Final score: Loyola 62 Bradley 51

[Jim]

Also, let's not forget we're still playing without our star player and stud freshman (Gabriel) that was kicked off the team leaving us with an EXTREMELY depleted roster. .

I just think we have to look at everything in context before we start talking about Wardle's coaching. I'm not sure any coach in the Valley would be performing as well as he has with the adversity BU has gone through this season.

At the end of the day, we haven't lost 2 in a row all year, so that says a lot about this team and the staff in my opinion, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this team brings to the table when we get Eli back, which should be soon.

Even though we have lost a few games I am very pleased with the effort demonstrated by this team's players and coaches. It amazes me that we have been able to be so competitive against the best teams in the MVC when we have been out maned by so many scholarship players. IMO Coach Wardle is doing a wonderful job all things considered!

[Wizard]

Tommy; DaCoach; Et Al...Thanks for the response to my post. Like you guys, I love Brian and I believe he is an outstanding coach. However like many good coaches, he can fall into a coaching rut, especially with a great player like Eli not playing. In this instance, he is relying on our 3 pt. guys to create their own openings for shots. This is very difficult to do against a good team like Loyola but can work against weaker teams. As a result, we need to create a number of sets that opn spots up for our 3 pt. guys....Right now, we don't have these so our guys are on their own. This causes bad shots and kills any 3 pt. offense. The Loyola game was a perfect example of this. Also, how often do you see any screens or double screens. I believe the success of Northern Iowa is due to their ability to open spots for their shooters. Ben J. is a master of this and he is able to build a very good team from mediocre talent. Our coaches need to look at this. Regarding the selfish play from Nate and Darryl, this really only seems to occur when they cannot get clear openings for shots. Also, we dribble far too much on our perimeter offens. Somehow, we need to cut this back....Probably a result of not having reliable post players.
I still have faith in Brian and I feel he is heading us in the right direction inspite of an occasional offensive problem against good teams.
Wizard

[egib52]

We have no kick out game whatsoever right now. We rarely drop the ball into the post because Koch has terrible hands and no post game, and when we do it usually results in a turnover.

Chris is 100% right, this is one of my biggest frustrations. I understand Koch is a SR, but on most NCAA teams he would probably be a bench player getting 10 mins or less a game. He is weak, has no post moves, and terrible hands. Further, he has no feel for the game. He gets doubled and tries to always take on the double team even though he usually turns it over or takes a terrible shot. I would rather them give the minutes to Ari, at least he can throw down an open dunk.

[egib52]

Some may not agree, but I think we would have won at Loyola with a healthy Elijah Childs. He adds another dimension to this team, and there may not be another MVC team that has a forward that matches up to him. With Elijah, it shifts defenses closer into the paint and opens up the perimeter. But without Eli, you saw Loyola push one of their big men out and double-team Darrell (mostly it was Tate Hall or Aher Uguak) and our other guards and make it more difficult for them to run our offense and get open shots.

This is the thought process that keeps my optimism. In years past I would have been very frustrated right now, but I honestly feel like we can finish in the top 4 without Eli, and probably top 2 or 3 if we get him back early enough.

[Da Coach]

I was just looking at some of the stats from the Loyola game, and some of you are making a good point. It seemed watching the game that the biggest problem was our perimeter shooters who didn't score well enough, but looking at the stats, Bradley had only 16 "points in the paint" against Loyola. That is easily the lowest of the season for the points in the paint stat.
For example, in the last game against Valpo, Bradley had 38 PIP, and even in the loss at Indiana State, Bradley had 28 PIP. In the previous game against Illinois State, Bradley had 42 PIP, and the lowest number in all of Bradley's MVC games was 24 in the first loss at Northern Iowa. Bradley has averaged over 30 points in the paint per game this season, with several games over 40 and a high of 50.
The 16 points in the paint against Loyola was easily the lowest of the season. And it was not entirely because of the Loyola defense, though they did play pretty good defense. Krutwig is a better defensive player than some give him credit for, but he is not an elite defender, and Loyola plays much of the time with 4 guards. So it remains a bit of a mystery why Bradley didn't succeed or even seem to try to get the ball into the paint for better shots. Likely, other teams will study the video from yesterday's games, so it's a problem that needs to be corrected.

[Chris]

So it remains a bit of a mystery why Bradley didn't succeed or even seem to try to get the ball into the paint for better shots.

Our success in the paint at the moment comes from (1) offensive rebound put backs, (2) layup drives, and (3) Henry post moves that never seem to be by design. We don't really have anything resembling an actual consistent post game. We cannot create offense through Koch. Every now and then Henry just seems to take matters into his own hands and power his way in, but I never feel like the play was designed to make that happen, and if they double Henry we know Koch is usually not reliable for a dump off pass.

We are just relying on long range shooting, and we all know the phrase--"live by the 3, die by the 3." Good teams are defending it and we don't have an answer to those good teams right now. I think these teams are realizing that if they play tough defense on the three point line at the cost of any mid range defense, they can take away a lot of our fire power. When Eli comes back, I'd much rather see him at the top of the key setting those screens, because he can actually handle the ball off of a pick and roll, rather than seeing Koch and Ari waste their size advantage out there. Eli is more than just our best player, he is the only one bringing that mid-range jump shot threat that can open up so much for everyone else, including those wide-open post plays. Right now, there's no reason to defend Koch or Air holding the ball up there.

