College Sports Madness Top 144 Countdown

[tornado]

catching up - Bradley appears at #91!

112 - Valpo
111 - Iona
110 - Cal State Fullerton
109 - Lipscomb
108 - Eastern Michigan
107 - Montana State
106 - Vermont
105 - Duquesne
104 - Harvard
103 - Stephen F. Austin
102 - Oregon State
101- San Diego
100 - Rider
99 - Oklahoma
98 - Boise State
97 - Western Kentucky
96 - Ball State
95 - Georgia
94 - UConn
93 - Hofstra
92 - Georgia State

91 - Bradley - http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27749

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90 Wofford
89 Belmont
88 UMass
87 Montana
86 Fresno State
85 Wake Forest
84 St. Mary's
83 William & Mary
82 New Mexico State
81 Memphis
80 Old Dominion
79 NC-Greensboro
78 Rhode Island
77 Arkansas

#76 SIU comes in at #76, 3rd in the MVC

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16530

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75 Louisiana (Lafayette)
74 Buffalo
73 BYU


One of Bradley's possible early opponents comes in at...
#72 PENN STATE

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16542

[tornado]

71 Colorado
70 Georgetown
69 Northeastern
68 South Dakota State
67 San Diego State

..and coming in at...
#66 Illinois State - #2 in MVC with Loyola probably getting in the Top 25

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16556

If you read this assessment of ISU, you'd think they are loaded with depth...
"four starters returning..."..
...they list seven "key returning players"
..Muller has options of playing smaller...etc..

but seriously, they had better stay healthy..........
they have the least depth of anyone in the Valley. They really entered the season with only 8 scholarship players eligible!!
Clarance left, Hillsman-Boyd-Fisher all sitting out, Abdou just declared ineligible, and then of the players they will be playing, 3 are walk-ons (Chastain Gassman, Hein - altho the open Clarance scholarship will go to Hein). Evans has had knee problems, Yarbrough has sat out with issues, and from current reports- at least three of their guys are coming off major surgery, on crutches or in walking boots as we speak. They have been injury prone, only one player (Tinsley) was healthy & available & played every game last year. (Bradley had five players who played all 33 games)

[tornado]

#65 SMU - future Bradley opponent- http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16560
#64 Murray State
#63 St. Joseph's

[PurpleAceFan]

71 Colorado
70 Georgetown
69 Northeastern
68 South Dakota State
67 San Diego State

..and coming in at...
#66 Illinois State - #2 in MVC with Loyola probably getting in the Top 25

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16556

If you read this assessment of ISU, you'd think they are loaded with depth...
"four starters returning..."..
...they list seven "key returning players"
..Muller has options of playing smaller...etc..

but seriously, they had better stay healthy..........
they have the least depth of anyone in the Valley. They really entered the season with only 8 scholarship players eligible!!
Clarance left, Hillsman-Boyd-Fisher all sitting out, Abdou just declared ineligible, and then of the players they will be playing, 3 are walk-ons (Chastain Gassman, Hein - altho the open Clarance scholarship will go to Hein). Evans has had knee problems, Yarbrough has sat out with issues, and from current reports- at least three of their guys are coming off major surgery, on crutches or in walking boots as we speak. They have been injury prone, only one player (Tinsley) was healthy & available & played every game last year. (Bradley had five players who played all 33 games)

I agree and disagree. I do think that 1-11 ISU has the most depth of talent in the Valley. They do however need to keep people healthy. The 8 scholarship players statement is a bit misleading to me. While technically true, their 3 walk-ons are not your traditional walk-ons that are there as practice fodder. When the walk-ons on your bench have started and helped you win games last year (Ike and Hein), that's a pretty good problem to have. Keeping Phil, Taylor, and Rey healthy inside will be key.

[tornado]

their walk-ons started out of necessity and a short bench last year...so yes, they have a little experience but we're talking 3-4 ppg production
I kinda see that as evidence that their bench is even shorter this year - they lost a couple guys (Madison Williams, Elijah Clarance, Jerron Martin, Daouda N'Diaye)
..who were either regular starters, experienced seniors and grad-seniors, and key players

and who did they replace them with? ...three transfers who won't even play this year (Boyd, Hillsman, Fisher), plus a freshman who is ineligible (Abdou Ndiaye), a transfer walk-on who is ineligible this season (Donnelly), a juco (Jefferson), a walk-on transfer who has a grand total of 38 minutes of college BB experience (MC), and one freshman who has never played college ball before (Idowu). They also activate a guy who hasn't played in over a year due to ineligibility.

