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.

Warren's 3-pointer helps Bradley stun Illini

68	72

One win certainly doesn't make a season. But when that win is over a team like Illinois, it will certainly be remembered for a long time.

Bradley (4-2) stunned the No. 20/21 team in the country 72-68 in the consolation game of the 2009 HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational. Junior guard Andrew Warren connected on a 3-pointer with just over 30 seconds to play giving the Braves a 68-66 lead that would never be relinquished.

All five Bradley starters scored in double figures as Warren led the team with 16 points and hit 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point line. For as much as he's struggled early in the season, Warren is the type of player that Bradley expected to round back into past form. For at least one game, Warren was back to his old self.

Equally as impressive was the play of sophomore center Will Egolf, who scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. This game suited Egolf's skills well, as he could play more on the perimeter like the Illinois big men prefer. Even though he was at a size disadvantage against Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, Egolf consistently showed that he could play with them on both ends of the floor.

Even though Illinois (4-2) did outrebound Bradley 45-32, the defensive effort was truly inspired by the Braves. The Illini only made 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from behind the arc and the majority of these were contested opportunities.

At times, Illinois was its own worst enemy. Sloppy passing, unforced turnovers and rushed shots killed many offensive possessions. Demetri McCamey hit 4-0f-13 from the field (10 points) and committed 5 turnovers.

But even as Bradley had been playing so well and the Illini were struggling, the orange and blue still had opportunities to put the game away in the last few minutes. Illinois was scoring at will and finally took the lead.

Instead of trying to deliver the knockout blow, the Illini reverted into playing "not to lose". Multiple possessions were wasted as they just tried to run down the shot clock and eventually forced up a poor opportunity.

As much as the Illini gave it away, credit Bradley for taking the victory. The Braves hadn't been able to put anyone away this season, even while playing weaker opponents like Presbyterian and Idaho State.

Scoring easy buckets

Some aspects of Jim Les' coaching style have been criticized at times (lineups, substitution patterns, etc.). But one thing that cannot be disputed is his remarkable ability to diagram successful in-bounds plays.

On opportunities where Bradley has the ball in the offensive side of the court, the Braves seem to score an easy basket almost every time. Certainly, the percentage isn't that high, but it is amazing how often someone will be sprung for a layup under the basket or spotted up for a wide open three-pointer.

This game in particular had two set plays out of Bradley timeouts that resulted in baskets in the final three minutes of the game.

Raising expectations

Sophomore forward Taylor Brown has the potential to be an All-Conference player - not when's an upper classman, but now. Brown's stat line (12 points and seven rebounds) might make fans think that he had one of his "weaker" games of the season. But that's just an indication of how far he has come in one season.

Last year, Brown averaged only three points and three rebounds per game. But now he's bulked up more and has shown the athleticism that might make you believe he would be an high-major, Illini-type player if the jersey names weren't visible.

These chances don't come often

Bradley's win tonight was its first since January 24, 1974 over the Illini. The Braves also won that on a neutral court (Chicago) by a score of 105-88.

The big boys from Champaign still hold a 13-3 series advantage. The numbers are a little better for Bradley in the modern era of basketball with Illinois winning four out of six since that 1974 game.

If Illinois had been ducking Bradley and other in-state universities in the past, imagine how difficult it will be for any of these schools to get a chance at the Illini now.

The road ahead

Bradley was able to get one game from its challenging non-conference opponents (BYU, Oklahoma State, Illinois). Now the team needs to build off of this momentum and carry it over to DeKalb against Northern Illinois on Wednesday.

No matter who the Braves were playing next would be the potential for a letdown. But in a somewhat similar concept to this game, Northern Illinois will surely be looking forward to getting a shot against one of the superior in-state teams.

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