I didn't mean my comment to be critical of Wardle, if anyone took it that way. I think he's playing the hand he's been dealt this season with Eli hurt and a short bench. Losing Gabriel took away that dribble penetration we seem to be lacking as well. Wardle's doing a fantastic job given the circumstances and I am really excited for this team down the stretch and especially next year when I think they can be even better.

[BUfan17]

I actually made it to the game and had a good time(besides Bradley not winning), thanks everyone for the info. First thing I thought is that their arena is tiny, kind of makes me wish we could have a game or two in Renaissance just for the atmosphere. It was very loud in there, we had a good showing of Bradley fans though and our cheers were loud too. Overall it seemed like Loyola controlled the pace of the game and I think that messed with us. Some of that I think has to do with the home court advantage(refs seemed biases), but I think we looked undersized compared to them and struggled with that. I think either Bradley inflates their heights or Loyola understates theirs, but lots of their players seemed to be taller than ours even with similar listed heights. With Childs out and Gabriel off the team we are really missing that 6'7" to 6'9" size guy. Oh well, we will move onto the next game. At this point all that really matter is that we keep everyone healthy and stay out of Thursday. Get Childs back sometime soon and get him up to speed before Arch Madness.

[Bradleyfan1]

The Bar hating is off base. Hes came really far over the years. He has had really nice stretches and we are going to need him and Boya to both keep improving and be the forces they are capable of. Hes definitely in a lull right now, start Boya and see if coming off the bench helps, shouldnt take long for Boya to pick up a couple fouls and force Bar in. I love the two of them together and that should be able to happen more when Elis back. Id like to flirt with all 3 in the line up too. See how that goes.

[Tommy]

The Bar hating is off base.

Couldn't agree more. If he got hurt and we didn't have him, I think we'd find out real quick that he provides quite a bit to this team. He does have soft hands, but he's also shown improvement there in my opinion, and his defense and blocking ability are both needed in the middle.

[Da Coach]

I actually don't think anyone is "hating" on Koch Bar, just pointing out his limitations, which we all know. If we thought anyone was over the line, we wouldn't allow unwarranted or unreasonable criticism.

And just to demonstrate how Koch ranks against past centers, can someone name a 6'10" or taller center/post player that Bradley has had who has been more productive? There aren't that many. In the last 30 years, I can name only one Bradley center who was significantly more productive..... and that was an NBA Lottery Pick after his sophomore season, Patrick O'Bryant. A couple others put up similar numbers for their senior seasons only- Zach Andrews and Bayo Akinkunle, both of whom were smaller than 6'10". Even going back another 20 years, there are only a couple others whose numbers equalled or exceeded Koch Bar's, like Mike Williams and Donald Powell, neither of whom were quite 6'10", either. Ironically, those were the centers who played on Bradley's last 5 NCAA Tournament teams.

So consider things in perspective. Skilled big men are fairly rare in Bradley history and in the history of the MVC.

[Bradley3342]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I have heard Koch has arthritis in his hands which would explain why he sometimes has a hard time hanging onto the ball. I feel that my source is pretty reliable too...

[Da Coach]

If so, it would affect his ability to hold onto the ball in traffic. But he has had a similar problem for his entire career at Bradley. It could also be a factor of upper body strength. He is still very thin in his arms and upper body. Some athletes just aren't able to build up as much as others. Recall that Anthony Thompson also had that problem at BU.

[bigjimmy]

No one plays as hard as Koch does. Has he improved since he first came here? No question. He’s improved his outside and FT shooting. But he struggles with basic fundamentals on both ends of the court and just thinks too much when he has to make a move. I appreciate all of his effort to try and get better but just wish this came more naturally to him.

[Da Coach]

I was just looking at some of the stats from the Loyola game, and some of you are making a good point. It seemed watching the game that the biggest problem was our perimeter shooters who didn't score well enough, but looking at the stats, Bradley had only 16 "points in the paint" against Loyola. That is easily the lowest of the season for the points in the paint stat.
For example, in the last game against Valpo, Bradley had 38 PIP, and even in the loss at Indiana State, Bradley had 28 PIP. In the previous game against Illinois State, Bradley had 42 PIP, and the lowest number in all of Bradley's MVC games was 24 in the first loss at Northern Iowa. Bradley has averaged over 30 points in the paint per game this season, with several games over 40 and a high of 50.
The 16 points in the paint against Loyola was easily the lowest of the season. And it was not entirely because of the Loyola defense, though they did play pretty good defense. Krutwig is a better defensive player than some give him credit for, but he is not an elite defender, and Loyola plays much of the time with 4 guards. So it remains a bit of a mystery why Bradley didn't succeed or even seem to try to get the ball into the paint for better shots. Likely, other teams will study the video from yesterday's games, so it's a problem that needs to be corrected.

In last night's loss at Drake, Bradley had just 20 points in the paint. That is again one of the lowest PIP numbers of the season. It's not a surprise that Bradley's inside game has nearly disappeared without Elijah Childs, but it is disappointing that we haven't seen anyone else step up consistently enough to even partially compensate. But what compounds the problem is that without an effective inside game, our perimeter shooters have coincidentally had several poor shooting games in a row.
Looks like this team will continue to struggle until Childs is able to play again.