Pilots vs. Bradley Sunday @ 6:00 in Las Vegas on TV

Pomeroy's Ratings:

Bradley 111
Pilots 221

Pomeroy Prediction: Bradley 69 Portland 62 (74% probability).

The Bradley Braves, out of Peoria, Illinois, are 8-3, but have played one of the easiest schedules in the country, 341/347….that included an 8 point loss to #8 Michigan at home.

Despite the 2nd top scorer in the country putting in 31 points for Virginia Tech, Bradley really should have beaten VTU last night, but were done-in by a couple of missed free-throws and lay-ups.

So, this will be another tough game against a very tough opponent; and without KB, who’s very, very, doubtful after the elbow to the nose, it is supposed to be another game in the loss column.

Don’t forget, the game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network @ 6 p.m.

How about Pressley in the starting lineup tonight? We desperately need some athleticism, which T. Riley does not provide.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:How about Pressley in the starting lineup tonight? We desperately need some athleticism, which T. Riley does not provide.

100% behind that thought!

The Bradley Braves led for most of the game against Virginia Tech last night, including by five points in the final minute of overtime, but they allowed the Hokies to score the final six points of the game as they dropped the heartbreaking decision. Bradley shot itself in the foot by making just 36.5 percent of its field goal attempts while committing 20 turnovers.

Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 15 points, albeit on just 4-of-11 from the floor, while Tyshon Pickett and Jordan Prosser netted 10 points apiece. Typically, the Braves have been much stronger from the floor, making nearly 46 percent of their attempts on the season for an average of 72.7 ppg, 10.6 ppg more than their opponents. While Walt Lemon, Jr. (12.6 ppg) and Pickett (12.5 ppg) are the only two to score in double figures on a nightly basis, Simms-Edwards, Prosser, Will Egolf and Jake Eastman all put up between 8.3 and 9.7 ppg.

Even in its defeats, Bradley has looked good this season, and it will surely be extra motivated to salvage the tournament with a win on Sunday after its tough loss to Virginia Tech.

This is NOT a road or neutral game for UP in the usual sense as the Orleans Arena should be familiar to all but the freshmen.....but can UP win away from the Chiles Center? I give the Braves the clear edge to bounce back from last night's defeat.

Sagarin's ratings: Bradley 84/Pilots 240

Las Vegas line: Bradley by 7.5 with a 133.5 o/u.

Can't listen to this one but I think everyone here would be happy with a one-point lead at halftime over Bradley minus K. Bailey.

Looks like Rodgers hit some shots and Riley is struggling. What's the mood on the radio broadcast?

Pilots looking good! Or maybe its just that Bradley cant hit a bucket to save their lives.

37-37. Korey with 0 points and Kevin of course sitting on the bench with a broken nose. Given those two facts I'm pleased with the current score. 40-37 now.

Up 42-37 at the under 12. Rodgers has 10 points off the bench. Nicholas with 9 and 10.

50-48, 4 to go. 12 and 10 for Nicholas, 4 and 10 for Barker, 10 for Rodgers.

Make your free throws

Oh my. The inbounds problems from last year are suddenly back. I thought we'd seen the last of those.... more free throws.

Inbound plays . . Arrr!

Hey, if it wasn't interesting nobody would watch basketball, right?

Yea baby! Great game. Way to pull it out.

Well THAT is a good way to go into Christmas! 57-55 over a good Bradley team while playing shorthanded.

Heck yeah.

Nice win! But the inbounds plays... At least 4 turnovers on inbounds passes. Unreal. If there were such thing as a statistic for botched inbounds plays, I imagine the Pilots would be in contention for worst in the nation. Pretty embarrassing.

But to pull out that win with KB on the bench, and away from the Chiles Center, is impressive!

More turnovers than assists. Uggh. I'm really glad we've been playing good defense lately. Otherwise...no chance with stats like that.

Really liked the play by Reinfelds tonight. Fun kid to watch.

