A long drive back from Peoria

For the second straight time, five hours of driving was truly worth it to see another classic basketball game. Bradley knocked off Wichita State on senior night, and with the other results in the Valley, now has secured a spot outside of the play-in game next Thursday.

The game was very entertaining, with Bradley jumping out to a huge lead early and sustaining that through halftime. But then Wichita State caught fire from the floor and whittled the entire lead away for the Braves. In the end, two clutch three pointers and steal helped seal a 75-73 victory.

I will have a full recap up tomorrow as well some of the many pictures I took at the game.

Here's how the MVC standings look:

				Conference		Tiebreaker Pts.
			Place	Wins	Losses	Max.	Earned
Northern Iowa			1	14	3	171	123
Wichita State*			2	11	6	177	103
Illinois State*			2	11	6	177	93
Creighton			4	9	8	185	60
Bradley			4	9	8	185	69
Missouri State			6	8	9	187	59
Indiana State			6	8	9	193	57
Drake			7	7	10	193	61
Southern Ill.			9	6	11	203	48
Evansville			10	2	15	207	35

Notes: Wichita State leads the second place tiebreaker based upon playoff points; Creighton currently leads the fourth place tiebreaker as it is 1-0 v. Bradley; Missouri State leads the sixth place tiebreaker based upon a 1-0 record v. Indiana State

Obviously the stunner was Evansville knocking off nationally ranked Northern Iowa yesterday. But this had no real effect on the standings.

The I-74 rivals really strengthened their positions in the standings. Bradley cannot finish lower than 6th, as the loser of the Missouri State-Indiana State game will have 10 losses. Additionally, the Wichita State victory gives Bradley an opportunity to claim the fourth spot with a win in Omaha.

Illinois State also had a big win, making sure that Indiana State would not have a chance to catch the Redbirds in the standings. Bradley (though fans never would admit it) did the Redbirds a serious favor by beating the Shockers. Now Illinois State will likely earn that critical second seed if the the team can find a way to win at Northern Iowa.

MVC standings could still see radical changes

Two favored teams almost stumbled at home tonight as both Wichita State and Illinois State barely won close games against Evansville and Missouri State, respectively.

What does that do to the MVC Standings? Let's take a look:

				Conference		Tiebreaker Pts.
			Place	Wins	Losses	Max.	Earned
Northern Iowa			1	14	2	171	124
Wichita State			2	11	5	175	103
Illinois State			3	10	6	179	81
Creighton*			4	8	8	187	58
Indiana State*			4	8	8	187	56
Bradley*			4	8	8	187	56
Drake			7	7	9	197	58
Missouri State			7	7	9	197	54
Southern Ill.			9	6	10	203	47
Evansville			10	1	15	207	17

* - Creighton leads the mini round-robin 2-1, Indiana State is 2-2, Bradley is 1-2

Now all of the upcoming scenarios left:

Northern Iowa

Current state: Clinched the conference title and the top overall seed in the MVC tournament.

Remaining games: at Evansville, vs. Illinois State

Tiebreaker thoughts: None, as they have clinched the 1 seed

Outlook: Northern Iowa, though it has locked up the regular season, will continue to play its remaining two games as the Panthers are trying to improve their seed in the eyes of the selection committee. A lapse in either of their last two games could really hurt their place on Selection Sunday.

Wichita State

Current state - Clinched no worse than third place overall, currently sits ahead of Illinois State by one game for second

Remaining games: at Bradley, vs. Southern Ill.

Tiebreaker thoughts: Illinois State (1-1); The only team Wichita State has to worry about for tiebreakers are the Redbirds. This would go down to tiebreaker points if both teams finish 12-6. Since this would require Illinois State to win at Northern Iowa, the tiebreaker would go to Illinois State.

Outlook: The game at Bradley is huge for both teams. The Shockers can essentially lock up the two seed with a win in Peoria. Considering the fact that Wichita State is 16-0 at home this season, the home finale against Southern Illinois can almost be considered a lock, even after the scare by Evansville.

Illinois State

Current state: The Redbirds are one game out of second place and two games ahead of three teams tied for third.

Remaining games: vs. Indiana State, at Northern Iowa

Tiebreaker thoughts: Wichita State (Yes, if it comes into play, see above for explanation); Creighton (Yes, 2-0), Bradley (Yes, 2-0), Indiana State (0-1, TBD)

Outlook: Illinois State can win out and have a chance at second place with one Wichita State loss. The Redbirds have done a good job against the teams chasing them, eliminating any possibility of Creighton or Bradley from moving ahead. The interesting part comes in with Indiana State, who has to go to Redbird Arena next Wednesday. The Sycamores have a winnable finale at home against Missouri State and would win the tiebreaker against Illinois State if they can pull an upset. In a worst case scenario, Illinois State finishes 4th.

