A year ago, Bradley was where Southern Illinois is now — a last-place team struggling under a first-year head coach. They finished 7-25 and 2-16 in the league, and against the two best teams in the league (Wichita State and Creighton) were blown out by an average of 24.75 points in four games, including a 39-point pasting at home to the Shockers and the game where Doug McDermott scored 44 points.
The Braves earned every bit of that last place finish, and while they were predicted to be better this year, the leagues coaches and media tabbed them to finish ninth, showing only modest improvement in Geno Ford’s second year. They’ve exceeded those expectations by far, going 5-5 over the first 10 conference games to sit alone in fifth place. With 13 wins already, they’re +6 over a year ago, which is the sixth-biggest turnaround in the country.
They’ve been able to turn things around so quickly thanks to the return of seven lettermen from last year, including a pair of guards who have carried the Braves on both ends of the floor. Walt Lemon, Jr., a junior guard who averages 14.8 points, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game, has improved his game immeasurably over a year ago. An athletic slasher who got the bulk of his points on drives to the rim, Lemon has worked hard on his jump shot and has learned to make defenses pay for cutting off dribble penetration by hitting pull-up jumpers. And his 52 steals — on pace to nearly double his total of a year ago — show he’s doing a much better job of anticipating the action and adapting his skills to Geno Ford’s system.
Senior Dyricus Simms-Edwards averages 11.5 points and 3.1 assists per game, but it’s on defense where he’s most dangerous. Simms-Edwards has 67 steals so far this year, an average of 3.05 a game, good for fourth-best in the country. That’s pretty darn impressive, but he also does it without fouling — his 2.31 steals per foul ratio makes him the only player in Division 1 hoops to average more than 1.5 steals per foul. He’s been whistled for just 29 fouls in 22 games; that’s simply absurd for a player with his steal numbers. Even better, he rarely turns it over himself; with just 33 turnovers, his 2.03 steals per turnover ratio is the best in Bradley history.
Lemon and Simms-Edwards combine for 5.41 steals per game, better than a whopping 49 teams in D1, including MVC foes Indiana State and Missouri State. As a team, they average 10.41 steals per game, fifth-best in the country. That’s nearly double what Creighton averages (5.6) and a big reason why they give up just 64.8 points a game and a 43% field goal percentage — they play a harassing, pesky brand of basketball. The Braves share the Valley lead with a +3.95 turnover margin and force 16.3 turnovers per game, and that’s allowed them to attempt 88 more field goals than their opposition (1249-1161).
So how in the heck is this team only 5-5 in the league? I don’t know about you, but a team with guards who can score both at the rim and from 15-feet, who plays harassing defense, forces a ton of turnovers and rarely turns it over themselves sounds dynamite to me.
The answer lies inside. In ten MVC games, the Braves have shot just 44% from inside the arc (173-391) and get only 26 points in the paint, on average, per game. According to the Peoria Journal Star’s Dave Reynolds, most teams have been successful in clogging the lane and stopping dribble drives, meaning the Braves live or die by how well they shoot from outside. And they’re good but not great from the perimeter, averaging 35% from outside in MVC play and an average of 5 triples a game. Will Egolf (45%, 9-20) and Jake Eastman (40.6%, 13-32) both are shooting better than 40% percent from three-point range in league play, though Egolf missed four games with a suspension last month. They also are suspect on the glass, getting out-rebounded by 2.8 per game — a figure that drops to minus-5.9 in conference games, the second-worst in the league. All of that adds up to a team with a .500 record.
It’s worth noting that their five wins have come against Drake, Missouri State, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois (twice), coincidentally the bottom four teams in the MVC. Their five losses include a 84-53 loss to UNI in Cedar Falls and a ghastly 73-39 loss in Wichita last weekend. They’ve been competitive in the other three league losses, though. Over the first 32 minutes of each of their first 10 MVC games, Bradley has either led or been within one possession of the lead in eight of the ten games. It’s the final eight minutes that’s tripped them up; in those 10 games, they’ve been outscored 139-95 over the last eight minutes. Among the losses is a 69-63 home loss to Wichita State where the Braves led 60-59 with four minutes to play; a 68-53 loss to Indiana State where the Braves trailed 48-45 at the under-eight timeout but scored just one field goal the rest of the game; and a 66-56 loss to Evansville where they trailed 51-50 with 8:01 to go, but scored just two field goals the rest of the way.
