IlliBraves
New member
While I agree that the better team may have won, they shouldn't be massacring us like this. Poor effort on defense and rebounding. We are better than that.
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BU 72@ MS101....NIT
- Thread starter Big Mike
- Start date
tornado
New member
IlliBraves said:
Jamont Gordon was a FIVE STAR recruit who averaged 26 pts and 16 rebs in high school.
He was the #16 player in the country in the Rivals Top 150 in 2005
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=768
(and he wasn't even the highest rated Rivals Top 150 recruit they had that year, as they also had the #3 guy nationally and well as the #52 guy, #73, and #86.)
So they had FIVE Top 100 guys, and Bradley was playing against them with a team of kids who were unheralded, some virtually unknown...so cut me a little slack.
Next year's team is going to have 5 or 6 3-STAR recruits, and we've never had more than one on the team at any given time in the past, so I am looking forward to the future, and I am not going to dump on the kids for one bad game on the road under very tough conditions.
Bradley played pretty even with these guys for 32 minutes, then the wheels fell off. I give 'em credit.......nice job Braves.
Not many gave BU any chance in the universe of winning 22 games thiis year.
IlliBraves
New member
I agree with you. But I am simply saying that we have had games in the past where we performed better. We had a good season and I was sad to see it end. Even with our best effort, we may still have lost, but it is frustrating to see your team give up that many easy shots in the paint and get out rebounded (Which I realize has been a problem all season) in the second half. I was surprised with the way MSU shot the 3 ALL game and we seemed to have no answer for their perimeter game all afternoon.
Tough loss for the guys. It was disappointing to them to go out with a lopsided loss like this.
From my courtside perspective- it was amazing that Bradley hung close for the first 30 minutes. Mississippi State is not a great 3-point shooting team. But when they kept hitting from outside, it forced Bradley to spread their defense and that allowed their much bigger-bodied guys to get to the basket on offense, and dominate the boards.
MSU had 3-5" in height and significant weight advantage at every position.
The only attributes that Bradley could have taken advantage of was their quickness, which did bother the MSU guards, and their better outside shooting. But today the shots were not falling as well as usual.
The officiating did not cost Bradley this game, but it was obvious that they way they called this game played to MSU's advantage. With their size and weight advantge, they were allowed to bang on offense to get to the basket and on rebounding. Their big guys didn't get called for very many fouls. If we had MVC refs, their big guys would have fouled out early.
Anyone who says that the Bradley guys didn't give a good effort is wrong. They played as hard as they could and the effort was there. They were just outplayed, they got worn dowen, and their usual shots weren't falling. Things would have likely been much diferent if we had a Patrick O'Bryant. I think it just showed where this team's weakness was. For a team with such a size deficiency and which lost as much as we did from last year, they had a fantastic season.
Now lets start planning our postseason plans for next year!
From my courtside perspective- it was amazing that Bradley hung close for the first 30 minutes. Mississippi State is not a great 3-point shooting team. But when they kept hitting from outside, it forced Bradley to spread their defense and that allowed their much bigger-bodied guys to get to the basket on offense, and dominate the boards.
MSU had 3-5" in height and significant weight advantage at every position.
The only attributes that Bradley could have taken advantage of was their quickness, which did bother the MSU guards, and their better outside shooting. But today the shots were not falling as well as usual.
The officiating did not cost Bradley this game, but it was obvious that they way they called this game played to MSU's advantage. With their size and weight advantge, they were allowed to bang on offense to get to the basket and on rebounding. Their big guys didn't get called for very many fouls. If we had MVC refs, their big guys would have fouled out early.
Anyone who says that the Bradley guys didn't give a good effort is wrong. They played as hard as they could and the effort was there. They were just outplayed, they got worn dowen, and their usual shots weren't falling. Things would have likely been much diferent if we had a Patrick O'Bryant. I think it just showed where this team's weakness was. For a team with such a size deficiency and which lost as much as we did from last year, they had a fantastic season.
Now lets start planning our postseason plans for next year!
tornado said:
That's what bugs me the most. What does a non-BCS team (aside from Air Force) have to do to earn a 1 or 2 seed in the NIT? :? The chances of seeing a so called "mid-major" making the NIT Final Four are slim and none with the way the committee seeds teams.
Well, not much we can do about the seedings, I suppose. But I do credit the NIT committee for making this a much more competitive tournament. And of course, I commend Bradley for a great season as well! I too look forward to them winning the Valley regular season and/or tournament soon, and finishing in at least the top 2 or 3 of the Valley for years to come!
IlliBraves
New member
Wonder if the game would have been more even if it were at a neutral site. The vast majority of MSU's losses have come away from Starkville, and BU is not a very good road team either. Also, although there were a good number of BU fans there, it seemed like a pretty good crowd for the game.
tornado
New member
Indeed, their powerful 6-4, 6-5 guards had their way with our 5-10 and 6-1 guys, but our guys did fight hard until the game was out of reach.
It has been a very fun season, and BU was one of only two MVC teams still playing, AND one of very few with 22 wins, especially considering the Top 20 Strength of Schedule,
so for all that, I am very thankful to those kids.
It has been a very fun season, and BU was one of only two MVC teams still playing, AND one of very few with 22 wins, especially considering the Top 20 Strength of Schedule,
so for all that, I am very thankful to those kids.
Box score--
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/boxscore?gid=200703170366
the attendance was reported as just 5,733. It looked like more. The lower bowl there was full and it appeared to be at least 2/3 of the total seating. The upper bowl was more than half empty. But I would have estimated 7,000+.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/boxscore?gid=200703170366
the attendance was reported as just 5,733. It looked like more. The lower bowl there was full and it appeared to be at least 2/3 of the total seating. The upper bowl was more than half empty. But I would have estimated 7,000+.
