Final score: Bradley 67 Indiana State 52

[Da Coach]

Another winner!
Bradley 67 Indiana State 52

https://bradleybraves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/media

[Big Mike]

Good win....keep it going!

[houstonbrave]

In the post game Wardle was happy with the D, rebounding, Reink and Malevy. He reall disliked shot selection. Glad we got a win with a subpar game from Terry, Conner and Jayson. I’m sure Ari will hear about his T.

[Coach24]

Yes, we did not shoot the ball as well as we wish but we played good defensive. Kent seems to be our defensive guy. We are showing great team defense and your rotation looks really good. Some credit needs to go to those boys on the defense that they are playing. We have a chance to win out and take the tournament based off of our defense.

[Da Coach]

Bradley coach Wardle was not very happy with some aspects of his team's performance. I sit behind the Bradley bench, and a number of times during the game he was demonstrably upset with shot selection, and failure by some players to guard on the defensive end. Late in the game, he pulled multiple different players off the court when he didn't like something they did, and in one case he turned a yelled at his assistants, "Do not put *** back in the game again".
On the post-game show, he voiced his displeasure with poor shot selection, saying, "there were at least 15 (bad) shots that should not have been taken", and also that he was not happy with some other things, too.

I thought Bradley played very well on defense. They yielded only 52 points to a team that averages 73.5 points per game. They also held Indiana State to just 5 three point baskets (5-24, 20.8%) in the game, and none in the 2nd half! They were 0-10 from three in the 2nd half.
On the season, Indiana State leads the MVC with an average of 9.4 three pointers made per game and they shoot 35%, yet today, Bradley held them to just 5 threes, and 20.8%. I'll take that any game.
In the game at Terre Haute, Indiana State scored 76 points and made 15 three pointers. So IMO, our defense did a very good job today.

Offense was a little different story. Other than Rienk Mast, Malevy Leons, and Terry Roberts, there were some offensive problems at times.
Rienk Mast had another double-double- 20 points & 14 rebounds. He seems to keep getting better with every game. He made a few of his hook shots in the lane, which he's added to his game. And he looked good on the defensive end, though Indiana State doesn't pose much of a threat inside.
Malevy Leons had a double-double, too- 15 points, 10 rebounds, and no turnovers. And, he has become the best defender on the team. He had 3 steals and 3 blocks to lead Bradley in those categories. The only weak point today was his 1-7 on three pointers. Coming into this game, Malevy was shooting 43.3% from three, tops on the team. With his 1-7 today, his percentage drops to 40.5 (still leads the team).
Terry Roberts had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also played excellent defense, and was constantly disrupting the Indiana State offense. Terry did record 6 turnovers, not all of which appeared to be his fault. But he tried a couple high-risk passes that were probably not necessary. But he is doing much better staying out of foul trouble. He played 31 minutes and had 2 personal fouls.
Jayson Kent played well, IMO, except for his tough day shooting the three. He was 0-4 from three, but played very good defense, had 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Coach Wardle seems to like playing a shorter player rotation (only 8 players), and it's hard to argue when Bradley has now won 4 games in a row by an average margin of 12.5 points, and 2 of them on the road.

By the way, the attendance today looked pretty good, maybe the best of the season, but I don't know the exact figure. The Live Stats page used to show attendance, but not any more.
More than 2 hours after the game ended and the Bradley website still does not have the official box score posted, or any attendance figure.

[Da Coach]

The Indiana State website has the official box score with attendance-
https://gosycamores.com/basketball/2...dley/10821/pdf

Official attendance was 4,554

That figure is the 2nd highest attendance of the season, slightly less than the 4,820 listed for last week's SIU game.

[Tommy]

4 in a row, let's keep it rollin'!

Poor shooting overall, but the defense was stellar. Rienk is really taking that hook shot to a new level and it's becoming a steady part of his game. Unblockable shot, so hope he can keep it going. The real highlight today was the way Leons played. We are so used to Mast and Roberts being our studs that we forget about Leons who may be the most well rounded player on the team. His defense today was unbelievable and he's really becoming a force to reckon with.

When you've got as much talent as this team does right now, I've got to think other teams in the Valley are starting to notice. I think we have a real shot at taking the conference this year, but as long as we win the MVC tourney, I'll be happy.

And yes, I had given up on this team 5 games ago. Wow, what a turnaround!

[BUfan14]

What was really refreshing today, in a weird way, was not playing our best offensively and still leading a team double digits the whole second half. The game never was in doubt. That shows a talent advantage. Most talented team we’ve had since maybe 06-07. Our top three is as good as anyone in the league and I think would give most teams in the country fits now that they’ve learned to play together and gotten in a groove.

