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Final score: UIC 85 Bradley 70

Da Coach

Da Coach

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Next game: Bradley (14-7, 7-3) vs UIC (10-10, 5-4), Saturday, Jan. 24, 7:00 pm

The game is on ESPN+ - Link- https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/745adefb-dd81-472a-9829-d87555a31e25
Live Stats- https://bradleybraves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Chat room- www.chatzy.com/bradleyfans
WMBD radio - https://wmbdradio.com/player/?playerID=2045
TICKETS-
Schedule/Results- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/82
Roster- https://uicflames.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/82

UIC has won 5 straight MVC games after they started the conference season 0-4.
Their last 5 games include a home win over SIU, followed by impressive road wins at the two teams picked at the top of the Preseason Poll, Illinois State and Northern Iowa. Their most recent game was a 27-point home win over Evansville this past Tuesday.
Box score from most recent game- UIC 76 Evansville 49- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401830274

UIC was 17-14, 10-10 last season in Head Coach Rob Ehsan's first year there.
His roster has undergone a near-complete re-build since last season.
The starting five from their last game and possible starters for Saturday's game-
6'8" Redshirt-Freshman Forward- Jayce Nathaniel (7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 8-33 from three)- He redshirted last season after an early-season injury
6'6" Freshman Guard- Andy Johnson (12.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 34.8% from three)- He ranks a close 2nd in scoring among MVC freshman to Murray State's Roman Domon (12.7 ppg)
6'5" Freshman guard- Rashund Washington (7.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 31.9% from three)-
6'3" sophomore point guard, transfer from BYU- Elijah Crawford (9.8 ppg, 4.9 apg, 26.3% from three)- Was a 4-star recruit; Crawford missed 13 games due to injury but has been one of their best players since returning for the last 6 games.
6'7" junior guard transfer from Towson- Mekhi Lowery (8.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg)- Big guard who leads the team in rebounding. He has not attempted a 3-point shot this year.

Possible starters and top reserves-
5'10" junior guard Ahmad Henderson- The only returning player from last year's team; Leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg, 28.3% from three), but after starting most of the season, he came off the bench in their last game. He lead the MVC in FT percentage last year (90%).
6'8", 250 lb Post-Grad Forward transfer from Connecticut State Abdul Momoh (8.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 64.5% FG%, 51.7% FT%)- Momoh plays more minutes (23 mpg) than any other forward on the team, despite coming off the bench. He is a big physical presence. He has not attempted a three pointer, and gets his points at the basket.
6'2" Post-Grad transfer guard from Sam Houston State- Josiah Hammons (7.1 ppg, 35.8% 3pt FG%)- Plays an average of 16 minutes per game as a reserve, and has the highest 3-point FG% at 35.8%.

As a team, UIC is a poor 3-point shooting team. Their season 3-point FG% is 30.7%, which ranks 10th, ahead of SIU (27.8%).
Offensive rebounding is the one MVC stat they excel at. They rank #1 in Offensive Rebounds per game at 13.4/game and Offensive Rebound percentage (37.9%).
Curiously, they rank dead last (11th) in Defensive Rebounds (23.2/game), and Defensive Rebound Percentage (66.1%)

MVC stats- https://mvc-sports.com/documents/2025/11/4//2025_26_MVC_MBB_All_Game_Stats.pdf
Bradley stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/71

Also note that the Bradley Reunion Celebration for the Hall of Fame teams from 1985-86, 1995-96, and 2005-06 will be at 4:30 at the Pere Marquette Ball Room-
More info- https://bradleyfans.com/threads/bradley-3-team-reunion-event.529312/#post-533143
 
UIC might have, quickly, become the best team in the Valley.
We better be ready to play as UIC might not be big but seem to be very quick and never give up.
 
No doubt they've been playing much better-
of their 5-game winning streak, they've been fortunate to catch all five of their opponents on a losing streak....

UNI has losr 5 in a row, Evansville has lost 10 of their last 11, SIU has lost 4 in a row and 8 of their last 10,
Drake had lost 3 of 4, and even the game at ISU- they caught the Redbirds in the midst of their 3-game losing streak.

We've only lost 1 of our last five -- so I hope we keep our current 1-game win streak alive...
 
basketball nut said:
UIC might have, quickly, become the best team in the Valley.
We better be ready to play as UIC might not be big but seem to be very quick and never give up.
Click to expand...
UIC does not have much size inside. It's hard to believe they can be as competitive as they have been without a significant inside presence.
They almost always play with 4 guards on the floor, along with one forward, and occasionally play with 5 guards.
These are the only 4 players listed on their roster as forwards, and one is redshirting and another doesn't play much.
Jayce Nathaniel- the only forward who has started most games (started 12 of 20 games); plays 22 minutes per game; he's a redshirt-freshman who is only 6'8"; plays more of a small forward position and not a true inside player; Averages 7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg.
Abdul Momoh- comes off the bench mostly (has started 3 of 20 games); plays 23 minutes per game; 6'8", 249 pounds, averages 8.4 ppg, but only averages 3.8 rpg
Ante Beljan- 6'10" redshirt junior, transfer from Little Rock, where he averaged 10 ppg last year; he missed most of the non-conference season, and since returning has played very little. He is averaging 2.0 ppg and 0.6 rpg in 5 minutes per game in UIC's conference games.
Nano Barrantes- 6'10" freshman who is listed on the roster, but who is apparently redshirting. He has not appeared in any games this season.
 
