Thursday Night

[Ace Dad]

AceDad, I am curious what makes you think WSU will stumble. I would love to hear your assessment of why they will lose.

Mind you, I am not calling for a roll through the tourney for the Shocks, although I have to believe they are more likely than any other team to win the tournament, I wouldn't take WSU and give you the field.

I am just curious what you see that tells you someone is about to take this team out.

College basketball teams go on a roll, and they roll, and they roll and for whatever reason, there is always a game where the shots are not falling or the other team plays out of its mind. It is very difficult to sustain a high level of play night in and night out. That is why coaches want their teams to "peak" at the right time. The Shockers are peaking. They start the tournament KNOWING that they are going to the Big Dance. These guys now have to come out and play three great games to win the trophy on Sunday. Teams like Drake and Indiana State just may be able to pull the upset.

My comment is not a shot at the Shockers. It is just an observation about the difficulty of any team to win 3 games in a row when they are expected to do so. The Shockers are expected to do so.

I wish my Aces had this problem. We have lost a game, won a game, and lost a game for the last month.

[Ace Dad]

AceDad, I am curious what makes you think WSU will stumble. I would love to hear your assessment of why they will lose.

Mind you, I am not calling for a roll through the tourney for the Shocks, although I have to believe they are more likely than any other team to win the tournament, I wouldn't take WSU and give you the field.

I am just curious what you see that tells you someone is about to take this team out.

I'm not AceDad but how about because WSU hasn't won it in 25 years? Also it just seems like one of those years where anything can happen. No doubt WSU is the MVC's best team. But I think most would agree they are far from a lock to win this thing.

Agreed.

My point: There are 6 teams, in my opinion, who are built to win three games in three days. The Aces are not among the three because we do not have enough post depth. Our winning relies too much on shooting well.

[Ace Dad]

Bradley was without Brown for two recent games, the BracketBuster vs. Loyola and @ UNI. The Braves scored a combined 99 points in the two games.

Ouch.

Brown didnt play at UNI and only played about two minutes before getting hurt in the Drake game. Drake should still win this one but Bradley has been playing better lately. Scoring is an issue for sure. Walt Lemon has been scoring about 20 ppg since Brown has been out.

Brown has an injured toe and doesn't want to risk playing for fear of hurting his "future".....whatever that means.

He surely meant his MVC future.......................right?

[WooHoo]

Drake or Indiana State can beat WSU or CU.

The Shockers are on a roll and will have a hiccup.

The Blue Jays are vulnerable.

We just may get 3 teams to the tourney.

And Evansville can get blown out by 30 to Missouri State on Day 1. You have a valid point.

[LanceShock]

I'm not AceDad but how about because WSU hasn't won it in 25 years? Also it just seems like one of those years where anything can happen. No doubt WSU is the MVC's best team. But I think most would agree they are far from a lock to win this thing.

Actually, I think not having won the tournament in St Louis actually will help keep the Shocks focused. Being the first team to win Arch Madness would really leave a mark in Shocker history for this team.

These guys have been to finals. They have seen how a team can surprise you on Saturday. They've been a play in team that lost to one of the top teams on Friday by a miracle play.

They will be ready.

[MoBraves]

Bradley was without Brown for two recent games, the BracketBuster vs. Loyola and @ UNI. The Braves scored a combined 99 points in the two games.

Ouch.

Brown didnt play at UNI and only played about two minutes before getting hurt in the Drake game. Drake should still win this one but Bradley has been playing better lately. Scoring is an issue for sure. Walt Lemon has been scoring about 20 ppg since Brown has been out.

Brown has an injured toe and doesn't want to risk playing for fear of hurting his "future".....whatever that means.

Without TB, it's gonna' be tough. But the Braves have had fight in them the past 2 games vs. pretty good teams.
This would be a big lift for BU to win this one - the guys that are playing now (minus Stix Thompson) will be back next year, and a win could help lift their confidence that is so much lacking (except for Walt Lemon).
We will have a better team next year - maybe to get us out of the cellar at least.
Geno has done a great job in 4 of the last 5 games in getting the most out of his guys.

Can't say I was encouraged by the dismal 2-16 conf. record, but despite that, he's done some really good things lately to help rebuild the program. Recruiting will be the key - get some tougher guys and a couple good outside shooters and things will be looking up!

[tribecalledquest]

Bradley was without Brown for two recent games, the BracketBuster vs. Loyola and @ UNI. The Braves scored a combined 99 points in the two games.

Ouch.

Brown didnt play at UNI and only played about two minutes before getting hurt in the Drake game. Drake should still win this one but Bradley has been playing better lately. Scoring is an issue for sure. Walt Lemon has been scoring about 20 ppg since Brown has been out.

Brown has an injured toe and doesn't want to risk playing for fear of hurting his "future".....whatever that means.

He surely meant his MVC future.......................right?

Sadly...no. Taylor Brown lives in some weird world where he thinks he is a future NBA player. I don't know where he gets this. He is a nice, mid-major college player. He will play some in Europe but that's it. It's weird that he doesn't have a better understanding of what it takes to be an NBA player as his dad played for a few years in the league.

Taylor's career at Bradley is over.