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2026-2027 Bradley men's and women's Non Conference Schedules released

Davidson was a 112 Net last year and Pacific was a 114, George Mason was 94, North Texas was 135. Those look like the highlights based on last years net rankings. And of course the exhibition with SLU who was 29.
 
I was hoping for 3 exhibitions and maybe a little tougher lineup of opponents.. but it is what it is...

so there is no return at NIU, & presumably Davidson comes here in 2027, and we know Green Bay is coming to BU again in 2027,
and North Texas also comes to BU in 2027.

- October 7, 2026, Wednesday - Itoo Spaghetti Supper - doors open 5:30pm, dinner 6pm
- October 23, 2026, Friday 7pm - Preseason Exhibition game at Saint Louis
- October 28, 2026, Wednesday - HOME Preseason Exhibition game vs SIUE
- November 2, 2026, Monday - HOME vs Monmouth College
- November 7, 2026, Saturday - HOME vs Pacific
- November 10, 2026, Tuesday - at Davidson
- November 12, 2026, Thursday - vs Coppin State in the Showdown in St. Pete- 6pm Eastern, 5pm Central
- November 14, 2026, Saturday - vs George Mason in the Showdown in St. Pete- 11am Eastern, 10am Central
- November 18, 2026, Wednesday - HOME vs Purdue Fort Wayne
- November 21, 2026, Saturday - at Pacific
- November 28, 2026, Saturday - HOME vs Chicago State
- December 1, 2026, Tuesday - HOME vs Loras College
- December 4, 2026, Friday - at North Texas
- December 8, 2026, Tuesday - HOME vs Green Bay
- 20-game MVC home-and-home schedule
- March 4-7, 2027 - 2027 MVC Tourney
 
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Well, not quite as good as I hoped, but also not nearly as bad as I feared. 6 home games, 3 tough road games, and 2 neutral site games.
Considering it is virtually impossible to get Power Conference teams on the schedule, there are some pretty good matchups.
I suspect with the coaching change at NIU, and a good friend of Coach Wardle getting the job there, I wonder if they agreed to move the game with NIU back a year to give Matt Majkrzak a year to build his roster.
 
The womens schedule lists the Red/White showcase on October 17 but it is not listed on the Men’s. I wonder if that was an oversight or ?? Also sort of surprised the SIUE game is an exhibition vs a regular season game. Maybe they could not work out another date. They did a game at REN Center last year but does not look like they will this year. Also interesting that Men and Women both play at home on Nov 28 but lists women as Ren Center and Men at Carver-don’t remember both men and women playing on the same day in different locations before.
 
Loras College is one of two non-D1 schools on the schedule. Despite Loras playing men's basketball since 1909 and Bradley since 1903, the two teams have never met before.
Loras is a Division III school in Dubuque, Iowa. They have a long and successful history playing in the ARC- American Rivers Conference (previously known as the IIAC- Iowa Intercollegiate Conference). They have been perennial contenders for the past decade, and last year (2025-26), they finished a close 2nd in the conference, won the postseason conference tournament, and played in the NCAA D3 National Tournament.

A local player and son of an acquaintance of mine, played for them from 2021-2025- Tyler Bass of Washington High School-
https://duhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/tyler-bass/13448
Tyler averaged double-digits his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, and lead the team in scoring and was second in rebounding as a senior (15.7 ppg, and 7.9 rpg). He helped lead the team to a conference tournament championship and NCAA D3 Tournament appearance in 2024.
Tyler is now a staff member of the Loras team as their Director of Athletic Communications-

Tyler Bass - Director of Athletic Communications - Staff Directory - Loras College Athletics

Tyler Bass was named Loras College’s Director of Athletic Communication in August 2026. A 2025 graduate of Loras College, Bass most recently served as an Athletic
duhawks.com duhawks.com

Loras has not posted their roster for 2026-27 yet, but based on last year's roster, they will likely feature several Illinois prep players, as well as another Washington High School grad-
2025-26 roster- https://duhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2025-26
 
A couple interesting and questionable things with the women's 2026-27 non-conference schedule-
https://bradleybraves.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule

Date Time At Opponent Location Tournament Result
Oct 17 (Sat) TBA Home Red/White Showcase TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Oct 19 (Mon) TBA Home North Central College TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Oct 26 (Mon) TBA Away Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO
Nov 3 (Tue) TBA Away University of Wisconsin Madison, WI
Nov 6 (Fri) TBA Home Northern Illinois University TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Nov 9 (Mon) TBA Away Indiana University Bloomington, IN
Nov 14 (Sat) TBA Away Bellarmine University Louisville, KY
Nov 18 (Wed) TBA Away DePaul University Chicago, IL
Nov 25 (Wed) TBA Neutral University of Texas at El Paso TBD
Nov 27 (Fri) TBA Away Texas State University San Marcos, TX
Nov 28 (Sat) TBA Neutral Pacific University TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Dec 2 (Wed) TBA Home Kent State University TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Dec 5 (Sat) TBA Home Western Illinois University TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)
Dec 8 (Tue) TBA Away University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD
Dec 13 (Sun) TBA Home University of Memphis TBD (Renaissance Coliseum)

