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Final score: Bradley 91 Maryville 58

Da Coach

Da Coach

Moderator
Staff member
Bradley's next game is Tuesday, Dec. 10, 6:00 pm against Division II Maryville University.

The game is streamed on ESPN3- https://www.espn.com/watch?id=49121663-46ec-472d-baea-4a047fa260a2
Radio- https://www.1470wmbd.com/
Live stats- https://bradleybraves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Tickets- https://www1.ticketmaster.com/bradl...ersity-mens-basketball/event/07005707D3464A67

Bradleyfans chat room- http://www.chatzy.com/524398219675

Maryville University is a Division II school located in the St. Louis area. They are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the better Division II conferences in the NCAA.
Basketball website- https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/mens-basketball'
Last season (2018-19) they finished 9-18, and 4-14 in the GLVC.


They are 3-4 this season. Their game at Bradley is an exhibition game for them-
Schedule/results- https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

One of their players is Antoine Pittman #4, who was at Bradley for 4 seasons (though he redshirted one of those seasons), and he left after last season and transferred.
https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/antoine-pittman/3341
Roster- https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Coaching staff- https://maryvillesaints.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster#sidearm-roster-coaches

Antoine has been battling injury, and has only played in their last 3 games. His average of 9.7 ppg over their last 3 games is the 4th highest on the team.
They have 3 players averaging in double-digits lead by 6'3" freshman guard Parker Long who averages 17.9 ppg and is shooting 37% from three. He also leads in assists with 5.0 apg.
His twin brother Owen Long is also a freshman guard and is their 3rd leading scorer at 10.4 ppg and is shooting 34% from three.
2nd on their scoring list is 6'5" senior forward Jalen Grant, who only played in one game, their most recent game on Dec. 3, and he scored 15 points and had 5 rebounds. As a team, they shoot 33.6% from three.
Stats- https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.si...cuments/2019/11/10/2019_20_MBB_Cume_Stats.pdf

Bradley stats- https://bradleybraves.com/documents/2019/11/9/bradley_stats.pdf

Bradley has played Maryville only once before. They played in Carver Arena on 12/17/15 in Coach Wardle's first season. Bradley went 5-27 that season, but they did beat Maryville 61-53-
https://bradleybraves.com/news/2015/12/18/210592245.aspx

Ironically, the leading scorer for Bradley that game was Antoine Pittman with 11 points-
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/bradley.sidearmsports.com/documents/2015/12/18/4270411.pdf
 
We need to put this game away early and free up some playing time for our freshmen. I'm hoping Ville(or someone else) can finally go off from the 3, we need another shooter come conference play.
 
Classof77 said:
I don't think we should be playing a Division 2 team this far into the season. But that won't stop me from being there.
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That's a great point. While UNI is playing Colorado, we're playing another DII school. Great point that I didn't even think of before reading your post!
 
Well in fairness it's the first and only D2 team on our regular season schedule. And you can argue there's some benefit to playing a D2 instead of a really bad D1 because the D2 doesn't hurt your RPI/NET.

I think all of us would want better teams coming in but it's easier said than done. The marquee games that have come here have owed to connections, like Michigan and us having a Beilein on staff, Illinois and Kruger/Mo. Ole Miss for some reason came to Bradley and ISU without any seeming connection but they're the exception. I'm sure Wardle has reached out to Marquette and been told no.

Should we do more buy games at a Memphis or Colorado? I kinda wish we had another shot at a marquee win because I think an average shooting day and we go to the wire at Memphis. Gotta hope Kansas State has a good year.
 
Mikovio said:
Well in fairness it's the first and only D2 team on our regular season schedule. And you can argue there's some benefit to playing a D2 instead of a really bad D1 because the D2 doesn't hurt your RPI/NET.

I think all of us would want better teams coming in but it's easier said than done. The marquee games that have come here have owed to connections, like Michigan and us having a Beilein on staff, Illinois and Kruger/Mo. Ole Miss for some reason came to Bradley and ISU without any seeming connection but they're the exception. I'm sure Wardle has reached out to Marquette and been told no.

Should we do more buy games at a Memphis or Colorado? I kinda wish we had another shot at a marquee win because I think an average shooting day and we go to the wire at Memphis. Gotta hope Kansas State has a good year.
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I wish Toledo hadn't given the Notre Dame game away because that also has potential to be a really good win. It still does but they should be 8-1 with a win at ND. I agree that I'd rather play D2 Maryville at this point than Chicago State like we have in past years because even if you win by 40 it tanks your NET/RPI.
 
Tommy said:
That's a great point. While UNI is playing Colorado, we're playing another DII school. Great point that I didn't even think of before reading your post!
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Yes, as Mikovio said, this is the one and only non-D1 school Bradley will play this year, and most D1 schools do it every year. Some Division I schools play 2, 3, or as many as 4 non-D1 opponents in their non-conference schedule.

