Defense lets Bradley down as win streak snapped at seven
Belmont makes 22 free throws and exposes the Braves' post players in 88-78 victory
Heading over to the Belmont campus is a generally pretty pleasant experience. It’s pretty easy to get there off the highway and the campus itself is beautiful. They have an easily accessible parking deck that is free and right next to the arena.
Entry is easy (although with a sparse crowd, I could see it being a bit busier if there’s a larger attended game). The main atrium has a pleasant, upscale feel to it:
On the other side of the entrance, they’ve got a cool looking Bruin inflatable that the kids thought was fun:
We were a bit surprised that the concessions was really lacking and didn’t have any hot food other than hot dogs and popcorn. Last season, Belmont had Chic-Fil-A sandwiches for purchase (there may have been other things as well). One of us also had a chuck a bottled soda because it was flat upon opening.
When you go into the arena, it’s got a very “new” feel to it. Everything feels like you’re at Belmont and the large banners fit the vibe well:
There are four scoreboards and they are used for stats or advertisements exclusively, so there weren’t any replays.
Similar to last season, I found that the Belmont fans (for the few there) were not unpleasant to the Bradley contingent in attendance. It definitely had a way different feel without the students in attendance this time around as that middle section at center court is usually filled with students.
That may have zapped the energy from the crowd and the players early in the game. While the Braves didn’t necessarily give their fans a ton to get on their feet about in this one, I was surprised by the decidedly quiet Bradley contingent.
Here are some other photos from in and around the arena:
Editorial Note: I wanted to get the storytelling aspect of this game out quickly, so I’m holding off on adding too many clips. If I have time in the coming days, I want to explore more around Bradley’s defensive struggles.
Starting Five
3 Alex Huibregtse (G)
0 Demarion Burch (G)
14 Ahmet Jonovic (C)
21 AJ Smith (F) 10 Timoty van der Knapp (F)
22 Jaquan Johnson (G)
Finally it happened and it was after Coach Wardle was true to his word after the last game against Evansville that the team needed some better energy out of the lineup. Smith struggled again when he did play and van der Knapp did some good things even if they weren’t as often as the Braves needed. I’d imagine this lineup will stick for the Murray State game, but it’s hard to tell for sure after a loss.
Also, on the Belmont side, I saw during warmups that Sam Orme wasn’t out there and liked Bradley’s improved chances. Orme did end up missing his second straight game.
The Moments
Follow along with me … (Below are game times, not video times.) Full Video
Jaquan gets bottled up
For the first time all season, Jaquan Johnson failed to score in double figures, finishing with eight points. Probably the most shocking of all was that he didn’t get to the free throw line once after getting there 29 times in the first three conference games.
While Burch and Montana Wheeler had big games in support of him, Johnson just couldn’t get going. From what I saw in person and a bit on video, he just wasn’t getting the contact he normally does. While I have watched a lot of Belmont already this season, I was a bit surprised on how they limited Bradley’s guards from getting to the free throw line.
Defensive Lapses
I need to spend more time on this at a later time but here’s a few quick ones:
I can’t understand what Corey Thomas is doing here. He’s double teaming Lundblade, who doesn’t have the ball and hasn’t even been freed up from a screen. Huibregtse is right on him. Rogers, while not a super skilled offensive player, has the ability to dribble and get a layup if you give him the whole lane.
There were also multiple instances of plays like these:
First van der Knapp gets beat off the dribble and forces Jonovic into a help situation. Then Jonovic compounds it by picking up a foul on Drew Scharnowski (#11). The game had been called very closely to this point and you have to consider if the foul is really worth it there. Since Scharnowski isn’t great from the line, it turns out okay, but the connectedness needed on defense wasn’t there.
Thomas gets caught sleeping on another cut to the basket here:
(This was far from the only instance of it.)
Bradley’s going to need to get a lot better defensively if it’s going to knock off the best teams in the league. There have been signs of it here and there lately, but this was a step back, regardless of how good Belmont is offensively.