I said a while ago I thought the correct lineup should be Roberts, Hickman, Kent, Leons, and Mast and that group seems to play well together. That group contains drivers, capable shooters (at all 5 positions), rebounders, and defenders. Hickman and Kent are still young and learning, but they bring at least something to the floor every night even during off games. I think Kent is underrated. He’s not always the consistent three threat yet, but he is always getting little put backs and playing solid defense when I see him. If he keeps working on his ball handling and finishing and our starting five could all be outstanding next year. Great length.

The next step in solidifying the bench three. We’ve been running out Howell, Boya, and Ville. Howell’s turnovers frustrate me at times, but him and Boya are fine for backup PG and big, though I hope Ari learns from that selfish on court moment today. Ville has to be more consistent. We need a shooting/scoring threat off the bench and he has to be it. His defense and passing can be average or below, but he needs to shoot well. If he can give some consistency there then I don’t see why this team can’t make a March run with those eight. I’d love to see them make a February run at the title. For sure the third seed ought to be the goal right now. Man, had we finished that Loyola game we’d be competing for the first seed already.

[Dub]

Enjoyed the win today. Tough one coming this week. Boya’s attitude seemed to be heading toward a taunting call for the past 3 games, with all the flexing, etc. I remember a game in which Ja’Shon got a taunt call by inadvertently glancing at an opponent while jogging away backwards.

No harm done today as long as he learns from it. If this had been a close game and a 4 point swing cost us the game…. well let’s not even go there. DON’T DO THAT AGAIN! Respect your opponent.

[bradleyfan124]

Bradley coach Wardle was not very happy with some aspects of his team's performance. I sit behind the Bradley bench, and a number of times during the game he was demonstrably upset with shot selection, and failure by some players to guard on the defensive end. Late in the game, he pulled multiple different players off the court when he didn't like something they did, and in one case he turned a yelled at his assistants, "Do not put *** back in the game again".
On the post-game show, he voiced his displeasure with poor shot selection, saying, "there were at least 15 (bad) shots that should not have been taken", and also that he was not happy with some other things, too.

I thought Bradley played very well on defense. They yielded only 52 points to a team that averages 73.5 points per game. They also held Indiana State to just 5 three point baskets (5-24, 20.8%) in the game, and none in the 2nd half! They were 0-10 from three in the 2nd half.
On the season, Indiana State leads the MVC with an average of 9.4 three pointers made per game and they shoot 35%, yet today, Bradley held them to just 5 threes, and 20.8%. I'll take that any game.
In the game at Terre Haute, Indiana State scored 76 points and made 15 three pointers. So IMO, our defense did a very good job today.

Offense was a little different story. Other than Rienk Mast, Malevy Leons, and Terry Roberts, there were some offensive problems at times.
Rienk Mast had another double-double- 20 points & 14 rebounds. He seems to keep getting better with every game. He made a few of his hook shots in the lane, which he's added to his game. And he looked good on the defensive end, though Indiana State doesn't pose much of a threat inside.
Malevy Leons had a double-double, too- 15 points, 10 rebounds, and no turnovers. And, he has become the best defender on the team. He had 3 steals and 3 blocks to lead Bradley in those categories. The only weak point today was his 1-7 on three pointers. Coming into this game, Malevy was shooting 43.3% from three, tops on the team. With his 1-7 today, his percentage drops to 40.5 (still leads the team).
Terry Roberts had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also played excellent defense, and was constantly disrupting the Indiana State offense. Terry did record 6 turnovers, not all of which appeared to be his fault. But he tried a couple high-risk passes that were probably not necessary. But he is doing much better staying out of foul trouble. He played 31 minutes and had 2 personal fouls.
Jayson Kent played well, IMO, except for his tough day shooting the three. He was 0-4 from three, but played very good defense, had 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Coach Wardle seems to like playing a shorter player rotation (only 8 players), and it's hard to argue when Bradley has now won 4 games in a row by an average margin of 12.5 points, and 2 of them on the road.

By the way, the attendance today looked pretty good, maybe the best of the season, but I don't know the exact figure. The Live Stats page used to show attendance, but not any more.
More than 2 hours after the game ended and the Bradley website still does not have the official box score posted, or any attendance figure.

I am not sure I like what Wardle said about the player. That shows a temper that might chase some guys away. Wasn't he reprimanded at Green Bay for verbal abuse to the players?

[Tommy]

Is anyone else getting frustrated with the officiating? It seems like every game there are nearly 40 personal fouls called (that's 1 per minute), and I'm sorry, but that just isn't fun to watch. Just a brief spotlight on the last 7 games and once again, the Braves seem to always get called more than their competition, even at home. The ISU game where there were at least 3 egregious fouls on us that were not called (1 that put Henry out and caused him to miss a shot), while they nailed us with phantom calls throughout the game and the Loyola game that was some of the worst one-sided officiating I've ever seen (but have grown use to at Loyola) stand out.

