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Since I won't get any work done today regardless, how about some good old fashioned basketball discussion? Disclaimer: I'll admit that I've seen exactly one Bradley game this year and it was your last game against Virginia, so I'll be looking at stats for the most part and shooting from the hip. Please jump in and correct me at every opportunity.
At first glance, it looks to me like you guys are the fastest-paced team in a traditionally slower-paced Valley and that the offensive end of the floor is clearly your strength. If that's true, then there should be a very apparent contrast in styles this week because this Tulsa team is probably the slowest team in a conference that likes to run. I would guess that whichever team can dictate their pace the best will hold a distinct advantage in this matchup.
Here's what to look for from the individual members of this Tulsa team, in my opinion:
Starters:
Ben Uzoh - 6'2" sophomore guard - He's the best offensive player on the team. He can hit the 3, but his strength is scoring off the dribble drive. Expect alot of 5- to 10-foot floaters in the lane. He's also a good rebounder for his size and often gets putbacks off his own misses. I will haphazardly guess that he guards Warren tonight.
Jerome Jordan - 6'11" sophomore center - The strongest part of his game right now is blocking and altering shots (for obvious reasons). Barring a spectacular performance this week, Jerome will finish 4th in the nation in total blocked shots. He gets most of his blocks by helping on drives to the basket and very few playing straight up on his man. I would guess that you guys pull him away from the basket to give Crouch and Ruffin room to drive and finish against our man defense.
Ray Reese - 6'5" junior guard - The strongest part of Ray's game is defense and I would guess that he draws the assignment of shutting down Crouch. Otherwise, he'll hit some 3s if he gets his feet set, but probably won't score much.
Brett McDade - 6' senior guard - Brett will probably go head-to-head with Ruffin and I would guess that you guys have the upper hand in that matchup. Brett has improved tremendously over the course of the year and he often makes the difference between a win or a loss for us, but his play can range anywhere from the 22/6/0 he put up against Miami to the 4/3/2 he put up against Utah.
Calvin Walls - 6'7" senior forward - Calvin is the emotional leader of this team. He's great when we need some energy and not-so-great when we need someone to calmly hit game-winning free throws. He's a good rebounder and a nice passer from the low block. He usually gets a quiet 9/9 each game.
Since we're down to 8 scholarship players on the year, each of those guys will play 30+ minutes and score the bulk of the points. Earls will backup the point and occasionally hit a 3, Mitchell will come in mostly for post defense if we get in foul trouble, and Andrews may be used to provide an offensive spark off the bench.
It looks like you guys shoot alot of 3s and make a good percentage of them. That said, my guess is that we'll play strictly man-to-man and switch on most ball screens for your shooters. As a result, I think your best bet is to draw Jordan away from the basket and drive, drive, drive. I also expect your guys to push the tempo and force us out of our halfcourt game and into turnovers (our biggest weakness).
Defensively, I think the best way to play this Tulsa team is to deny the entry pass and make the guards force something. We're not a great passing team and we can fall into a shell of passing the ball around the perimeter for 33 seconds. I don't know if you guys play much zone, but I've seen this Tulsa team really struggle against good zone defenses.
Overall, I think you guys win the turnover battle and we'll win the rebounds. I think that if we win tonight that it will very likely be a 3-game series (we've won 3 games all year on the road) and that each game will be within single digits. Normally I'd feel pretty comfortable as a 5.5-point favorite, but not after what you guys did to Virginia with virtually the same spread.
I'm sure I completely maimed this summary, but maybe it will spark some good discussion. Good luck tonight and fill the place up on Wednesday.
At first glance, it looks to me like you guys are the fastest-paced team in a traditionally slower-paced Valley and that the offensive end of the floor is clearly your strength. If that's true, then there should be a very apparent contrast in styles this week because this Tulsa team is probably the slowest team in a conference that likes to run. I would guess that whichever team can dictate their pace the best will hold a distinct advantage in this matchup.
Here's what to look for from the individual members of this Tulsa team, in my opinion:
Starters:
Ben Uzoh - 6'2" sophomore guard - He's the best offensive player on the team. He can hit the 3, but his strength is scoring off the dribble drive. Expect alot of 5- to 10-foot floaters in the lane. He's also a good rebounder for his size and often gets putbacks off his own misses. I will haphazardly guess that he guards Warren tonight.
Jerome Jordan - 6'11" sophomore center - The strongest part of his game right now is blocking and altering shots (for obvious reasons). Barring a spectacular performance this week, Jerome will finish 4th in the nation in total blocked shots. He gets most of his blocks by helping on drives to the basket and very few playing straight up on his man. I would guess that you guys pull him away from the basket to give Crouch and Ruffin room to drive and finish against our man defense.
Ray Reese - 6'5" junior guard - The strongest part of Ray's game is defense and I would guess that he draws the assignment of shutting down Crouch. Otherwise, he'll hit some 3s if he gets his feet set, but probably won't score much.
Brett McDade - 6' senior guard - Brett will probably go head-to-head with Ruffin and I would guess that you guys have the upper hand in that matchup. Brett has improved tremendously over the course of the year and he often makes the difference between a win or a loss for us, but his play can range anywhere from the 22/6/0 he put up against Miami to the 4/3/2 he put up against Utah.
Calvin Walls - 6'7" senior forward - Calvin is the emotional leader of this team. He's great when we need some energy and not-so-great when we need someone to calmly hit game-winning free throws. He's a good rebounder and a nice passer from the low block. He usually gets a quiet 9/9 each game.
Since we're down to 8 scholarship players on the year, each of those guys will play 30+ minutes and score the bulk of the points. Earls will backup the point and occasionally hit a 3, Mitchell will come in mostly for post defense if we get in foul trouble, and Andrews may be used to provide an offensive spark off the bench.
It looks like you guys shoot alot of 3s and make a good percentage of them. That said, my guess is that we'll play strictly man-to-man and switch on most ball screens for your shooters. As a result, I think your best bet is to draw Jordan away from the basket and drive, drive, drive. I also expect your guys to push the tempo and force us out of our halfcourt game and into turnovers (our biggest weakness).
Defensively, I think the best way to play this Tulsa team is to deny the entry pass and make the guards force something. We're not a great passing team and we can fall into a shell of passing the ball around the perimeter for 33 seconds. I don't know if you guys play much zone, but I've seen this Tulsa team really struggle against good zone defenses.
Overall, I think you guys win the turnover battle and we'll win the rebounds. I think that if we win tonight that it will very likely be a 3-game series (we've won 3 games all year on the road) and that each game will be within single digits. Normally I'd feel pretty comfortable as a 5.5-point favorite, but not after what you guys did to Virginia with virtually the same spread.
I'm sure I completely maimed this summary, but maybe it will spark some good discussion. Good luck tonight and fill the place up on Wednesday.
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