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Bradley-MSU postgame thread

Let's calm down fellas.

Rebounding was obviously horrendous.
Officiating leaned in favor of MSU but was not the reason Bradley lost (see above).
We had a few chances, wipe open looks, to put the game into double digits and couldn't convert.
Ruffin tried to do too much at the end.
Crouch couldn't get many good looks.
Warren/Egolf were not great.
Singh needs to play more (have been saying this all year).
Salley needs to play less (where is the "best player in practice"?).
They overplayed Ruff and JC all game. Backdoor picks/cuts should have freed up our bigs for easy buckets.
Sam M did a decent job on one of the better players in the country. Sam is tough as nails. Although many of DN's misses were good looks.
MSU missed a lot of wide open shots. Haven't seen how many second chance pts they got, but had they not gotten them, I'm guessing they would have shot around 25%.

Good game, just ran out of gas. Need to rebound better. Rebounding shouldn't be a problem against Valley schools. Many of MSU's offensive rebounds came when Bradley had position but MSU's players were just so long that they got their hands on the ball without really fouling (most of the time).

Losing never feels good, and there is no such thing as a good loss. 3 huge games coming up - need to win at least 2.
 
IlliBraves said:
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.
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MSU had 5 guards under 6'3" on the floor in OT in the GVSU game. Our PG was guarding their center in the post for most of the OT LOL. It's just an exhibition, but yes they are a very good team. I REALLY doubt that game is close in the regular season though.

And I don't think MSU is too good to lose to a mid major. Just look at MSU's history in the early part of every season in the last 3 or 4 years....

I just simply gave my observation of the game. I'm sorry that you don't agree with it but that's life. Izzo is a pretty honest guy and he basically mimicked my thoughts in his post game interview on our radio station.
 
Guinness said:
Saying a fellow fan is kissing our ************ does what....exactly?
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Shows that I call it like I see it? There's a definite line between being a good winner and kissing someone's a##. I'm not going to sit here and tell you things about the game that I didn't see. I will tell you good game and give you some compliments (that your team rightfully deserved) but I won't put them on a pedestal...
 
All right, last post before I go to bed:

Let's all grow up and knock this **************** off.

MSU won. BU lost.

Fans of both sides will disagree because they are both looking through their own warped lenses.

Let's quit acting like 2-year olds and stop the sniping back and forth.

I'd like to read this thread in the morning without feeling like I'm at a day care by reading a bunch of back-and-forth posts between MSUers and BUers.
 
AE Braves Fan said:
Let's calm down fellas.

Rebounding was obviously horrendous.
Officiating leaned in favor of MSU but was not the reason Bradley lost (see above).
We had a few chances, wipe open looks, to put the game into double digits and couldn't convert.
Ruffin tried to do too much at the end.
Crouch couldn't get many good looks.
Warren/Egolf were not great.
Singh needs to play more (have been saying this all year).
Salley needs to play less (where is the "best player in practice"?).
They overplayed Ruff and JC all game. Backdoor picks/cuts should have freed up our bigs for easy buckets.
Sam M did a decent job on one of the better players in the country. Sam is tough as nails. Although many of DN's misses were good looks.
MSU missed a lot of wide open shots. Haven't seen how many second chance pts they got, but had they not gotten them, I'm guessing they would have shot around 25%.

Good game, just ran out of gas. Need to rebound better. Rebounding shouldn't be a problem against Valley schools. Many of MSU's offensive rebounds came when Bradley had position but MSU's players were just so long that they got their hands on the ball without really fouling (most of the time).

Losing never feels good, and there is no such thing as a good loss. 3 huge games coming up - need to win at least 2.
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I agree with most of this. Not sure what Cole-Scott did or didn't do to play only 2 min.

JC was getting very tired in the first half and I think exerted all his energy defending and just didn't have enough to get open on offense.

Ruff was Ruff...the two possessions were key where he didn't exhibit patience but you have to take that from DR.

To win against these guys we needed more toughness inside.

I think we played D as good as we can...I also think MSU will shoot better most games
 
This one really hurt. We were so close and the crowd was fantastic.

I thought this was Matt's best game of the year. If he can give us that kind of game night in night out we'll be loads better off. Somehow we need to get DC with it on the defensive end of the floor. I think he would have helped on the offensive end of the floor in the second half because it would have been harder for MSU to extend the defense that much-but he just hurt us too much on the defensive end.

I was also a bit disappointed with Andrew. He didn't really show up tonight. We need a lot more consistency.

