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Braves 71 ill 75

Re-focus

Re-focus

This should force everyone to refocus on what got the first five wins. Here's to five more "W's" before the next loss :wink:
 
Illinois found out that they have to play much better against future opponents than they did against Bradley or Miami if they expect to make the NCAA Tournament and win a couple of games. That said, coming back like they did the past two nights should really help their confidence, even though they didn't play very well in their eyes. We didn't play particularly well in the second half tonight, so I think it's safe to say that we had them down for the count but didn't put them away, while they showed how resilient they can be. Very entertaining game despite the outcome--still would have been nice to exorcise the demons from 32 years of frustration and neglect they've shown us and other in-state teams.
 
I think I can speak for everyone who was in section 117 or 116 with this ...

*Sigh.*

What a deflating way to fall but ... to a very talented team with way more size.

The key to the game was the fact that we couldn't hit anything for about a five minute stretch (I want to say from about the 8 minute mark to the 3 minute mark). The poor shooting magnified the mistakes noted earlier (Warren's FT misses, etc).

I don't think BU has anything to be truly upset about as they played hard for 40 minutes and except for a few possessions, played very calmly and under control in a very hostile environment. The second half was like a road game in there and the Braves hung tough.

Sure there are things to work on and JL is smart enough to adjust, but against a powerhouse from a big conference, how can we be too upset now?

Remember, everyone thought we'd be lucky to be .500 this year. The expectation level has been raised, even in a loss. BU should finish in the top 5 of the Valley if they continue to play smart basketball and hit shots.
 
Your right........this team is exceeding my early prediction of a 500 team.........let's not get too high from the wins and not get too low from the loss! Good effort tonight..........but if ZA goes out with foul trouble we will struggle IMO! :wink:
 
Just got back to the hotel. Not much more to say. The Illinois big guys made just enough diference in the game, and the shots were not falling quite as well tonight.

I listened to the Bruce Weber post-game show up here. He was extremely complimentary to Bradley and Jim Les. He pointed out how much Bradley lost from last year's team, and how Jim Les has "totally revamped" the offense and defense to accomodate the new guard-heavy team Bradley has this year.
He must have said a dozen times what a great league the Valley is.

I don't think I saw any time during the game where the kids didn't think they could still win the game, until the final seconds. This is a great group of kids, and I am sure they will bounce back to continue to have a fine season.
 
I think Pruitt is who really won them that game tonight. Carter finished with more points, and Jamar was a big lift, but Shaun grabbed a bunch of offensive rebounds, drew fouls, and finished inside (except that missed dunk :roll: ).

Our team played a great 30 minutes of basketball, and the other 10 werent horrible. I think we got refereed a tiny bit and it felt like a road game even though when i looked down to my right from 212 i saw the block of red. I just really wanted to beat those guys. My biggest concern though is that my face still smells like the paint i put on it. :x
 
Agree with just about everything said, plus Jim Les' post game comments.

If anyone would have asked about this game a month or two ago, most would have all said,
"hey, Bradley will be rebuilding and Illinois will win easily".

But that wasn't the case.
These Illini knew they were in a game, and they were trying to get their fans pumped up and were fighting as hard as they could.

I agree that the missed dunk, and the 3 or 4 easy missed layups, plus bungled passes on the pick and roll cost Bradley 12 points easy.
Crouch, Will, and JJ were a combined 9-16 from 3 point range.
I wish those guys and maybe DA would have gotten a few more shots.

But I am still optimistic about the rest of the upcoming games.
The Braves fought hard and played hard, simply came up short.
Bradley led for 35 out of 40 minutes, and showed all in attendance that we are likely the 2nd best team in the state.
 
Bradley v Illinois

Bradley v Illinois

Initially, I was kind of disappointed we did not win. Illinois was definitely beatable by us. The margin of loss was slim, and those missed easy lay-ups/dunks and free-throws would've made a difference.