And though it's good to see UNI playing a solid Pac-12 team in Colorado, note that they have already played two Division 3 opponents this season. They played tiny Division III Cornell College of Iowa on Nov. 20 and beat them 88-66, and they played another small Division III school Luther College of Iowa in their last game on Dec. 2, and beat them by a ridiculous 59 point margin, 110-51. Division III is non-scholarship, meaning there are very few D3 schools that can compete with even the worst D1 schools. Otoh, Division II schools give scholarships, are not constrained by the academic hurdles that D1 schools are, and take in a lot of D1 transfers and thus many of them are as competitive as the lower half of D1 schools.

BTW, here is the Bradley pregame article-
https://bradleybraves.com/news/2019/...e-tuesday.aspx
 
My favorite stat from the pre-game notes:
Bradley leads the Valley by allowing teams to shoot only 39.1 percent this season and 27.3 percent from 3-point range. The Braves' 3-point defense also ranks 25th nationally.
 
This has to be the most meaningless game we've played in December this millenium? What is the point? Just a little friendly competition? To stay sharp?
Do the stats even count toward the final regular season stats?
 
Yes, it is a regular season game, and the stats count.
And we have played non-D1 opponents in December in the past. We played D2 Maryville in Coach Wardle's first season on Dec. 17, 2015. And we played D3 Eureka on Dec. 18, 2014, in Geno's final season.
There are several reasons for these games. Perhaps the most significant is that Bradley needs to fill a home schedule, and that is very difficult when few teams are willing to play here. Bradley could play "buy games" against teams like Chicago State, but is that any better? Plus, we'd have to write a check to Chicago State for $80,000 or $90,000, which is the going rate for D1 "buy games". Maryville will take half that to play us, and they will be just as challenging. And, as was mentioned, even a win against a D1 300+ RPI school drags down our RPI/NET number, and playing a D2 is not counted by the NCAA when calculating RPI/NET.

For the record, I am not in favor of playing non-D1 opponents, but as was noted, it is may be better than playing the Chicago State type opponent. Plus, Bradley added a home game to the season ticket package this season. For the first time, Bradley is playing 17 home games. That is the most they have ever played during a regular season home schedule. And there was no increase in season ticket prices. So think of it as an "extra free game" if you are a season ticket buyer. :)
 
Sure, I’d trade out North Carolina A&T for North Carolina, and Maryville for Maryland, but whatever. Let’s play basketball.

i think the story of this game is the strange and unfortunate fact that Antoine Pitman is back as an opponent less than one year removed from a team that he wasn’t able to earn PT in. I don’t think our guys will want to run up the score, and it could create a conflict of interests.
 
Ah, another game my wife and I will miss because of the 6 p.m. start. My guess is the crowd will be very light, though I hope I'm wrong.

And I agree with BUfan17: I hope this is the game that Ville finds his range from 3 in prime time. The rest of his game looks solid. Go Braves!
 
Da Coach said:
Yes, it is a regular season game, and the stats count.
And we have played non-D1 opponents in December in the past. We played D2 Maryville in Coach Wardle's first season on Dec. 17, 2015. And we played D3 Eureka on Dec. 18, 2014, in Geno's final season.
There are several reasons for these games. Perhaps the most significant is that Bradley needs to fill a home schedule, and that is very difficult when few teams are willing to play here. Bradley could play "buy games" against teams like Chicago State, but is that any better? Plus, we'd have to write a check to Chicago State for $80,000 or $90,000, which is the going rate for D1 "buy games". Maryville will take half that to play us, and they will be just as challenging. And, as was mentioned, even a win against a D1 300+ RPI school drags down our RPI/NET number, and playing a D2 is not counted by the NCAA when calculating RPI/NET.

For the record, I am not in favor of playing non-D1 opponents, but as was noted, it may be better than playing the Chicago State type opponent. Plus, Bradley added a home game to the season ticket package this season. For the first time, Bradley is playing 17 home games. That is the most they have ever played during a regular season home schedule. And there was no increase in season ticket prices. So think of it as an "extra free game" if you are a season ticket buyer. :)
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Thanks much DC! After your response, seems like a good addition to the schedule...just not sure I want to watch the video replay on ESPN3 later tonight, but I'm a die-hard Braves fan, so never say never!
 
