Next game: Bradley at UIC, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2:00 pm

[BengalFan14]

Lost his confidence I’d say. He’s trying hard but he always has foul problems and coach has a short leash with him. And I think teams are covering the pick and pop action so he isn’t getting as many opportunities.

[Bradley3342]

Sophomore slump

Probably right bradleyfan124

[Tommy]

Lol. Tommy wrote this!!!

Thanks for the props, Bengal!

[Big Mike]

Was Burch hurt or being punished in the 2nd half?
Atlason and Burch both having sophomore slumps....that hurts really need them both to have a successful this year.

[Bradley3342]

Was Burch hurt or being punished in the 2nd half?
Atlason and Burch both having sophomore slumps....that hurts really need them both to have a successful this year.

Definitely agree Big Mike. Need more production off the bench

[Da Coach]

I just got back home and read everyone's posts. A lot of angst during the game, and many opinions of what is wrong after the game. But the bottom line is a terrific win, and a fun trip home. I agree with a couple things...
Corey Thomas is the best Bradley "5" player by far. He knows how to block out and rebound better than anyone else who plays in the lane, and he is by far the best offensive "5" (except Hannah, who isn't really a "5"), as evidenced by his huge contribution of 11 points (100% on FGs and FTs), 2 rebounds, NO turnovers, and NO fouls in 11 minutes of playing time. That is more points than Almar, Hannah, Meta, and Linke put together in their almost 60 minutes combined. Plus he played the best defense of any of our big guys, which was the main reason Bradley came back at the end.

Check out the Visitors Stats tab at the top here - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=547239
Corey Thomas' +/- stat of +13 points (in just 11 minutes!) was by far the best on the team. Every other big man's +/- (except Hannah) was negative.

Like other recent opponents, UIC had far too many layups (30 points on layups!), points-in-the-paint (32 points!), and offensive rebounds (15 Off Reb), and draw fouls on Bradley, and it seems to be getting worse by the game. Teams are scouting Bradley and realize this is the way to beat the Braves, especially when they aren't hitting outside shots.
IMO, Bradley must give 25+ minutes to Thomas, and play more zone defense or figure out other ways to stop teams from exploiting this Bradley weakness.

Duke's game winning shot - https://x.com/BradleyUMBB/status/1878213427715244297

Game replay- https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player...9-201f9c9999bb

Game flow-

[Da Coach]

Bradley's final 3 shots.... BU down 58-52 with about 1 minute left.... First, a clutch three pointer by Duke to cut the lead to 58-55.
Then with the score 59-55, a huge three by Zek to make it 59-58 with 15.8 seconds left. - https://x.com/BradleyUMBB/status/1878212164592316615

Then with Bradley down 60-58, the game winner, a three pointer by Duke with 2.2 second left. - https://x.com/BradleyUMBB/status/1878213427715244297

[tomahawk chop]

Against these teams that are not good 3 point shooting teams we need to play more zone and have our center stay close to the basket and not let opponents make layups or 2 ft. shots. All of our players need to do a better job as far as getting rebounds and quit waiting for a teammate to get it which has happened way too much lately. we cannot afford to give guys minutes that cannot figure a way to score period.

[bigjimmy]

Woah the cardiac kids did it again! Obviously there are issues that need to be addressed .For me Almar is the biggest issue we have. For the first part of this season he looked like the guy that we heard about this off season, one the best player on the team. Now you can't afford to have him on the floor due to his confidence just not being there. I still think he can be an X factor for us but just needs to keep workin. Darius, simply put, has to stay on the court. He's one of our best players but if he's not out there and engaged he may as well sit on the bench. Darius is better then that. With Meta in the game unfortunately he still is a very much a work in progress on the offensive end but if he can be the defensive presence he was today, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in 18 minutes, he will contribute pretty well. 9 guys played double digit minutes so Brian was obviously trying to find a combination that would work which once again has been a staple of his past years' teams and is again this year. Makes for some up and down moments, some scoreless minutes, and some definite angst from the fanbase but for the 14th time this year we found a way to get er done.

[Steve Zalutsky]

I'm very happy Bradley pulled out another close victory! This shows well on our experience as a team that we have the savy to pull out close games! However, we still have to get better as a team because you can't escape with a win everytime when your players aren't playing up to Bradley team expectations. Finally I'm happy to read that C. Thomas in Coach's words is our 5th best starter. He played great against UIC.I hope Brian starts him regularly now! Go Braves! It's nerve racking to win close games in final seconds,but its also extremely exciting!