So what constitutes any improvement in depth? I agree that their top 3 players are among the best in the league but from #3-10 on their roster - I see extremely little experience and production.

That's not saying they can't be very good this year- but my main point is that it won't happen if they have to play a lot of their games using those players from #6-10...

[mvcfan]

71 Colorado
70 Georgetown
69 Northeastern
68 South Dakota State
67 San Diego State

..and coming in at...
#66 Illinois State - #2 in MVC with Loyola probably getting in the Top 25

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16556

If you read this assessment of ISU, you'd think they are loaded with depth...
"four starters returning..."..
...they list seven "key returning players"
..Muller has options of playing smaller...etc..

but seriously, they had better stay healthy..........
they have the least depth of anyone in the Valley. They really entered the season with only 8 scholarship players eligible!!
Clarance left, Hillsman-Boyd-Fisher all sitting out, Abdou just declared ineligible, and then of the players they will be playing, 3 are walk-ons (Chastain Gassman, Hein - altho the open Clarance scholarship will go to Hein). Evans has had knee problems, Yarbrough has sat out with issues, and from current reports- at least three of their guys are coming off major surgery, on crutches or in walking boots as we speak. They have been injury prone, only one player (Tinsley) was healthy & available & played every game last year. (Bradley had five players who played all 33 games)

Least depth of anyone in the Valley? That might show how completely clueless you are. I bet that lack of depth finishes ahead of Bradley again.

[tornado]

I clearly stated that they are good and their top 3 guys are capable of carrying them...
but you obviously missed the entire point - they have extremely little depth with little margin for injuries..
I think anyone who cannot see that is the clueless one

[bradleyfan124]

It will be between Illinois State and Bradley for the Championship this year.

[Da Coach]

Correct me if I am wrong, but ISU has only 6 returning scholarship players who have any significant D1 experience- Fayne, Bruninga, Yarbrough, Evans, Tinsley, and Hein.
Gassman played modest minutes last season as a walk-on.
Matt Chastain did log 12 minutes of total playing time as a scholarship player with Loyola 2 seasons ago, though he is a walkon this year at ISU.
Their other scholarship players Idowu, Copeland, and Jefferson are all in the first season in D1.
Hillsman, Fisher, Donnelly, Boyd, and Ndiaye will not play this season.

So, where is the depth? Who are the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th men?

[Mikovio]

ISU is overrated in my mind. Ken Pomeroy’s rankings had them as the 6th luckiest team in the nation (out of 351) last year. They have a strong argument for the most talented trio in the Valley but if any of them get injured you could be looking at Thursday. A lot of expectations heaped on small school heros like Chastain and Bruninga who have yet to average 5ppg in D1 and in Chastain’s case dealt with huge injuries. Not saying Bradley will finish ahead but I’ll take our chances.

[pfcmsh]

Sounds Good To Me

It will be between Illinois State and Bradley for the Championship this year.

This sounds good to me! Character always wins out over impropriety.

[mvcfan]

Correct me if I am wrong, but ISU has only 6 returning scholarship players who have any significant D1 experience- Fayne, Bruninga, Yarbrough, Evans, Tinsley, and Hein.
Gassman played modest minutes last season as a walk-on.
Matt Chastain did log 12 minutes of total playing time as a scholarship player with Loyola 2 seasons ago, though he is a walkon this year at ISU.
Their other scholarship players Idowu, Copeland, and Jefferson are all in the first season in D1.
Hillsman, Fisher, Donnelly, Boyd, and Ndiaye will not play this season.

So, where is the depth? Who are the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th men?

Copeland will play a major role. Don't be surprised when he leads the team in scoring in several contests. Idowu is physically ready and will play. Jefferson is a little bit of an unknown. There will have to be some serious issues for them to be playing on Thursday. Depth is not an issue.

[BUfan39]

Copeland will play a major role. Don't be surprised when he leads the team in scoring in several contests. Idowu is physically ready and will play. Jefferson is a little bit of an unknown. There will have to be some serious issues for them to be playing on Thursday. Depth is not an issue.

ISU fans are so funny