Bradley Bracket Buster opponent announced

[Bravesfan]

I am one that does not blame ESPN. Call me goofy but BU could have prevented this by winning a couple of games that they lost. It is on the program to take care of business and not rely on ESPN to give them a good game. On the positive side, a win against a not so strong bracketbuster opponent could help reach the magical number of 20 wins for the 4th year in a row

Road trip to Chicago for a nice meal and there will be no problems getting tickets.

Loyola could end up being a season opener next year when the schedule could be filled with very good games except the 1st 2 in the Vegas tourney.

Well, no excuse to lose this game. We not only would get closer to 20 wins, but in all seriousness, this could get us closer to NIT territory. We need to beat UNI tomorrow night as well, but at least Loyola could help us pad our win total.

And yes, another game against the Horizon League! How appropriate!

 

[Da Coach]

Official BradleyBraves.com release--
Men's basketball to play at Loyola in BracketBusters
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=3660270

PEORIA, Ill. ??“ The Bradley men??™s basketball team (13-9 overall) will play at Loyola-Chicago (12-11 overall) on Saturday, Feb. 21 as part of the seventh annual BracketBusters. Game time for the contest at the Gentile Center in Chicago, Ill., is yet to be determined.

Bradley holds a 29-15 lead in the all-time series with the Ramblers and has won four of the last five meetings. The two teams first played during the 1927-28 season and will be playing for the seventh consecutive year. The Braves won 64-47 last year at the Gentile Center. Loyola will make the return trip to Carver Arena next season.

Bradley is 4-1 in BracketBuster games, having won three straight in the event. Last season the Braves topped Wisconsin-Milwaukee 84-72 at Carver Arena on ESPN 360.

 

[Bravesfan]

I think this is fine. To be honest, we did not put ourselves in the position to get a top-notch opponent. While this game will certainly not be an RPI boost, it does not make any difference this year. We are not going to get an at-large bid regardless of what we do the rest of the season.

This gives us a game in Chicago which is good for both Chicago area fans and local fans, easy travel that will not interfere with our conference season, and a decent return opponent. In addition, UNI getting the Siena game was a great get for the MVC, which is good for us. Outside of UNI, we (the MVC) do not have an at-large candidate. A win for UNI will certainly help strengthen their hopes.

So, in many regards this is about as good as we could hope for and in line with what we deserve. I think Doug Elgin did fine with the line-up we received.

Agreed. And we get a natural rival into Peoria next year for the 8th year in a row. Not a bad opponent, and we get an easy win onto our schedule next year, which frankly is very challanging as it is.

Oh, and in addition to UNI, don't forget Creighton drawing George Mason. The Valley has a shot to strengthen themselves nicely if we can win at least 7 or 8 of these games.

 

[Bravesfan]

Maybe instead of having a press conference tomorrow to announce that we are playing Loyola, we should instead have a press conference announcing that BU is working feverishly with ESPN to see if there is some way to get Chicago St., University of Chicago, Robert Morris College, Wheaton College, Lake Forest College, Moody Bible Institute, and the DeVry Institute of Technology all involved in the Bracket Buster games in the future. That way we can guarantee that we will have a game against a lousy basketball team in the Chicago area every single year.;-)

Don't forget Lewis University. They showed a game on the northwest Indiana PBS station last week. Not a bad atmosphere there for a D-II school! And a good team too in the top D-II conference in the country. Bradley would beat them, but it might be a good game.

 

[Da Coach]

Dave Reynolds' article-
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x543540896/Bradley-left-out-of-BracketBuster-TV-slate

 

[georgethedog]

I think this is fine. To be honest, we did not put ourselves in the position to get a top-notch opponent. While this game will certainly not be an RPI boost, it does not make any difference this year. We are not going to get an at-large bid regardless of what we do the rest of the season.

This gives us a game in Chicago which is good for both Chicago area fans and local fans, easy travel that will not interfere with our conference season, and a decent return opponent. In addition, UNI getting the Siena game was a great get for the MVC, which is good for us. Outside of UNI, we (the MVC) do not have an at-large candidate. A win for UNI will certainly help strengthen their hopes.

So, in many regards this is about as good as we could hope for and in line with what we deserve. I think Doug Elgin did fine with the line-up we received.

You are absolutely correct. Face it, BU is not that great of a team this year in a so-so conference. Couple that with a loss to UMKC and blow-outs against the big-boys and that's that. While the BU program is not in the dumps, it certainly is not deserving of any special recognition or treatment. BU is a mediocre team, period. Our only hope is getting hot and winning the MVC tourney or having a great regular season finish to get to the NIT, but that looks like that won't happen. Tied for second or not, this has not been a good year. Also, BU has a few more tough games and that "tied for second" could end up as a 5th or 6th place finish real easy. Sorry for the reality check...

