Bradley opens season at BYU

Here's the preview for game one of the season. This will be a very tough test for Bradley as the opening game of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.

Statistical Comparison (Stats from 2008-09)

6th		2009-10 Conf. Poll	1st
3/2		Starters Returning/Lost	4/1
21-15		Record (Overall)	25-8
10-8 (4th)		Record (Conference)	12-4 (t-1st)
67.1/66.3		Points/Game (Off./Def.)	77.1/65.2
32.2		Rebounds/Game (Defense)	36.2
12.6		Assists/Game (Defense)	16.3
7.8		Steals/Game (Defense)	7.3
3.5		Blocks/Game (Defense)	3.6
14.5		Turnovers/Game (Defense)	11.4
44.0.4/43.3		FG% (Offense/Defense)	48.4/40.7
32.8/34.5		3PT% (Offense/Defense)	38.1/30.1
6.0		3PT/Game (Made)	7.2
71.9		FT% (Defense)	72.9

(Statistics in bold are points of emphasis for this game.)

On paper, this doesn't look too promising for Bradley. Not only is BYU a dynamic scoring team but the Cougars also held their opponents to a meager 40.7 percent from the floor and 30.1 percent from the 3-point line.

BYU notes (.pdf): Here

Bradley notes (.pdf): Here

Some other reasons for concern, from the BYU press release:

"The Cougars are coming off a season in which they finished 25-8 overall and 12-4 in the Mountain West Conference to claim their third-straight regular season league title and earn a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament."

This team was really good last season and they've got four of five starters back. Two were named to the preseason all-conference team, senior forward Jonathan Tavernari and junior guard Jimmer Fredette. The latter was also named as the Mountain West's Preseason Player of the Year.

"Since [Head Coach Dave] Rose took over as head coach of BYU basketball, the Cougars are 61-3 in the Marriott Center, including a 53-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008 — the longest in school history. The Cougars were 14-2 at home last season."

Beating BYU on a cruise ship in the Caribbean would be difficult, but winning in Provo, Utah is nearly impossible the past few seasons for any team.

After their final preseason game, coach Rose noted:

“We still have a lot of evaluation left to do. We’ll watch Bradley and our lineup up may be determined by their personnel but I think we have eight or nine different players who could start.”

This team does indeed have depth, but one aspect that bodes well for Bradley is the size of BYU's four returning starters. The Cougars go 6-2, 6-3, 6-6 and 6-11, with Tavernari as an undersized post player at 6-6. So, the prospective lineups might be:

Sam Maniscalco (6-0)/Eddren McCain (5-11) vs. Lamont Morgan Jr. (5-10)
Dodie Dunson (6-3) vs. Jimmer Fredette (6-2)
Andrew Warren (6-5)/Chris Roberts (6-4) vs. Jackson Emery (6-3)
Taylor Brown (6-6) vs. Jonathan Tavernari (6-6)
Will Egolf (6-9) vs. Chris Miles (6-11)

So, if that's really how it shakes out, Bradley won't be dominated with a huge size disadvantage as they often are against good opponents. Of course, what really matters is what both sides can do on the floor. Height only makes a small difference if the talent level is drastically different.

Tips to victory

If Bradley's going to take down such a good opponent, the Braves are going to need to really play good defense and take care of the basketball. These seem like two very simple facts, but generally it has provided a formula for success. If somehow Bradley can keep this game in the 60s, there's a chance at winning. But, if Tavernari starts raining 3-pointers (he's second on the all-time BYU list) and the Braves get into a running game, this could get ugly.

Final score: BYU 82 Bradley 68

Initial Thoughts, Changes for the Season

Opening night is tomorrow! That should be a pretty good reason to get the blog going in full swing.

First, let me begin by announcing some changes to the blog this season. For anybody who read the game-by-game reactions from 2008-09, these will return. The format will be retained, focusing on a combination of game flow description and reaction to individual player performance.

Some new additions:

• Game previews - At least an hour before game time (preferably the night before), I will be providing some information on the upcoming Bradley game. As many of you know, the game notes provided by schools are filled with data but are often a little cumbersome to read. I'd like to provide a "cheat sheet" for anyone looking to quickly get useful information. I will provide a link to each press release and pull out any important facts. Hopefully these snippets can help people looking for a brief synopsis, but also allow anyone to take a deeper look at the great work that is done by the sports information directors. Lastly, I will provide some keys to victory and make a prediction.

Date/time to be published: Varies; At least one hour before tip-off and most likely the night before the next game

• Missouri Valley Conference rankings - This was a project I thought about mid-season last year and now I'd like to implement it. Many websites/blogs post polls on how they rate the teams in a conference, nationally, etc. In reality, I have yet to find anything that is more than a popularity contest, especially on the national level. Teams get honored/ignored because of who gets seen on ESPN and not necessarily because of their on-the-court performance. For the first few weeks, I will rely on my unbiased look at the conference to rate the teams. Once a solid set of statistics have been established, look for an incorporation of a rating system to help support (or possibly refute) my rankings.