Checking Back on the Preview
Bradley will win if it…
Keeps Lundblade & Orme to less than five made 3-pointers: No (7)
Considering that Orme didn’t play, Bradley really needed to slow down Lundblade and the team simply couldn’t stop him. Lundblade’s 25 points nearly came all on threes (7-of-11) and whether he was contested closely or not, he pretty much couldn’t miss all night. It reminded me a lot of the game in Peoria last season.
Has five more made free throws: No (Belmont 22, Bradley 11)
If I could bold, star and put an exclamation point on this one, I would. Bradley got to the line fewer times (17) than Belmont had makes (22). It was a tightly officiated game and the Bruins aggressiveness was rewarded. Yes, I felt like there were a lot of pretty soft calls against Bradley in the game, but the reality is that you aren’t going beat almost anyone giving up 30 free throws.
Brigham Rogers even made 2-of-2 and he was 37.5% on the season going into the game. This was by far the most extreme free throw shooting contest for Belmont, getting to the line on 58.8 percent of possessions. Even after this game, Belmont’s FT rate still is just 34.4%, good for 203rd in the country.
Leads in points in the paint: No (Belmont 36, Bradley 22)
Belmont also just killed the Braves in this area. The post players did not effectively guard off screens and both Scharnowski and Rogers got way too many easy baskets right at the rim. Jenkins also scored a ton in the post and in his case, was just a step quicker and looked stronger than whoever was defending him.
Belmont will win if it…
Makes 60% of its two-point shots: Yes (18-of-28, 64.2%)
It somewhat goes along with the points in the paint, but the Bruins just scored way too many easy baskets. In some respects, you have to just recognize that they are a really efficient team. They are up to a 61.2% eFG rate on the season which is 3rd in the nation.
But, it also falls on the Bradley defense as well, which had been trending positively both from the eye test and statistically in recent games.
Turns the ball over less than 15 times: No (16)
The Braves did manage to turn over Belmont a decent amount. Bradley held a 21-18 advantage in points off turnovers, but for a team that relies upon speeding up teams in order to get easy baskets, they really need to win this stat by a lot more than they did. In actuality, the bigger aspect was that Bradley had 16 turnovers of its own and a lot of them were rushed passes and unforced errors. The Braves need to win this stat most nights to be successful.
Gets 25 or more off the bench: No (19)
This one went a little bit out the window once Orme didn’t play. It brought Rogers and Scharnowski both into the starting lineup and the two had 24 combined. But, even with the added minutes across the lineup, Belmont got plenty from its bench even though this is officially a “no”.
One Extra Stat
Fast Break Points (Bradley, 2): You don’t always notice it in the moment with this team but Bradley’s best offense is often when plays are breaking down and the team’s guards can create. This is especially true in transition and Belmont just didn’t let the Braves have many opportunities to score quick baskets.
Player of the Game
Demarion Burch (25 points (career high), 8-of-14 shooting, 4-of-8 three pointers, 5-of-8 free throws, three rebounds, four assists, block, steal, two turnovers)
Burch (along with Montana Wheeler) was the only reason Bradley kept this game close. Burch has had two other 20-plus point games this season and had another one of his heaters. He has this creativity that creates space for his shot at any of the three levels on the court. Burch continues to struggle at the line (56.8%) on the season, but that’s nit picking against a really great game. He showed an ability to draw defenders to him as well and then find passing lanes for those assists.
Up Next
The team needs to regroup quickly because the southern swing doesn’t get any easier Sunday afternoon when the Braves head to Murray State. I’ve felt even before the season that the Racers were the best collection of players in the league and if they could come together, the league title would go through them.
In the difficult to predict Valley, Murray State trailed for much of the game Thursday against UIC in Chicago. Some timely shots and free throws at the end helped them secure a fourth league win, but it shows that everyone is beatable.
I’m looking forward to attending this one as well, although I wouldn’t be giving too much away if I’m pretty worried about this matchup. Stay tuned for a preview by some time Saturday.