Here's a breakdown:

Opponent	Total fouls	BU fouls	Opp. Fouls
ISU Blue	37	20	17
Valpo	19	11	8
SIU	34	17	17
Drake	36	20	16
ISU Red	32	18	14
Evansville	23	11	12
Loyola	37	22	15
Total	218	119	99

You can see the two games where the foul calls were under 30 total, we were completely dominant as it allows us to get in a flow and just play. Beyond that, those were incredibly fun games to watch.

I do not go to games to see the officials and it seems like the MVC has a problem with officials thinking they need to be the star of the game and almost a foul per minute is just too much.

Would love to hear other opinions on this, and don't misunderstand, I am glad we're winning and I'm thoroughly enjoying this win streak. I just want to see more of the players and less of the refs.

[Da Coach]

I am not sure I like what Wardle said about the player. That shows a temper that might chase some guys away. Wasn't he reprimanded at Green Bay for verbal abuse to the players?

I don't agree. What did he do that constitutes "verbal abuse"? He did nothing close to that. He was upset about something that happened on the court, and made a substitution. Every coach does that.

Why bring up something from almost a decade ago that is not relevant here? And, for those not familiar with the issue, an independent investigation determined that there was no abuse, verbal or otherwise, and that the only thing he was guilty of was use of "inappropriate language". The only action taken was to place a "disciplinary letter in his personnel file". There was no public reprimand. Also, the investigation concluded that in addition to no player abuse, most of what was claimed by a couple disgruntled former players was untrue.
https://www.si.com/basketball/2013/0...y-brian-wardle

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball coach Brian Wardle will keep his job after an independent review largely cleared him of allegations that he mistreated his players, university officials said Friday.
At least one player had accused Wardle of using vulgar and obscene language, and a second player told officials Wardle forced him to work out until the player lost control of his bowels and then ridiculed him. There were no allegations of physical abuse.
An independent review led by attorney Joseph Nicks, a former local prosecutor, concluded that "a good deal of what was alleged did not occur as it was stated,'' Chancellor Tom Harden said.
Wardle will not be fired, but the university will place a disciplinary letter in his personnel file...

FWIW, there was no disciplinary action taken, and UW-Green Bay signed Wardle to a 5-year extension less than 12 months later-
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2014/04/17/uwgbs-wardle-gets-new-5-year-deal/7827491/

[Tommy]

Here's the tally for foul calls this year so far. Average fouls per game is about 33.5.

Opponent	Home/Away	Total fouls	BU fouls	Opp. Fouls
ISU Blue	Home	37	20	17
Valpo	Away	19	11	8
SIU	Home	34	17	17
Drake	Away	36	20	16
ISU Red	Away	32	18	14
Evansville	Home	23	11	12
Loyola	Away	37	22	15
Missouri St.	Home	27	10	17
Indiana St.	Away	22	12	10
UTEP	Away	41	20	21
Sam Houston	Neutral	41	18	23
St. Joe's	Home	39	14	25
Toledo	Away	37	20	17
SIU Edwardsville	Home	42	20	22
Northern Iowa	Home	26	13	13
Maine	Home	26	11	15
Duquesne	Neutral	30	18	12
Brown	Neutral	38	24	14
Colorado St.	Neutral	37	23	14
Missouri S&T	Home	42	20	22
Howard	Home	40	16	24
South Dakota St.	Away	33	19	14
Total		739	377	362

[Da Coach]

Interesting... In 3 of the last 4 games (all wins) Bradley had more fouls than the losing team, and in the SIU game, the fouls were even. But in every other game this season, it was always the losing team that had more fouls (except the UNI game that was even). That may be because the losing team picks up fouls at the end of the game in an attempt to catch up.
Maybe these last 4 games being different than every previous game represents Bradley playing a more aggressive defense?

[LittleBrave]

What was really refreshing today, in a weird way, was not playing our best offensively and still leading a team double digits the whole second half. The game never was in doubt. That shows a talent advantage. Most talented team we’ve had since maybe 06-07. Our top three is as good as anyone in the league and I think would give most teams in the country fits now that they’ve learned to play together and gotten in a groove.

I concur. When I looked at the score a few times in the 2nd half I was afraid it was closer than it really was and had to do a double-take!
It was odd and seemed Indy St kept up with us in the 2nd half due to our very poor offense.

Definitely not our best game and quite a few clear areas for improvement. We can't shoot from behind the arc this poorly and expect to beat the top teams in the Valley, who shoot it very well consistently.

Also seems strange we are close to #1 in the Valley in 3-pt defense, though it seems we are one of the worst (maybe just my perception).

Going to do some research to find out when we last had a 5-game conf. win streak! I'd venture to say it was at least 15 years ago!
Let's keep rollin' Braves!