Creighton

Current state: Currently tied for fourth place, would be the 4 seed if the season ended today based upon a 2-1 record against Bradley & Indiana State

Remaining games: at Southern Illinois, vs. Bradley

Tiebreaker thoughts: Illinois State (No, 0-2), Bradley (TBD, 1-0), Indiana State (1-1), Drake (1-1), Missouri State (1-1), Southern Illinois (TBD, 1-0)

Outlook: From Creighton down through Southern Illinois, the tiebreakers could really go a variety of ways. Both of the Bluejays remaining games aren't easy, considering the rivalry with Southern Illinois as well as a Bradley team who could beat any team in the league on a given night.

In one possible scenario, Creighton could win both games and if Indiana State also wins out, there's a chance for an tie in tiebreaker points. If this somehow happened, it would go the rare final tiebreaker of RPI. Indiana State has a RPI of 87 going into tonight as opposed to Creighton who came in with a RPI of 127. There simply won't be that large of a shift in the RPI this late in the season, so Indiana State would earn the higher seed.

Of course, if this were for the 4-5 game, all that comes from these complicated formulas is what color jerseys you wear. Of course, a win here or a loss there always shifts the balance of the tiebreaker formula so it simply is too close to call who would win tiebreaker points at this stage against Creighton.

Indiana State

Current state: Currently tied for fourth place, would be the 5 seed if the season ended today based upon a 2-2 record against Bradley & Indiana State

Remaining games: at Illinois State, vs. Missouri State

Tiebreaker thoughts: Illinois State (TBD, 1-0, see explanation in the Redbirds section), Creighton (1-1), Bradley (1-1), Drake (Yes, 2-0), Missouri State (TBD, 0-1), Southern Illinois (1-1)

Outlook: Indiana State has the most direct effect on the resolution of the conference standings than pretty much any other team. Though other teams have big games as well, with the Sycamores winning 5 of 7, two more victory are definitely possible.

And with those two wins, Indiana State could finish as high as third. Yet, with two losses a variety of other factors, the Sycamores could sink to as low as the 9 seed. This is highly unlikely, though. A split would probably get Indiana State into the five seed but the Bradley-Creighton game will have a significant impact on that as well.

Bradley

Current state: Bradley is tied for fourth place and would be the 6 seed in the tournament based upon

Remaining games: vs. Wichita State, at Creighton

Tiebreaker thoughts: Illinois State (No, 0-2), Creighton (TBD, 0-1), Indiana State (1-1), Drake (Yes, 2-0), Missouri State (1-1)

Outlook: Nobody can really gauge what Bradley will do in its final two games. If the team can pull together two consecutive wins, fourth place seems very likely. Two losses would put the Braves in the 6-7-8 range. The series sweep against Drake is huge here as Bradley is likely to win most round-robin tiebreakers as a result. The Braves can thank the Bulldogs for most likely keeping them out of the play-in game. Again though, a lot of different results (especially with how Missouri State does against Drake and Indiana State) could really sway the Bradley seeding.

Drake

Current state: Drake is currently tied for seventh place and would currently be the 7 seed as they hold a 1-0 series advantage against Missouri State.

Remaining games: at Missouri State, vs. Evansville

Tiebreaker thoughts: Creighton (1-1), Indiana State (No, 0-2), Bradley (No, 0-2), Missouri State (TBD, 1-0), Southern Illinois (Yes, 2-0)

Outlook: Series sweeps by both Bradley and Indiana State will likely relegate the Bulldogs to the play-in game. As a minor consolation, a sweep against Southern Illinois will probably keep Drake at the worst the 8 seed.

With such a close race and remaining games against important teams, Drake could get out of the play-in game by winning at Missouri State and hoping that either Bradley or Indiana State loses both games.

Missouri State

Current state: Missouri State is currently tied for seventh place and would currently be the 8 seed as they trail a 0-1 series disadvantage against Drake.

Remaining games: vs. Drake, at Indiana State

Tiebreaker thoughts: Creighton (1-1), Indiana State (TBD, 1-0), Bradley (1-1), Drake (TBD, 0-1), Southern Illinois (1-1)

Outlook: Missouri State sits in a very similar position to Drake. Win that head-to-head game and that will likely earn the 7 seed. But find a way to win at Indiana State as well and probably jump out of the play-in game into the 6 spot. Like many other teams, there are so many moving parts that tiebreakers are just too close to call.