 

[Bravesfan]

You are absolutely correct. Face it, BU is not that great of a team this year in a so-so conference. Couple that with a loss to UMKC and blow-outs against the big-boys and that's that. While the BU program is not in the dumps, it certainly is not deserving of any special recognition or treatment. BU is a mediocre team, period. Our only hope is getting hot and winning the MVC tourney or having a great regular season finish to get to the NIT, but that looks like that won't happen. Tied for second or not, this has not been a good year. Also, BU has a few more tough games and that "tied for second" could end up as a 5th or 6th place finish real easy. Sorry for the reality check...

Yeah but they can also win a few of these games and finish in 2nd place by themselves. I think Drake and Evansville are beatable on the road. And UNI is beatable at home tomorrow night. I think that game will tell us where we are headed the rest of the season. If we beat UNI, we should finish with a minimum of 11 conference wins as wins against Drake, Evansville and Missouri St are very doable in Peoria.

If we split with Drake and Evansville on the road and get that win at Loyola, we finish 12-6 in conference and 19-11 overall before St. Louis. That should be more than enough for the NIT, though it still will be a close call as to whether we get a home game or not.

Hey, we can finish at 16-15 or 17-14 and get a couple of CBI home games and maybe ride that to the finals again. And that would be nice too. However, the NIT would show we are making some progress as a team, and this year at least I would probably prefer that at the very least. With an even more experienced team next year, the NIT would be a good stepping stone.

 

[TheAsianSensation]

Bradley is the highest RPI team not on TV.

The MVC is the highest rated conference in this.

We're T-2 in said conference.

Our profile is marginal by college basketball standards. Our profile is well above-average by BracketBuster standards.


I get that it's been a disappointing season. But it's about relative performance. How do you compare to the other teams? To look at who's in ahead of us makes you wonder.


It's not about getting a better opponent. It's about respect. We were disrespected.

 

[georgethedog]

Bradley is the highest RPI team not on TV.

The MVC is the highest rated conference in this.

We're T-2 in said conference.

Our profile is marginal by college basketball standards. Our profile is well above-average by BracketBuster standards.


I get that it's been a disappointing season. But it's about relative performance. How do you compare to the other teams? To look at who's in ahead of us makes you wonder.


It's not about getting a better opponent. It's about respect. We were disrespected.

Someone has to be the highest rated RPI team not on TV. I think after the higher RPI teams are picked, RPI really doesn't matter for the rest of the games because most of those schools are going nowhere anyway and the game doesn't matter much.

 

[ph]

I say the entire MVC donates their return games to ISU to boost their SOS next season...

 

[jeffsu]

I say the entire MVC donates their return games to ISU to boost their SOS next season...

Best idea today.

Gold star for the post!

 

[epistibrain]

Maybe instead of having a press conference tomorrow to announce that we are playing Loyola, we should instead have a press conference announcing that BU is working feverishly with ESPN to see if there is some way to get Chicago St., University of Chicago, Robert Morris College, Wheaton College, Lake Forest College, Moody Bible Institute, and the DeVry Institute of Technology all involved in the Bracket Buster games in the future. That way we can guarantee that we will have a game against a lousy basketball team in the Chicago area every single year.;-)

Hey ER, Wheaton was ranked number 1, before their three game slide to Carthage, Elmhurst, and North Central.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Greetings from Luanda. We're stopping the revolution as we speak...

What a terrible game. Proof positive that conference play in our league means very, very little in the eyes of the East coast Sports Programming Network. Evansville is barely out of play-in contention, but is able to ride the boost from playing at UNC to a TV game, while BU gets stuck going to the house of horrors that has been the Gentile Center. Yes, I understand that our RPI is 100, but we're tied for 2nd in our league with 2 teams that got TV games. We won at 2 places that ISU didn't. I don't think we're getting 'picked on' or anything, but I think we've outgrown the whole 'BracketBuster' idea (and by 'we' I mean the whole league). Putting part of our scheduling in the hands of bureaucrats who clearly don't have our better interests in mind is just a bad idea. The MVC-MWC Challenge should be enough to replace the BracketBuster. More than enough.

 

[TheAsianSensation]

Greetings from Luanda. We're stopping the revolution as we speak...

What a terrible game. Proof positive that conference play in our league means very, very little in the eyes of the East coast Sports Programming Network. Evansville is barely out of play-in contention, but is able to ride the boost from playing at UNC to a TV game, while BU gets stuck going to the house of horrors that has been the Gentile Center. Yes, I understand that our RPI is 100, but we're tied for 2nd in our league with 2 teams that got TV games. We won at 2 places that ISU didn't. I don't think we're getting 'picked on' or anything, but I think we've outgrown the whole 'BracketBuster' idea (and by 'we' I mean the whole league). Putting part of our scheduling in the hands of bureaucrats who clearly don't have our better interests in mind is just a bad idea. The MVC-MWC Challenge should be enough to replace the BracketBuster. More than enough.

Make no mistake - if we're designated a home team this year instead of an away team, we have Evansville's game. We'd have a Top 50 RPI team coming to our place.

