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Final score: Bradley 83 UIC 76
- Thread starter Da Coach
- Start date
When we took a double digit lead today I would switch over and watch SIU at ISU. SIU played a pretty pretty game shooting 51% from the floor and 44% on threes. ISU played similar to how they did here in Peoria. They outrebounded SIU by 11 and shot free throws very well again. If they play like they have the last two games, they will definitely give us a challenge when we go there. I also recorded the Drake at Belmont game. Drake dominated the game and looked like everyone thought they would this year. And today they played without DeVries who did not make the trip to Belmont, due to an elbow issue. Sturtz, Brodie and Penn were incredible at both ends of the floor. Drake defended their threes and took away their back cuts to the basket. The last month of the Valley race is going to be nip and tuck.
Bradley3342
Member
I agree with you bradleyfan124. I have been pretty negative toward this team at times also but we are still in the hunt for a regular season title. Plus if you look back at all the injuries we have had early.and our record is still pretty decent. We might even have won a couple more of those games if not for those injuries. A win on Wednesday and a lot more will jump back on the bandwagon again…..
Official attendance was 2,240. I would estimate there was somewhere around 700-800 Bradley fans, maybe more.
Official box score- https://uicflames.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2022-23/bradley/boxscore/17597
Official box score- https://uicflames.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2022-23/bradley/boxscore/17597
BUBraves2006
Well-known member
One more report from Chicago:
- Today was a lot more indicative of what UIC is a team - streaky shooting, not much depth but a few decent players. The game in Peoria was both Bradley playing great and UIC playing horribly. That game almost made UIC look like a Division II school. This was more the true skill level, about an 8-12 point difference from BU for much of the game, about right for a competitive if not bottom feeder in the league.
- UIC really tried a different strategy to start the game, essentially doing everything to take Reink out of the game (fronts, double teams), which rattled us for a bit. Trouble is, if we start to hit our shots, you really can't keep playing that sort of defense against us.
- By now, guys need to understand their skillsets. While Hannah has improved a ton this year and I like his game overall, he needs to scrap the drive from the 3-point line from his repertoire. I think he got a little bit too much confidence in it against bad opponents and those who actually defend are stripping him all the time. Reink might have to stop shooting 3's - he's down under 28% now and while his shot doesn't look bad, teams aren't really respecting it and if he can't hit when he's wide open, he might need to stick to his incredibly skilled low post team and keep working on feeding teammates for open shots.
- There seemed to be a lull after we got up 15 where we just started to run the clock out. I haven't seen that much this year but obviously, it wasn't all that effective so we have to keep playing the whole way.
- While we may not have a great chance at the title at this point, I think we're closer to that than sometimes is alluded here. The Valley this year is loaded with teams that if they made the NCAA tournament could win two games and go to the Sweet 16 and also any of them could get blown out in their first game. High variance teams who probably drive most of their fans crazy, night to night.
- The fan contingent was awesome, as it usually is, for games in Chicago. It's funny that for the most part, this is really the only reason UIC is in the league (IMO), is to give an opponent to other valley schools fans to attend games where a lot of their students/alumni come from and live after school.
- Feeling proud that I helped start the first "BU! BU!" chant that overtook the arena and was even mentioned by Coach Wardle after the game ...
BUBraves2006
Well-known member
bigjimmy
Well-known member
Things I liked: Offensive ball movement. We had 19 assists on 26 made FG's, our 2nd highest total and best percentage of the season. Only had 10 turnovers so I didn't think we forced many bad looks. FT shooting in the first 35 minutes we were 12-15. The last minute we were 5-7. Things I didn't like: Poor defense. Gave up 48 points and gave up 8 threes. Too many times we don't move our feet and either get back doored or reach in for fouls. Unlike most games our poor defense didn't cost us. At the end of the day a W is a W and we are tied for 3rd, a game out of first. Won't be easy as 6 of our last 8 games are against teams with winning records in the conference and, as we saw at home this past Wednesday and against SIU today, at ISU Red won't be easy either. It might behoove us to guard the guy who I think is the leading candidate for POY in Marcus Domask as he had 32 points against ISU. He took 25 of their 55 shots, making 13 of their 26 FG's, and was 6-12 from 3 while the rest of the team was 5-15.
Tommy
Well-known member
BUB2006, so sorry we missed you. We looked in section 105 and didn't see you, so maybe next time!
Tommy
Well-known member
Couldn't agree more, Coach, and if this season is going to be one of those years where the refs want to blow the whistle every minute of every game, we are going to struggle. BW teams don't do well when the refs try to be the stars of the game. The last 3 games in particular have been terrible.
bradleyfan124
Well-known member
Speaking of the ref's. Lets talk about them. I remember the Valley had some pretty good ref's. Some even would ref NCAA tournament games. Hightower, Bain. Now these new refs i have never seen before. Like with the players is it coming down to who has the big money. Are we getting second rate referees?
Both teams play with the same referees on the floor. Good teams and good coaches adjust to how a game is being called. The teams and coaches that adjust, usually win the game. The teams and coaches that don’t, usually lose the game and the fans blame the loss on the officials. I don’t believe referees care which team wins the game.
Bradley8792
Active member
Tommy
Well-known member
That's not the point. It's not a matter of whether the referees are favoring one side or another, it's the matter of game flow. If the whistle is being blown every minute of play, it's hard to get into any type of rhythm and BU is a team that thrives on that. Yeah sure, both teams have to play with the same refs, but just because the foul calling is close at the end of the game, that doesn't tell the whole story. Often times the fouls get much closer near the end of the game because one team is trying to save time on the clock, and to imply that all fouls are created equal would be ludicrous on it's face. There are fouls that are momentum killers and some that are lead changing. This doesn't even take into account technical fouls, such as the terrible T called on Wardle while he was in the huddle. But I digress.
I'll agree with one thing you said, good teams and good coaches adjust to how a game is being called and BU has beaten both ISU red and UIC, so we have a good coach. My main point was it is not enjoyable or beneficial to have 40 fouls called in a game and I would venture to guess most fans that attend the game would agree with me.
Lastly, I don't think I said anywhere in my post anything about blaming the refs. The 3 worst officiated games this year for BU have all been wins (ISU Blue, ISU Red, and UIC). Doesn't change the fact that the officiating was abysmal and I don't ever like to see play stopped every 60 seconds.
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Teams play different styles, and have widely different types of players. This year, Bradley has more size and athleticism than I can recall for many years, and they play more physically. So when a game is called like the UIC game where trivial, non-consequential contact, even away from the ball, is called fouls, it can take the best players off the floor for substantial parts of the game. I think most coaches will say that calling a game "tight" hurts a team like Bradley, and benefits a team like UIC who doesn't have much size and shies away from contact. On the other hand, when officials allow more contact, it can benefit a team like Bradley, and in a number of games it has. The Indiana State game was such an example, IMO.
I think most fans just want to see consistency within each game, and game-to-game.
I think most fans just want to see consistency within each game, and game-to-game.