Southern Illinois

Current state: 9th place, one game out of seventh

Remaining games: vs. Creighton, at Wichita State

Tiebreaker thoughts: Creighton (TBD, 0-1), Indiana State (1-1), Bradley (1-1), Drake (No, 0-2), Missouri State (1-1)

Outlook: The Salukis have two major things working for them. They are not trailing any important tiebreakers other than Drake. Also, they would gain a bundle of tiebreaker points by winning their last two games. But the challenge will be actually pulling off either of these upsets. Southern Illinois is going to be in the play-in game and most likely will remain the 9 seed.

Evansville

Current state: 10th place with no hope of gaining any ground

Remaining games: vs. Northern Iowa, at Drake

Tiebreaker thoughts: N/A

Outlook: The only thing Evansville can do to upset the balance of the standings at this point is to knock off Drake in the final game of the season. Though surely every fan would expect the Bulldogs to win on senior night in Des Moines, a defeat to the Purple Aces would almost assuredly send Drake to the play-in game.

Bradley falls back to .500 after OT loss at Indiana State

69	75

The 2009-2010 Bradley Braves simply can't turn the corner. After knocking off nationally ranked Northern Iowa on Saturday, the Braves (13-13, 8-8 MVC) didn't put together a complete performance and fell at Indiana State, 75-69 in overtime.

The "other" Aaron Carter led all scorers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Doing his best impression of the famous pop singer, Carter made numerous big plays including the game winning shot with 40 seconds to play in overtime.

Bradley freshman guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards continues to blossom scoring a career-high 14 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. Even though he lacks experience, Simms-Edwards had the guts to attempt and make a long 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in overtime. At the time, his shot tied the game at 66-66.

After Carl Richard made a jumper on the following possession, Simms-Edwards continued to show his confidence with a hard drive to the basket. The shot didn't fall but sophomore center Will Egolf grabbed the rebound and fed junior guard Andrew Warren for an open 3-pointer to give the Braves a brief 69-68 lead with 1:00 to play.

The Sycamores (16-11, 8-8 MVC) were having some success driving to the basket late in the game and head coach Kevin McKenna drew up the perfect play to capitalize on that. Jordan Printy drove quickly to the basket and the entire Bradley defense bit, leaving multiple shooters open on the perimeter. Printy found Carter in the corner and it was a lead that would not be relinquished.

Simms-Edwards tried to score for the third straight possession but his contested jumper simply wouldn't fall in the hoop. A few free throws later and Bradley had fallen squarely backward in the conference standings.

The statistics were fairly even on the game as both teams shot about 40 percent from the floor. But the Braves committed 17 turnovers and shot 10 less free throws than Indiana State did.

Warren and junior guard Sam Maniscalco combined for just 3 points in the first half, but helped lead the charge to get back into the game after trailing by 10 at the break. Maniscalco led Bradley with 15 points and 5 assists while Warren added 13 points of his own.

Sophomore forward Taylor Brown was solid as well, pulling down his sixth double-double of the season (14 points, 13 rebounds). Even though senior guard Chris Roberts had a quiet scoring night (5 points), he did contribute 11 rebounds and three assists.

So, if so many of the Braves had decent games, why did Bradley come up short in Terre Haute? Well, the Will Egolf factor was in effect again - as he goes, so do the Braves. The sophomore center simply wasn't sharp, making 2-of-7 from the floor, committing three turnovers and fouling out in overtime.

This isn't to be too harsh on Egolf, as he certainly wasn't the main reason Bradley lost. Everybody made mistakes and these all combined together to result in a frustrating defeat. The Braves lack of interior players (other than Egolf) makes the team so reliant on him to be good game after game. And when he does have an off night (as every player does during the course of a season), Bradley usually struggles to pull out a victory.

This loss really puts a lot of pressure on the Braves now, who would have held tiebreakers over Drake and Indiana State and almost assured themselves a top six finish in the Valley. Now only two games remain against second place Wichita State and at Creighton, both teams that will be a major challenge to secure a victory. If Bradley doesn't get either of these games, a trip to the play-in game would be very possible.

But everyone has seen the capability of this team to beat the upper echelon programs in the league. Even after close losses (vs. Creighton, vs. Illinois State, at Northern Iowa), Bradley has proven it can beat any of these teams.

The BracketBuster

Bradley hosts Drexel on Saturday night in Peoria at 7:05 pm. This final regular season non-conference game is part of the BracketBusters series that helps the mid-major schools try and strengthen a resume to get invited to the NCAA tournament.

