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Final score: Bradley 85 Central Michigan 54

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Bradley's next opponent is Central Michigan University from lovely Mount Pleasant, Michigan. They are a member of the Mid-America Conference
Game time 7:00 pm at Carver Arena
TV- ESPN+ - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401823455?gameId=401823455
Chat room- https://www.chatzy.com/bradleyfans
Live Stats- https://bradleybraves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
WMBD radio - https://wmbdradio.com/player/?playerID=2045

They are not going to be a pushover. They looked pretty good in their first game Monday night beating Appalachian State 82-66-
www.espn.com

Central Michigan 82-66 App State (Nov 3, 2025) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Central Michigan Chippewas vs. App State Mountaineers NCAAM game from November 3, 2025 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
CMU pulled out to a quick lead and never trailed in the game. They lead to as much as 15 points in the first half and by as much as 20 in the 2nd half, before pulling their starters and coasting to a 16 point win.
Central Michigan was picked 13th out of 14 teams in the MAC Preseason Poll.
Appalachian State was picked 7th out of 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll.
Keenan Garner, who Bradley recruited, played last year at IU-Indy and is now a sophomore, started and scored 9 points.
Kayden Nation, a Peoria native, scored 5 points off the bench
Their leading scorer was Tamario Adley, a 6'1" guard who transferred from D2 Wayne State. He had 22 points (8-12, 3-3 from three) and 7 rebounds.
Former Evansville player Logan McIntire, was 4-5 from three and had 14 points.

Central Michigan was 14-17 least year and 7-11 in the MAC. But their final NET rank was 219, which was worse than 10 of the 12 MVC teams. Only Missouri State (NET 245) and Evansville (NET 257) had a worse ranking than CMU. They fired 4-year head coach Tony Barbee and hired a successful Division II head coach from nearby Ferris State University, Andy Bronkema. He was 278-105 at Ferris State in 12 seasons, and competed in 7 D2 NCAA Tournaments. and won a D2 National Championship in 2018.
After the coaching change, all of their rostered players left and recruits who had committed asked to be released. So, Bronkema had to do a total rebuild.
Of the 15 players listed on their 2025-26 roster, every one is new to Central Michigan.
3 are freshmen
3 are transfers from other D1 schools (Michigan, IU Indy, & Tennessee Tech)
7 are transfers from D2 schools (3 from Bronkema's old school Ferris State, 2 from Wayne State, one from Purdue Northwest, & one from Kentucky Wesleyan)
1 is a transfer from an NAIA school (IU-South Bend)
1 is a junior college transfer. (Kayden Nation from Peoria; Limestone HS via Indian Hills CC in Iowa)

CMU links-
Schedule/results- https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster- https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats after 1 game- https://cmuchippewas.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-26
CMU Game Notes- https://cmuchippewas.com/documents/2025/10/31/CMU_Game_1_Notes_App_State_110325.pdf

Bradley starters for their first game against St. Bonaventure were Ahmet Jonovic, A.J. Smith, Alex Huibregtse, Demarion Burch, and Jaquan Johnson, but the starters for Saturday's games could e different.
Box score for Bradley's first game- https://bradleybraves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-26/st-bonaventure/boxscore/22673
Bradley stats after 1 game- https://bradleybraves.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats
 
From Google AI:

The Bradley Braves are favored to win their men's basketball game against Central Michigan this Saturday, November 8, 2025. Analysts predict Bradley has a stronger, more balanced roster and is primed for a successful season.

Why Bradley is favored:
Talent: Head coach Brian Wardle has reloaded the roster with high-impact transfer additions and a strong returning core.
Balance: The Braves are expected to have a balanced attack with elite shooting, disruptive guard play, versatile wings, and solid interior presence.
Key players: Keep an eye on returning All-Freshman selection Jaquan Johnson and transfers Alex Huibregtse and AJ Smith.

Factors for Central Michigan:
New coach: After parting ways with head coach Tony Barbee, Central Michigan hired Andy Bronkema, formerly of Ferris State, during the offseason.
Rebound season: This game is part of a rebound effort for the Chippewas after a losing season in 2024–2025.

