Braves first Missouri Valley team to play Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center
Northern Iowa, largely because of the unique and spacious UNI-Dome, has long been one of the Missouri Valley Conference's most difficult venues for a road team.
Now, in the inaugural season of the the McLeod Center, the Panthers' new campus home in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Bradley will be the first Valley team to see if that tag still applies. The Braves and Panthers open the MVC season tonight at 8:05 on ESPN2.
"I didn't like the UNI-Dome; it was a tough place to shoot," said Bradley's leading scorer, Jeremy Crouch. "This will be exciting to be the first Valley team in the new building. It'll be sold out so we know it'll be a tough environment."
Certainly the four visiting nonconference foes at McLeod this season, who have all left town with convincing losses, would concur.
Northern Iowa has beaten Wisconsin-Milwaukee, South Dakota State, Missouri-Kansas City and Wartburg by a combined average of 19.5 points while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range.
The Panthers also own a home win over Iowa State and road victories at Iowa, Bucknell and Loyola. Counting wins over Nicholls State and Pepperdine on neutral courts, UNI has allowed just 59.5 points per game, second in the Valley to Southern Illinois.
"We've been pretty good defensively," new UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. "That was our primary concern coming into the season having lost Ben Jacobson, John Little and Erik Crawford, because they were such a huge part of our defense."
Jacobson, the coach, also has picked up the pace some offensively from the Greg McDermott era although the myriad halfcourt sets look pretty familiar.
"We do look a little different pushing the ball in transition," Jacobson said. "It's a result of us having more depth, particularly inside."
Interior players Grant Stout and Eric Coleman are the chief returnees from UNI teams that reached the NCAA tournament three consecutive years. They're backed up ably by freshmen Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch, who average seven points and six rebounds between them.
"We can't allow them to have their way inside," BU coach Jim Les said. "Our defense for this game will be built from the inside out."
Les is comfortable that the variety and difficulty of the Braves' dozen nonconference games have prepared his team well for what promises to be a rigorous Valley season.
"What I liked was when we skipped a beat (losing three in a row) after winning our first five, we really responded to some of the things we weren't doing well," he said. "We picked up our defensive intensity and pressure and made some adjustments physically and mentally to take another step to become better as a team.
"We got some great looks in terms of different (opponent) styles. We got some good looks in terms of being on the road in some hostile environments. Those are all good things as we go into a sold-out arena and national TV."
Crouch pointed out another good thing that could become a major factor in the Braves placing among the top four in the league for the first time in the Les era.
"Last year we didn't really buy into the system until we started clicking (two-thirds of the way through the season)," he said. "The guys who were here last year saw that so we bought into it early this year. That should really benefit us."
The only way to be a conference contender is to win games on the road.
"I told the guys the teams that separate themselves are the teams that can go out on the road and win games," Les said. "That means you have to battle through adversity, weather the crowd and the atmosphere and gut it out. Those are the teams that win the league. This team has enough experience to do that."
Northern Iowa, largely because of the unique and spacious UNI-Dome, has long been one of the Missouri Valley Conference's most difficult venues for a road team.
Now, in the inaugural season of the the McLeod Center, the Panthers' new campus home in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Bradley will be the first Valley team to see if that tag still applies. The Braves and Panthers open the MVC season tonight at 8:05 on ESPN2.
"I didn't like the UNI-Dome; it was a tough place to shoot," said Bradley's leading scorer, Jeremy Crouch. "This will be exciting to be the first Valley team in the new building. It'll be sold out so we know it'll be a tough environment."
Certainly the four visiting nonconference foes at McLeod this season, who have all left town with convincing losses, would concur.
Northern Iowa has beaten Wisconsin-Milwaukee, South Dakota State, Missouri-Kansas City and Wartburg by a combined average of 19.5 points while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range.
The Panthers also own a home win over Iowa State and road victories at Iowa, Bucknell and Loyola. Counting wins over Nicholls State and Pepperdine on neutral courts, UNI has allowed just 59.5 points per game, second in the Valley to Southern Illinois.
"We've been pretty good defensively," new UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. "That was our primary concern coming into the season having lost Ben Jacobson, John Little and Erik Crawford, because they were such a huge part of our defense."
Jacobson, the coach, also has picked up the pace some offensively from the Greg McDermott era although the myriad halfcourt sets look pretty familiar.
"We do look a little different pushing the ball in transition," Jacobson said. "It's a result of us having more depth, particularly inside."
Interior players Grant Stout and Eric Coleman are the chief returnees from UNI teams that reached the NCAA tournament three consecutive years. They're backed up ably by freshmen Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch, who average seven points and six rebounds between them.
"We can't allow them to have their way inside," BU coach Jim Les said. "Our defense for this game will be built from the inside out."
Les is comfortable that the variety and difficulty of the Braves' dozen nonconference games have prepared his team well for what promises to be a rigorous Valley season.
"What I liked was when we skipped a beat (losing three in a row) after winning our first five, we really responded to some of the things we weren't doing well," he said. "We picked up our defensive intensity and pressure and made some adjustments physically and mentally to take another step to become better as a team.
"We got some great looks in terms of different (opponent) styles. We got some good looks in terms of being on the road in some hostile environments. Those are all good things as we go into a sold-out arena and national TV."
Crouch pointed out another good thing that could become a major factor in the Braves placing among the top four in the league for the first time in the Les era.
"Last year we didn't really buy into the system until we started clicking (two-thirds of the way through the season)," he said. "The guys who were here last year saw that so we bought into it early this year. That should really benefit us."
The only way to be a conference contender is to win games on the road.
"I told the guys the teams that separate themselves are the teams that can go out on the road and win games," Les said. "That means you have to battle through adversity, weather the crowd and the atmosphere and gut it out. Those are the teams that win the league. This team has enough experience to do that."
