Here’s the base information.
The Bradley Braves are located in Peoria, Illinois. Once upon a time (1940s-50s) they were a national basketball power. They were among the teams caught up in the point shaving scandals of that time.
Pitt is a 4.5 point favorite (Ohio St. is only a 3.5 point favorite over G-town). The Pitt Athletic Department has some additional game notes (PDF).
The big focal point is that Bradley has a 7′ Center of their own to match Aaron Gray. Both players are confident in themselves in this game.
The two big men are similar in size, but O’Bryant was quick to acknowledge that Gray has the edge by “at least 20 pounds.
“After watching film, I’d say I’m a little faster than him,” said O’Bryant, who is listed at 260 pounds. “I believe I might be able to outrun him, and I have a better reach, so I might be able to affect his shots and rebound. The disadvantage is he’s much bigger.”
But Gray is listed at only 270, which is only 10 pounds more than O’Bryant’s roster weight.
Nevertheless, neither guy is about to concede much.
“They have a big size presence with O’Bryant,” Gray said. “It’s definitely going to be another challenge, and I look forward to it. They’ve got a much better team than anyone expected.”
But Gray, a junior who had 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the past six games, doesn’t plan on making any adjustments against O’Bryant, a sophomore who had eight points and 10 rebounds against Kansas.
“For two years in practice, I’ve been playing against (former Pitt big man) Chris Taft,” Gray said. “The Big East has many good centers. It’s just going to be a game where I’m actually going to be able to be more aggressive, being that I’m playing against someone my own size.”
The key is getting the ball to the big guy.
In Pitt’s opening-round victory over Kent State, Pitt guard Carl Krauser simply lobbed the ball over the top of the defense to 7-foot, 270-pound junior center Aaron Gray, who made all six of his shots to score 17 points and also had 13 rebounds. He probably won’t get his touches as easily today with 7-foot, 260-pound sophomore Patrick O’Bryant guarding him. And the Braves can bring senior Bradyn Heemskerk (7-1, 260) off the bench. “If I can’t lob it over, I’m just going to find another way to get him the ball,” Krauser said bluntly. “I have to get him the ball.”
The issue will be how Bradley’s defense clogs the passing lanes. If Pitt gets the ball down low to Gray, he can score or get him in foul trouble. Gray has shown that he can more than hold his own against even bigger men then him, like Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert. The Braves have focused more on defense during the season.
“It’s gotten to the point where they’re enjoying playing defense and taking pride in it. We’re going to see where that takes us. When the light went on with this group I was pretty confident that this group could go a long way.”
With one more victory today, Bradley can ascend to heights it has not seen in more than a half century. No. 13 seed Bradley and No. 5 seed Pitt meet today in a second-round game for the right to go to the Sweet 16. Bradley has not been to the third round of the NCAA tournament since 1954.
Ever since Les has stressed defense, Bradley has been a dangerous team. The Braves have won 13 of their past 17 games. They did not give up more than 70 points in their previous nine games before Friday and held opponents to an average of 52.6 points per game in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
That’s what makes both teams play on Friday night kind of strange. They both played incredibly well on offense. Far above their averages.
Bradley: Perhaps it was an aberration, or maybe a really good adrenaline rush, but Bradley shot an impressive 52.5 percent from three-point range in the first round.
The Braves weren’t the strongest during the regular season, shooting 33 percent in threes.
What Pitt must do to win
Pitt has the big bodies down low, so they need to use their size and strength to bang away. Kent State tried doubling down on 7-0 center Aaron Gray, and that certainly didn’t work. He was undeterred, scoring 17 points. Gray will face off against Bradley’s 7-0 sophomore center, Patrick O’Bryant. Scoring might be tougher, given O’Bryant’s defensive strengths.
What Bradley must do to win
Believe. The Braves showed good nerves during the first round and didn’t freak out while they downed Kansas. Pittsburgh probably will play scrappier than the Jayhawks did, meaning Bradley should be in for a fight.
