A victory tonight against Drake in the season finale for the Bradley Braves means a No. 7 seed for BU in this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament at St. Louis and a date in the 7-10 play-in game at 8:37 p.m. Friday.
That's exactly where the youthful Braves were picked to finish in the preseason MVC poll.
If Drake (11-15, 6-11) knocks off the Braves, however, Bradley would end in a tie for eighth and finish as either the tournament's 8 or the 9 seed, depending on the tonight's outcomes of the games involving the other two play-in teams - Indiana State (5-12), which plays host to MVC champion Southern Illinois, and Evansville (5-12), which plays host to Southwest Missouri State.
If the Braves (13-13, 6-11) lose tonight, they would play one of the Indiana schools in the 6 p.m. game Friday at Savvis Center.
This marks the third time in the last four years Bradley has begun conference tournament play in the play-in round. Bradley coach Jim Les said his team isn't disappointed in its position, which requires the difficult task of winning four games in four days to capture the championship Monday night.
"It is what it is," he said. "Whenever we're going to play, we'll be ready, prepared and will go out and play well. It doesn't do any good to cry over spilled milk. We're in this situation because we've put ourselves in this situation. Now we battle our way out of it."
No Valley play-in team since the concept's inception, in 1997, has ever won more than two games. That was the 1997-98 Braves, who lost in the Sunday semifinals to SMS 67-58.
"To me, it's not that big of a deal (playing four games)," Les said. "Nowadays, most of these kids have played in the AAU and they'll play three games a day for a weekend. We're going there with the intent of winning four games. You take it one at a time and have some urgency because it's lose and go home."
Tournament pairings will be determined following tonight's five Valley games.
The Braves also are vying for their first winning season in four years and the first in the Les regime. The most likely scenario to achieve that would be to win tonight and Friday.
Drake is riding a season-best three-game winning streak, having beaten San Jose State, Indiana State and Evansville - all in Des Moines. In road games, the Bulldogs are 2-9, with overtime victories at Indiana State and Evansville.
"They're playing well by committee," Les said. "They're getting scoring from a lot of different places."
Drake has nine players averaging double-figure minutes as coach Tom Davis employs a constant shuffle of substitutions to keep players fresh for their full-court pressure defensive tactics.
While the press has bothered the Braves in their three meetings against Davis' Bulldogs - all losses - the effective way BU attacked Western Kentucky's pressure last weekend should give Bradley more confidence this time.
"I think it should," Les said. "As the year has gone on, we've taken better care of the basketball, valued it and made better decisions. This game will be a premium on valuing and taking care of the ball."
Sommerville can play: BU leading scorer Marcellus Sommerville can play tonight following his ejection for a flagrant foul Saturday at Northern Iowa.
Said MVC assistant commissioner for communications Mike Kern: "(MVC supervisor of officials) Jim Bain spoke with lead ref Frank Spencer and the refs had a good look at the video. In no way did they think it was a fight. So the penalty ended when the game ended and Sommerville can play against Drake."
That's exactly where the youthful Braves were picked to finish in the preseason MVC poll.
If Drake (11-15, 6-11) knocks off the Braves, however, Bradley would end in a tie for eighth and finish as either the tournament's 8 or the 9 seed, depending on the tonight's outcomes of the games involving the other two play-in teams - Indiana State (5-12), which plays host to MVC champion Southern Illinois, and Evansville (5-12), which plays host to Southwest Missouri State.
If the Braves (13-13, 6-11) lose tonight, they would play one of the Indiana schools in the 6 p.m. game Friday at Savvis Center.
This marks the third time in the last four years Bradley has begun conference tournament play in the play-in round. Bradley coach Jim Les said his team isn't disappointed in its position, which requires the difficult task of winning four games in four days to capture the championship Monday night.
"It is what it is," he said. "Whenever we're going to play, we'll be ready, prepared and will go out and play well. It doesn't do any good to cry over spilled milk. We're in this situation because we've put ourselves in this situation. Now we battle our way out of it."
No Valley play-in team since the concept's inception, in 1997, has ever won more than two games. That was the 1997-98 Braves, who lost in the Sunday semifinals to SMS 67-58.
"To me, it's not that big of a deal (playing four games)," Les said. "Nowadays, most of these kids have played in the AAU and they'll play three games a day for a weekend. We're going there with the intent of winning four games. You take it one at a time and have some urgency because it's lose and go home."
Tournament pairings will be determined following tonight's five Valley games.
The Braves also are vying for their first winning season in four years and the first in the Les regime. The most likely scenario to achieve that would be to win tonight and Friday.
Drake is riding a season-best three-game winning streak, having beaten San Jose State, Indiana State and Evansville - all in Des Moines. In road games, the Bulldogs are 2-9, with overtime victories at Indiana State and Evansville.
"They're playing well by committee," Les said. "They're getting scoring from a lot of different places."
Drake has nine players averaging double-figure minutes as coach Tom Davis employs a constant shuffle of substitutions to keep players fresh for their full-court pressure defensive tactics.
While the press has bothered the Braves in their three meetings against Davis' Bulldogs - all losses - the effective way BU attacked Western Kentucky's pressure last weekend should give Bradley more confidence this time.
"I think it should," Les said. "As the year has gone on, we've taken better care of the basketball, valued it and made better decisions. This game will be a premium on valuing and taking care of the ball."
Sommerville can play: BU leading scorer Marcellus Sommerville can play tonight following his ejection for a flagrant foul Saturday at Northern Iowa.
Said MVC assistant commissioner for communications Mike Kern: "(MVC supervisor of officials) Jim Bain spoke with lead ref Frank Spencer and the refs had a good look at the video. In no way did they think it was a fight. So the penalty ended when the game ended and Sommerville can play against Drake."
