Final score: South Dakota State 81 Bradley 65

[Da Coach]

Bradley's first regular season game is a road game in Brookings, South Dakota, against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. This is the return game from a home-and-home series that began with SDSU playing in Peoria last season. That game featured one of the best shooting exhibitions ever seen by a visiting team in Carver Arena (though there were no fans present). The Jackrabbits beat the Braves 88-84, and shot 17-26 overall (65.4%) from three, and they were 10-12 in the second half.
SDSU won the 2020-21 Summit Conference regular season title but were upset by Oral Roberts in their post-season tournament. They are picked #1 this season.
2021-22 Summit League Preseason poll- https://thesummitleague.org/news/202...champions.aspx

SDSU returns their top 9 scorers from last year's team. which includes every one of the players who played against Bradley in their 88-84 win on 12/4/2020-
Last year's box score- https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sit...Bradley_84.pdf
Last year's SDSU stats- https://sdstate_ftp.sidearmsports.co...e.htm#TEAM.IND

2021-22 Roster- https://gojacks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

This game is the second game of a double-header that features the SDSU women's team playing UW_Milwaukee at 6:00 pm, followed by the Bradley-South Dakota State men's game scheduled to start at 8:15 pm.

TV- the game is available on ESPN+, which requires a subscription-

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401371743?gameId=401371743

Radio- 1470wmbd.com

Live Stats- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=372097

Chat room- www.chatzy.com/bradleyfans

[Tommy]

This is a good matchup for us to start the season. It’ll be nice to see how well we defend against a team that can light it up. I’m hoping to see a major improvement in our 3 point defense.

[Dub]

This one could get rough, but who knows. I expect our guys to fight and be fearless, but I don’t know how well organized we are just yet. It’ll be a good challenge, and I’m looking forward to watching it.

[Da Coach]

I can't believe they will shoot 65.4% from three again, but we'll see. In their other 22 games last season (excluding the Bradley game), SDSU shot 38.9% (168-432) from three. That's still pretty good, but their 65.4% shooting against Bradley was an anomaly.
I believe this year's Bradley team will be able to defend the three better than last year's team with their improved quickness, size, and length. Last year, Bradley's 3-point defense yielded 37.0% overall and 38.5% in MVC games. Both stats ranked 9th out of the 10 MVC teams.
So, if we can defend the three, we'll have a decent chance to win. In the game last year, SDSU was 17-26 from three, but only 12-33 (36%) on two point shots.
So the game plan should be to defend the three, and make them shoot closer to the basket.

[Tommy]

I can't believe they will shoot 65.4% from three again,

I agree, Coach. Some of those 3's they were making in that game were ridiculous. How many bank shots did we see from 10 feet behind the arc at the buzzer? I just remember everything falling for them that day, so hope we can give them a little payback this year!

[pfcmsh]

So the game plan should be to defend the three, and make them shoot closer to the basket.

This is why you are "Da Coach".

[Go_Braves]

Let the season “finally” begin .

[LittleBrave]

I agree, Coach. Some of those 3's they were making in that game were ridiculous. How many bank shots did we see from 10 feet behind the arc at the buzzer? I just remember everything falling for them that day, so hope we can give them a little payback this year!

I think we led the entire nation in a recent year in FT % defense (like you can control that!) and another in banked 3's allowed (last year and yr before were plenty!)

[KillerB]

Braves video from Game 1 and sound with Coach Wardle

https://twitter.com/i/status/1457737895163293697

[Da Coach]

Braves video from Game 1 and sound with Coach Wardle
https://twitter.com/i/status/1457737895163293697

We noticed Coach Wardle was wearing a microphone for the entire game. So there must be a full-game video recording. I wonder if Bradley will make it available to view?

[Tommy]

I think we led the entire nation in a recent year in FT % defense (like you can control that!) and another in banked 3's allowed (last year and yr before were plenty!)

haha! So true!

[Tommy]

We noticed Coach Wardle was wearing a microphone for the entire game. So there must be a full-game video recording. I wonder if Bradley will make it available to view?

Well if anyone tracks down video of the game against UIS, please let me know how I can get my hands on it!

[Da Coach]

Game day!
Bradley at South Dakota State game time- Game time is listed as 8:15 pm. But, because it follows the 6:00 pm South Dakota State women's game vs. Milwaukee, there is a chance the Bradley-SDSU men's game could start a little later than 8:15 pm.

Direct link to ESPN+ video- https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/...meId=401371743

Radio- 1470wmbd.com (click on Listen Live)

Live Stats- https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=372097

Chat room- www.chatzy.com/bradleyfans

Note- ESPN+ requires a subscription, which is $6.99 per month. Most Bradley games will be on ESPN+, so to be able to watch them, you will need to subscribe. They also have a yearly option which is $69.99 per year. If you do the monthly option, you'll only need to subscribe for 4 months (Nov.-Feb.) at a total cost of $27.96, which will cover around 20 games that will be on ESPN+ this season.
When you click on the above link for the ESPN+ video it will take you to a sign-up page. If you have never been a subscriber and do not have an ESPN+ account, click on the SIGN UP NOW button to create an account and subscribe to ESPN+.
If you have been a subscriber in the past, you probably already have an account, In that case, scroll to the bottom of the SIGN UP NOW page, and click on LOG IN. If you select the $6.99 monthly plan, you will be able to cancel at any time. If you don't plan on watching ESPN+ after the college basketball season, I recommend selecting the monthly plan, then cancelling after the final ESPN+ game, which is the Bradley-Valparaiso game on February 26, 2022. Monthly subscriptions will auto-renew every month, so you must cancel after the season is over, or you will continue to be charged $6.99 each month indefinitely.

To cancel: Click this link and follow instructions to cancel-
https://secure.web.plus.espn.com/bil...tch%2Fespnplus

[BRAVE82]

Not very optimistic about this game considering they have everybody back and we are replacing almost the entire team from last year. And we managed to lose to them at home with a veteran team. Don't think it will be close. Hopefully we will be decent by the middle of the season when everybody is used to playing together.

[Da Coach]

Not very optimistic about this game considering they have everybody back and we are replacing almost the entire team from last year. And we managed to lose to them at home with a veteran team. Don't think it will be close. Hopefully we will be decent by the middle of the season when everybody is used to playing together.

I'm a bit more optimistic. I think we keep the game close.
This is not Gonzaga we are playing. South Dakota State finished last season with an RPI of 129, and they did not get a bid to either the NCAA or the NIT. They are good, and are currently listed as 9 point favorites, but not unbeatable.
In last year's game, Bradley lead by double digits in the first half, before SDSU started their 3-point barrage, and the game still stayed close throughout (it was a 2-point game with 5 seconds left). If they missed just one or two of those banked-in, or Hail-Mary threes, Bradley likely would have won.
Yes, they have everybody of significance back, but I don't see how they can play any better than they did against Bradley last year. So if we can defend against their their three point shooting, which I believe this team will do better at, Bradley has a chance to win.

Pregame article from South Dakota State-
https://gojacks.com/news/2021/11/7/m...on-opener.aspx

From BradleyBraves.com-
https://bradleybraves.com/news/2021/...ota-state.aspx