Some very tough opponents for a young team with a new head coach.
Plus there are a couple odd quirks if I am reading the schedule correctly-
Exhibition game at St. Louis on Oct. 26 (3 days after the BU men play their exhibition at St. Louis)
Game at Wisconsin to start the regular season on Nov. 3
Then a home game against Northern Illinois on Nov. 6
Then another tough road game at Indiana on Nov. 9.
Then a road game at Bellarmine in Louisville on Nov. 14
Then a road game at DePaul in Chicago on Nov. 18
Then after all that travel, they head 1,000 miles south to San Marcos, Texas for games in the Texas State Tournament-
>>Games against Texas El Paso on Nov. 25 and against Texas State on Nov. 27
Then, according to the website schedule, they return to the Ren-Col to play Pacific the next day, on Nov. 28- (is this correct? If true, the team has to travel 1000 miles back to Peoria for a game the next day? This has to be a mistake. It makes more sense that this game is in Texas.
Note that the print version of the schedule lists the Pacific game at a "Neutral" site, but then lists the location as the Renaissance Coliseum. :unsure:
Finally, they have 3 of their final 4 non-conference games at home against Kent State, Western Illinois, and the University of Memphis, with one more road game at South Dakota.
 
1. In reviewing last year's KenPom rankings, our Non-Conference Strength of Schedule was why our rankings were as low as they were.
2. I concur - why are we playing both Monmouth and Loras in our schedule.
3. As a Chicago-area alum who is willing to drive to Peoria, could they figure how to get a decent non-conference opponent on a weekend?
4. The women's non-conference schedule does appear to be tougher than the men's. Good luck to the Lady Braves.
5, Do you get the feeling that Wardle just wants to stack the schedule so he can get another 20-win season so he will look good when he moves on? Look Brian Wardle is a good coach, but if this program is ever going to advance (and I mean away from the Valley) it needs to get a tougher non-conference season. It will reveal the team's weaknesses, so it can successfully take on the MVC. That philosophy made Gonzaga and Butler the teams they are now,
 
MAK77 said:
1. In reviewing last year's KenPom rankings, our Non-Conference Strength of Schedule was why our rankings were as low as they were.
2. I concur - why are we playing both Monmouth and Loras in our schedule.
3. As a Chicago-area alum who is willing to drive to Peoria, could they figure how to get a decent non-conference opponent on a weekend?
4. The women's non-conference schedule does appear to be tougher than the men's. Good luck to the Lady Braves.
5, Do you get the feeling that Wardle just wants to stack the schedule so he can get another 20-win season so he will look good when he moves on? Look Brian Wardle is a good coach, but if this program is ever going to advance (and I mean away from the Valley) it needs to get a tougher non-conference season. It will reveal the team's weaknesses, so it can successfully take on the MVC. That philosophy made Gonzaga and Butler the teams they are now,
Click to expand...
Wardle does not stack the schedule to make himself look good. I don't think runs away from a challenge. My guess Bradley tried to schedule teams but Bradley's reputation is better than what you think it is. Teams don't want to play Bradley for fear of getting beat. Monmouth and Loras will be better than what you think. They will be good shooters and fundamentally sound. What with Bradley having alot of new faces it will be a good way to get the players performing in game situations
 
MAK77 said:
...
5, Do you get the feeling that Wardle just wants to stack the schedule so he can get another 20-win season so he will look good when he moves on? Look Brian Wardle is a good coach, but if this program is ever going to advance (and I mean away from the Valley) it needs to get a tougher non-conference season. It will reveal the team's weaknesses, so it can successfully take on the MVC. That philosophy made Gonzaga and Butler the teams they are now,
Click to expand...
I agree with your points 1-4, but I think there is more to the schedule issue than just looking to stack it with easy wins. The coaches and AD have tried to get stronger teams on the schedule, but those schools don't want to play good mid-majors like Bradley.
The issue of scheduling good games on Saturdays is one I have posted about for many years. I don't know what all the reasons are, but they need more Saturday night games. Only 2 of the games revealed so far are on weekends.
Of the 7 home games on the non-conference schedule (6 games plus one exhibition) the only two that are on a weekend are the Saturday, Nov. 7 game against Pacific and the Saturday, Nov. 28 game against Chicago State (Thanksgiving weekend). Not much of a choice for someone like MAK77 who is from out of town.
I hope the conference schedule has more Saturday games.
 
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