After 31 games in the regular season, another Missouri Valley Conference season comes to a close for Bradley men’s basketball.
That means Arch Madness is right around the corner.
With the third seed in the Missouri Valley Conference locked up well before the Braves’ 74-67 loss to Drake this past weekend, Bradley earned a bye to the quarterfinal matchup on Friday. In the nightcap, Bradley will face either Illinois-Chicago or Southern Illinois.
“I like how we guarded the last five games. I think we made a good little jump here at the end defensively and we’re going to need that this weekend in St. Louis,” Braves’ head coach Brian Wardle said.
St. Louis nights
Two teams the Braves swept during the regular season, the Flames and the Salukis, play in the first round Thursday games.
The Flames come into this one with a string of defeats against top-seeded teams like Drake and Indiana State. The Salukis narrowly lost their bye to the quarterfinals with losses against Bradley and Northern Iowa. Going into Arch Madness can be difficult for first timers; however, Bradley’s veterans know the venue far too well.
“I feel like you always just remember the feeling of being there your first time, so this time I already know what to expect and know how the refs are going to call it,” senior guard Duke Deen said.
If the Braves start their Arch Madness journey with a win, they could either have a third go against Drake or a revenge match against Evansville. Another possibility is a third battle against I-74 rival Illinois State.
While a matchup against the Purple Aces would be a good chance to avenge their narrow 73-70 loss towards the end of the season, another I-74 throwdown against Illinois State would make for a special event in St. Louis.
Post-season awards
A few Braves have already earned postseason awards before the start of Arch Madness. Senior Darius Hannah and junior Connor Hickman were named to the Valley’s Most-Improved team, marking the second year in a row that two Braves made the lineup.
Hannah increased his playing time this year, going from 16 to 25.9 minutes per game. He also improved on the offensive front by scoring 11.7 points per game this season, an increase from his 5.7 mark last season.
Hickman increased his production from the field, scoring 14.1 points per game compared to his 8.6 mark last season. Even though the junior missed four games this season, he was still able to bounce back.
Deen and graduate forward Malevy Leons were also named to the All-Valley First Team, making the jump after the two were a part of the third and second team last year, respectively. Leons also took home Defensive Player of the Year again, becoming the first Brave to win the award in back-to-back years.
Additionally, Hickman earned Valley Third-Team honors and freshman Almar Atlason was named to the All-Freshman team.
A look back
“It’s been a blur, we just watched some old games and it all feels like a couple weeks ago, honestly I can remember everything that’s happened, it went so fast,” Deen said. “I still can’t believe that this is Arch Madness week.”
Every season has its twists and turns and this year was no exception. The Braves started out their campaign with two overtime victories against UAB and Utah State. After those nail-biting late wins, Bradley traveled to Southern California to compete at the SoCal Classic, defeating Tarleton State, Tulane and UTEP to earn some early season hardware.
“We had a good year, our highs were really high and we know our top level of play is very high,” Wardle said. “We just were a little inconsistent at times and I think that’s individual players’ inconsistency, but also just as a team defensively we were a little inconsistent.”
The inconsistencies started appearing after the Braves won their sixth straight to start the season, as they hit their roughest patch during the start of conference play, dropping five games in a row. With the absence of Hickman due to injury, the Braves struggled to find their footing.
“I think there were a lot of positives we did with all the players we lost, and so to be able to come back and win 20-plus games again and contend again, it speaks to the staff and to the culture we have here,” Wardle said.
Once Hickman came back, the Braves started to look like their old selves again and achieved the greatest comeback in program history. Trailing by 21 at the half, the Braves erased the deficit against the Salukis as Hickman and Deen led with 15 points each.
More history was made as Deen had one of his best performances under a Bradley jersey against Missouri State. Putting up 35 points and nine 3-pointers, Deen set the record for the most threes in a single game. Deen hints at a more emotional adjustment that he made instead of a technical one.
“Staying level headed, not getting too emotional, too high or too low,” Deen said. “I’ve been very even keel most of the season and I think that is what allowed me to get out of that little slump that I was in the beginning of the year and just keep producing.”
Despite not ending the season on a bright note, the Braves have had their fair share of adversity, which sometimes is the best teacher.
Now, Bradley awaits its next challenge.