IlliBraves
New member
Ouch. MSU shot 53 percent for the game and a blazing 42 percent from 3. 15 3's from MSU. Hard to win a game that way.
Braves4Life
New member
I don't buy that
I don't buy that
I don't buy that seeding garbage.
Seed the teams where they belong and let the chips fall where they may. If a mid-major desrves to be seeded higher than they need to put up or shut up. Clearly, MSU was a #1 seed! It is not the committee's job to make sure a "mid-major making the NIT Final Four" happens. The mid-major's need to make it happen!
Sure, a better seed would ensure a home court advantage and that always helps the higher seeds. But that's life. And life ain't always fair, and it ain't always easy!
I firmly believe that all of this "mid-major got screwed" whining, and "the MVC deserves to be considered in the same breath as the BCS schools" crying played a huge role in the MVC only getting 2 bids in The Big Dance. It was clearly a backlash and a slap down to remind us (mid-majors) that we don't make the big decisions. The "big money" schools do. :idea:
I'm proud of the way our guys played against MSU! But it was clear that we were not in their league as far as size, talent, and athleticism goes. But I'm OK with that. In fact, I prefer it! We are what we are -- classy, well-spoken, scrappers who certainly have earned respect and admiration. 8)
I don't buy that
Bravesfan said:tornado said:
That's what bugs me the most. What does a non-BCS team (aside from Air Force) have to do to earn a 1 or 2 seed in the NIT? :? The chances of seeing a so called "mid-major" making the NIT Final Four are slim and none with the way the committee seeds teams.
Well, not much we can do about the seedings, I suppose. But I do credit the NIT committee for making this a much more competitive tournament. And of course, I commend Bradley for a great season as well! I too look forward to them winning the Valley regular season and/or tournament soon, and finishing in at least the top 2 or 3 of the Valley for years to come!
I don't buy that seeding garbage.
Seed the teams where they belong and let the chips fall where they may. If a mid-major desrves to be seeded higher than they need to put up or shut up. Clearly, MSU was a #1 seed! It is not the committee's job to make sure a "mid-major making the NIT Final Four" happens. The mid-major's need to make it happen!Sure, a better seed would ensure a home court advantage and that always helps the higher seeds. But that's life. And life ain't always fair, and it ain't always easy!
I firmly believe that all of this "mid-major got screwed" whining, and "the MVC deserves to be considered in the same breath as the BCS schools" crying played a huge role in the MVC only getting 2 bids in The Big Dance. It was clearly a backlash and a slap down to remind us (mid-majors) that we don't make the big decisions. The "big money" schools do. :idea:
I'm proud of the way our guys played against MSU! But it was clear that we were not in their league as far as size, talent, and athleticism goes. But I'm OK with that. In fact, I prefer it! We are what we are -- classy, well-spoken, scrappers who certainly have earned respect and admiration.
8)Lakeview Brave
New member
tornado said:
And this is exactly why I question us taking a 5'10 JUCO shooting guard.
Lakeview Brave said:
Insurance in case Ruffin wants to learn a foreign language.
Do not worry, we WILL get a skilled big! Although some we have offered now will, poof, disappear. (Academics).
The way I see it, their will be possibly be 3 scholarships available, not including Ruffins!
The next 6 weeks will be interesting!
Jim Les wants to take us to the NEXT level.
Point of clarification on recruit rankings...
Point of clarification on recruit rankings...
MSU did have a nice recruiting year that year, but understand the the #3 player you reference, Monta Ellis, went straight to the NBA and is starting for Golden State this year. Vernon Goodridge played 2 minutes today and remains a project. The other three, the Delks and Jamont Gordon, you saw today and they and our frosh make up what most of us expect and hope is a very strong team next year.
Good game today. Caught us unusually pumped and hot today or it would have been a close one.
Point of clarification on recruit rankings...
tornado said:
MSU did have a nice recruiting year that year, but understand the the #3 player you reference, Monta Ellis, went straight to the NBA and is starting for Golden State this year. Vernon Goodridge played 2 minutes today and remains a project. The other three, the Delks and Jamont Gordon, you saw today and they and our frosh make up what most of us expect and hope is a very strong team next year.
Good game today. Caught us unusually pumped and hot today or it would have been a close one.
Jamont Gordon was quite the hoss for Mississippi State. Even when he didn't score he seemed to give his teammates a boost, thus helping them play better than the times he was on the bench. If the Bulldogs can only go 8-8 in the SEC West, it tells you how deep and talented their league really was this year.
I'm just glad Bradley didn't schedule Montana State this year. The Braves were 0-4 against "MSU's" this season, and only one of those four losses was by single digits!
Congrats and good luck in the future for Will, JJ, Zach, and Danny. Their play this year really helped make Bradley a pleasant surprise in the Missouri Valley. I hope our returning starters and new players can keep it up so Bradley can return to being a respectable team on an annual basis in the midwest and the rest of the country.
BTW, the crowd at The Hump was very vocal, and the BU fans could be heard quite nicely when the team was on the comeback trail and playing well. We didn't deserve to lose as badly as we did, but you can't fault the Bulldogs--they were mui caliente today!
I'm just glad Bradley didn't schedule Montana State this year. The Braves were 0-4 against "MSU's" this season, and only one of those four losses was by single digits!
Congrats and good luck in the future for Will, JJ, Zach, and Danny. Their play this year really helped make Bradley a pleasant surprise in the Missouri Valley. I hope our returning starters and new players can keep it up so Bradley can return to being a respectable team on an annual basis in the midwest and the rest of the country.
BTW, the crowd at The Hump was very vocal, and the BU fans could be heard quite nicely when the team was on the comeback trail and playing well. We didn't deserve to lose as badly as we did, but you can't fault the Bulldogs--they were mui caliente today!