Pitt’s perimeter defense will have to be solid. The easiest way to get beaten in these kind of games is when the 3s start falling.
Pitt of course had to scout Bradley and Kansas after their win over Kent. They had a 12 hour window.
Assistant coaches Joe Lombardi and Pat Sandle sat courtside and watched the Kansas-Bradley game Friday night after Pitt beat Kent State. Lombardi was responsible for Kansas, Sandle for Bradley.
“You try to pick up visuals and signals, things that are hard to pick up on video,” Sandle said.
Afterward, Sandle went back to the team hotel and watched the game on videotape and edited the tape with video coordinator John Alesi for a video session yesterday with players.
Sandle went to bed at 3 a.m. and awoke at 8 a.m. to watch other recent Bradley games.
“We accumulated other tapes from people we know,” Sandle said. “We watched their conference tournament game against Southern Illinois. We went back six games. You want to stay recent.”
After practice yesterday, it was back to the team hotel for more tape review, dinner, and another video session with players. They’ll watch tape one more time today and then have a walk-through a few hours before game time.
Pitt, like any team in the same situation, played the odds and spent a little more time on Kansas, the higher-seeded team. Lombardi had been watching tape of Kansas since Monday. Sandle did the Kent State scouting report and also began preparations for Bradley.
Well, considering the job Sandle did in getting a report on what Kent would do, that’s encouraging.
On injury notes, Keith Benjamin is still not cleared to play. Tyrell Biggs is still unlikely for the game. The only injury note to Bradley is relatively minor.
Meanwhile, Bradley guard Tony Bennett, who hurt his neck in a late pileup in the Friday victory over Kansas, is expected to start.
Bennett was diagnosed with a strained neck and has undergone a series of massages and heat treatments from BU trainer Eric Redman.
Bradley players are going with “team of destiny” theme to get themselves up for the game.
While the Panthers have the advantage in tournament experience, having been here five years in a row, Bradley has an intangible edge.
“I think we’re a Cinderella team,” said BU guard Daniel Ruffin. “But we’re as good as any team out there. We’re confident and that’s what we’re riding.”
Even as they are saying they are treating each game like any other. Well, everyone tries to play that card.
Les pointed out his team has been very focused the last two months. The Braves handled the NCAA tournament pressure a lot better than tournament regular Kansas. Bradley had to play with a heightened sense of urgency after an 8-6 start and believes it is prepared for another big game. Friday’s contest was an example of its approach.
“We took it as another game,” Bradley senior Marcellus Sommerville said. “We didn’t get real high because it was Kansas and it was an NCAA tournament game. We had the same approach we had all month. I think it showed in our poise.”
While Kansas was more of a transition team, Pitt likes to get into its half-court offense and let point guard Krauser run the show. Krauser, who had nine assists in the Panthers’ victory over Kent State Friday, is the team’s leading scorer at 15 points per game.
Pitt and Bradley both have a presence in the middle. Gray, at 7 feet and 270 pounds, averages 14 points and 11 rebounds. Bradley’s Patrick O’Bryant is a 7-footer who averages 13 points and eight rebounds.
“They are a really quick team with great guards,” Krauser said. “They have great post presence. [O’Bryant’s] going cause a lot of deflections and people changing their shots. We’re just going to have to finish plays and find the open man.”
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has cautioned his team against putting any stock in tournament seeds. He wants to make sure Bradley doesn’t have anything to celebrate Sunday night.
“The seedings don’t mean anything,” he said. “Everybody’s here, everybody has the same opportunity.”
After their win over Kansas, the Bradley team was greeted by their fans waiting at the hotel.
Around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, the Bradley Braves returned to their team hotel and were swamped by what coach Jim Les called “a barrage” of fans.
“Guys who were limping getting off the bus all of a sudden had a nice little kick to their step,” he said.
The 13th-seeded Braves, in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, had just defeated No. 4 Kansas to win a tournament game for the first time since 1986, when Les was a senior guard.
