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Bradley-MSU postgame thread

I

IlliBraves

New member
Braves lose a heartbreaker to MSU, 66-61 after leading almost the entire game....I really want to hurt someone right now!!! This team is frustrating because we're close in all our games with decent opponents, we just can't seem to turn the corner. I was not expecting 3 losses at this point in the season. Absolutely heart breaking.
 
It was a decent game. Really wish MSU's preseason all american would have came to play today. Not to mention the rest of the team, what did they shoot? 38% from the field? They are a 50%+ FG shooting team this season. They were 60ish% from the line? I really wish they could have gave you guys a better game. Oh well a win is a win.

Bradley should win a lot of games in their conference this year. They looked pretty good.
 
This was a tough loss considering how long we kept the lead in the game. Mich. St. just made a few more plays than we did at the end. It was that minor of a difference.

HOWEVER, I hope the players keep their heads held high. They played a top 10 team down the wire. We frustrated them. For those who didn't watch the game on ESPNU, Coach Izzo was irritated as heck. They were backed into a corner for most of the game.

PLEASE keep heart Bradley. This game should show you that you are GOOD.
 
That's how Izzo always looks regardless of the score of the game lol. We were up 25+ points against NCST and he called a time out and I thought he was going to have a hernia or a heart attack. The guy is a competitor and he expects a lot out of his players even if they are blowing out their opponents.
 
Pay no attention to what the guy above is saying. MSU had no business winning that game. MSU shot like $#@!7 from the field because of the defense that Bradley unleashed on them. MSU shot like $#!7 from the line because of the amazing crowd that was in Carver Arena tonight.

Major props to Bradley and their fans. I was impressed with your program big time. Lightyears better than last season. Your passing in the first half was nothing short of jaw-dropping. They just forced a few too many shots in the 2nd half and it got them away from what was working. You have a really good team though. Tons of potential. Good luck the rest of the way.

Now lets both win our conference championship and help each other's RPI as the season goes on. ;)
 
JackTalkThai said:
Pay no attention to what the guy above is saying. MSU had no business winning that game. MSU shot like $#@!7 from the field because of the defense that Bradley unleashed on them. MSU shot like $#!7 from the line because of the amazing crowd that was in Carver Arena tonight.

Major props to Bradley and their fans. I was impressed with your program big time. Lightyears better than last season. Your passing in the first half was nothing short of jaw-dropping. They just forced a few too many shots in the 2nd half and they got away from what was working.

You have a really good team though. Tons of potential. Good luck the rest of the way. Now lets both win our conference championship and help each other's RPI as the season goes on. ;)
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I understand that you want to call it good defense. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your position, but I saw a lot of open looks that they just flat out missed tonight. That's really odd for a team that shoots 50%+ from the field. It was a good game though.
 
JackTalkThai said:
...
They just forced a few too many shots in the 2nd half and it got them away from what was working.
...
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That's half-correct. Ruffin forced way too many shots in the last 3-4 minutes. The D-Ruff Show took over BU's offensive end and he blew it late. He didn't have one shot that was under control from that point on. And the thought of having one of his teammates shoot? Never entered his mind. It was the D-Ruff Show or nothing. Extremely frustrating knowing we let them off the hook late in the game.
 
MSU_Alum said:
I understand that you want to call it good defense. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your position, but I saw a lot of open looks that they just flat out missed tonight. That's really odd for a team that shoots 50%+ from the field. It was a good game though.
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You know JTT is an MSU fan right....? So he's in your position, not ours.
 
MSU_Alum said:
By position I meant the resident "guy who kisses bradley fans a****". Sorry for the confusion.
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No, he's an example of a good winner. And you are an example of a poor winner. We learned this when we were 5 or 6...or at least...most of us here did. Congratulations on your win.
 
