Game 36: NIT 2nd Round - GMU (27-8) vs Bradley (27-8) on Saturday, March 22, at 2:00 PM.

[Patriotsince81]

Bradley beat North Alabama 71-62 in their first round NIT game.

Bradley is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the year 24-7 and 15-5 which put them in 2nd place behind Drake. They beat #7 Murray St. in the quarterfinals and #11 Valparaiso in the semifinals before losing to #1 Drake 63-48 in the Missouri Valley Championship Final. I’m pretty sure they have some lingering bitterness about being left out of the dance.

KenPom:
Bradley - 95
NET:
Bradley - 80

They were 13-3 at home, 8-3 on the road, and are 6-2 at neutral sits. Bradley is 1-0 against Quad 1 teams, 2-6 against Quad 2, 11-2 against Quad 3, and 11-0 against Quad 4 teams.

We are 1-0 against Bradley all-time. We beat them 77-66 as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase on 11/23/16.

The game is on ESPN+.

Probable Starters:
5’8” Duke Dean - 13.8 ppg - Grad Student
6’9” Darius Hannah - 12.6 ppg & 5.9 reb - Grad Student
6’7” Christian Davis - 9.6 ppg - Senior
6’8” Almar Atlason - 5.9 ppg - Sophomore
6'8" Timoty van der Knaap - .8 ppg - Freshman

Reserves averaging double digit minutes:
5’11” Jaquan Johnson - 6.5 ppg - Freshman
7’1” Ahmet Jonovic - 5.5 ppg - Junior - has 15 starts -
6’4” Demarion Burch - 5.4 ppg - Sophomore
6’10” Corey Thomas - 4.1 ppg - Junior
6’2” Connor Dillon - 3.8 ppg - Senior

Team Stats:

Bradley averages 76.8 points per game (98th nationally) while giving up 68.8 (79th nationally).

The Braves shoot 48.4% from the floor and 40.1% from 3.
Opponents shoot 40.6% from the field and 32.1% from 3.

The Braves shoot 75.5% from the free throw line.

They have out rebounded opponents by 1.4 boards per game and average 11.5 turnovers per contest.

Thoughts: This is a very good team on all counts. They shoot the ball very well and will require every ounce of our focus and execution on the defensive end. The Braves are 1st in the nation in 3 point percentage, 8th nationally in effective field goal percentage, 20th in field goal percentage, and 37th in 3 pointers per game.

On the defensive side they are 32nd in field goal percentage defense. They also have good size and experience. This won’t be easy. Winning a 28th game of the season would set a new program record.

Discuss:

 

[GMU79]

I will update the date, location, and time of this game. It was not available at the time of this post.

Bradley and North Alabama are playing at the time of this post with Bradley up by 9. So, below is operating on the assumption they will win. I’ll adjust if necessary in the morning.
_________________________________________________________

Bradley is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the year 24-7 and 15-5 which put them in 2nd place behind Drake. They beat #7 Murray St. in the quarterfinals and #11 Valparaiso in the semifinals before losing to #1 Drake 63-48 in the Missouri Valley Championship Final. I’m pretty sure they have some lingering bitterness about being left out of the dance.

KenPom:
Bradley - 95
NET:
Bradley - 80

They were 13-3 at home, 8-3 on the road, and are 6-2 at neutral sits. Bradley is 1-0 against Quad 1 teams, 2-6 against Quad 2, 11-2 against Quad 3, and 11-0 against Quad 4 teams.

We are 1-0 against Bradley all-time. We beat them 77-66 as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase on 11/23/16.

The game is on ESPN+.

Probable Starters:
5’8” Duke Dean - 13.8 ppg - Grad Student
6’9” Darius Hannah - 12.6 ppg & 5.9 reb - Grad Student
6’6” Zek Montgomery - 12.2 ppg - Senior (Remember him from Rhode Island last season?)
6’7” Christian Davis - 9.6 ppg - Senior
6’8” Almar Atlason - 5.9 ppg - Sophomore

Reserves averaging double digit minutes:
5’11” Jaquan Johnson - 6.5 ppg - Freshman
7’1” Ahmet Jonovic - 5.5 ppg - Junior - has 15 starts -
6’4” Demarion Burch - 5.4 ppg - Sophomore
6’10” Corey Thomas - 4.1 ppg - Junior
6’2” Connor Dillon - 3.8 ppg - Senior

Team Stats:

Bradley averages 76.8 points per game (98th nationally) while giving up 68.8 (79th nationally).

The Braves shoot 48.4% from the floor and 40.1% from 3.
Opponents shoot 40.6% from the field and 32.1% from 3.

The Braves shoot 75.5% from the free throw line.

