Today In The Valley (Jan. 6)
Bradley (9-5; 3-0) vs. Illinois State (14-0; 3-0)
7:00 p.m.
Carver Arena; Peoria, Illinois
Alright, I focused way too much on the Redbirds’ non-conference schedule and thought they would enter Valley play a bit unprepared. As much as it hurts me to admit, I may have underestimated the athleticism and talent that Illinois State possesses. They were able to control the pace of the Creighton game and showed a flurry of speed and hot shooting that left me shaking my head and muttering words like “wow” and sounds like “jeez.”
As we are all aware, the Redbirds are still undefeated, and they showed a regional audience on FSN Saturday Night Hoops exactly why. Following their 30-point shellacking of the Purple Aces, I figured that Evansville just wasn’t living up to their hype. Unfortunately, it took a beating of my beloved Bluejays by ISU to make it clear: ISU is scary good.
A sell-out crowd crammed into Redbird Arena to watch Illinois State beat preseason MVC favorite Creighton by 21 points, marking the first sellout of Redbird Arena for a game not featuring Bradley or Southern Illinois since 1996. That was the same year the Braves and ‘Birds battled for the conference title, and the same season Bradley started the MVC schedule 3-0. Well, the Braves are off to a 3-0 start in Valley play and they host one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the nation at Carver tonight.
BU and their faithful would love nothing more than to knock their in-state rivals from the ranks of the unbeaten. Jim Les’ Braves showed some guts by coming back in the second half against Missouri State and winning 63-57, letting their defense do most of the talking. Even though the Braves will be most likely missing most of their student section because of holiday break, it will be interesting to see if the Braves can use their sound defense to slow the quick and athletic Redbirds.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Illinois State
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Dance Cam Guy
7:00 p.m.
Carver Arena; Peoria, Illinois
Alright, I focused way too much on the Redbirds’ non-conference schedule and thought they would enter Valley play a bit unprepared. As much as it hurts me to admit, I may have underestimated the athleticism and talent that Illinois State possesses. They were able to control the pace of the Creighton game and showed a flurry of speed and hot shooting that left me shaking my head and muttering words like “wow” and sounds like “jeez.”
As we are all aware, the Redbirds are still undefeated, and they showed a regional audience on FSN Saturday Night Hoops exactly why. Following their 30-point shellacking of the Purple Aces, I figured that Evansville just wasn’t living up to their hype. Unfortunately, it took a beating of my beloved Bluejays by ISU to make it clear: ISU is scary good.
A sell-out crowd crammed into Redbird Arena to watch Illinois State beat preseason MVC favorite Creighton by 21 points, marking the first sellout of Redbird Arena for a game not featuring Bradley or Southern Illinois since 1996. That was the same year the Braves and ‘Birds battled for the conference title, and the same season Bradley started the MVC schedule 3-0. Well, the Braves are off to a 3-0 start in Valley play and they host one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in the nation at Carver tonight.
BU and their faithful would love nothing more than to knock their in-state rivals from the ranks of the unbeaten. Jim Les’ Braves showed some guts by coming back in the second half against Missouri State and winning 63-57, letting their defense do most of the talking. Even though the Braves will be most likely missing most of their student section because of holiday break, it will be interesting to see if the Braves can use their sound defense to slow the quick and athletic Redbirds.
Picks
Creighton Otter: Illinois State
Panon: Illinois State
Dance Cam Guy: Illinois State
~ Dance Cam Guy
posted by Creighton Otter at 8:26 AM
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