Bradley at UNI

Just the next in the line of must-win games. The Braves left yesterday on a bus and travelled to Northern Iowa, preparing for the game tonight at 8PM.
The trip from Peoria to UNI is marginally scenic up 'til you get to the Mississippi River, then it gets downright lackluster (sorry Iowans).
So I hope the kids got good rest and are ready to go.

Northern Iowa is living up to their preseason billing as the top Valley team.
Here are a few observations...
UNI has won 13 in a row and 5 Valley conference games in a row.
Last year they also had a long stretch to start the Valley season that included only one loss in their first 12 Valley games, and a stretch of 11 straight wins...
But then they kinda hit the wall and faded a bit, allowing Creighton to catch them in the Valley standings.
After BU nearly pulled off the win vs Northern Iowa last February in Peoria, the Panthers went on a little bit of a slide and lost 4 of their next five, including even a 26 point home loss to SIU (who were 11-13 at the time and under .500 in the Valley).

The conventional wisdom says Bradley has no chance...but I am sure not ready to give up on the Braves...

UNI has the same starting five this year...
But of those five guys, only one has really increased his production by much over last year.

--Jordan Eglseder's production is up substantially in his senior year. He has stayed healthy and is averaging 13.3 ppg up from 10.2 ppg last year. His rebounds are up 8.5 rpg compared to 6.4 rpg last year. So he will be a challenge for Will Egolf and the others, but oddly, anyone who follows Bradley closely knows Jordan Eglseder had never really had a big game against Bradley.
That's not to say he isn't capable, but our defenses have always been good against him.
In the 3 seasons Eglseder has already completed with UNI, Bradley has played them eight times (6 regular season and twice in the MVC Tourney).
In those eight games, Jordan didn't even get into the game twice, was scoreless one other time, and in two games he had either one or zero rebounds.
His point total over that 3-season spread and 8-game spread is 38 points, and he has a total of 26 rebounds in his career vs. BU.
Here's hoping we can shut him down again!

--Adam Koch's scoring average is up by only a little more than a point from last year but rebounds and assists are both down.

--Kwadzo Ahelegbe is in my opinion their MVP. But again, his numbers this season don't differ much from last year. Points per game is virtually identical, FG% is the same, rebounds almost the same, and oddly his assists are actually DOWN from 3.1 apg last year to 2.6 apg this year.
So even tho he's a very important player for them, his produciton is overall down a little from last year.

--Ali Farokhmanesh's scoring, rebounding, and assists are all DOWN somewhat from last year.

--Johnny Moran likewise, has seen his scoring average drop from 8.4 ppg to 5.9 ppg this year, while his assists, rebounds and shooting percentages are all way down.
He killed us with his 3-pointers last year, but he's only hitting 25% this year.

--no other UNI player contributes more than about 3 or so ppg, and their top subs, Dunham, O'Rear...are all down with their numbers from last year.

So they don't win with flat out individual eyepopping play, they win with teamwork...and we need to disrupt that.

Let's get behind the Braves and cheer them on...I guess I can't figure out all the negativity. It's always been there but a few losses brings the negative element out of the woodworks. Like I say, the negativity and attacks on BU have been out there for years but it hasn't squelched the enthusiasm of most fans. Wear red today, get to a viewing party, and cheer 'em on!!!

Here's more game info and discusison:
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14284



Here's an odd one, but not totally surprising...if you follow the actions of the NCAA...
Oral Roberts has a walk-on named Mikey Manghum. He is from England, and in the summer before he came to ORU, after graduating from high school in England, he competed on England's National U-18 team...and finished 4th in the European U-18 Championships.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Basketball-Manghum-live-American-dream/article-1142882-detail/article.html
http://admin.okblitz.com/MyPhoto.aspx?id=13220

But even though Manghum was definitely an amateur and had never played any pro ball, a couple of the other kids on the U-18 National team had played on some pro teams, thus Manghum was NOT cleared as an amateur, and was "suspended" 16 games...only now being cleared to begin play at Oral Roberts.
http://krmg.com/blogs/krmg_sports_with_rick_couri/2010/01/oru-gets-a-basketball-player-b.html

Actually, he even has to sit out one extra game as a penalty, since he played in one game earlier in the season for ORU when the coaching staff was unaware of the NCAA eligibility ruling.
http://krmg.com/blogs/krmg_sports_with_rick_couri/2010/01/oru-gets-a-basketball-player-b.htmlhttp://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0110/695025.html

This is the same type of "professionalism" penalty John Wilkins has already been assessed, except Wilkins has been given 5-games...but the 16-game penalty to Manghum, for a walk-on athlete, who is undoubtedly an amateur and nobody even disputes that -- and who was only playing for his native country's NATIONAL team...seems a little severe!
Anyone else think so???



Ex-Kelvin Sampson recruit Bud Mackey is in the news again...and seemingly can't stay out of trouble after his drug arrests and probation violations...
http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/1091042.html?storylink=omni_popular

One interesting yet familiar name in the news...
http://www.hoopsworld.com/FeedItem.asp?FEED_ITEM_ID=1177545