They have out rebounded opponents by 1.4 boards per game and average 11.5 turnovers per contest.

Thoughts: This is a very good team on all counts. They shoot the ball very well and will require every ounce of our focus and execution on the defensive end. The Braves are 1st in the nation in 3 point percentage, 8th nationally in effective field goal percentage, 20th in field goal percentage, and 37th in 3 pointers per game.

On the defensive side they are 32nd in field goal percentage defense. They also have good size and experience. This won’t be easy. Winning a 28th game of the season would set a new program record.

Discuss:

28th win and 17 in a row at home sure would be nice.

 

[psyclone]

Kenpom has the game on Sunday with Mason a 6 pt favorite.

 

[DRK331]

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The home game vs Bradley is on Saturday at 2PM

 

[mkaufman1]

Will be a harder game than Samford. Mason will once again need to bring their best basketball to get the win at home. A chance to set the school record for regular season wins is an amazing opportunity!

 

[tblack33]

This Bradley team is actually pretty good. We’ve got size advantage but their guards will
give us fits. Need to come out like we did tonight and build a nice cushion.

Survive and advance, really glad we’ve got home floor for this one.

 

[jessej]

I will update the date, location, and time of this game. It was not available at the time of this post.

Bradley beat North Alabama 71-62 in their first round NIT game.
_________________________________________________________

Location - EagleBank Area - this will be the last home game of the season - if Dayton Wins their Round 2 game
Date - March 22 or 23
Time - ?

 

[FreeGunston12]

I will update the date, location, and time of this game. It was not available at the time of this post.

Bradley beat North Alabama 71-62 in their first round NIT game.
_________________________________________________________

Bradley is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the year 24-7 and 15-5 which put them in 2nd place behind Drake. They beat #7 Murray St. in the quarterfinals and #11 Valparaiso in the semifinals before losing to #1 Drake 63-48 in the Missouri Valley Championship Final. I’m pretty sure they have some lingering bitterness about being left out of the dance.

KenPom:
Bradley - 95
NET:
Bradley - 80

They were 13-3 at home, 8-3 on the road, and are 6-2 at neutral sits. Bradley is 1-0 against Quad 1 teams, 2-6 against Quad 2, 11-2 against Quad 3, and 11-0 against Quad 4 teams.

We are 1-0 against Bradley all-time. We beat them 77-66 as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase on 11/23/16.

The game is on ESPN+.

Probable Starters:
5’8” Duke Dean - 13.8 ppg - Grad Student
6’9” Darius Hannah - 12.6 ppg & 5.9 reb - Grad Student
6’6” Zek Montgomery - 12.2 ppg - Senior (Remember him from Rhode Island last season?)
6’7” Christian Davis - 9.6 ppg - Senior
6’8” Almar Atlason - 5.9 ppg - Sophomore

Reserves averaging double digit minutes:
5’11” Jaquan Johnson - 6.5 ppg - Freshman
7’1” Ahmet Jonovic - 5.5 ppg - Junior - has 15 starts -
6’4” Demarion Burch - 5.4 ppg - Sophomore
6’10” Corey Thomas - 4.1 ppg - Junior
6’2” Connor Dillon - 3.8 ppg - Senior

Team Stats:

Bradley averages 76.8 points per game (98th nationally) while giving up 68.8 (79th nationally).

The Braves shoot 48.4% from the floor and 40.1% from 3.
Opponents shoot 40.6% from the field and 32.1% from 3.

The Braves shoot 75.5% from the free throw line.

They have out rebounded opponents by 1.4 boards per game and average 11.5 turnovers per contest.

Thoughts: This is a very good team on all counts. They shoot the ball very well and will require every ounce of our focus and execution on the defensive end. The Braves are 1st in the nation in 3 point percentage, 8th nationally in effective field goal percentage, 20th in field goal percentage, and 37th in 3 pointers per game.

On the defensive side they are 32nd in field goal percentage defense. They also have good size and experience. This won’t be easy. Winning a 28th game of the season would set a new program record.

Discuss:

No Zek Montgomery, I think. Announcers said he opted out during their game.

 

[Spoon]

Bradley fan here. Want to correct the original post. Zek Montgomery has decided to sit out the NIT. He will not be in the starting lineup, and won’t play at all. Bradley will be without their third leading scorer. Our second leading scorer, Darius Hannah, originally opted out of playing in the NIT but eventually changed his mind. He was benched for our first round matchup in favor of a freshman with about 30 total minutes of court time throughout the year. He may be back in the starting lineup for this game.

Should be a fun matchup. Not sure we have an answer for your big center. Dude is a load. Our 7-footer is raw and foul prone.

