Where do we end up at end of conf. season?

[LittleBrave]

We used to be able to create polls, but with new site/format, I don't see the option.

We're at the halfway point Braves fans and sitting decent at 7-3..
We all know we aren't as strong as last season and this team quite frankly looks bad at times...in most games. This is a gritty bunch of guys.

So just for kicks, so we can look back in March...
1) What will be our final MVC record?
2) What seed do we get at Arch Madness?
3) How far do we get in Arch Madness?

My (safe yet optimistic) prediction:
1) 13-7
2) 4-seed
3) Semifinals

 

[yoda]

so far, we haven't lost anyone to a major injury while some of the other teams have, that's an unusual scenario given how many
years we've lost starters & had key players with nagging injuries (Burch, Hickman, Rienk, Darius, Zek, Ja'Shon)
We all know one player can go down and affect the next several games....

Our 1st half schedule was a little tougher than what we have left. Our three toughest opponents based on the upper half of the standings
have been Murray State, Belmont & ISU - and we've already played all three on the road with the three games we still have remaining
against them are all at home. We are 5-0 in MVC play at home.
We have only ONE remaining game against an MVC opponent with a winning conference record (UIC, 5-4) - and hopefully by tomorrow they won't have a winning record.
So I like our chances of finishing the 2nd half 7-3 or maybe even 8-2....wishful thinking??

The two teams ahead of us....
Murray State still has BELMONT TWICE, ISU TWICE, and has to travel to Peoria, Indiana State and UNI - all very tough places to win.
Belmont still has MURRAY STATE TWICE, ISU TWICE, and has to travel to Peoria, UNI, and even Valpo is a tough place to win nowadays.

 

[Da Coach]

We used to be able to create polls, but with new site/format, I don't see the option....

I hadn't thought of that, since I haven't posted polls in the past. Thanks for pointing it out. There is an option on this new forum for polls, I just needed to activate it.
The default setting was only to allow "Discussion". But I just turned the other options on for "Article", "Poll", or "Question.
The next time you create a new topic, you will see new tabs above the text box. Click on the one that says "Poll".



To answer your question- trying not to be too overly optimistic, and realizing Bradley has been a bit lucky with a couple of the wins...
1) What will be our final MVC record?- 13-7
2) What seed do we get at Arch Madness?- 4
3) How far do we get in Arch Madness?- Championship game, runner-up

 

[tomahawk chop]

Unless we start shooting the ball better we will probably finish 4th or 5th and we will not be playing for the championship in St.Louis. Still time to get better but it does not look good when our team struggles in the paint and the perimeter to make baskets.

 

[BUBraves2006]

I think it's interesting that the site I look at often (Bart Torvik) has predictions about upcoming games that evolve. In our last 10 games, the model only has us favored in 2 of those 10. Probably adjusting for luck, it has us finishing at 11-9. I think there's some issues with that model, but the common record I'm seeing from people is 13-7, which would be 6-4 the rest of the way.

I'm still leery to think we get more than one win against ISU Red / Belmont / Murray at home. I also think that Valpo & UIC are trending well and are probably going to get us once. I also doubt we sweep the Iowa swing - I looked back and Coach Wardle's teams have never done it. So, I'm landing at 5-5 for a 12-8 record. I actually think that still might be good for 4th because I think the losses are going to keep piling up for everyone except the top three. If we can not slip up against the teams who we should beat, third could still be in the cards. Let's see what ISU does at Belmont tomorrow.

Arch Madness ... who knows? I have to put some thought into that.

 

[Da Coach]

I think it's interesting that the site I look at often (Bart Torvik) has predictions about upcoming games that evolve. In our last 10 games, the model only has us favored in 2 of those 10. Probably adjusting for luck, it has us finishing at 11-9. I think there's some issues with that model, but the common record I'm seeing from people is 13-7, which would be 6-4 the rest of the way.....

I predicted above the Braves final MVC record would be 13-7, but with a little wishful thinking, think about this....
Bradley has not lost any home MVC games. They are 5-0 in home MVC games, so far. They are 10-1 at home overall this season, with the only loss against UT-Martin, the top team in the OVC. Only Murray State's 10-0 home record is better.
So, it's not irrational to think that Bradley could possibly win out at home, is it? Let's say that happens.
Then, that would leave only the 5 remaining road games as vulnerabilities. The remaining road games are all against teams below Bradley in the Standings, and 4 of the 5 have losing records- @Drake (4-5), @UNI (4-5), @SIU (2-7), @Valparaiso (4-5), and @UIC (5-4).
With a little luck (and with good shooting), there might be a pathway to go 10-0 over the final 10 games, or at least 9-1, and end up 17-3 in the MVC, or 16-4. That would leave Bradley with a 24-7 overall record or 23-8, and likely the #1 seed in the MVC Tournament. Get 'er done!

