SIU 53 - BU 51 -- Congratulations to the Salukis

[BTID]

I was happy with the way we played, too. We got beaten in two areas we've been beaten in all year- free throws and rebounding. We should have won this game, and a win probably would have propelled us into the NCAA, and that hurts. Now we have to sit and wait a week, and hope to god that something good happens for us.

Maybe we should have won, maybe not. We missed a few free throws, but SIU missed some really open shots that could have made the score a little more one sided.

Well, I'm sure we will be the subject of plenty of bubble talk this week! We'll see what the ESPN crew has to say about the Valley later tonight.

I think they'll probably say the Braves are toast and BCS bubble teams can exhale! Actually, I think Doug Gottlieb and Dave Revsine might give BU some love. They did our game in December against Iowa State and if they remember what they talked about during that game, I think they appreciate the way this edition of the Bradley Braves played hoops this season, given what they lost off last year's team. In the end, the numbers don't look good for the Braves when compared to other top 50 teams in terms of wins and losses. Then again, the nation got broadsided when Utah State and Air Force popped up on the big board while Hofstra and Missouri State sat in disbelief on Selection Sunday in 2006.

[tornado]

Great game, our kids played hard and they were coached well.
Just the missed FT's is all that I regret.

I thought the refs as usual let SIU get away with lots of fouling, and it wore our guys down, and that probably had something to do with the missed FTs.

Great crowd and great Bradley fans.

I had a lot of opportunity to talk with the families of several of the Bradley players, and I talked with Ray Brown and found something pretty interesting about his situation.
PM me and I will go into more detail.

[BU SNu]

Great year but...

I echo everyones comments on how hard this team played all year. They did more than I could have imagined. However... i just felt that this game was very frustrating as Bradley did more to lose this than southern did to win. The one part of basketball where the other team has no part in the outcome is free throws. And by missing as many as we did I felt like we gave this one away. Tough one to swallow I guess.

[thefish7]

Tough loss for me... My hatred for SIU grows every time. Anyway, refs let them have their way with us as usual, but we didn't take care of business with those free throws either. Still have that outside chance at NCAA bid, but no matter what happens in the postseason, it's been a great and exciting year.

[chitownBUB]

Congrats to the Salukis, now do some damage in the NCAA.

I read a story about Jamaal Tatum that gave me a whole lot more respect for him than ever.
When one of the reporters asked Jamaal about his tattoos, he responded,
"I'd rather talk about my academics".

What a great comeback line, Jamaal. Some reporters are really dumb!
Jamaal Tatum has nearly a 4-point GPA and is on the All Academic team, so I love his response!

[Bravesguy]

And a big congrats to al the Bradley Braves for doing as well as they did.
Sure they are disappointed, but I think our Braves did us proud.
Too bad some on other message boards are ripping them but what agreat bunch of kids and a fine team.
They'll do well wherever they play in the tourney.

[tornado]

It is no coincidence that the game was a near 23,000 sell out.
The BU fans did themselevs proud as well, and so did the Saluki fans.
SIU is a fine program but BU is catching up.
Both teams lose a lot heading into next year, let's hope BU can step it up and remain a top team in the Valley.