Let's hope AI is right!
 
battlebasset said:
From Google AI:

The Bradley Braves are favored to win their men's basketball game against Central Michigan this Saturday, November 8, 2025. Analysts predict Bradley has a stronger, more balanced roster and is primed for a successful season.

Why Bradley is favored:
Talent: Head coach Brian Wardle has reloaded the roster with high-impact transfer additions and a strong returning core.
Balance: The Braves are expected to have a balanced attack with elite shooting, disruptive guard play, versatile wings, and solid interior presence.
Key players: Keep an eye on returning All-Freshman selection Jaquan Johnson and transfers Alex Huibregtse and AJ Smith.

Factors for Central Michigan:
New coach: After parting ways with head coach Tony Barbee, Central Michigan hired Andy Bronkema, formerly of Ferris State, during the offseason.
Rebound season: This game is part of a rebound effort for the Chippewas after a losing season in 2024–2025.

Let's hope AI is right!
Click to expand...
Central Michigan is sitting at 270 in kenpom rankings FWIW
 
Nashville Cat said:
Central Michigan is sitting at 270 in kenpom rankings FWIW
Click to expand...
yeah...

but consider that Drake's first SIX games are against...
- Northern Arizona- picked distant LAST place in a weak Big Sky Conference, will be a 300+ NET team
- Robert Morris- just got blown out by Iowa 101-69, will be 250-300
- Simpson- God only knows who they are? - Tiny D3 religious college located in Indianola that went 5-20 last year
- SIUE- a real DI team but should be a cupcake, 221 NET
- Charleston- who are coming off a win over Tusculum, who were 6-22 last yr. (147 NET0
- Buena Vista- no, not the high school, but the Buena Vista Beavers of Storm Lake, Iowa, whose coach stepped down last spring after a bad year, so they are rebuilding. I doubt anyone here has ever heard of them, ......they are another bad D3

so Drake doesn't really play anyone until after Thanksgiving... their home fans are gonna love seeing all the lopsided games against bad D3's
If it was me, I'd want a refund on my season tickets.
 
I remember the good old days (just a few years ago) when we didn't talk about NET/RPI/EIEIO until teams had played 10 games. It seems sort of preposterous to think that any fair system can rank 300+ teams after a single game (good or bad).
 
Preseason rankings, even Kenpom, are notoriously inaccurate, especially in this era of Transfer Portal, and immediate eligibility when a team has all new players.
IMO, Central Michigan is better than a 270th ranked team. I watched them beat Appalachian State (82-66), and though it was just 1 game, for a team with a new coach and an entire new roster, they looked pretty good. They are quick, pass the ball well, and have a couple shooters- guards Tamario Adley (22 points, 8-12 overall, and 3-3 from three) and Logan McIntire (14 points, 4-6 overall, and 4-5 from three) that Bradley needs to guard well. They also have a couple big bodied post players and a couple guards off the bench who looked pretty decent.
 
Bacci'sAftertheGym said:
Did parking passes come with tickets this year? I don't believe I received any in my season tickets packet
Click to expand...
Yes, I got a tear-off pad with parking passes for every home game. If your level of Braves Club membership was supposed to come with parking, then get in touch with the Braves Club people. There might be someone set up in the Civic Center lobby or at the ticket windows (where the lapel pins are being distributed).
 
Calf injury
Occurred during last game then worsened in practice so they shut him down til it’s healed
 
Attendance: 5,814
Nice crowd for the first game. It's always nice to have Saturday night games.
Jaquan Johnson with a terrific game, especially his 2nd half. He ends with a career high 33 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals
A.J. Smith- 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks
Alex Huibregtse- 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Corey Thomas- 9 points, 3 rebounds
Bradley shoots 51.8% overall (29-56), 38.5% from three (10-26), and 68.0% on FTs (17-25)

Box score- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401823455
Team stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/matchup/_/gameId/401823455
Play by Play- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/playbyplay/_/gameId/401823455
 
Last edited:
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