Bradley uses second half surge to pull away from NIU

63	49

Scoring only 19 points in a half doesn't generally translate into many victories. Luckily for Bradley, the second half was as good as the first one was bad.

The Braves (5-2) shot an absurd 68 percent (17-of-25) from the floor during the final 20 minutes en route to a 63-49 victory at the NIU Convocation Center. Junior guard Andrew Warren led three Bradley players in double figures, helping erase a 20-19 halftime deficit.

Forget about poor rebounding, turnovers or any other reason a score might be that low. Simply put, neither team could hit anything in the first half. Bradley shot 36 percent (9-of-25) and Northern Illinois was worse at 33.3 percent (9-of-27).

Part of the issue could have been that the referees weren't calling any fouls on either team for the first 10-12 minutes. In fact, NIU didn't commit a personal foul until under the 8-minute mark. This fact certainly didn't coincide with how the Huskies had been committing 24 fouls per game this season.

If either team could have had more free-throw opportunities, that might have broken up the flow (or in this case, lack thereof) and possibly gotten someone into more of a rhythm.

The offense was generally getting good shots except for the surprising amount of turnovers. Maybe some of those issues could be explained by a little jet lag after flying home from Las Vegas this past weekend and having to take a bus back north to DeKalb.

For a team that doesn't play the biggest lineups, NIU (1-5) did rebound pretty well (33-32 overall) and limited Bradley to only six offensive boards. But when a team shoots 1-of-20 from 3-point range, it is going to lose unless it can get an large amount of second chance points. NIU only had eight.

The Braves had to get more minutes than usual from center Anthony Thompson and forward/center Sam Singh. Starting center Will Egolf struggled with foul trouble the entire game and only played 16 minutes. Singh did manage to grab five rebounds, but overall the duo didn't contribute enough for Bradley.

Part of this apparent lack of production has to do with the way Bradley runs its offense, though. The Braves have talented slashers with good mid-range shooting abilities. As a result, the low post players and point guards (especially when the threes aren't falling) don't score as much. But in the case of this current Bradley roster, the best players play the 2/3/4 positions and the offense is in place to suit their abilities.

Warm up the bus

As expected, Bradley fans traveled very well to this game. If this were a weekend contest, there probably would have been more people actually. But for a Wednesday evening game, Bradley fans still had at least a third of the total crowd (3,064 overall).

Even more important was how vocal the Bradley crowd was. This made for a pretty lively environment considering the small overall crowd size. The nastiness was kept to a minimum (which can't always be said for other intrastate schools) and made for an enjoyable college basketball atmosphere.

Game pictures

Unfortunately a lot of my game pictures turned out very blurry. Maybe it was the lighting because my current camera generally takes good indoor shots. The shots I do have though will be uploaded tomorrow for your enjoyment. Thanks!

Bradley's back in the Chicago area

Selfishly, this is one of the most important games to a segment of Bradley fans. No, not because Northern Illinois is a great opponent. But, it's an opportunity for alumni/parents/fans to see the Braves without having to make a 2-3 hour drive.

Jim Les has seemed to make a concerted effort to schedule at least one game in the area (recent opponents have included UIC, Loyola, Wisconsin-Milwaukee) per season. Sure, some of these were return games for BracketBuster matchups, but the end result is still the same. Otherwise, why would Bradley schedule Northern Illinois anyway?

Similar to the Bradley v. Illinois scenario, the Braves have little to gain by playing Northern Illinois. Yes, road experience is always important but outside of that, a lot more would be lost if somehow the Huskies can pull out a win.

That's not to suggest that Bradley shouldn't play interstate schools. If my nonconference schedule was Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, UIC and Western Illinois, would it really be any weaker than playing teams from the Big Sky, MAAC and SWAC conferences? At least this way, teams can have a little bragging rights within the state.

Maybe this is something worth going into more detail, but for now, let's get to tonight's game. I'll be in attendance for the first time this season and will try to take and post pictures afterward like last season.

Northern Illinois press release: here
Bradley Press release: here

Interesting facts

• Bradley holds a 7-1 all-time record against NIU, having won the last seven matchups
• NIU has played two Bradley opponents, at Illinois (lost 61-80) and at Northern Iowa (lost 45-52)
• NIU has averaged 24 fouls per game, so Bradley will need to get to the line and convert its opportunities (69.3 percent on the season)

Final score

I think Bradley avoids the "trap game" and shows up well in front of a large road crowd in red. Bradley 71 Northern Illinois 64

Analogies

Apparently Andrew Warren buys into my analogy from the game preview I wrote from yesterday.

From my writeup:

"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."

"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."

And now Warren's postgame comments (from the Chicago Tribune story, here):

"We don't get to play each other too often and they're kind of like the big brother to Bradley," Warren said. "Any time the younger brother beats up on the big brother it's a good feeling."

I was happy to make the wrong prediction on the final score but be right about how at least one player thought about the game.

Minor sidenote: Sam Maniscalco said on the postgame show that he definitely shot free throws in his driveway growing up, thinking about end of the game situations. He also admitted to rooting for the Illini at the time, but was really happy where he's at now with Bradley.