I would think our strategy would be to get Meta and Corey more involved and Timo might break out on the offensive glass again.
Alex has been quiet from long range lately, so I predict he nails 4 treys and is the difference-maker en route to a BU winner!
 
This really is a key game for us - the schedule IMO is tougher in the 2nd half, tho the toughest games are at home.
The only game we absolutely should win going fw is at home vs. Valpo.

Would be nice to get revenge on UIC at home. We got our buns handed to us last season vs the Flames, getting roasted by 23, which began a 3-game skid.

The rest of the games are pretty even and could go either way.

REGARDLESS...we HAVE to up our game b/c we're not close to where we need to be to make a run in Arch Madness. Someone who hasn't done much this season needs to rise up. AJ? Corey? Zobrist? Without at least 1 of these guys stepping up, it's gonna be real hard.
I think I overestimated Meta's ability. He is average at best, so we can't expect 14 and 8 every game like Hannah gave us.
 
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Tough game. We are not playing our best ball right now, and the UIC flames are literally on fire.
If we bring the intensity of defense that we are capable of.... but bring it for the whole game (not just the last 6 min) I like our chances.
If we fall short of that, it could be a repeat of last year. Which happened on my birthday and was not fun.
let's go get it done BU.
 
UIC may not be tall but are very athletic. St.Louis who we played in an exb. game is similar in that they have a lot of 6-5 6-6 players that are long and quick. We have to keep them out of the lane and not allow a bunch of layups and rebound baskets.
 
They might not have seven footers, but the entire roster is 6-2 and up other than Henderson, who can play like he's much taller (similar to Jaquan).

Johnson (6'6) and Washington (6'5) are big guards.

Nathaniel / Momoh / Lowery are all beasts inside and Washington rebounds very well for a guard. It's a bit preposterous that they list Lowery as a guard because other than bringing the ball up occasionally, he's definitely a forward. And now with Crawford back, he doesn't need to do that much.

This team is so different with Crawford than without him.
 
Attendance might be bleak because of Temps. The band helps with atmosphere. I live 35 minutes from Belmont and I doubt they get 2k attendance because of ice forecast. Tomb-like.
 
Yes
There were “grumblings” about the MVC expanding by three more teams, to 14 members overall by 2026-27 - with Milwaukee, Bellarmine, Kansas City, St Thomas, Omaha, UT-Arlington, the Dakota schools being mentioned by certain people.

We’ll prob hear more this spring.

www.racerbasketball.com

Valley expansion does not appear imminent

MVC Commissioner Jeff Jackson did not tip his hand during Thursday's Media Day
www.racerbasketball.com www.racerbasketball.com
 
yoda said:
Belmont always draws poorly.
They did draw 4000 for in-town rival Lipscomb, but otherwise average under 2000.
The weather will keep attendance around 1000-1200.
When they had a little snow last January, they drew 1500 for SIU & 1300 for Valpo.

But the last time they had really bad weather with school closings was mid-January 2024, and their game Jan 17, 2024 vs UNI drew just 1100.
Click to expand...
That 4,123 attendance figure for their game with Lipscomb is an extreme outlier. Their averaged for all other home games is 1,624 per game
The Lipscomb game back on Nov. 19, was a special promotion, which explains why it drew over 4,000 in attendance.
It was their annual "Battle of the Boulevard" with crosstown rival Lipscomb, and it was also a "White Out" game with attendees receiving a free T-shirt (see photo below) and there was special ticket pricing, as well as a promotion to draw students. In addition, it was part of a double-header, with their women's team playing first, and they had a special halftime performer. They play Lipscomb every year, alternating between Belmont's home arena and Lipscomb's home arena, and those games always draw over 4,000, despite the fact Belmont has won 20 of the last 23 times they've played.
belmontbruins.com

Men's Basketball Defeats Lipscomb in 152nd Battle of the Boulevard - Belmont University

Defense, Big Plays From McClain & Scharnowski Power Victory
belmontbruins.com belmontbruins.com

1769200734418.png
 
UIC will be no easy game to win. I know the temperature will be cold, but for what it is worth the forecast for snow has been downgraded just a bit. Really need as many fans as we can pack in the arena. To all my fellow Bradley fans, brave the cold and a little snow and support our team. I for one will be there with the usual group I go to games with. Hope to get a win.:D
 
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