in favor of accepting the bids to the lower level tournaments. I went to the games and I enjoyed them, partly because initially there were some high major programs getting involved to make it more fun. I believe we may have hosted and beaten Cincinnati in 2009 or so for instance. Chris Roberts??™ 3/4 court game winner was a great BU memory, and I believe that was in one of these small tournaments. Plus, you never knew whether in future these tournaments might gain prestige and a title might mean something.

For some reason this year, I??™m not as excited about an opportunity should it arise. For Bradley, these tournament appearances have not prepared/boosted our team toward the next season... just the opposite for us. The major schools have all run away, so that intrigue is basically gone. From a recognition standpoint, there isn??™t any. it??™s actually become a real shame how very little respect even the NIT garners... let alone these others.

Think about it, literally nobody is interested but the winning NIT club, and yet there they stand holding their hard earned trophy alone and in total silence, from a national recognition standpoint. It??™s a shame for us particularly, because it has eroded the perception of our NIT national championships in the eyes of younger basketball fans who don??™t understand the prestige it once held.

Anyhow, I??™m really satisfied with where are are in the progression, and don??™t see a compelling reason to risk ending on a low note, particularly if we would sustain an injury or a bad loss. We went down swinging this year, and I??™m ok if we leave it at that.

However??”??”If our staff and players want to do it, or if Donte Thomas wanted to give it a rip, I would be first in line buying a ticket and cheering at the top of my lungs.

Either way, I have a strong feeling that we will be cutting down nets in Scottrade Center within the next 2-3 years or sooner. That??™s our trajectory, and that??™s where my sporting-hope lies.... and not neccessarily in a low level tournament run. Dr Reynolds and Mr Brian Wardle will know what??™s best, and I??™ll back their decision 100%.