Final: Drake 72 Bradley 67

[tomahawk chop]

We did not get a fair shake as far as officiating. We made mistakes at the end but the refs putting our good players in foul trouble was the deciding factor. The Drake players and led by their coach constantly complained most of the game which ended up getting them a lot of bad foul calls on us. Most of those foul calls were never be made by decent tour. officials.

[LittleBrave]

Tough one to swallow guys - especially after such a hot start.

[LittleBrave]

Getting to the point where I don’t like Drake.
But it’s mostly because they have our number.

Guess we’re bound for a road game in NIT.
Nice season - a little short of expectations, but our transfers didn’t do squat, and that was the difference between the top 2 teams and BU.

[LittleBrave]

I assume the runner up will get an At Large bid considering how much stronger the Valley was this year and the great resumes by both teams.
Indy St is a lock, but maybe Drake gets shafted.
Guess I’ll root for Drake to ensure there are 2 Valley teams.

[egib52]

That one was definitely rough. I'm assuming you mean this years transfers because Leons, Duke, and Davis all did well.

[LittleBrave]

We really had the makings for a championship but couldn’t make the shots down the stretch - multiple times to take the lead.

[Stevezall]

Heart Breaking loss as BU was right their in the end. Drake beat us 3 times. That's hard to do! We just seem to be missing that extra spark to winning close games. Malevy as good as he is on Defense missed 2 critical 3's in the end. I hope next year we can find that extra special player who will come through in the end! Although Tucker was off tonight, he did hit a big shot when it Mattered. Maybe we can find that special 5 star player to help us get to the next level! Recruiting will be critical for next year! However, it was a fun year to follow the Braves!!! They are still a very good team....just not Great. They did leave it all on the line tonight which is still very noteworthy!!!!

[BUBraves2006]

I've been saying it all season. When the refs call a loose game, we get into a flow and can beat anyone. Considering the foul fest that this turned out to be, it was really amazing we kept it so close and had a good chance to win.

I hope we make the NIT. These guys deserve another game.

[ManMythLegend]

Tough one to lose. Mal did such a great job on Devries for most of the game. But being that locked in and expending that much energy definitely took him out of the flow offensively. A couple bad unforced turnovers here a really bad foul call or two there and it's a BU win. But that's college ball for you.

I think we have an NIT resume but with the changes this year for the selection process, I just don't know. I hope we get to see the boys play at least one more. But if we don't, thank you Malevy Leons for being the epitome of Bradley Basketball during your time here. Man one of the absolute best defenders we will ever have the pleasure of watching. Darius, Duke, Connor, Christian, Almar, Demarion, Coach Wardle...unfinished business boys. Hope to see you all back next year.

[Tommy]

Great game plan and Malevy really just did an outstanding job on DeVries and Brodie was pretty much a non-factor. Sadly, early foul trouble on Hannah and Deen cost us this one, but you have to adapt because you can never predict what the officials will do.
Great game and year for a team that had to deal with a lot of adversity this year. Look forward to Hickman healing up during the off-season and leading us to a championship next year.

[JMG 76]

Malevy did an excellent job on Devries. It’s the help u have to give on him and #10 killed us. We fought hard just needed a couple more stops or made baskets. I’m very upset but proud of our guys. Hopefully we can keep Wardle a while longer or the next few years will be tough.

[JMG 76]

If the valley doesn’t get 2 in its comply bs.

[Bradley3342]

Once again the refs took us out of the game. 12 more attempts from the line than we did. All in all a pretty good year though. Hopefully we get one more game

[patrick_o'brian]

Just some takeaways as I just arrived back home from STL:

1) Is 3 seconds in the lane no longer a violation? Brodie practically lives there. I know it is because they called one on UIC last night.

2) Is Linke getting that much playing time necessary? I thought our guard depth was a problem? Those guards kept us in the game. We have no post talent beyond Hannah at all unless you considered Mal a post. I mean NONE!

3) I think Enright has vertigo. The guy literally just falls down out of nowhere. He may need to see a neurologist.

4) When did Drake fans get so bad? I mean you’re good ONLY because your coach has a son that’s a 5 star recruit. Without him, you’re Murray State.

5) Has anyone seen a player regress more than Bowen Born?

6) I’m glad DB Jr. didn’t get 1st team All-Conference in 2020. Because that dude was amazing in the tournament. Duke WAS named 1st team and scored what 10 points in 2 games? I guess he had nothing to prove like DB did. We needed his scoring bad today. Unfortunately the referees didn’t allow it and against UIC we didn’t need it by midway through the 2nd half. Today we did.

7) How did Avila hit 3 triples in a row from the same spot? Can someone get a hand in his face?

Coach talked last night about “doing too much” and “playing outside ourselves”. It happened the final 25 minutes of the game and cost the game for us. I love the extra pass but it can’t be to the other team or out of bounds, nor should it be the first instinct when you have a wide open look to shoot.

9) Can we get DB more involved in-game? The guy is going to be a heckuva coach.

10) Sucks the season is over. We deserve an NIT bid, but won’t get one. First and foremost I hope we keep what’s ours and have a couple decent portal players sign. Plus I am excited to see Burch continue to develop. He has the talent and motor to be a heckuva player. Just needs to control the chaos a bit.

Oh well, another great even put on by the MVC. Love this tournament. Now for my 162 game sentence of Cubs fandom begins. Take care everyone!

[ManMythLegend]

Just some takeaways as I just arrived back home from STL:

1) Is 3 seconds in the lane no longer a violation? Brodie practically lives there. I know it is because they called one on UIC last night.

2) Is Linke getting that much playing time necessary? I thought our guard depth was a problem? Those guards kept us in the game. We have no post talent beyond Hannah at all unless you considered Mal a post. I mean NONE!

3) I think Enright has vertigo. The guy literally just falls down out of nowhere. He may need to see a neurologist.

4) When did Drake fans get so bad? I mean you’re good ONLY because your coach has a son that’s a 5 star recruit. Without him, you’re Murray State.

5) Has anyone seen a player regress more than Bowen Born?

6) I’m glad DB Jr. didn’t get 1st team All-Conference in 2020. Because that dude was amazing in the tournament. Duke WAS named 1st team and scored what 10 points in 2 games? I guess he had nothing to prove like DB did. We needed his scoring bad today. Unfortunately the referees didn’t allow it and against UIC we didn’t need it by midway through the 2nd half. Today we did.

7) How did Avila hit 3 triples in a row from the same spot? Can someone get a hand in his face?

Coach talked last night about “doing too much” and “playing outside ourselves”. It happened the final 25 minutes of the game and cost the game for us. I love the extra pass but it can’t be to the other team or out of bounds, nor should it be the first instinct when you have a wide open look to shoot.

9) Can we get DB more involved in-game? The guy is going to be a heckuva coach.

10) Sucks the season is over. We deserve an NIT bid, but won’t get one. First and foremost I hope we keep what’s ours and have a couple decent portal players sign. Plus I am excited to see Burch continue to develop. He has the talent and motor to be a heckuva player. Just needs to control the chaos a bit.

Oh well, another great even put on by the MVC. Love this tournament. Now for my 162 game sentence of Cubs fandom begins. Take care everyone!

I like the thoughts. Although I do think we are in the running for an NIT bid.