Bradley to play in 2008 Top of the World Classic in Alaska

[MacabreMob]

But Stanford will be down a notch with a new coach and the loss of a lot of their talent.

Yea, but I just want us to play a BCS school to get the benefit in the RPI for the calculation of "opponents' opponents' average winning percentage" which amounts to 25% of Bradley's RPI.

[braves12]

I'm going. Can dogs locate the Wango of Alaska so we can maybe make back our trip costs?

[Da Coach]

I am working on it, and will probably go.
Might take a cheap flight to Vegas first and spend a couple days there, then fly from there to Fairbanks. Alaska Airlines flies in and out of Vegas.

One thing to mention-- I think it was just last year or the year before, Creighton was scheduled to play in Alaska. A number of fans made arrangements to go, then CU pulled out late because Dana Altman didn't want to play the team they were matched against. It left a few angry fans who had reservations that couldn't be cancelled without penalty.

We need to find out if Bradley had a deadline date to pull out.

[braves12]

Da Coach,

Great idea. Fly to Vegas, wager on the Braves, then fly to Alaska to see our wager come in.

[braves12]

Dallasbrave,

You bring the cigars and I will bring the Scotch. I have played golf on snow before, so no problem. Have you gotten permission for this yet??? O&B and I have no such issue.

[BU and the Lesticles]

I remember Creighton doing something like that, but I thought it was Vegas and not Alaska. I don't ever recall Creighton planning to play in Alaska.

[BradleyBrave]

From what I hear (and recently read in today's paper), BU is having a very tough time filling out their schedule this year. I guess there's always a chance they could pull out, but I think the odds are slim considering the scheduling difficulties they're experiencing.

Also - I thought that BU was slated for the Great Alaskan Shootout in '09 rather than Top of the World Classic as indicated by the article. Did anyone else think that too?

[Da Coach]

Also - I thought that BU was slated for the Great Alaskan Shootout in '09 rather than Top of the World Classic as indicated by the article. Did anyone else think that too?

Yes, that is a fact. The PJS article refers to that switch in their headline--
Bradley basketball on Top of the World

Braves commit to play in 2008 Alaska tourney a year ahead of schedule

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1192323226/Bradley-basketball-on-Top-of-the-World

[tornado]

Here's about the earliest I can recall a D-I school making a public announcement of its FULL fall/winter basketball schedule.

Cal has already released its full non-conference AND conference schedule (starting times are still pend.)!

http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051908aac.html

Most schools spend much of the spring and summer still working out dates and details, and release the schedule in the late summer or early fall.


Last year, BU announced their non-conference schedule fairly early, on June 9

http://www.bubraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=923121

but the entire schedule was not released until August 24

http://www.bubraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=1177420

[Dallas Brave]

Dallasbrave,

You bring the cigars and I will bring the Scotch. I have played golf on snow before, so no problem. Have you gotten permission for this yet??? O&B and I have no such issue.

I am not allowed to have fun. Therefore this will have to be a business trip to visit the Alyeska Pipeline Services Co. The business trip will just happen to coincide with the same time that the Braves are in town.

[BuBraves55]

the only bad thing about me attending the great state of Alaska, it will be very hard to leave- wouldn't mind a nice ranch with moose and grizzlies with a nice sattelite to top it off

[mportsch]

That's a great field for Bradley to be in - mostly solid teams, but nobody that I'd say Bradley couldn't beat. Here's how I'd rank these teams:

Stanford
Loses: C Robin Lopez, C Brook Lopez, SF Fred Washington, PF Taj Finger.
Adds: SG Jeremy Green (4-star), SG Jarrett Mann (3-star).

PG Mitch Johnson and SG Anthony Goods return to form a solid senior backcourt, and senior PF Lawrence Hill is their best returning player. Those three form a solid core, but there isn't a lot of experience beyond them. Off the bench, they have two senior guards who were very good last season in limited minutes - Kenny Brown and Drew Shiller - and also a decent junior swingman in Landry Fields. The two incoming freshmen are both wing-type players, so it looks like Stanford will have to play small.

Overall, its hard to project how good Stanford will be next season, as their identity will shift dramatically from a big inside team to a small outside team. I'll guess that they'll probably be at least a top 75 team and likely end up in the NIT.

Miami (OH)
This was a pretty solid team that played a brutal nonconference schedule and lost a lot of close games. They finished at 97th in Pomeroy's rankings. They lose a solid senior in rugged PF Tim Pollitz, but everyone else is back. This will be a senior-laden, experienced team. I expect them to finish somewhere in the 60-80 range next season.

Stephen F. Austin
Returns 6 of their top 7 players from a pretty solid team, losing only 5'11' SG Gerald Fonzie from their main rotation. C Matt Kingsley and SG Josh Alexander are both excellent players. I definitely see this as a top 100 team.

Central Florida
This was another team that played better than their record, at least if you believe Pomeroy's rankings (93rd). They lose 3 of their top 6 players, but their best player returns (senior SG Jermaine Taylor). They'll need PG Taylor Young to improve upon a promising freshman campaign, and at least one of the two incoming guards will need to play immediately, but I think this could be a top 100 team this season.

Winthrop
They got by last year by playing outstanding defense, which usually made up for their horrible offense. Losing their three best players in Gaynor, Jenkins, and McCullough certainly won't help on either end of the floor. I look for Winthrop to fall back a bit, to more of the 150-200 range.



I think Bradley has a great shot to win this tournament, which would really help the RPI considering the quality of teams. Kudos to Jim Les for a nice piece of scheduling!

I wonder what type of TV coverage this tournament usually gets?

[mike radigan]

the only bad thing about me attending the great state of Alaska, it will be very hard to leave- wouldn't mind a nice ranch with moose and grizzlies with a nice sattelite to top it off

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[2bradleyfans]

What is the History of the Top of The World Tournament?

What is the History of the Great Alaskan Shootout?

I am sure Alaska is a beautiful place to see but, talk about remote. It would not be that much further to have a tournament in Siberia.

How does Alaska manage to promote and pull off two D-1 tournaments?

I don't even know if you can "road trip" there guys unless maybe you hitch a ride with an Ice Road Trucker.

[JasonAtBradley]

Actually, as for travelling, it would probably be easier to get a flight to Anchorage than to Fairbanks (you would probably have to transfer anyways at Anchorage if you were flying to Fairbanks). Then, it's only a 5 hour, 50 minute (354 mile) drive, depending on how well the chains on your rental car work.

Also, weather in Fairbanks, while warm during the summer (80's aren't uncommon), is very cold during the winter. According to weather.com, you can expect an average high of 9-10 degrees, and an average low of 5-6 degrees below zero, and that's without any wind chill. It has been as mild as 46 degrees, and as cold as 35 below zero during November 20-23. Even though you'll be indoors most of the time, bring your parkas - you'll probably need them!