Since Bradley hosted Southern Illinois 18 days ago, both Missouri Valley Conference teams have faced a Murderers Row in MVC play.
Both have played the league?s two nationally ranked teams ? Wichita State and UNI. SIU also has played third-place Indiana State, fourth-place Evansville and Loyola, while BU has met Evansville and fourth-place Illinois State.
The Braves and Salukis have had their moments against those squads ? SIU beat Loyola 59-52 on Sunday and had Indiana State beaten until the final minute. BU led at Wichita State by a point at halftime. And the Braves finally got their offense in gear at Illinois State on Saturday, dropping a dozen 3-pointers in an 82-72 loss.
But the tough grind took its toll. Both enter this second meeting tied with Drake for last place with 1-5 records.
?For us, the shock and awe I hope is over,? said SIU coach Barry Hinson. ?During this stretch, we?ve defended and rebounded for the most part. We haven?t shot the ball well.?
The Salukis (8-11, 1-5) are the only Valley team that has shot worse than Bradley. In league games, SIU is averaging just 50.5 points and shooting 37 percent, while BU is at 55.8 and 38 percent.
Bradley (6-13, 1-5) does have a tangible reason for improvement on that end of the floor ? guard Warren Jones, who missed eight games, including the first one with SIU, with a stress fracture in his foot.
Versus ISU, the 6-foot-3 Centralia native looked to be back to the form that saw him lead the Braves in scoring in his first eight games, making five 3-pointers and scoring 19 points.
?We have to generate more offense, and Warren has absolutely helped that,? said BU coach Geno Ford. ?Quite frankly, he?s our best scorer by a margin as wide as the Grand Canyon.?
With Jones back, Ford has gone to a smaller three-guard lineup with Josh Cunningham and Auston Barnes up front to create more offense.
?It scores better, but it has some slippage defensively,? Ford said. ?If we can play offense the rest of the year like we did (at Illinois State), we?ll be fine. But we have to hone up the defense because it hasn?t been good.?
Backup guard Omari Grier is expected back after missing the game at Normal because of illness. Backup center Xzavier Taylor, who also was home in bed Saturday, missed Monday?s practice, but made the trip here and was expected to practice Tuesday night at SIU Arena.
Hinson noted that another large challenge awaits his young team.
?We beat a very good basketball team in Loyola,? he said. ?Now can we back it up with another one? That?ll be the telltale sign.
?It?s just a fact that we?re extremely young with six freshmen and three sophomores. We have to fight every day. You lose seven games in a row (the Salukis? skid before Sunday), it takes away your momentum in a lot of ways.?
A key figure for SIU is guard Anthony Beane, Jr., who averaged 19.6 points in the nonconference season, but was just at 9.2 in league games prior to his 20-point outburst Sunday (Beane was 2-for-15 for eight points in Peoria). Eighteen of those points vs. Loyola came in the final six minutes to push the Salukis over the top.
He?s still just 1-for-26 on 3-point shots in the MVC, although three of his converted jumpers Sunday were long 2-pointers.
?Beane lit us up last year down here,? Ford said of the Salukis? 75-64 win. ?We have to start with defending him. If he has a big game, you?ll have a hard time winning.?
Hinson?s not buying it.
?They gave us an absolute butt-whuppin? up there,? he said. ?So they certainly have our attention.?
Both have played the league?s two nationally ranked teams ? Wichita State and UNI. SIU also has played third-place Indiana State, fourth-place Evansville and Loyola, while BU has met Evansville and fourth-place Illinois State.
The Braves and Salukis have had their moments against those squads ? SIU beat Loyola 59-52 on Sunday and had Indiana State beaten until the final minute. BU led at Wichita State by a point at halftime. And the Braves finally got their offense in gear at Illinois State on Saturday, dropping a dozen 3-pointers in an 82-72 loss.
But the tough grind took its toll. Both enter this second meeting tied with Drake for last place with 1-5 records.
?For us, the shock and awe I hope is over,? said SIU coach Barry Hinson. ?During this stretch, we?ve defended and rebounded for the most part. We haven?t shot the ball well.?
The Salukis (8-11, 1-5) are the only Valley team that has shot worse than Bradley. In league games, SIU is averaging just 50.5 points and shooting 37 percent, while BU is at 55.8 and 38 percent.
Bradley (6-13, 1-5) does have a tangible reason for improvement on that end of the floor ? guard Warren Jones, who missed eight games, including the first one with SIU, with a stress fracture in his foot.
Versus ISU, the 6-foot-3 Centralia native looked to be back to the form that saw him lead the Braves in scoring in his first eight games, making five 3-pointers and scoring 19 points.
?We have to generate more offense, and Warren has absolutely helped that,? said BU coach Geno Ford. ?Quite frankly, he?s our best scorer by a margin as wide as the Grand Canyon.?
With Jones back, Ford has gone to a smaller three-guard lineup with Josh Cunningham and Auston Barnes up front to create more offense.
?It scores better, but it has some slippage defensively,? Ford said. ?If we can play offense the rest of the year like we did (at Illinois State), we?ll be fine. But we have to hone up the defense because it hasn?t been good.?
Backup guard Omari Grier is expected back after missing the game at Normal because of illness. Backup center Xzavier Taylor, who also was home in bed Saturday, missed Monday?s practice, but made the trip here and was expected to practice Tuesday night at SIU Arena.
Hinson noted that another large challenge awaits his young team.
?We beat a very good basketball team in Loyola,? he said. ?Now can we back it up with another one? That?ll be the telltale sign.
?It?s just a fact that we?re extremely young with six freshmen and three sophomores. We have to fight every day. You lose seven games in a row (the Salukis? skid before Sunday), it takes away your momentum in a lot of ways.?
A key figure for SIU is guard Anthony Beane, Jr., who averaged 19.6 points in the nonconference season, but was just at 9.2 in league games prior to his 20-point outburst Sunday (Beane was 2-for-15 for eight points in Peoria). Eighteen of those points vs. Loyola came in the final six minutes to push the Salukis over the top.
He?s still just 1-for-26 on 3-point shots in the MVC, although three of his converted jumpers Sunday were long 2-pointers.
?Beane lit us up last year down here,? Ford said of the Salukis? 75-64 win. ?We have to start with defending him. If he has a big game, you?ll have a hard time winning.?
Hinson?s not buying it.
?They gave us an absolute butt-whuppin? up there,? he said. ?So they certainly have our attention.?