I know D-Ruff made a few bad plays late but geez he carries us most of the game. Unfortunately I think we will be reminded how special he is next year-I don't see a great replacement yet.

I thought JC played well. He did not force too much(ok one turnaround that was smacked back at him)-he took what he was given. 4 steals, 5 rebounds, 1 TO, 13 points-a pretty good line.

In the end it was the rebounding. I really like Theron but we need a lot more than 3 boards from him.

Good game by Sam Singh and Sam M as well.

Oh, well-I'm rambling-back to Houston at the crack of dawn tomorrow so I better log off.
 
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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And you're what...the resident @$$hole opposing fan who puffs his chest and thinks his team is better than it really is and incapable of getting shut down on any given night? Bradley played good defense on MSU tonight and we only won because of our outstanding rebounding. How is that so difficult to comprehend?
 
:cool:
Bravesfan said:
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! :)
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Great Job! But in the NCAA's eyes it is a an "L" , as was Vanderbilt an "L"
The Valley is running out of signature win opportunities.
Right now. we are lookin at 1 maybe 2 bids, depending on who wins the league and the tourney.
However should be an interesting Valley Conference. I see, one hell of a lot of parity 1-6.
 
It's late and I just got in so I will say little. Congrats to MSU on their win. One could debate if they won or we lost, but being out rebounded was certainly the deciding factor. Heck MSU had two more offensive boards than we had defensive rebounds.

I do have to comment on the crowd. FANtastic. What can I say. Standing room only meant nothing because the entire crowd stood for 40 minutes. Jim certainly complimented us.

All in all I can't fault the effort and that is all one can ask. Fory minutes of he!!
 
That's the first time I've seen Joe Napoli in something other than black. ;)

Great contributions by the fans. Atmosphere was great. Outcome was not the one desired - but like Buescher said after the game on the radio.... I saw what I wanted to see from this team.

Congrats MSU. Thanks to them and Coach Izzo for coming to Peoria. Good luck to them the rest of the season.
 
We lost this game because of poor rebounding and I am still trying to figure out why Daniel took the long 3 point shot with 20 plus seconds left on the shot clock; I was concerned at the start of the season about playing Salley as our biggest starter as we have no size to rebound against the bigger teams that we will face; we will not beat the top teams in the nation with that small of a lineup so it will be very difficult to get into the ncaa tour. and win unless we can figure out a way to get Collins and Egolf playing better and A. Warren needs to step-up and play like he is capable of; I am disappointed because we had the game under control with less then 7 min. to go and did not finish them off.
 
Also wanted to mention.....

In the 2nd 1/2, Bradley hit only 2 shots from the floor besides 3 pt'rs (until VERY late in the game if not completely). The first was a steal, breakaway layup by JC (that almost missed) at about the 9:30 mark (so almsot 10:30 elapsed before a 2 pt bucket) and the other was a shot by (I think) Salley.

Didn't Mich St seal us from the floor last year except from the 3 pretty much?
 
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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I SAID THAT ALL THE WAY HOME. WELL PUT!!!
 
Just got back and dont have too much of a voice...

A big difference that I saw is that when points were needed in a posession, MSU ran a patient set and we forced the issue.. See posts above... Congrats to MSU on a nice win.

The band, students, and overall crowd were GREAT! I also loved the fact that the old intro was used tonight.

Sam Maniscalco... I like how you defended DN tonight. The more I see SM play, the more I like him.

Theron Wilson--looks as if you have been practicing free throws!

I like Will Egolf's potential, but Will scared me when he was on the floor tonight. I didnt see Rashad Austin's appearance late in the game against SEMO, but is RA that much worse than what Egolf showed us tonight? Not saying that RA was the answer tonight, but I feel that the contribution of one more big man would have been the diffrence in tonight's game.

This was Matt Salleys best game of the year to date.imo
Sam Singh gave us quality minutes.... Would have liked Collins to get some minutes in the second half though. The inside shots were open to us for most of the night.imo

Ok we gave MSU a good game and had a very good chance to win. For the first time this year, I feel that this team can play with any team on any given night. Lessons learned tonight... now lets continue to get better!
 
Ahh heck i'll chime in.

-Many have heckled Ruff and Crouch for there shooting tonight. THEY CARRIED THE TEAM ON OFFENSE. Had half the points. Where were the young guys? Warren 1 for 4, Egolf 1 for 3, Singh no shots, Wilson 2 for 4. Sadly, I think we played into MSU's game tonight and slowed things way down which is just how they like it. Need to get these new guys to contribute more on offense.

