It stood out on the list.
Even with two tournament championships, a pair of NCAA tournament berths, four 20+ win seasons and 133 wins, there was one accomplishment Bradley head coach Brian Wardle had yet to check during his tenure on the Hilltop.
“[It was a] box I wanted to check while being the head coach of Bradley, no doubt,” Wardle said. “I know it means a lot to the city, the university [and] our community. Our community supports us so well, to see the arena today and see the fans helping us through that game and bringing us that energy this late in the season was a huge, huge factor.”
The conference championship claimed by Bradley in its 73-61 win over Drake Sunday afternoon was hyped up so much that it could’ve rivaled another chapter of Ali vs Frazier. The game was no disappointment either, as the record crowd of 10,458 gazed upon Bradley’s first regular season title since 1996.
While the conference’s ticket for the NCAA Tournament awaits to be punched at Arch Madness in St. Louis this weekend, there’s no qualms in looking back at some of the biggest storylines of the season.
A: Always in the Hunt
Bradley’s title race was no cakewalk, but even when they struggled at times outside of Carver Arena, they were never out of the Valley race.
The MVC this year was as log-jammed and competitive as ever. That’s exactly what the league wanted in its first year with new members Murray State, Belmont and Illinois-Chicago.
Eighth year head coach Brian Wardle navigated his Braves through tough stretches. The toughest was when Bradley was tasked with playing at Drake and in Terre Haute, Indiana against Indiana State before returning home to face Belmont.
The Braves were 1-2 in this stretch, however, they rattled off ten straight wins to claim the Valley crown. Find a team who can recover and flow through rocky seas like that. You have few choices outside of Peoria’s team.
B – Bruised and Battered
Injuries are part of the game, but when three of Bradley’s top impact players went down through the first four games of the season, any Braves’ fan could’ve easily looked up to the skies and wailed about the sudden hex that hovered over the team.
Junior forward Rienk Mast has consistently been a force in the paint and not much has been able to stop the 6-foot-9 Dutch big man. His MCL injury before the season was a cheap shot to the Braves title hopes.
Sophomore Zek Montgomery’s wrist injury after the third game of the season didn’t make things easier, and when senior forward Ja’Shon Henry went down with the latest of several career concussions, it seemed the sky was falling.
Alas, the Braves rose above the early season injury issues. Mast returned to prime form, Montgomery stepped back up as a creative option in the offense, and Henry began to look like it was his 20th season on the Hilltop with his strength and mental fortitude off the bench.
C – Champions
It’s been published everywhere, but when you do something for the first time in 27 years, it’s the type of news that should be seen by all.
At the start of every season, each coach, player and team alike set their goals of winning their conference, and making the NCAA Tournament. The reality is very few are actually built to do it.
Even when this end-goal is clear, getting it in writing isn’t easy. Players and coaches don’t want to look ahead, but even after a win in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to sweep Northern Iowa for the first time in 17 years, they couldn’t help but sneak a peek.
“What we’re trying to do this year is win the regular season,” Mast said. “It hasn’t been done in a long time so let’s hope we break a couple more records.”
Bradley didn’t just meet their preseason expectations of being picked second, they passed it by winning an epic regular season finale. They can now be called regular season champions, and it’s been a long time coming.
Q – Questionable Camera Angles
Remember that one time when the Braves went down to Edwardsville, Illinois to take on Southern Illinois-Edwardsville?
I do, and for fans watching on TV, the 54-52 victory was a heartstopper, especially when the final play, a launch from one end of the court to the other, was hidden when the Cougars’ camera operator fell asleep at his post.
When the ball was hurled to the other side, all that was seen was the crowd stand up in a riot when the horn sounded. Using context clues, it had seemed like the Cougars has hit a shot to either tie or win the game. With some help from attendees’ videos, we got to actually see the final play, a floater that rested on the fingers of SIUE by the time the backboard turned red, thus gifting BU the win.
Let’s hope games don’t have to come down to camera oddities again.
S – Scripted
“If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you play good.” – Deion Sanders
One of the underrated aspects of this title season for Bradley was the way in which they tore apart previous expectations, specifically in the design department.
Having a neutral color as your school’s secondary color doesn’t leave an athletic department with much to work with. There is only so much you can do with red and white. So, when Bradley released a throwback jersey that looked to be a near replication of the school’s old attire from the 80’s, fans were flabbergasted.
Breaking out with the “electric blue” and red highlights to the white jersey spiced up the Braves’ submission for best dressed in the league. Then, as Bradley continued its dominance when wearing the newest fan favorite, they dropped a red version of the jersey and set the bar even higher.
The Bradley script has always been a favorite of mine, so a return to its greatness was not only surprising, but a move I would have never expected to see at any point in my life. Sanders’ quote rings true. Bradley looks good, and as such, they also play good.
T – Teachable T-Shirt
When a coach creates a custom tee with the score of a lopsided loss, the message can’t get much clearer.
The 86-61 road loss at Drake on Jan. 14 was the peak of growing concerns of whether Bradley could win away from home and on national television. The loss dropped Bradley to 12-7 overall and capped a four-game losing streak away from Carver Arena.
Since then, Bradley only lost one more time over its final 12 games. While that loss was at home, the Braves were solid on the road, including blowouts at Illinois State and Northern Iowa and heavyweight matchups at Indiana State, at Southern Illinois and the rematch with Drake.
A t-shirt may seem like an unorthodox way to motivate a team, but Wardle worked the prop to perfection and changed the narrative of “Bradley on the road.”
U – United Center South?
Valley fans online are never shy to take notice of the large sum of Bradley supporters ready to defend, show support or take aim when it comes to their Braves.
One comment that caught attention is when the broadcaster during a Valparaiso game claimed that “Playing at Carver Arena is like playing at the United Center in the 90’s.” From there on, Bradley fans took the attribution and ran with it.
Even though Bradley’s 17-game win streak at home was snapped in a last second loss to Belmont, the comparison was fair, seeing how over the course of the last two seasons, the Braves are 27-3 in Peoria.
W – Walk-on Wonders
Sophomore walk-ons Sam Hennessey and Cade Hardtke can ball.
For those who knew the duo as only the dancing, smirking and shouting pair on the sideline, they got to showcase their energy on the hardwood during the closing minutes at home against Murray State.
While the Braves raced past the visitors, Hennessey and Hardtke both slid in to cover the final minutes. Thanks to a corner triple from Hennessy and a shot-clock beating, banked-in midrange from Hardtke, Bradley was all smiles seeing their animated sideline teammates make their first Division I baskets.
More to Come
Bradley’s regular season may be complete, but the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is open season for everyone in the Valley. As Arch Madness and chaos are essentially one in the same, the Braves will once again have to navigate through choppy waters. Wardle has the trick to winning three games in three days, but this year’s different.
This time, they’ve got a target on their back.