That leaves the Braves as a team with a much-improved record, but a team without a win against a team with a winning record, and a track record for not finishing games. Their signature moment came in merely playing #1 Michigan close (they lost 74-66 to the Wolverines in December), so while they should be commended for their improvement, they’ve yet to prove they’re capable of taking the next step by beating a good team, not just playing them close. Against a fired-up crowd clad in pink to support breast cancer — this game has been officially sold out since early in the week — it’s hard to imagine the Braves taking that step on Saturday.
About the Braves:Three Bradley starters — Dyricus Simms-Edwards (34.2), Walt Lemon Jr. (33.0) and Jake Eastman (30.9) are averaging better than 30 minutes per game … Since a 69-66 win February 5, 2011 at Southern Illinois, Bradley is 0-6 in weekend Valley road games. The Braves have lost all six of those games by double-digit margins and by an average of 21.8 points … In the last 11 games, Bradley’s bench has been outscored 180-93, averaging 8.5 ppg on 32.5 percent (39-120) shooting from the field.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton would attain its 25th 20-win season in program history with a win Saturday … If they win on Saturday, it would be the second earliest (by calendar) to 20 wins in CU history. Last year’s team won its 20th contest on January 28th vs. Bradley … After opening the season 5-for-19 from three-point territory, Grant Gibbs is 7-for-10 from deep in the past seven games. Gibbs has been in double-figures in each of the past five games, the longest stretch of his career. Creighton is now 18-3 all-time when he scores in double-digits … Creighton is 17-0 this season when it wins the rebound battle, while Bradley is 7-0 when it wins the rebound battle. Dating to last season, Creighton has won 24 straight games when the rebounds are tied or in its favor … In Valley games, Creighton is tied for the league lead in rebound margin (+8.4), while Bradley is ninth (-5.4) on the glass.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott enters Saturday’s game ranked second in the nation in scoring. McDermott’s averaging 23.9 points per game, trailing Virginia Tech’s Erick Green (25.4 ppg.). The odds don’t favor a player at a “BCS” school to finish as the scoring champ. Since 1971-72, the only guy playing at a “BCS” school to lead the nation in scoring was Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (30.3 ppg.) in 1993-94.
The Last Time They Played: In front of the largest crowd in school history, 18,436, the Jays defeated Bradley 73-59 last January 28. Creighton fell behind 11-5 in the early minutes before Gregory Echenique had six points during a 13-2 run that gave it the lead for good. Creighton led 33-21 late in the first half, and eventually led by as many as 15 in the second half. Doug McDermott led Creighton with 24 points, while Echenique had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Jones also gave CU a lift off the bench with 14 points and four assists.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series 44-41, dating back to a 52-46 Braves victory in a non-conference game February 13, 1941 at the Peoria Armory. Since the Jays rejoined the MVC in 1977-78, Creighton owns a 41-36 series advantage.
Creighton owns a 26-13 home record against Bradley, including a perfect 9-0 record at CenturyLink Center and the Bluejays have won 14 straight home games in the series. The Braves have not won in Omaha since a 61-58 victory Feb. 23, 1998, and the 14-game road slide against Creighton is the longest Bradley has ever endured against any opponent.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott is 9-8 all-time against Bradley (7-1 in home games), and is 2-0 against Geno Ford. Ford is 0-2 vs. Creighton.
Gratuitous Linkage: Saturday’s game is the third-annual “Creighton Vs. Cancer Pink Out” game to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The Jays will once again wear pink jerseys and shoes, and the first 14,000 fans will receive a free pink t-shirt.
Last year’s jersey auction raised $20,600, and this year that number rose to $24,444, with Doug McDermott’s #3 going for $5,002, Grant Gibbs’ #10 going for $3,050 and Gregory Echenique’s #00 going for $2,025.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On February 1, 2005, Nate Funk helped Creighton to an early 13-5 lead over first place Wichita State, scoring seven early points. After the Shockers rallied to take a lead, the Jays went on a 13-0 run and never looked back, winning 73-69.
Funk and Johnny Mathies each had 17 points to lead the Jays, while the inimitable Jeffrey (Don’t Call Me Jeff) Day had eight points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: Pink Floyd for the Pink Out. You bet.
The Bottom Line: Bradley plays better defense than a year ago when they allowed 44 points to Doug McDermott, but they get dominated in the paint and on the glass. Big win for the Jays.
Creighton 82, Bradley 65