A few more thoughts from the box score...

• Nicolas struggled, despite the double-double. 5-15 from the field, 1-4 from beyond the arc, 5 turnovers.
• Tanner Riley... seems like the coaches have told him to shoot it every chance he gets the last two games. Probably a strategy to get him on track. It is not working. 2-12 from the field, 2-9 from 3-point range. I see no reason why Pressley and Reinfelds should not be moving ahead of him on the depth chart at this point. He's had more than enough chances.
• Riley Barker had another good game, though the 4 TOs is troubling.
• Rodgers and Reinfelds were the heroes of the game!
• Turnovers and FT shooting were awful.

Looking at some of those stats, it's hard to believe we won! But, despite it all, we did win in a CLOSE game on a neutral court. Overall the last week has been quite encouraging for the future of Pilot hoops. Let's hope KB will be back on the court on 12/29 and at full-strength for the conference season.

Well its a good thing we played some D tonight! I wont complain given the circumstances... but man we need to take care of the ball.

A good way to enter the Christmas break, if only by the skin of our tooths!

Go Pilots!

Only two points from the Bradley bench was a big difference. Nice to see our bench contribute big. Rogers finally got untracked a bit. Let's hope this leads to some confidence in his game.

It looks like good D was the secret to this game.

This is a solid win, and it really bodes well for the future, even with the inbounds play and free throw shooting issues. These Pilots, behind some terrific team defense, have equaled last season's win total in 14 games. Progress.

The game would have been a lot more fun to watch if I'd have known the Pilots were going to win. As it was, I was going nuts at times with the missed shots, turnovers, inability to inbound, and did I say turnovers and inability to rebound?

But what fun it was to see the happy faces of mutually supportive teammates who did get the W before Christmas they were all wishing for.

Reading the comments on PN, there is some mention of confidence building, but to be honest it appears the PN readers and writers needed the confidence and reassurance a win brings more than the players. Winning does bring confidence, especially when it’s against a team rated 156 positions better by Sagarin.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:• Nicolas struggled, despite the double-double. 5-15 from the field, 1-4 from beyond the arc, 5 turnovers.
• Tanner Riley... seems like the coaches have told him to shoot it every chance he gets the last two games. Probably a strategy to get him on track. It is not working. 2-12 from the field, 2-9 from 3-point range. I see no reason why Pressley and Reinfelds should not be moving ahead of him on the depth chart at this point. He's had more than enough chances.
• Riley Barker had another good game, though the 4 TOs is troubling.
• Rodgers and Reinfelds were the heroes of the game!
• Turnovers and FT shooting were awful.

NPN enumerated the problem areas very well….so I won’t repeat them here, but I will say that 28 points off the bench was HUGE, and it shows that Derrick IS capable, and that Riley, Oskars, and Bryce are deserving of more minutes. No, Bryce didn’t score (he passed up way to many shots), but he is very solid and remarkably mistake free for a freshman.

Really, the bench won the game. The Pilots and Braves played 4 tiring games in 6 days……and Bradley may have a better starting 5, but they couldn’t match the Pilots depth off the bench to replace tired legs and bodies on the court…...resulting in a Pilots win.

Unsung hero tonight….David Carr. Last night he shoots 1-7; tonight he he’s 3/4 for eight points, and he and Derrick each had only 2 turnovers on a 19 turnover night.

Just catching the score in the sports book, you having fun at the game pilotram?

Gosh darn couldn't get stretchnet feed to work, so went directly to 800am's online stream, which shut me out of the last 90 seconds or so with continuous ads!!! AArrrgg!

Either way, so so so great to get this "w", especially with the turnover problems. D-E-F-E-N-S-E will give you the chance to win any basketball game. And if you play the "D" and clean up the TOs and hit some shots....you can win a lot more ball games.

A fun halftime show with Old Man Nicholas as the guest.....real good stuff there if you didn't get a listen. Just kind of cool.