That's absurd to think a simple home/road split can cause such a huge discrepancy in opponent.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Make no mistake - if we're designated a home team this year instead of an away team, we have Evansville's game. We'd have a Top 50 RPI team coming to our place.

That's absurd to think a simple home/road split can cause such a huge discrepancy in opponent.

The whole event is absurd at this point. This event has yet to pay the dividends for us that it is supposed to. The only year we danced we weren't even on TV. Some may say it's a mistake to thumb our noses at ESPN, but I say 'What have you done for me lately?'. Outside of potshots at Peoria, the answer is nothing.

 

[Bradleyguy10]

It still hurts a bit thinking about going to VCU and beating them handily on their court, and then watch them as they go to the NCAA tournament......

It was fun to watch them beat duke.....little piece of me died though...should've been us

 

[squirrel]

exactly...fans want games in Chicago, the coaching staff wants opportunities to play in Chicago, and this is a good, winnable game...

When you're RPI is sitting at 100, you really can't complain about the matchups.

That's what ticks me off more than anything. This is the game BU wanted. Irresponsible when you have Drexel sitting there with a 100 RPI, playing as well as anybody else in the field (10 of 12, only a few of them close), and will be even better next year because they only have one senior contributing.

 

[braves12]

Wily,

Road trip for sure to Chicago. See you at the luncheon. Retirement is great. I won't miss many road games now.

 

[braves12]

I wish BU had a better game in the Bracketbuster, I wish much more that BU would have won against UMKC, UWM and the Bluejays at home. If these would have happened, I think BU gets a good game and on TV. They didn't, and thus they got Loyola. Playing a Drexel may be a little better for the RPI, but BU has not put itself in a position for an at large invitation. Beating Drexel wouldn't do it either. We can blame ESPN but it would not surprise me 1 bit that BU preferred to go to Loyola than to go to Drexel.

Loyola is not a great game, but it is close for fans, and it will get some (but very little) notice in Chicago. I am one who thinks that a game against Loyola will not help our recruiting.

Some say get out of the Bracketbuster, OK. Who can BU schedule that will give them a chance to get on TV? The Bracketbuster gives BU a chance to get on TV. BU blew this chance by losing games they should have won.

If and when BU has the consistent success that SIU and Creighton have had in past years, may (I say may) be able to get a TV game against another strong mid-major from ESPN regardless of the Bracketbuster. Then BU could schedule a tough opponent and get on TV. Today that is not just possible. The Bracketbuster is the best opportunity for BU to get another game on national TV. It is not up to ESPN to take care of BU, it is up to BU to take care of BU.

Am I a big proponent of the Bracketbuster...no. Do I think the game against Loyola is great .....no. Do I blame ESPN......no. When the program is consistently above mediocre, then we fans may have a legitimate b!tch about ESPN and the Bracketbuster. Currently, the program is consistently mediocre. I think the wringing of hands should be about getting consistently better than mediocre. At this point in time I am confident the rest will take care of itself.

 

[wily coyote]

I wish BU had a better game in the Bracketbuster, I wish much more that BU would have won against UMKC, UWM and the Bluejays at home. If these would have happened, I think BU gets a good game and on TV. They didn't, and thus they got Loyola. Playing a Drexel may be a little better for the RPI, but BU has not put itself in a position for an at large invitation. Beating Drexel wouldn't do it either. We can blame ESPN but it would not surprise me 1 bit that BU preferred to go to Loyola than to go to Drexel.

Loyola is not a great game, but it is close for fans, and it will get some (but very little) notice in Chicago. I am one who thinks that a game against Loyola will not help our recruiting.

Some say get out of the Bracketbuster, OK. Who can BU schedule that will give them a chance to get on TV? The Bracketbuster gives BU a chance to get on TV. BU blew this chance by losing games they should have won.

If and when BU has the consistent success that SIU and Creighton have had in past years, may (I say may) be able to get a TV game against another strong mid-major from ESPN regardless of the Bracketbuster. Then BU could schedule a tough opponent and get on TV. Today that is not just possible. The Bracketbuster is the best opportunity for BU to get another game on national TV. It is not up to ESPN to take care of BU, it is up to BU to take care of BU.

Am I a big proponent of the Bracketbuster...no. Do I think the game against Loyola is great .....no. Do I blame ESPN......no. When the program is consistently above mediocre, then we fans may have a legitimate b!tch about ESPN and the Bracketbuster. Currently, the program is consistently mediocre. I think the wringing of hands should be about getting consistently better than mediocre. At this point in time I am confident the rest will take care of itself.

b12, well put. I couldn't agree more. We need to get better on a consistent bases and sustain it for years not just a stretch. I too do not like the system but if we take care of business and not get beat by teams that have no business beating us,maybe ESPN will put us on the tube. Until we do that we have no one to blame but us. On the bright side, Its a game we can see in person and I think the troops are coming to get us there. Patience is a virtue. Go Braves