BU 72@ MS101....NIT

[BUBraves2006]

Is it me or have the Braves just given up?

Not in my opinion. This team is just THAT good. How did they not make the NCAAs??

[Big Mike]

I stick with my 1st post.....the Braves have given up and are watching the game from both ends now! DA has given nothing yet.....MS is not playing well tonight at all.....not thinking very much.....JJ seems very tired or is hurting....lazy passes are taking over the game from the Braves....as good a MS is.....the Braves are beating themselves by not taking care of the ball at all!

[Big Mike]

Don't get me wrong...I'm very happy with this season....but this is not a good time to look bad on espn!

[Big Mike]

Congrats to the Braves on a fine season.....just wasn't meant to be today and the better team won.....

[tornado]

I am very proud of our guys.
They played hard, and MSU was the better team today.
Would have loved to have gotten a bit higher seed and had a couple home games, but our guys have done everything asked of them and more.

We will miss all the seniors, and look forward to being one of the best Valley teams next season.

[IlliBraves]

While I agree that the better team may have won, they shouldn't be massacring us like this. Poor effort on defense and rebounding. We are better than that.

[IheartBU]

I am very proud of our guys.
They played hard, and MSU was the better team today.
Would have loved to have gotten a bit higher seed and had a couple home games, but our guys have done everything asked of them and more.

We will miss all the seniors, and look forward to being one of the best Valley teams next season.

I second that, T.

[tornado]

While I agree that the better team may have won, they shouldn't be massacring us like this. Poor effort on defense and rebounding. We are better than that.

Jamont Gordon was a FIVE STAR recruit who averaged 26 pts and 16 rebs in high school.
He was the #16 player in the country in the Rivals Top 150 in 2005

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=768

(and he wasn't even the highest rated Rivals Top 150 recruit they had that year, as they also had the #3 guy nationally and well as the #52 guy, #73, and #86.)

So they had FIVE Top 100 guys, and Bradley was playing against them with a team of kids who were unheralded, some virtually unknown...so cut me a little slack.

Next year's team is going to have 5 or 6 3-STAR recruits, and we've never had more than one on the team at any given time in the past, so I am looking forward to the future, and I am not going to dump on the kids for one bad game on the road under very tough conditions.

Bradley played pretty even with these guys for 32 minutes, then the wheels fell off. I give 'em credit.......nice job Braves.
Not many gave BU any chance in the universe of winning 22 games thiis year.

[IlliBraves]

I agree with you. But I am simply saying that we have had games in the past where we performed better. We had a good season and I was sad to see it end. Even with our best effort, we may still have lost, but it is frustrating to see your team give up that many easy shots in the paint and get out rebounded (Which I realize has been a problem all season) in the second half. I was surprised with the way MSU shot the 3 ALL game and we seemed to have no answer for their perimeter game all afternoon.

[Murph]

Next year's team is going to have 5 or 6 3-STAR recruits, and we've never had more than one on the team at any given time in the past, so I am looking forward to the future, and I am not going to dump on the kids for one bad game on the road under very tough conditions.

It was a good year considering what BU lost player wise, the program is in the best shape since the Versace years.

[Da Coach]

Tough loss for the guys. It was disappointing to them to go out with a lopsided loss like this.

From my courtside perspective- it was amazing that Bradley hung close for the first 30 minutes. Mississippi State is not a great 3-point shooting team. But when they kept hitting from outside, it forced Bradley to spread their defense and that allowed their much bigger-bodied guys to get to the basket on offense, and dominate the boards.
MSU had 3-5" in height and significant weight advantage at every position.
The only attributes that Bradley could have taken advantage of was their quickness, which did bother the MSU guards, and their better outside shooting. But today the shots were not falling as well as usual.
The officiating did not cost Bradley this game, but it was obvious that they way they called this game played to MSU's advantage. With their size and weight advantge, they were allowed to bang on offense to get to the basket and on rebounding. Their big guys didn't get called for very many fouls. If we had MVC refs, their big guys would have fouled out early.

Anyone who says that the Bradley guys didn't give a good effort is wrong. They played as hard as they could and the effort was there. They were just outplayed, they got worn dowen, and their usual shots weren't falling. Things would have likely been much diferent if we had a Patrick O'Bryant. I think it just showed where this team's weakness was. For a team with such a size deficiency and which lost as much as we did from last year, they had a fantastic season.

Now lets start planning our postseason plans for next year!

[Bravesfan]

I am very proud of our guys.
They played hard, and MSU was the better team today.
Would have loved to have gotten a bit higher seed and had a couple home games, but our guys have done everything asked of them and more.

We will miss all the seniors, and look forward to being one of the best Valley teams next season.

That's what bugs me the most. What does a non-BCS team (aside from Air Force) have to do to earn a 1 or 2 seed in the NIT? The chances of seeing a so called "mid-major" making the NIT Final Four are slim and none with the way the committee seeds teams.

Well, not much we can do about the seedings, I suppose. But I do credit the NIT committee for making this a much more competitive tournament. And of course, I commend Bradley for a great season as well! I too look forward to them winning the Valley regular season and/or tournament soon, and finishing in at least the top 2 or 3 of the Valley for years to come!

[IlliBraves]

Wonder if the game would have been more even if it were at a neutral site. The vast majority of MSU's losses have come away from Starkville, and BU is not a very good road team either. Also, although there were a good number of BU fans there, it seemed like a pretty good crowd for the game.

[tornado]

Indeed, their powerful 6-4, 6-5 guards had their way with our 5-10 and 6-1 guys, but our guys did fight hard until the game was out of reach.

It has been a very fun season, and BU was one of only two MVC teams still playing, AND one of very few with 22 wins, especially considering the Top 20 Strength of Schedule,
so for all that, I am very thankful to those kids.

[Da Coach]

Box score--

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/boxscore?gid=200703170366

the attendance was reported as just 5,733. It looked like more. The lower bowl there was full and it appeared to be at least 2/3 of the total seating. The upper bowl was more than half empty. But I would have estimated 7,000+.