Date/time to be published: Weekly on Monday

• "In Case You Missed It" - Even though it isn't as long as the Major League Baseball season, college hoops is truly a grind. Teams play 1-3 games per week for 4 months (the good ones play for five!). If your favorite team is Bradley, that can be enough of a homework assignment just to keep up with them. What about other teams in the MVC? Are there any big national games? What about scandals, suspensions, and other major news stories?

Certainly, I can't keep up with everything either, but hopefully I can provide a rundown of stories you need to read. In many cases, this might just be a short blurb and a link, but I'm hoping this can be a useful way of sifting through all of the information we get inundated with through different news outlets, blogs and websites. If I notice something interesting, I'll try to put it in here.

Date/time to be published: Daily, on non-game days (in the evening) as my schedule permits

Hopefully if you're reading this post, you're excited as I am for the start of college basketball and the improvements to this blog. As always, please let me know if you have any suggestions/comments about new ideas for this season.

Coming up next: Bradley at BYU preview

In case you're wondering ...

The blog is definitely still alive and will be continued this season. I haven't decided on a lot of particulars yet, but I hope to have a more regular publishing schedule and try to write about some different topics as the season progresses. As is with a lot of us, basketball hasn't been a big priority for a while. But as the season previews start coming out, the banter has already begun. Anyway, look for some interesting content coming up this season!

Chris Roberts' miracle shot stuns Oakland

75	76

Something about Oakland University brings out historic events for the Bradley basketball program.

Any Bradley fan remembers 2006 - the Sweet 16 season. Well, even though the games were played at the Palace at Auburn Hills (Detroit Pistons arena), the host school for the first two games was none other than Oakland University. That looked like the last time there would be any connection between the two schools.

But, as a result of Bradley playing the inaugural CollegeInsider.com tournament, the schools came together again, this time with both playing on the court. The Braves looked to be saddled with a disappointing home loss after Oakland's Johnathon Jones made a shot with 0.9 seconds left.

Then junior guard Chris Roberts threw the ball the length of the court and made one of the most improbable buzzer beaters in Bradley history.

Here's a link to the video provided by WEEK-TV: Here

Bradley advances to the semifinals of the CIT and will face Pacific on Wednesday.

MVC tournament quarterfinal: No. 4 Bradley vs. No. 5 Southern Illinois

55	67

For once, the thuggery of Southern Illinois didn't prevail. In fact, those tactics actually helped ignite a huge effort from the Bradley team to take a quarterfinal victory over the Salukis 67-55.

After playing seven minutes of bad basketball, Bradley trailed SIU 10-3 and were slipping into some of the bad habits that had plagued the team earlier in the season — too many 3-point attempts and turnovers. The game looked like one of the typical kinds of performances Bradley seems to put up against the Salukis once or twice a year.

But then with 12:39 to play in the half, forward Theron Wilson got thrown to the ground on a fast break attempt by SIU's Anthony Booker. After the unnecessary cheap shot, Wilson looked woozy and missed both free throw attempts after an intentional foul was called.

Bradley would score later that possession after a few misses by forward Taylor Brown on a classic "Sam-to-Sam" play. Guard Sam Maniscalco hit forward/center Sam Singh near the hoop for a layup and the Braves got off of three points, their first in more than six minutes.

The numerous opportunities on that one possession showed that Bradley wasn't going to get bullied by SIU anymore this game. Trailing 17-9 after a Carlton Fay jumper with eight minutes left in the half, the Braves went on 13-0 run during the next four minutes. Guard Darian Norris had five of his seven points during the run, including a 3-pointer that gave Bradley its first lead since 3-2 early in the half.

Bradley continued to play well into halftime, leading 34-25 and forcing the young SIU team into numerous turnovers. The second half wasn't much different.

The Braves led by as many as 15 points and never allowed the Salukis to close within seven. One of the biggest keys was understanding SIU's tight, pressuring defense. As the Salukis continually tried to push guards away from the basket, Bradley adjusted and began taking the ball into the defense, not letting the opponent dictate the style of the game.

Bradley also used the Salukis' pressure against them by drawing a ton of fouls and getting its best free-throw shooters to the line. Maniscalco, who had the highest free-throw percentage during conference play (89 percent), made all 14 attempts in the game. The sophomore's game-high 21 points and three assists show why he's a team leader.

Up and down the lineup, the Braves got contributions. Singh looks better every game he's healthy, showing good footwork and contributing eight points and five rebounds. Guard Chris Roberts had six points, seven rebounds and a dynamic block that further shows his unbelievable athleticism.

Even Wilson, who seemed to be out of sorts for awhile after the throw down, made some important shots. Wilson had 14 points and nine rebounds, showing the senior leadership that helped earn him all-conference honors.

Though disposing of the hated Salukis tastes sweet, Bradley's road to the NCAA tournament gets much more difficult today. The top-seeded, co-conference champion Northern Iowa Panthers will certainly give the Braves all that they can handle. UNI won both meetings in the regular season, but those only came by a combined eight points. In fact, Bradley led both games with five minutes to play. The Braves will need to finish off the dynamic 3-point shooters from Cedar Falls in order to advance to the tournament's championship game.

No. 4 Bradley vs. No. 1 Northern Iowa, 1:35 p.m. (CST), Sat. 3/7, St. Louis, Mo.