-Rebounding was horrendous, I don't think I saw that bad of a rebounding effort all last year. That flat out cost us the game. Can't blame it on Ruff for making bad choices at the end when it never should of came down to that. Would of easily won by 5-10 points had that rebound margin been cut in half. I imagine Les will address this rather obsessively in practice tomorrow. And to think we all thought that rebounding wouldn't be much of an issue in this game.

-The refs, they were so so. A few calls could of gone either way but that missed travel call with us up by 3 or 5 with about 3 minutes left really gave them a lot of momentum. Les was furious and most of the fans were also. You can't tell me that 10,000 fans clearly saw a travel but 2 refs couldn't?

-On the ultimate plus side, only 12 TO's compared to 15 TO's forced. THATS EXCELLENT against a top notch team. Sam had the most turnovers which usually it's Ruffin and Crouch. If we can keep the TO's at that rate and get the rebounding back to normal, then we'll be very tough to beat.

-Crouch needs to stay out on the arch and drive less. He kept his 3 point FG percentage about the same but shot horribly when he attempted to drive to the hoop or take short jump shots.

-Ruff, well was Ruff. Shot was a tiny bit off but made some good passes.

-Egolf, scared me. From the air ball three to getting beat in and out down low for 2 fouls in 6 minutes, to fresh for this showdown.

-Wilson was Wilson. I would of liked for him to drive to the hoop or shoot more but his 4 fouls killed any intensity he could of brought.

-big Sam, great on defense, horrible on offense. 1 for 4 with 3 TO's in 23 minutes. His shots should of been up around 7 or 8. Still love his play though.

-Then good ole DC, tonight was his worst on the D. Got burned a couple times early on, Les sat him down. Brought him back in only to get burned another couple times. Les gave him a good and I mean good chewing and that was the end of the night for DC. I also noticed he wasn't boxing out very well as he was getting outrebounded left and right like the rest of the team. Only that shouldn't happen to a 7 footer. His offense certainly would of helped late in the game though.

-Overall, it was good to give MSU land a scare for 95% of the game. It showed the US that the Carver crowd is a beast to play in front of. I know some people think a L is a L that won't help us in the rankings but Davidson was briefly in the Top 25 after a 3 point loss to #1 NC. Coaches do recognize a good team that can play with the top dogs, especially with it being in primetime on an ESPN affiliate. We know this team isn't that horrible on rebounding game in and game out, so lets just hope that the TO rate stays steady at about 12. A 6-3 start is not all that bad considering 1 loss was in the opener with 7 new guys and the 2 other losses to a #9 and #23 ranked teams. Both ranked games we were tied or within 5 points down to the final minute with only 9 games as almost a whole new team this season. This team will continue to get better but right now I think there great and better than last season. If Bradley can hang within 5 points down to the wire at Butler then we certainly deserve to be in the top 35 at least.

Jason
 
Forgot to mention, DC once again only missed 1 shot for 7 out of 9 games. Went 2 for 3 in his short 12 minutes. Get that man some defense work and we'll have a beast down low.

Jason
 
thoughts

thoughts

1. I wanted to go to a Bradley game against one of the best in the country
Check.

2. I wanted State to give us everything they had
Check.

3. I wanted to know if we could play with one of the best in the country
Check.


It is a long season. Come out every game with the same heart and intensity and we will be celebrating at arch madness. Grow and learn from this. The season does not ride and die on one game. I hope all who are reading this who are not posters, will go to the games more and sell that B A S T A R D out every game. This is good team getting better. I hate to sleep on a lost, but I love waking up to a future of growth and progress. Go Braves!!!!
 
1) new intro...AWESOME...easiest fact of the night

2) Ruff yes he did lead the team for pretty much the entire game 39 min. of play...I'll take it. He's an amazing point guard and a real leader. THAT BEING SAID. he did force some stuff at the end, however he probably had the best perspective on what needed to be done. So i'm mad, but not that mad.

3) Crouch. He was kinda hitting his 3's (3/7). That's OK. BUT, he did have 4 steals and focused on his D. which payed off because his guy fouled out by the end of the game.

4) Matt Salley had the best game of the season. Is that saying much? no. He needs to start producing hard core or I'm gonna be very disapointed in the coaching staff's decision making.

5) Sammy M. played ok. most turnovers of the team? not so good. But he's young and had the gitters. I see great potential in him once Ruff graduates.

6) Collins. See the thread dedicated to him for this game.

7) Singh. Great. he made Defense his job and he showed up to work. (bad pun? ohyea!!)

8) TCS. didn't play...i don't get it


and that's all I have to say about that
 
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