 

[yoda]

I’ll have what you’re drinking…

 

[Dub]

I predicted above the Braves final MVC record would be 13-7, but with a little wishful thinking, think about this....
Bradley has not lost any home MVC games. They are 5-0 in home MVC games, so far. They are 10-1 at home overall this season, with the only loss against UT-Martin, the top team in the OVC. Only Murray State's 10-0 home record is better.
So, it's not irrational to think that Bradley could possibly win out at home, is it? Let's say that happens.
Then, that would leave only the 5 remaining road games as vulnerabilities. The remaining road games are all against teams below Bradley in the Standings, and 4 of the 5 have losing records- @Drake (4-5), @UNI (4-5), @SIU (2-7), @Valparaiso (4-5), and @UIC (5-4).
With a little luck (and with good shooting), there might be a pathway to go 10-0 over the final 10 games, or at least 9-1, and end up 17-3 in the MVC, or 16-4. That would leave Bradley with a 24-7 overall record or 23-8, and likely the #1 seed in the MVC Tournament. Get 'er done!

If this scenario plays out, it would make for one of the most memorable seasons ever.

 

[LittleBrave]

With a little luck (and with good shooting), there might be a pathway to go 10-0 over the final 10 games, or at least 9-1, and end up 17-3 in the MVC, or 16-4. That would leave Bradley with a 24-7 overall record or 23-8, and likely the #1 seed in the MVC Tournament. Get 'er done!

Still think the same?? LOL - If I saw this a few hrs ago, I might have been on board with it. Sigh

 

[yoda]

All those years people whined that we were never among the top teams or in the hunt in the 2nd half of the season -

Yet here we are, in the 2nd half of the season, in 3rd place, a 1.5 games out of 1st place.
We aren’t a good team right now, but I’m not ready to panic.

 

[daveineureka]

Was not expecting us to lose at home. Only thing we can do now is win one on the road where we are not expecting to win. Next game against Drake would be good. Not expecting a win, but maybe the team will regroup and play better and get a win at Drake.

 

[basketball nut]

This is really a tough subject this year.
We have already played the bottom 3 teams 5 times with 5 wins.
We were able to win the iowa games at home. We have lost to all the top teams. Yes UIC is a top team. My wife asked me about the game last night while waiting for the doors to open. I said UIC scares me. On paper they don't look that good but they play better then that. I said it wouldn't surprise me if we loss and we did.
Looking to the rest of season? Hopefully, we can split the 2 Iowa games and at least a split with Valparaiso or, better yet, would be to win both games. Should win at SIU. that would get us to 10-10. Then we need to talk about the 4 other teams. I think we have a chance, at home, against ISU red. Getting a split at home between Belmont and Murray State would nice. Not sure it can happen. UIC, in my opinion is a loss. They might just win conference.
If we can pull off those 2 wins we would end up 12-8. That's my optimistic prediction. Realistically I'm looking at 11-9 & possibly 10-10.

 

[MAK77]

11-9. Tied for 5th place, will get the 6 seed. Will lose in the quarter-finals.
All of our conference wins, except for Drake, have been 'white-knucklers'. They simply do not play 40 minutes of defense.

 

[Crashdavis]

We’re a hair from being 8 14

 

[tomahawk chop]

If we cannot win the conference or the Tour. it does not matter to me now. Get Zobrist and Richardson more playing time and build for the next season. I have seen enough games this year to tell it is not going to end well for this team. Staff needs to get out there every chance they have and find some good inside players. I would give as much money to Nazir Allen as I can to bring him to Bradley.

 

[64NIT]

Those two OT wins are helping the Braves stay afloat in the standings. If they had lost one or both, they'd be several places down.

 

[daveineureka]

With the players already committed and hopefully more to come, they look good on paper as the current players did when they committed. Let's hope the incoming class turns things around on the front line. Ones that can score, rebound, and defend. Need to take the scoring load off of our guards. They can't carry the scoring load each game. Last I checked Lathan Sommerville is trying to come back from injury. Before getting hurt his minutes per game is not great. I think about ten minutes per game. We shall see what happens.

 

[tomahawk chop]

With the players already committed and hopefully more to come, they look good on paper as the current players did when they committed. Let's hope the incoming class turns things around on the front line. Ones that can score, rebound, and defend. Need to take the scoring load off of our guards. They can't carry the scoring load each game. Last I checked Lathan Sommerville is trying to come back from injury. Before getting hurt his minutes per game is not great. I think about ten minutes per game. We shall see what happens.

We have 3 committed players but we still need a center and another wing that can shoot plus rebound. Heck I would take 2 guys that can play center and preferably 6-8 athletic ones. Tired of 7footers that are slow and cannot make shots.

 

[LittleBrave]

We have 3 committed players but we still need a center and another wing that can shoot plus rebound. Heck I would take 2 guys that can play center and preferably 6-8 athletic ones. Tired of 7footers that are slow and cannot make shots.

Agreed - it's ok in the Valley to have a 6'9" or 6'10" center as long as they can rebound and have some agility. Meta seems slower than last season. Love that he can nail his FTs and his shot-blocking has gotten better. That's about all tho.
Look for Gustavo to be ready next season - maybe not like Reink Mast was, but I love his attitude, energy, and seems more agile than Meta, but right now, not as much as Kai Yu.