However, in retrospect, how can I be upset with this game when this team is exceeding my expectations? We hung in there against a tough team, and it's still early in the season for improvement. We needed a game like this to show us our areas for development. Those Braves should be proud of their performance and know that we're proud too.

Not sure if anyone has read the PJ Star articles yet, but I like the quote from Jim Les about trying to make a Bradley v. U of I game a regular thing. I don't think it'll happen, but it would be a great thing if it did.
 
Congratulations to the Braves for a fine showing in Chicago. This is going to be a fun season with A few more losses along the way, but this is a team that we can be proud of.

The Bradley program is back on the map.
 
Weber

Weber

Da Coach said:
Just got back to the hotel. Not much more to say. The Illinois big guys made just enough diference in the game, and the shots were not falling quite as well tonight.

I listened to the Bruce Weber post-game show up here. He was extremely complimentary to Bradley and Jim Les. He pointed out how much Bradley lost from last year's team, and how Jim Les has "totally revamped" the offense and defense to accomodate the new guard-heavy team Bradley has this year.
He must have said a dozen times what a great league the Valley is.

I don't think I saw any time during the game where the kids didn't think they could still win the game, until the final seconds. This is a great group of kids, and I am sure they will bounce back to continue to have a fine season.
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As much as I hate the Illini, Weber is a class guy. I think he knows he may be back in The Valley soon; those arrogant, rich Illini alumni are going to run him outa town soon.

I'd love to see him restore the glory at Evansville or Indiana State. Has Drake ever had any glory? :? :wink:
 
Something I didn't like seeing was a couple times Bradley seemed to look desperate. Veering from their style of play, they looked like they hurried their offense, chucked up some 3's, or drove hard to the basket and got nothing out of the possession.

Just wanted them to stick to the unselfish style of TEAM play with a lot of passing waiting and working for a good shot.
 
Zach being in foul trouble obviously hurt us. I thought Ruff lost his legs somewhat in the second half, too. And, oh yeah, Illinois scored more points than us. Congrats to the Illini. Now we have to move on quickly and get ready for Tennessee Tech on the road.

Just a few comments about the facility. Really nice and comfortable to watch a game. Just the right size. And it was easy to get to and traffic wasn???‚¬?„?t an issue. The concourses were especially spacious. That said, with so much room the restrooms were way too small. Who designs these things? The parking aisles were not marked. Maybe they will still do this. The concession people were still going through training. Our seats under the one basket had to be reached from the opposite end of the floor.
 
Big Mike said:
Your right........this team is exceeding my early prediction of a 500 team.........let's not get too high from the wins and not get too low from the loss! Good effort tonight..........but if ZA goes out with foul trouble we will struggle IMO! :wink:
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Big Mike, so true. Zac has to stay in the game for us to have a chance. # of his fouls were not necessary. He was showing great effort and hustle,but the risk is not worth the reward. Diving after loose balls is one thing, but diving into players after loose balls needs to be reevaluted. Over all great effort,some things to clean up but great effort. We played hard and wins will come with that same effort.Oncw a Brave always a Brave
 
Being a Bradley fan first and Illinois fan second, I was glad to see the matchup and was hoping for a BU victory. Let's hope they both do good in their respective conferences. There are local kids on both teams who deseve our support. Matt Roth would be a great addition to BU program.
 
MacabreMob said:
Something I didn't like seeing was a couple times Bradley seemed to look desperate. Veering from their style of play, they looked like they hurried their offense, chucked up some 3's, or drove hard to the basket and got nothing out of the possession.

Just wanted them to stick to the unselfish style of TEAM play with a lot of passing waiting and working for a good shot.
Click to expand...


You're exactly right Mob. You and I have talked also about Will's tendency to come down and throw up a quick three.

This was our first test with extreme pressure man-to-man defense and I thought overall we held our own. Every experience like this makes us a better team and the next time we're in a situation like this, we'll know better what to do!
 
This game furter illustrated the fact that, this team will go as far as Zach can take them. He did not have a good game tonite and we lost.
He is the difference maker.
 
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