Bradley gets eagerly anticipated shot at Illini

Bradley press release: none
Illinois press release: Here

The combination of two bad games, a crazy finish and maybe a little luck were all contributing factors into why Bradley gets a chance to face its "big brother" to the east, the University of Illinois.

Utah stunned No. 20/21 Illinois on a last-second shot (which might have been after the buzzer) during the final game of Friday's HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational.

Make no mistake about it: The Illini have better shooters, more size and quicker players than Bradley. To make matters worse, Illinois blew a 16-point lead yesterday and will be out for blood this evening.

But, when you finally get a chance against your big brother (who refuses to ever play you), you must bring a little extra than a normal game.

The feud between fans has been well documented. Bradley supporters (generally) hate the Illini because they usually have soft non-conference schedules and never will play any of the better in-state schools. Illini fans respond that they have nothing to gain by playing Bradley, Southern Illinois, etc., since a win won't really "help" on an NCAA resume and a loss looks bad.

And in Illinois, this rivalry (if you can call it that) is a microcosm of the smaller schools always feeling like they get the shaft by the bigger, BCS programs. This problem has been made worse in the past few seasons as fewer mid-major teams have received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament.

Yet even though a game like this can get fans really riled up, it's hard to say how big of a deal it is to the players. For Bradley, only two players (Sam Maniscalco and Dyricus Simms-Edwards) who will see any time in the game are even from Illinois. Possibly you could count Andrew Warren as well, who is from Indianapolis.

But even if the players don't hate the Illini like so many fans do, they certainly should revel in the opportunity to beat another big name school.

Looking at the Illini

Illinois has started the same lineup all five games this season:

G - Demetri McCamey (6'3" Junior, 13.2 PPG, 4 RPG, 6.4 APG)
G - D.J. Richardson (6'3" Freshman, 10.4 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.2 APG)
G - Brandon Paul (6'4" Freshman, 12.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.8 APG)
F - Mike Davis (6'9" Junior, 10.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.0 APG)
C - Mike Tisdale (7'1" Junior, 10.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.8 APG)

Every one of these guys is really talented. McCamey can do it all and has the ability to drive to the hoop at will. Both Richardson (who had Bradley on his short list before committing to Illinois) and Paul are solid from the perimeter. Davis and Tisdale are not true "post players" as they rely more on outside shooting than back-to-the-basket moves.

But when the Illinois do need a bruiser, they turn to Dominique Keller (6'7" Senior, 7.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.8 APG). He's a potential matchup problem for any of the Bradley post players. This might be an opportunity for Bradley's Sam Singh to see some extra minutes and throw a little bulk around.

Opportunities for a win

Obviously Bradley will have to play much better than yesterday in order to beat the Illini tonight. Three-point shooting will likely be a key for both sides. Illinois made nearly 41 percent of its threes during the first four wins of the season (29-of-71). But against Utah, the Illini only made 1-of-9 attempts.

Bradley hasn't really been shooting treys well all season. But between Maniscalco, Warren, Simms-Edwards and freshman Milos Knezevic, the Braves have enough guys out there who can knock one down.

Illinois will hold a size advantage in most matchups and as a result, Bradley needs to focus heavily on rebounding. The more the Braves crash the boards and slow the game down, the better. Similar to Oklahoma State, Bradley simply doesn't have the athletes to get into a running game with the Illini.

An interesting aspect of the rebounding battle will be how Bradley can box out properly if Tisdale or Davis pull the Braves' big men outside the paint. For smaller players, Bradley does have adequate rebounding from the guard position, but we'll see how that turns out when both teams are actually on the floor.

Prediction

The pace of the game will be critical here. If Bradley can keep this game in the 50s or 60s, they might have a chance. But if the pace gets too quick, the game could get ugly. The Braves' resiliency will keep it relatively close but look for the "big brother" to beat the "little guy" yet again.

Illinois 68 Bradley 58