That’s going to be a popular storyline for the announcers regarding Jim Les (it probably was on Friday as well, but the game wasn’t being shown in my area).
Jim Les was Bradley’s starting point guard in 1986, the last time the Braves played in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Twenty years later, Les finally has the Braves back there again, this time as coach. To him, there’s no debate about which feels better.
“Being a player is more of a personal satisfaction,” Les said Saturday. “Now it’s like being a part of the tradition and history of Bradley basketball and being a part of putting it back on the map. … Seeing all the people now that have been affected. It’s more fun to be a part of that.”
The Missouri Valley Conference as a whole has acquitted itself quite well in the Tournament, given where their teams were seeded. Now they hope to keep parlaying the increased exposure into better TV and recruiting.
Now for the doom and gloom segment. An article about being wary to the no-name teams.
For Pitt, it’s the same scenario that has played out a few times in the past: Rather than face a big-name opponent — in this case Kansas — the Panthers face an upstart from a smaller conference.
Pitt has been trying to become part of the “in crowd” during the past five years, and its basketball supporters like to point out how great the Panthers have looked in that period of time. They have the fourth-highest winning percentage in that span. Only Duke, Gonzaga and Illinois have better marks. Pitt’s 132-32 record since 2001 puts it ahead of such elite programs as Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse.
The difference is that those squads have been much more successful in the NCAA tournament. Duke, UConn and Syracuse have won crowns since then. Illinois and Kansas have reached the championship game. Gonzaga and Kentucky have made it to the Elite Eight.
The Panthers haven’t made it past the Sweet 16. To make matters worse, none of the losses has come at the hands of those high-profile schools that Pitt is so desperately trying to fit in with.
Yeah, sure two of the three Sweet Sixteen losses were to teams that made the Final Four, but that’s not important when the name matters. Please. Both Oklahoma St. and Marquette had multiple players now playing in the NBA. Pitt’s squads featured one. NBA quality talent matters.
It doesn’t matter the name on the front, Pitt can’t take anyone lightly period in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t think they are. There’s no one to look past to right now.
Then there is this absolutely astounding Bob Smizik column all but declaring that Pitt sucks if they lose to Bradley.
Friday night — March 17 — was Christmas in March for coach Jamie Dixon.
What more could he or any coach have asked for than to be relieved of the burden of facing No. 4-seed Kansas — historically one of the great programs in college basketball and most recently the champion of the Big 12 Conference tournament — and instead playing Bradley, the team that tied for fifth place in the mid-major Missouri Valley Conference?
Fifth-seeded Pitt went from looking at the distinct possibility of a loss to the Jayhawks to having their ticket punched for Oakland, Calif., next weekend, which is where the Panthers will be if they beat 13th-seeded Bradley today in a second-round game at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Bradley is no Kansas. For that matter, Bradley is no Wichita State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois or Creighton. Those are the four teams that finished in front of the Braves in the MVC.
Bradley is one of those schools just happy to be here. There wasn’t a complaint from Bradley fans about their No. 13 seed. If the Braves had been scheduled to play in El Paso, Texas; Pullman, Wash.; or Brisbane, Australia; there would not have been a word of discontent from their followers.
Predictably, there was a lot of talk yesterday about how good Bradley is. Of course, the Braves are good. But “good” shouldn’t do it against Pitt, not the way it’s playing. There’s no way Pitt should lose this game.
Ugh. Keith Wehmeyer has a good take on it. I mean, sure Pitt should win. I want them to win. I’ll be pissed if they lose. Still, this team just took out Kansas — a damn good team that won the Big 12 Championship over Texas. Bradley is not a gimmee and if Pitt loses it won’t be because they choked against a Robert Morris type team.
Just like when Kent State beat Pitt, they had also taken out a very good Alabama team. Nothing is guaranteed or assured. UCLA nearly lost to an inferior Alabama team with no depth who had scorched Marquette.
It’s one of those articles where you throw up your hands and just say, “whatever.” I don’t even have the energy or desire to give it the proper Fisking.