Bradley’s leader is Duke Deen - listed at 5’8” but in reality he’s 5’5”. He can take over a game with his threes, and tonight became the all time leader in three pointers in Bradley history despite only playing 3 years.

Bradley leads the country in 3-pt %, and everyone on the team hits at least 35% from three. Literally everyone. Guard the perimeter and limit chances and you’ll have a good shot.

I’ve been watching this GM team this year, and you guys are good. Real fun postseason matchup between two teams that had an incredible 2006 run

 

[jessej]

Bradley fan here. Want to correct the original post. Zek Montgomery has decided to sit out the NIT. He will not be in the starting lineup, and won’t play at all. Bradley will be without their third leading scorer. Our second leading scorer, Darius Hannah, originally opted out of playing in the NIT but eventually changed his mind. He was benched for our first round matchup in favor of a freshman with about 30 total minutes of court time throughout the year. He may be back in the starting lineup for this game.

Why did Montgomery opt out?
Why did Hannah originally opt out then come back?

 

[Pablo]

Opting out: Two Bradley basketball senior starters will not play with the team in NIT

Bradley basketball senior starters Darius Hannah and Zek Montgomery have opted out of the team's upcoming NIT appearance.

www.pjstar.com

Change of heart: Bradley gets a senior starter back in the fold for its NIT run

Bradley senior starting forward Darius Hannah has had a change of heart and now says he'll play in the upcoming 2025 NIT.

www.pjstar.com

"PEORIA — Darius Hannah has reversed course and now the star forward will join the Bradley Braves on their path through the National Invitation Tournament.

The Bradley senior starter and second-team All-MVC selection has decided he will play in the NIT after all.

'I just want to say, I've always been all-in,' Hannah said. 'I didn't know if I could compete at a high level. I was dealing with a few aches and pains I wanted to get checked out. I'm a competitor. I'm going to compete with my brothers to the end.

It means something that I finish this off the right way.'

Hannah had initially advised the team over the weekend he was not going to play in the upcoming NIT, opting out in what was believed to be preparation for his pursuit of opportunities with a professional league.

An emotional firestorm ensued within the Bradley fan base, and on Monday night the star forward told the 26-8 team he wants to play."

 

[Spoon]

Agents. That’s the unfortunate answer here. Risking injury isn’t worth missing out on that $100,000 contract in Macedonia.

 

[jessej]

Agents. That’s the unfortunate answer here. Risking injury isn’t worth missing out on that $100,000 contract in Macedonia.

sad
i hope that every AD and College Coach sees this and starts to backload NIL contracts so that players play in the post season tournaments.

 

[illayin]

Saturday at 2pm...season ticket holder email went out

 

[psyclone]

Kenpom has the game on Sunday with Mason a 6 pt favorite.

Indeed, Kenpom now has the game on Saturday. Still has Mason (#78) as a 6pt favorite over #92 Bradley.

 

[DRK331]

Bradley has more NCAA Tournament appearances than us:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Braves_men's_basketball

While we had a Final Four run in 2006, Bradley made a Sweet 16 run

 

[patriot2000]

No idea how Bradley has been lately, but Mason is playing its best basketball of the season. Shame that can't be in the NCAAT where it belongs, but they've been really fun to watch through the A10 Tourney and last night's game.

 

[JimP]

Bradley fan here. Want to correct the original post. Zek Montgomery has decided to sit out the NIT. He will not be in the starting lineup, and won’t play at all. Bradley will be without their third leading scorer. Our second leading scorer, Darius Hannah, originally opted out of playing in the NIT but eventually changed his mind. He was benched for our first round matchup in favor of a freshman with about 30 total minutes of court time throughout the year. He may be back in the starting lineup for this game.

Should be a fun matchup. Not sure we have an answer for your big center. Dude is a load. Our 7-footer is raw and foul prone.

Bradley’s leader is Duke Deen - listed at 5’8” but in reality he’s 5’5”. He can take over a game with his threes, and tonight became the all time leader in three pointers in Bradley history despite only playing 3 years.

Bradley leads the country in 3-pt %, and everyone on the team hits at least 35% from three. Literally everyone. Guard the perimeter and limit chances and you’ll have a good shot.

I’ve been watching this GM team this year, and you guys are good. Real fun postseason matchup between two teams that had an incredible 2006 run

Immediately made me think of the "Upsets Rattle the Bracket" SI cover. I think each region of the country got a different SI cover. We got Lamar!

 

[PDGL Hoops]

Keep having fun and enjoy the ride!

 

[NewPatriot]

https://x.com/jmcconnell70/status/1902537547101634694?t=tCpmqM2NgO1cxvebeSiWEw&s=19

Mason players?