Official Box score-
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.si...uments/2019/12/10/Bradley_91_Maryville_58.pdf

Bradley got off to a sluggish start tonight, and the game was tied 11-11 about 8 minutes into the game. Then Bradley's offense started to click, they pulled away, then scored the last 20 points of the first half to take a 46-19 lead at halftime. Their run continued into the 2nd half scoring the first 8 points to make it 28 points in a row, then eventually to a 41 point lead (83-41) before pulling out all 5 players and playing the final 4:21 with Sean Houpt, Ville Tahvanainen, Stephan Gabriel, Antonio Thomas, and Ari Boya (4 freshmen and 1 soph).
Bradley shot 60% (37-62) for the game, and 43% from three (6-14), and outrebounded Maryville 43-23. Bradley also had a season high 27 assists on 37 baskets, and a season-high 7 blocks, 4 of them by Ari Boya in just 12 minutes of playing time.
They also tied their season high with 7 steals, and their season low with 9 personal fouls (both were also achieved in the UIC game).

It was good to see Bradley take over and dominate the way they should have. Brown (8 points & 9 assists) and Childs (16 points & 8 rebounds) had great games, as usual. Bar (9 pts & 6 reb), Kingsby (8 pts, 3 reb, 4 asst, and 3 steals), and Kennell (15 pts, 4 reb, and 3 asst) also had very good games.
JaShon Henry was the Player of the Game with 15 points (6-9) and 5 rebounds. And Gabriel, Tahvanainen, Thomas, and Boya all looked good off the bench.

I think having a game like this will help boost the confidence of those bench players like Ville, Ari, Antonio, and Stephan.

Next game is at home Sunday at 4:00 against Georgia Southern University of the Sun Belt Conference.
This will be the 3rd game of a 2 for 1 series with GSU. Previous results-
11/25/17 at Bradley- Bradley won 62-57
12/18/18 at Georgia Southern- Bradley lost 79-74 in overtime

They were picked 3rd in the 2019-20 Sun Belt Preseason Poll. The GSU Eagles are coming off back-to-back 21-win seasons, and they have 68 percent of their scoring and 69 percent of their rebounding back from last season's 21-12 team, which tied for 2nd in the Sun Belt, one game behind the league's 1st place team (Georgia State).
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba.../2019/group/27

They are 6-3 so far-
https://gseagles.com/sports/mens-bas...hedule/2019-20

One other note- it was nice to see Antoine Pittman again. He did not have a great game. He scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting, and had 1 rebound, no assists, and a game-high 4 turnovers. I learned that he has a chipped bone in his wrist which has bothered him all year, and he had only played in 3 games prior to tonight. But because he cannot take another redshirt year, he is playing with the injury.
But just like we saw at Bradley, despite his athleticism, he has never been able to develop an effective perimeter game, and his skills seem more like those of a forward and not a guard. Hopefully playing at the Division II level against smaller and less athletic opponents will allow him to succeed. Good luck AP.
 
Game recap-
https://bradleybraves.com/news/2019/12/10/mens-basketball-braves-roll-past-maryville-91-58.aspx

From the Game Notes:
Bradley's 27 assists are its most since recording 30 against Florida A&M on Nov. 21, 2006 … The Braves' 59.7 percent shooting is the team's highest since making 60.8 percent of its baskets against Little Rock on Dec. 13, 2017 …. Bradley also outrebounded the Saints, 43-23 – the team's highest rebounding margin since Nov. 22, 2017 against Missouri S&T … BU has outscored its last two opponents in the paint, 84-26 … The Braves are a perfect 7-0 this season when Kennell makes at least two 3-pointers (0-3 when he doesn't) … Bradley also improved to 7-0 when allowing fewer than 70 points in a game … Brown now has 392 career assists, passing Charles White for ninth in school history … Bradley's 10-straight home wins are tied for the longest in the Valley with Drake.
 
It was nice to actually see us shoot well at home, which at times has been a struggle. The usual suspects (Eli, DB and Nate) did what they normally do. JaShon could be in line to be put on the all improved team and be in the hunt for the MVC 6th man of the year. Ari, Stephan, Antonio and Ville continue to improve. And these 6:00 weekday games STILL SUCK! Georgia Southern will certainly put up a more challenging effort on Sunday.
 
Coach, we were trying to discern who you might be at the game. I think I had a good guess as someone sitting a little left of center court, but would love to meet you sometime. Are you a private individual or are you willing to let us know where you're at so we can seek you out at some point?

Also, did you see Ari give the Mutombo finger wag after he swatted away a shot attempt by one of those twins from Maryville? Pretty entertaining.

Interesting to sit so close to the team bench and hear how Wardle talks to his players. He certainly doesn't have patience if his instructions aren't heard and/or followed, and interesting to me was to see how Barr was one of the vocal leaders on the court in that game.

Any way you look at it, that offense can be exciting when they are on, and the defense is stout no matter the day. Looking forward to getting into the conference play, but first things first, let's put away Georgia Southern.
 
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