Re: Creighton 82 - Bradley 71
Bravesfan said:
I think we saw tonight that there is a good bit of difference in the talent level between Bradley and the Valley elites. .....
You think so?
I assume you mean SIU and Creighton as the two Valley elites.
Last night was only one game, but here is my response:
--We have beaten SIU in the only meeting we've had this season between the two teams. I really can't see this as supporting the argument that they are elite and we are not.
--In the game at Creighton, we had every chance to win right down to the final minute, but shot poorly as teams often do on the road.
Playing in front of the largest crowd in the history of the state of Nebraska, our guys nearly pulled off an upset on the road, and although Nate Funk had a good game, I see no evidence that the talent difference had a whole lot to do with the outcome.
--last night's game was won at the FT line and a whole lot of those calls that sent the Jays to the line were pretty questionable.
Bradley outscored Creighton last night from the floor 62-51
Bradley outscored Creighton from 3-point range 30-21
Bradley had better passing, more assists, and better bench scoring.
Creighton's best bench player, Josh Dotzler, was all but invisible, while BU's best bench player, Jeremy Crouch was 4-5 from 3-pt range. Will Franklin had a bad game, but he's been one of the 2 or 3 best players in the league to this point.
Despite that, Creighton raced out to a big lead, it was the fouls and FTs that helped CU win, as they got 21 more attempts at the line and were able to outscore BU 31-9 at the FT line.
When you win a game by 11 but outscore the opponent by 22 at the line, it isn't too hard to see the biggest reason Creighton won.
By the way, Creighton loses Funk, Porter, and Tolliver next year, and will not as likely be the Valley's top team in 2007-2008.