Because of how average the entire conference has been all season, only Northern Iowa (who hosts Old Dominion on Saturday) really has a chance to enhance or hinder its at-large bid consideration. Though Bradley certainly wishes it had something more significant to play for in this game, it does provide a good test against a solid east coast program.

The Dragons are 15-13 overall after falling big at VCU tonight, 73-54. The interesting aspect to watch will be how Bradley can handle Drexel's depth. While Bradley is essentially playing a 6-7 man rotation now, the Dragons are playing 8-9 deep.

Bradleys dominates second half, knocks off No. 18/19 Northern Iowa

59	68

Students rarely have the opportunity to storm in the court at Carver Arena. But after Bradley stormed back from a nine point halftime deficit, the "Red Sea" was able to wash onto the court in euphoria.

Junior guard Andrew Warren scored all 15 of his points in the second half to help the Braves (13-12, 8-7 MVC) shock the No. 18/19 team in the country. Four Bradley players finished in double figures as it was the first time the Braves have knocked off a ranked opponent in downtown Peoria.

Considering how much the Braves struggled to score in the first 20 minutes, the turnaround out of the break was nothing short of amazing. Northern Iowa methodically changed an 11-11 tie at the 10:27 mark into a 32-23 lead at the half. The team's patient offense got plenty of good looks and second chance opportunities. Combine that with how the Panthers (22-3, 13-2 MVC) put the clamps on the Bradley offense and it looked like another home loss was coming.

A few Northern Iowa fans remarked in the concourse at the half how if they could hit a three (3-of-14), they'd be up thirty. Few could have argued the impressive fact that a team which didn't even play its best ball was still nearly up double digits on the road.

If it wasn't for sophomore center Will Egolf, the Braves almost certainly would have been buried. Ten of Egolf's 12 points came before halftime, showing his athleticism against a bigger defender (talented Panther center Jordan Eglseder).

But for as many times as Bradley has come out of the break flat and allowed other teams back into games, the Braves finally returned the favor to an opponent. On both ends of the floor, the home squad looked like a completely different team.

Warren, who had been completely invisible in the first half, was active on defense and scored five of Bradley's first nine points. Before the under first television timeout, the Braves had tied the Panthers at 32-32.

The game seesawed back and forth for the next eight minutes, lacking a ton of flow due to the whistle-happy referees, coined by some as the "best" the Valley has to offer - John Higgins, Mike Sanzere, Gene Grimshaw. In a game that had only eight fouls called between both teams in the first half, suddenly had become boxing match in the referees eyes.

This stretch from 13:56 to 8:15 had an astonishing 13 fouls called between the teams. All players and coaches want is a consistent philosophy that is used throughout the game. Both coaches had plenty to gripe about but luckily, this didn't determine the outcome of the game.

In fact, both teams were unbelievable from the line. The Panthers made their first 11 free throws of the game, finishing 17-of-18 overall (93.3 percent). Bradley bested that total by making all but two attempts in the game (22-of-24, 94.4 percent).

And it was a free throw by senior guard Chris Roberts on a three-point-play opportunity that capped a decisive 9-1 run at 4:53. Roberts, who arguably had his best game of the season, had 13 points, no turnovers and finished his driving layups, which has been a problem at times this year.

Head coach Jim Les experimented a bit with a zone defense in the first half and then used it more frequently as the game progressed. The switching of defenses had the Panthers' offense confused and they frequently settled for contested outside shots.

And for as good as Northern Iowa can be from the perimeter, this was a game where the long bombs weren't falling. The Panthers made just 6-of-30 from beyond the arc, accounting for more than half of their 55 shot attempts.

That kind of result continues to leave fans scratching their heads as this Bradley team can knock off opponents like Northern Iowa and Illinois and drop puzzling decisions to Loyola and Western Carolina.

There's no way to guess how the rest of the season will go for the Braves. They could easily sweep their last three games and finish in the upper half of the conference. Just as possible, Bradley could overlook Indiana State on Tuesday and fall back into the play-in mess in the Valley standings.

No matter what happens the rest of the way, today was a good day to be Bradley fan.

Click the photo above to view a slideshow.

Rebounding costs Braves as Illinois State sweeps season series

62	61

Sometimes great games are spoiled by disappointing outcomes. This home loss has extra bitterness since it came against a longtime nemesis.

Jackie Carmichael scored on a second putback opportunity to give Illinois State a 62-61 lead with 49 seconds to play in the game. The Redbirds (17-8, 8-6 MVC) erased a 10-point halftime deficit and won for the first time in eight tries in the Jim Les era at Carver Arena.