I can't take this as a positive so much just because I expected our team to have a good game. When you control most of the game, I expect us to finish. It's frustrating because we can't seem to beat a team that's any good. We came up short against Vandy after a sour first half as well. We needed this win badly because as much as I hate to say it, the MVC is not looking great this year. SIU has already lost a couple of games as well, and the yearly powerhouses are not doing much so far. Sadly, we've even been predicted by many as a one-bid conference this year.
 
How am I a poor winner? I said it was a good game and then complimented your team by saying they would win a lot of conference games this year.

Me stating my observations from the game make me a poor winner?
 
MSU_Alum said:
By position I meant the resident "guy who kisses bradley fans a****". Sorry for the confusion.
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Woah, hold on a sec, there tex. Did your team shoot 50 or 60 percent when they lost to Grand Valley State? what about the barely win against MT? I know those are exhibitions, but I think you're acting like you're "too good" to lose to an MVC team, when you're not. You barely beat a lowly Oakland team, and you're only "good wins" at this point have come against a mediocre at best NC State team and Missouri. Yeah, MSU's a good team, but I can't stand it when BCS conference fans act like they're so much better than a mid-major.
 
These differences always exist when close games like tonights are seen from 2 sides. Congratulations to MSU. They won a tough game, even when they didn't play as well as they are capable. A lot of that had to do with Bradley's defense. I believe Bradley plays as good a defense as MSU will see all year in the Big Ten. Ask Tom Izzo.
 
ser_solace said:
This was a tough loss considering how long we kept the lead in the game. Mich. St. just made a few more plays than we did at the end. It was that minor of a difference.

HOWEVER, I hope the players keep their heads held high. They played a top 10 team down the wire. We frustrated them. For those who didn't watch the game on ESPNU, Coach Izzo was irritated as heck. They were backed into a corner for most of the game.

PLEASE keep heart Bradley. This game should show you that you are GOOD.
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I agree that this was a great effort by the Braves, and they will have some great wins down the line because of this. I also give props to the ESPNU announcers commending how the Valley teams earn at-large bids even without winning the conference.

I am a bit concerned though that the NCAA committee, whose philosophy changes yearly with whomever runs it, will not recognize the Valley in the same manner that they were dissed last year. That's why I think this game would have been a big one for us to win. On the other hand, I look at Bradley's non-conference schedule from two years ago, and of course they earned an at-large bid, while finishing tied for fifth no less, after knocking off major non-conference powers like Southern Mississippi, Loyola-Chicago, Bowling Green and Chicago St! (Yes, they did beat DePaul on the road, but that would not be considered a huge resume win). But it's so hard to read the committee, and the Valley's current overall composite record is not as good as it's been the last two years, though we still are ranked fifth in the RPI for now. That's why games like this need to be won, though it shouldn't matter that much if the system weren't so flawed.

So pardon me for my rambling. I'm not upset that Bradley lost this game in the same way others may be. It would have been a nice game to win, but from a personal standpoint it was not imperative, and the players have nothing to hang their heads over. They gave a great effort, they should be proud of themselves and they will learn and grow from it. However, from the NCAA Tournament perspective, I am upset that they lost, because even though the Valley has gotten the props they have deserved over the last few years, we have to prove ourselves from scratch every year just to keep pace with the big boys. So hopefully tonight's loss did not damage Bradley's at-large chances from that perspective.

But I do know that tonight's loss did a lot to help Bradley's growth, which will be invaluable come conference time and tournament time. Great job guys! Keep up the great work and you will be rewarded for it! :)
 
MSU_Alum said:
How am I a poor winner? I said it was a good game and then complimented your team by saying they would win a lot of conference games this year.

Me stating my observations from the game make me a poor winner?
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Saying a fellow fan is kissing our ************ does what....exactly?
 
