2 MVC games today

[BUBraves2006]

Dom should be back for Saturday

I stand corrected. According to today's Pantagraph, the funeral for Dom's grandfather is Saturday and he will not be available to play that night.

I'm NOT trying to stir up trouble here...but ...

Do you really think it will matter if he plays or not? I just don't think ISU matches up well with BU at all. This isn't about the rivalry, I just would be stunned if BU lost at ISU on Saturday. I compare this to BU vs. MSU. If Bradley plays Missouri State 10 times, I bet we lose 7 or 8 of them. It doesn't mean that they're way better or we're way worse, the matchup just isn't good for us.

I'll be happy to eat my words the Birds can win, I just personally don't see it happening.

 

[DannyCooksey]

Fair enough and I can certainly see why you would say that. The matchup isn't that good for the Birds, I agree. The point I was trying to make was that with BU's strength on the perimeter, losing a guard of Dom's ability, especially defensively, will make an already difficult task even more difficult.

That said, you guys smoked the 'Birds without Crouch so there's plenty of reason for BU fans to expect a comfortable win in Normal, especially since he's back now. Whether Dom is there or not.

As far as this game goes, it's a rivalry and anything can happen. Do I expect the Birds to win? Honestly I don't, but I expect a better and closer game and if it's within 5-6 points in the last 3-4 minutes, anything can happen.

This will be the 1st time all season where the 'Birds will have a good crowd (though a couple thousand will be BU fans for sure). I am interested to see how they respond.

All I was saying was that I'd like the Birds chances alot better with Johnson playing. With him they maybe had a 30% chance to win and now I'd put it at about 20%. He's very important to the perimeter defense.

I know this much: the Birds will be fired up and ready to play this game. Maybe the atmosphere and with Collins being there, maybe it makes a couple guys play over their head? You never know.

I expect them to lose, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if they won.

 

[tornado]

DC-
There isn't and won't be a single game in the Valley that I would put into the win column until the final buzzer goes off.
In no way am I going to give a "book it" for BU at ISU, as I think just about anything could happen.
I was surprised by how poorly we defended the outside shooting at Wichita and how poorly we hit our shots at Creighton, but I was likewise surprised how easily BU put away WSU in Peoria and how well we shot and played at Indiana State where they had not lost all year.

 

[ER3]

The road has a funny way of neutralizing a lot of BU's perceived matchup advantages. I have never approached a road game...any road game...with the thought that BU will win easily, that they 'can't lose', etc. They match up well with ISU, they handled them easily at home, and they can win this game if they play well. All true statements, but I can't go any further than that...I wouldn't be stunned if they lost...I would be hugely disappointed, yes, because they have to win another road game or two if they have any hope of finishing in the top 3 or 4 in the Valley...but it's a road game, and I've learned the hard way that things don't always turn out like they seem that they should on paper when a road game is involved. Should be fun...

 

[Bravesfan]

The road has a funny way of neutralizing a lot of BU's perceived matchup advantages. I have never approached a road game...any road game...with the thought that BU will win easily, that they 'can't lose', etc. They match up well with ISU, they handled them easily at home, and they can win this game if they play well. All true statements, but I can't go any further than that...I wouldn't be stunned if they lost...I would be hugely disappointed, yes, because they have to win another road game or two if they have any hope of finishing in the top 3 or 4 in the Valley...but it's a road game, and I've learned the hard way that things don't always turn out like they seem that they should on paper when a road game is involved. Should be fun...

All true statements. This is a game BU should win easily, but it could also be the classic trap game as well. Hopefully we come out to a nice lead early and make things easier for us.

 

[Dubl R 1]

The key to the game at ISU, and any road game for us the rest of the year, IMO, is rebounding. We cannot let teams get 2-3 chances to score, especially when we are on the road. Not only for the obvious reason of them scoring points, but it is demoralizing to stop somebody for 30 seconds, force a bad shot, and they still get the ball back and score. It demoralizes us, and energizes the home team. Look at the MSU game, we rebounded with them in the 1st half and stayed within 2 points, the second half when they started getting an advantage on the boards, the game got away from us. We do the other things in the game on the road pretty well, but can't seem to correct this.

 

[BUBraves2006]

I'm glad my sentiments fostered so much discussion ...

Sure, anything can happen in the Valley. I'm never 100 percent sure about anything (as I think it would be tough for anyone to be) once conference play begins...

I guess my confidence brims from watching both BU (all games) and ISU (quite a few) play this season. ISU doesn't crash the boards as hard as Missouri State does and they don't defend as well as UNI (and others) can.

Sure, not having Johnson will be a hinderance. The game will be decided on the inside, not just with rebounding. Dilligard generally plays well against BU and if he can be huge inside that might help ISU overcome some of their other deficiencies against the Braves.

It's always fun with the War on 74, and I think (as it always seems to be) it'll be close. But I'll still stick with being "stunned" if we lose.

It's nice to have intelligent ISU fans as opposed to the ones (*cough*Kansas fans*cough*) who just flame about things are simply incorrect and can't realize how things are in reality.