Braves can atone for 7-24 record with strong showing at MVC tournament
As dreadful as this 7-24 men?s basketball season has been for Bradley, this is the week for hope.
The second season begins Thursday at 8:35 p.m. when the Braves take on Drake in the play-in round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Scottrade Center.
?It?s a new life,? said BU coach Geno Ford. ?It?s something college basketball got right. Regardless of what you?ve done to this point, you can make a whole new niche for yourself, a whole new way of remembering your season, all in the span of three or four days.
?We don?t have any pressure on us. We?ll go down, have fun, pin our ears back and see what we can do.?
Despite losing 20 of their final 22 games, the Braves? hope is not false given how the team has played defense the past three weeks.
In those five Valley games, BU has allowed opponents to shoot a combined .376 from the field and average just 60.8 points.
By contrast, in the first 13 MVC contests, Bradley allowed teams to shoot 51 percent and average 79.4 points.
?We feel like we can go out, stick to our defensive principles and get a W this first game,? said BU guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards. ?We look at this as a fresh start. We see it as an opportunity to make a name for ourselves.?
It would take more than beating Drake to etch their name into anyone?s minds. A win over No. 2 seed and 25th-ranked Creighton in the quarterfinal-round matchup for the winner would do it, though.
Only once before in MVC tournament history has a team emerged from the play-in round to get as far as the semifinals. And that was the 1998 Bradley Braves.
Ironically, that quarterfinal win was over Creighton, albeit a much less prodigious Bluejays team.
?We?re going to try to go out and do the impossible, which you guys might think,? Simms-Edwards said to a group of reporters. ?Our goal is to play four games in four days. I packed my bags to play in the championship game.?
The Braves? recent surge of stronger play has caught the attention of Drake coach Mark Phelps.
?So many times, you see a team in Bradley?s predicament lie down and not fight you,? he said. ?We?re not seeing that from Bradley. Without their most productive player (injured Taylor Brown), they?re playing with a lot of grit and determination.
?I?ve known Geno a long time. He?s a fierce competitor, and his team mirrors that competitive fire. It?ll be a tough game.?
In their two meetings this season, the teams have played spirited, competitive contests.
In Des Moines, Drake rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to win 82-74. In Peoria two weeks ago, the Bulldogs survived a furious late charge by the Braves to post a 62-55 victory.
?No disrespect to Drake, but we?re not going down there afraid of playing Drake,? Ford said. ?We played very competitively against them both games. We played them without (Ben) Simons the second time, but we were without Taylor (Brown) that night, too.?
Bradley will again be without Brown, who has missed the last three games and hasn?t attempted to practice since last week. He is nursing a partially torn ligament in his right big toe.
?We all feel bad for Taylor,? Ford said. ?Nobody wants to be a senior sitting in a sweatsuit. But a lot of this group will be back playing (next year), so they need to go show something.?
As the No. 10 seed, whatever positive ?something? the Braves show will be more than is expected by many observers.
?You don?t need to be nervous; you need to be excited,? Ford said of his team. ?There?s nothing to be nervous about because if you don?t play well, they pack your bags and send you on your way.?
As dreadful as this 7-24 men?s basketball season has been for Bradley, this is the week for hope.
The second season begins Thursday at 8:35 p.m. when the Braves take on Drake in the play-in round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at Scottrade Center.
?It?s a new life,? said BU coach Geno Ford. ?It?s something college basketball got right. Regardless of what you?ve done to this point, you can make a whole new niche for yourself, a whole new way of remembering your season, all in the span of three or four days.
?We don?t have any pressure on us. We?ll go down, have fun, pin our ears back and see what we can do.?
Despite losing 20 of their final 22 games, the Braves? hope is not false given how the team has played defense the past three weeks.
In those five Valley games, BU has allowed opponents to shoot a combined .376 from the field and average just 60.8 points.
By contrast, in the first 13 MVC contests, Bradley allowed teams to shoot 51 percent and average 79.4 points.
?We feel like we can go out, stick to our defensive principles and get a W this first game,? said BU guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards. ?We look at this as a fresh start. We see it as an opportunity to make a name for ourselves.?
It would take more than beating Drake to etch their name into anyone?s minds. A win over No. 2 seed and 25th-ranked Creighton in the quarterfinal-round matchup for the winner would do it, though.
Only once before in MVC tournament history has a team emerged from the play-in round to get as far as the semifinals. And that was the 1998 Bradley Braves.
Ironically, that quarterfinal win was over Creighton, albeit a much less prodigious Bluejays team.
?We?re going to try to go out and do the impossible, which you guys might think,? Simms-Edwards said to a group of reporters. ?Our goal is to play four games in four days. I packed my bags to play in the championship game.?
The Braves? recent surge of stronger play has caught the attention of Drake coach Mark Phelps.
?So many times, you see a team in Bradley?s predicament lie down and not fight you,? he said. ?We?re not seeing that from Bradley. Without their most productive player (injured Taylor Brown), they?re playing with a lot of grit and determination.
?I?ve known Geno a long time. He?s a fierce competitor, and his team mirrors that competitive fire. It?ll be a tough game.?
In their two meetings this season, the teams have played spirited, competitive contests.
In Des Moines, Drake rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to win 82-74. In Peoria two weeks ago, the Bulldogs survived a furious late charge by the Braves to post a 62-55 victory.
?No disrespect to Drake, but we?re not going down there afraid of playing Drake,? Ford said. ?We played very competitively against them both games. We played them without (Ben) Simons the second time, but we were without Taylor (Brown) that night, too.?
Bradley will again be without Brown, who has missed the last three games and hasn?t attempted to practice since last week. He is nursing a partially torn ligament in his right big toe.
?We all feel bad for Taylor,? Ford said. ?Nobody wants to be a senior sitting in a sweatsuit. But a lot of this group will be back playing (next year), so they need to go show something.?
As the No. 10 seed, whatever positive ?something? the Braves show will be more than is expected by many observers.
?You don?t need to be nervous; you need to be excited,? Ford said of his team. ?There?s nothing to be nervous about because if you don?t play well, they pack your bags and send you on your way.?