Bradley (12-12, 7-7 MVC) had two opportunities to regain the lead in the waning moments, but a contested layup by junior guard Sam Maniscalco and a long two-pointer by sophomore forward Taylor Brown didn't fall.

Not only was it a devastating home loss against the hated Redbirds, but this was also a pivotal game in the MVC standings. Now Illinois State holds the tiebreaker against the Braves and pushes Bradley deeper into the muddled middle of the Valley.

Make no mistake about it, even through the television you could feel the atmosphere of another classic Bradley-ISU rivalry game. Bradley, as well as most of the arena, wore black for the first time in history. But just as the previous seven games had finished, the team in white won in Peoria.

The environment seemed to aid a fast start by the Braves, who got out to a 7-0 lead and prompted an early timeout by Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich. The Redbirds kept the game close for most of the half, but a 15-9 run helped Bradley go into halftime leading 35-25.

The teams traded runs to start the second half as Illinois State closed to within two at 37-35 with 17:34 left. But the Braves answered by extending the lead to 12 points (51-39) on a short shot by Brown at the 12:11 mark.

As it has plagued Bradley the entire season, the inability to finish a game came back to haunt the home squad again. The Braves were frozen on 54 points for almost six minutes (9:15 to 3:18), not able to score for seven consecutive possessions.

Consider that Illinois State shot just 39.3 percent for the game (24 of 61) and star guard Osiris Eldridge had a really poor performance (seven points, 3-of-12 shooting, one rebound). But the Redbirds stayed close by crushing Bradley on the glass again, 41 to 32 and that included 17 on the offensive end.

But this should be expected with the matchup problems that Illinois State presents. Dinma Odiakosa, Austin Hill and Carmichael are all big bruisers that the Braves cannot guard effectively.

Junior center Will Egolf did his best, but he shouldn't have to be counted upon to rebound against guys who have 10-20 pounds on him. On the other side of the spectrum, senior center Sam Singh has the size but lacks the foot speed to keep up with the more athletic bigs from Illinois State.

And even though the Redbirds led 18-7 in second chance points, the play of Maniscalco almost bailed out the Braves again. The junior has transformed this conference season from an important starter on his team to one of the more clutch players in the entire league.

For the game, Maniscalco finished with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and one turnover in 37 minutes of action. For as great as he was (including two shots either tied or gave Bradley the lead in the final two minutes), he will likely look to his missed layup with 20 seconds left as one that got away. Hopefully he doesn't that too hard, as the Braves don't even have a chance to win without him.

Brown might feel similarly, as the final taste in his mouth was a missed shot that he can easily knock down. Yet he did nearly have another double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

Maybe the lack of depth is really starting to catch up with the Braves. During the second half timeouts, the team looked visibly gassed. For as energetic and tenacious this team usually is during the first 20 minutes of games, it can look just as visibly lethargic during segments of second halves.

Junior guard Andrew Warren disappeared again for long stretches after such a great game at Evansville on Saturday. To his credit, he sparked the run to end the first half, scoring all nine of his points in less than a three minute stretch. But Warren then went 0-3 in latter 20 minutes and never really got into the flow of the offense. For such a talented player, he just seems to get lost in the mix at times and needs to take more charge.

Back to the bench

Sophomore center Anthony Thompson, who was coming off one of his best games in a Bradley uniform, didn't see the floor again tonight. The reason seems obvious: If Egolf and Singh can't play exceptionally well against the Illinois State beef, how will the lanky Thompson fare any better?

That said, maybe he could have blocked a few shots or at least altered them. Nobody would argue that Thompson is Hakeem Olajuwon, but why not give the kid a few minutes to see how he can stack up? If nothing else, it provides Bradley with a few extra fouls to put the poor free-throw shooting big men from Illinois State on the line.

Strengthening schedule

This game ended a stretch of seven winnable games for the Braves. They did manage to go 5-2, which helped them get back into the conference race. But now the finish is arguably as difficult as the start of conference play.

Bradley has one game against each of the top three teams in the conference (vs. No. 18 Northern Iowa on Saturday, vs. Wichita State on 2/24 and at Creighton on 2/27). Possibly the most important of all will be a road game in Terre Haute, Ind., against Indiana State. The Sycamores are now just one game behind Bradley in the standings and may be fighting with the Braves to stay out of the play-in game.

But that's how crazy this season has been in the Valley. Only three games separate second place from ninth place, so nothing is really decided yet. Bradley lost by two points at Northern Iowa in mid January, so it certainly would not be a shock if the Braves pulled the upset.