Predictions for the rest of the conference season

[Bradley3342]

Disagree with you Bufan39. If BU wins out and wins one in St.Louis that would make them 23-10 and I think they receive an NIT bid..The Valley is a lot better league than some think.

[BUfan39]

Disagree with you Bufan39. If BU wins out and wins one in St.Louis that would make them 23-10 and I think they receive an NIT bid..The Valley is a lot better league than some think.

I sure hope that you’re right. I wish the NIT would swallow the other dumb low level tournaments and expand. If it were a 48 team tournament it would make more sense. Bradley could realistically compete every year for an NIT bid baring not winning the whole thing in St. Louis.

[Da Coach]

The NIT is forced to absorb as many as 10-12 conference regular season winners who don't win their tournaments, and fail to get an at-large bid to the NCAA. Those teams all get automatic NIT bids. Because of that, and the fact that they'll give preference to Power 6 teams over midmajors for NIT bids, a midmajor like Bradley will probably need to get their NET in the 70's or low 80's and make it to the final of the MVC Tournament to have a chance at getting in the NIT.

[Bradley3342]

I agree with you Bufan39. Those low level tournaments don’t mean a whole lot. Don’t know if it will ever happen but expanding the NIT sure makes a lot more sense than allowing teams with losing records or subpar records to play in a tournament.

[basketball nut]

I voted for 5-1. Maybe that is a bit optimistic, but with a healthy Elijah Childs, I think it is achievable. And 6-0 is not out of the question.
The MVC Tournament should be interesting. On first glance, it would seem Northern Iowa would be the prohibitive favorite. But unlike past seasons, UNI lacks depth this season. Check out their stats-
https://unipanthers.com/sports/mens-...-20#individual

They get a bigger fraction of their team scoring and rebounding from their starting 5 and less from their bench than any MVC team. Their 5 starters average 31 minutes per game, and nobody off the bench averages more than 4.0 points per game. In the MVC Tournament, teams play at least 3 games in 3 days, which stresses a team's starters. Team depth is very important, and UNI's lack of depth could hurt them. Maybe UNI would be a bit more susceptible to an upset?

I agree completely with 5-1 being possible w/ Elijah being back. The nice thing is that now we don't have to play Brown and Nate 35-38 minutes a game so maybe they get some rest.
As for the tournament who are the sleepers in the tournament. Lickliter has the Aces playing better and they might just surprise a team if they overlook them. Missouri State is still a team that might be a force if they learn to play together. Not sure if SIU is for real yet or not. They still have some tough road games and a couple of games at home that might give them fits.
As last year the MVC tournament is up for grabs again this year and don't count anyone out. Remember the top 2 teams didn't play on Sunday last year and they might not again this year.

[elmerb]

SIU is the key game!

[Dub]

SIU is the key game!

These are all interesting prognostications. However, at every point for the remainder of this season only one thing is indisputible: The "key game" is always our next game.

For Bradley to have a special season this year, that is the only mindset.

[Tommy]

These are all interesting prognostications. However, at every point for the remainder of this season only one thing is indisputible: The "key game" is always our next game.

For Bradley to have a special season this year, that is the only mindset.

Well put. I feel like I just sat through a Tony Robbin's seminar!

[elmerb]

These are all interesting prognostications. However, at every point for the remainder of this season only one thing is indisputible: The "key game" is always our next game.

For Bradley to have a special season this year, that is the only mindset.

I agree with you and Tommy the next game is always the most important game, but the " key game" for the rest of the season is SIU. SIU is hot right now. They've won their last 7 including NIU, Loyola, and Drake twice. If, and we should beat ISU, and hopefully SIU, how high will our confidence level be? They will believe they can run the table again and win the MVC tournament. We loose either of those games, I don't know where their heads will be.
I love Childs and I think he's the best player we've had since Parker. We've all been waiting for his return, but he can't do it all by himself. The rest of the team has to step up their game NOW. Our tournament begins tomorrow night.
We'll be making a 600 mile trip next week for the MOST game and I want to see us on a 4 game winning streak after that game.

GO BRADLEY

[Tommy]

We'll be making a 600 mile trip next week for the MOST game and I want to see us on a 4 game winning streak after that game.

GO BRADLEY

You go, elmerb! Take some pics for us while you're there! That's the longest MVC trip for us, so I admire your passion and I hope you enjoy the big win we know our Braves will provide!

[Go_Braves]

I agree with you and Tommy the next game is always the most important game, but the " key game" for the rest of the season is SIU. SIU is hot right now. They've won their last 7 including NIU, Loyola, and Drake twice. If, and we should beat ISU, and hopefully SIU, how high will our confidence level be? They will believe they can run the table again and win the MVC tournament. We loose either of those games, I don't know where their heads will be.
I love Childs and I think he's the best player we've had since Parker. We've all been waiting for his return, but he can't do it all by himself. The rest of the team has to step up their game NOW. Our tournament begins tomorrow night.
We'll be making a 600 mile trip next week for the MOST game and I want to see us on a 4 game winning streak after that game.

GO BRADLEY

I agree with Dub. Tomorrow is a huge key game. Bradley lost convincingly against Indiana State at Indiana State. This is a vital game to verify that Bradley "can now" handle Indiana State. If Bradley "can not" handle Indiana State - then it is going to be interesting of everyone's (team, coaches, fans) mindset going into Saturday's Southern Illinois game.

Southern Illinois lost to Bradley without Childs at Bradley. Southern Illinois has something to prove.
But let's first get past Indiana State with a "not close" victory.

GO BRAVES !!!!

[Da Coach]

I agree with Dub. Tomorrow is a huge key game. Bradley lost convincingly against Indiana State at Indiana State....

I wouldn't necessarily agree that Bradley "lost convincingly" in Terre Haute. Yes, Bradley lost at Indiana State by a 61-53 score, but recall that Bradley played that game without their 2 best players Elijah Childs and Darrell Brown. Yet, after Bradley recovered from a slow start, they lead at halftime 33-30.
It remained a close game for most of the 2nd half, with Bradley actually leading most of the half.
It was not until 3:06 left in the game that Indiana State took a 2 point lead. From there, the Sycamores scored their last 7 points on free throws because Bradley was forced to foul, not to mention fatigue factor. Bradley played the game with only 6 scholarship players.
Box score: https://bradleybraves.com/sports/men...boxscore/18033

I am confident that if Bradley had Childs and/or Brown, it would have been a different story.

[Bradleyfan1]

Go BU. I echo the one game at a time. Beat ISU blue and protect our house. Keep the Championship hopes alive. Lets get rollin. Win out and lose Sun in st Louis to UNI and we might get in the dance. We have a great shot at the NIT. Must win tomorrow tho. Hope a big crowd and we play great.

[Mikovio]

There's virtually no chance at an at large bid. Right now it's about positioning yourself the best for St Louis, and IMO that's a 2-3 seed. We're not even on the NIT bubble right now though that's attainable.

[BUfan39]

There's virtually no chance at an at large bid. Right now it's about positioning yourself the best for St Louis, and IMO that's a 2-3 seed. We're not even on the NIT bubble right now though that's attainable.

I found this site on the MVC Fans forum which I thought was a useful tool.

http://barttorvik.com/teamcast.php?t...dley&year=2020

I have played around with it and even if Bradley were to win out with a loss on Sunday in the MVC Championship to UNI.. an NIT at-large bid would be in question. It also appears as though Bradley would solidly be on the 13/14 line if they were to win the tournament in St. Louis. I don't think we can do any better.