Flying Hellfish said:
That's half-correct. Ruffin forced way too many shots in the last 3-4 minutes. The D-Ruff Show took over BU's offensive end and he blew it late. He didn't have one shot that was under control from that point on. And the thought of having one of his teammates shoot? Never entered his mind. It was the D-Ruff Show or nothing. Extremely frustrating knowing we let them off the hook late in the game.
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could not agree more, that forced 3 attempt and wild fade-away lay-up no-look hook whatever it was, both occurring with between one and two minutes to go, i felt really just gave the game away for good. he's so quick and good but just has to improve on his decision making, take his time and trust his team mates more sometimes. i dunno, i'm just really frustrated when we had this game and took wild ill-advised shots and passes to turn the ball over and give the game away like that. i felt ruff outplayed neitzel for 37 minutes of this game, with neitzel winning the final 3 minutes, which pretty much mirrored how the game went.

now that i have that off my chest, i thought this was a great game. we made more runs than them i thought, coach les took great time-outs to limit theirs. we played a full 40 minutes of great effort, i thought sam s. provided great minutes off the bench. the freshmen looked great, will looked a little jittery at the beginning (air-balled a three) but settled down and sam m. looked phenominal. wilson also had a great game i thought. this team is set-up for a while, tonight will sting but we need to come away with the confidence from this game that we CAN play with the big boys and next time maybe we can be a little calmer and more confident down the stretch.

GO BRAVES and be proud of yourselves
 
This was a tough loss to take, but it showed we can play with anybody. If you had told me we'd give up 20 offensive rebounds and go only 8-25 from 3 pt range against I'd have thought we'd get killed.
 
Hey Jack, love the enthusiasm, but seriously man, even if you shoot 38%, if you grab as many O-boards as MSU did, it effectively negates that percentage. I wouldn't be surprised if upon the final stat tally of possesions + O-rebs, that MSU doubled us up or was pretty darn close to that. Sure we might've forced some bad shots with our defense, but the possession isn't over until the ball is back in your hands.

Tonight the Freshmen and the JUCO's (save Maniscalco and Wilson) looked like first year players. I imagine you can chalk it up to nerves, timidness, newness, scared, etc., but they definitely didn't contribute to their potential (running storyline of the year so far). Wilson seems to really know his role and plays within himself, I really like the job he did. Maniscalco got a lot of minutes, and did well, no major foul-ups that immediately come to mind, but he showed he still can get a bit flustered on both ends of the floor from time to time. Needs to find something that makes him more of a threat on the offensive end.

Andrew Warren needs to find some consistency. Do we get Good Andrew or Bad Andrew on any given night? Coach Les put him back in at the end of the game and he got himself yanked ASAFP. In his defense, he's only a sophomore, but he does have a year of good experience and quality PT which leads us to our high expectations.

Danny Ruffin seems to always be good for a minimum of 5 "What in the Sam Hell were you thinking?!?!?!?" plays a game. Unfortunately for us, 2 of them came with under two minutes to play, while we were down and needed good possessions. He tossed up a wild, unnecessary 3 and then his patented get stuck down low amongst the trees while in the air with nowhere to go drives. For as talented as he is and nifty as he can be with the ball, I still think he makes way, way too many bad decisions, whether they be a forced shot, forced pass, or reckless drive.

Crouch, well, he was there and put up 13 points, but something was missing. His contribution seemed to be more of a role player than one of our go-to scorers. His contributions are in direct proportion to the success of the team. As Crouch goes, so does this team.

Singh's minutes in the 2nd half were exactly what's expected of him. Nothing super, but knows where to be on the floor and what to do....which leads me into....

Collins. No mins in the 2nd half, and that's his fault, not Coach Les' (well, mostly, I mighta given him a chance in the 2nd half). Whereas Singh knows where to be on both ends of the floor, Collins looks lost and "spaced out" way more than he should. If he realizes he's out of position, he looks as if he has no idea what to do to fix it. Now I see why he's not getting the minutes myself and others thought he should get.

Salley did well tonight, but I'm still expecting more out of him after having all last year and the off-season to learn more and become more skilled. I still think that there's time for him to get his stuff together and become a real contributor night in, night out.


Finally, I'm totally reminded of Dennis Green: "We had 'em.......and we let 'em off the hook!!!!" <PODIUM SLAM>

Ugh, now I gotta go to bed angry......
 
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