Illinois State takes first rivalry game easily, 66-47

47	66

Most games have useful building points. But there isn't a positive spin today - Bradley got embarrassed by rival Illinois State, 66-47.

Dinma Odiakosa abused the Braves in the post en route to a career high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Redbirds' star guard Osiris Eldridge didn't do a ton (13 points on just 5-of-14 shooting) but decisive advantage in rebounding more than made up for his off game.

For the game, ISU (15-7, 6-5 MVC) had a 50-28 rebounding margin. That helped the Redbirds dominate in second chance points (24-2) and points in the paint (34-10) as well.

And for everything the Redbirds did right, Bradley (10-11, 5-6 MVC) seemed to do just as much wrong. In the first half, the Braves shot okay (9-of-21, 42.9 percent) but committed numerous lazy and sloppy turnovers. In the second 20 minutes, not as many possessions were given away. But then the shooting went dramatically south.

At the official timeout (11:28 mark), Bradley had just three points and a nine point halftime deficit had ballooned to 19. The final statistics in the second half were ugly: 5-of-28 shooting (17.9 percent) and 1-of-11 from 3-point range (9.1 percent).

Junior guard Andrew Warren was the only member of the Braves to reach double figures. But, his 11 points came on 3-of-12 shooting and he snared just one rebound. Senior guard Chris Roberts was invisible (3 points, 4 rebounds) and both sophomore forward Taylor Brown and junior guard Sam Maniscalco weren't at their best either, scoring eight and nine points respectively.

But maybe most importantly was the play of sophomore center Will Egolf. For how well he had been playing lately, this was certainly a game to forget for the young man from Alaska. Egolf was overmatched inside against Odiakosa which got him into foul trouble.

As a result, Egolf's final line didn't look good: 13 minutes, two points, 0-for-1 from the floor, two rebounds and four fouls. With the lack of nearly any other post presence, Egolf needs to be on seemingly every night for Bradley to have a shot at winning. For such a young player, and really for any player for that matter, it's an unreasonable expectation.

The Braves need, but never seem to have, a bruiser inside like Odiakosa. Maybe some can argue that these players are hard to come by, but other teams in the Missouri Valley Conference have found them. Southern Illinois had Randal Falker, Wichita State has JT Durley, Creighton has Kenny Lawson and also got great seasons from Anthony Tolliver.

So, unless the entire Bradley team commits to rebounding like it did against Creighton, the Braves are handled easily by powerful post players. Players like sophomore Anthony Thompson can't even get minutes because they'd be tossed around in the post.

Maybe the silver lining is the common concept in sports - "it's just one game". If so, Bradley needs to rebound (literally and figuratively) against Drake and Evansville this week. These are two teams that it should beat if Bradley can find its confidence and forget such a disappointing loss to a rival.

The true colors really shine through as a season goes on. Bradley isn't as good as it looks in some victories and certainly isn't as bad as it looks in losses, especially this one. The Braves are just an average team that will continue to have its ups and downs throughout the remainder of conference play.

Side note: Sophomore guard Eddren McCain returned to action after missing the last two games with a hand injury. He played just five minutes and had one rebound.

Creighton beats the Braves again

73	68

When a team struggles near .500 the whole season, losses can almost be expected. Creighton continued its dominance over the Braves in the Jim Les-era with a 73-68 victory last night in Peoria.

With the win, the Bluejays (11-10, 6-4 MVC) took sole possession of third place in the conference standings. Head coach Dana Altman improved his record to 13-3 all-time against Jim Les' Braves (10-10, 5-5 MVC).

The back story before the game was the absence of Creighton's toxic guard P'Allen Stinnett. All sorts of speculation has been floating around the Internet about why the highly talented Stinnett was suspended indefinitely from the team Tuesday. Whether it related to off-the-court issues or his hot headed personality on the court, one thing could be confirmed in Peoria - the Bluejays were better without him.

Freshman guard Josh Jones, who had zero points in conference play before yesterday, inexplicably made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points. More baffling was how the Bluejays made twelve 3-pointers when they had been shooting less than 32 percent on the season.

These are just a few examples of why this game felt like one that Bradley simply was never going to win. Every loose ball seemed to be tipped off a Brave. A couple questionable calls from the officials, including a five-point possession for Creighton, went against Bradley as well. None of these things are excuses, but they all helped contribute to another home loss.

Depth was clearly a factor, too. Creighton, who is known for its frequent (and sometimes excessive) substitutions, played 11 guys. Bradley only played eight men and freshman guard Jake Eastman played just five minutes.

And for all of the fluky occurrences, the Braves simply didn't shoot well enough to win. Bradley had multiple opportunities to tie the score in the final minute of the game but couldn't knock down a key shot. For the game, Bradley made just 5-of-20 attempts from 3-point range.

A commitment has really been made to rebounding better, which is a very encouraging sign. The Braves held a 44-34 advantage overall with sophomore forward Taylor Brown leading the way with 12.

Brown led all scorers with 19 and the rest of the Bradley starters all had at least eight points. But it was the amount of attempts that really held the team back. Senior guard Chris Roberts hit 2-of-10 from the field and junior guard Andrew Warren wasn't much better (4-of-14).

In reality, this wouldn't be such a frustrating loss if it hadn't been for all of the other ones that Bradley gave away earlier in the season. The margin for error is so small that even when an opponent comes out and beats you, it gets even further magnified.

As Egolf goes, so do the Braves

If you're looking for an easy indicator on why Bradley wins or loses, just watch the stat line for sophomore center Will Egolf. He didn't have a bad game at all (10 points, 5 rebounds), but a big reason why the Braves got down big early was that he was on the bench in foul trouble.

Then, as Bradley began to climb back into the game, Egolf was on the court more and managed to limit his fouls. The Braves need to have their Egolf on the floor to be successful. Other guys like Brown or Warren can have off nights and the team can survive.

But with the skill set he possesses, Egolf makes as big of an impact on the outcome of games as much as any other player. Kenny Lawson Jr. was not a great matchup for Egolf against Creighton and Illinois State's Dinma Okiakosa has a similar skill set coming up. We'll see how Egolf fares against the Redbirds' big man.

Still no McCain

Sophomore guard Eddren McCain sat out another game with his hand injury. Varying reports are out there on the severity but he clearly was in enough pain to sit out against the Bluejays. His skill on both ends of the court provide valuable depth that Bradley was missing.

The War on 74

The long awaited first game between rivals Bradley and Illinois State comes up Saturday in Normal. This will be televised regionally so even those of us who have to watch many games on the Internet will be able to tune in on regular cable.

The Redbirds and Braves sit tied in a logjam for fourth place in the Valley. Not only are the usual bragging rights at stake but this may be critical for seeding in the conference tournament as the season winds down.

Nobody ever really knows what to expect in these rivalry games except that they will be entertaining. Here's hoping for another BU-ISU classic.