Press Row

Open message to Bradley president Joanne Glasser, athletics director Michael Cross and men’s basketball coach Jim Les, who are meeting Monday to discuss whether there is to be a future for the 2009-10 Braves:

Please, please, please … do not accept any invitation to prolong the Braves’ basketball season by playing in the CBI, or the CIT, or any other alphabetical configuration masquerading as legitimate postseason hoops. Please.

The NCAA is what everyone aspires to. Junior guard Sam Maniscalco made a point of telling me Saturday, after the Braves had been eliminated from the Valley tournament, that the goal next year is to get to the Big Dance. It was the goal this year, as it should be.

Given that the NCAA is a tough task (as it should be), the NIT, which is the oldest continuing postseason event, would be acceptable. But we all know that’s not happening. So that brings us to the alphabet soup.

Bradley has been to the CBI, it has been to the CIT, and even though the Braves reached the championship round of each the past two years, that’s nothing to brag about. Got that? Nothing to brag about. There is not even a CIT commemoration in Carver Arena. Thank heavens. There shouldn’t be one for the CBI, either, and I hope you take it down.

I’ve heard the rationale for playing these things. These tournaments give the coach a few more days or weeks of practice with his team. They present an opportunity for younger players to gain postseason experience, which can be used as a springboard to better days next season. They’re a reward for the regular season.

Yawn.

Maybe I missed something, but I haven’t seen the carryover benefit from Bradley playing in the CBI and CIT the past two seasons. There has been no springboard to better days. Each of the past four seasons has seen a dropoff. Since the 2006 NCAA season, BU has gone to the NIT, then to the CBI, then to the CIT and now to some people hoping one of those last two is willing to take you. None of this can be counted as progress, so please don’t accept that argument.

Reward? This team did not earn a reward. The Braves this year underachieved. By a lot. It’s that simple. We need to remember that and let it burn. Maybe that will provide the motivation necessary to pick up the pace and take the next step up the Valley ladder. We certainly don’t need another run of wins in an insignificant tournament to make everybody feel good about something that wasn’t.

Frankly, there’s a good number of fans who are sick of being spun, embarrassed by the hype of consecutive 20-win seasons that were achieved by playing 35-40 games, as if reaching that 20-victory milestone is no different than it was when nobody played more than 30. Maybe they’re a minority. Maybe not.

But the fact is, this program has been spinning its wheels in the middle of the Valley for four years now. Some of those seasons have been better than others, and there surely have been some highlights. But there have been too many lowlights. Everybody who cheers for Bradley wants better. They don’t want to be told Bradley is better than ever. They want to see Bradley better than ever—or at least moving in that direction.

I know at least some of the players want to play again. That’s great. If I were a player, I’d feel the same way. Competitors want to play. Guys who valued putting on the uniform want to put it on again.

But if you want to keep playing, you need to earn it. Players, coaches, staff, administration. Everybody.

And you didn’t.

So please say no to postseason play. Please.

It’s a little over 90 minutes till tipoff. Reporters have been arriving at the media workroom for the past hour, prepping for the semifinals.

A note: Chris Roberts‘ dunk-stickback against Creighton yesterday made the No. 2 play of the day on ESPN. It’s the fourth time Roberts has made the ESPN top 10 in his two years as a Brave. That’s a team record, according to sports info man Bobby Parker. Several others have made it once. Bobby was going to check, but he cited Will Franklin as one former Brave who had two top 10 appearances.

If you haven’t already, check out the video reports we put together on Quarterfinals Friday. There’s this one on the BU players talking about Sam Maniscalco’s big day against Creighton. And this one where my colleague Dave Reynolds and I discuss that victory and look ahead to the semis. The second one includes game highlights, including Roberts’ big dunk. (here’s a clip of just the dunk)

The Braves play Northern Iowa today. Reynolds picks BU to win and advance to the title game. His basic thought process is that UNI is assured of an NCAA at-large bid regardless of outcome, and Bradley is win-here-or-die. I’m still thinking.

Time for a little lunch. … Very little. …

Just swung through the arena, and looks like the Braves are BIB (back in black) today. Milos Knezevic is sitting on the scorer’s table, all dressed with his warmup jacket and his black uniform pants. FWIW, I love Milos’s attitude. He is always a bundle of energy on the bench, pumped up and cheering for his teammates. I hope he sticks around after this season, because the kid can flat shoot the ball. Every team should have a place on its roster for a guy who can shoot that well.

The lineups — Bradley is going to stick with Sam Maniscalco, Andrew Warren, Chris Roberts, Dyricus Simms-Edwards and Will Egolf to start the game. Northern Iowa will go with Ali Farokhmanesh, Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Johnny Moran, Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder.

The refs — The crew is John Higgins, Steve Olson and Gerry Pollard. Higgins and Olson are top shelf with salt. Pollard is OK, although he is better when working with good ones; he tends to gravitate to what’s around him, while the other two are solid and not easily influenced by outside forces as to how they call the game.

Eighteen minutes to anthem time. …

The Braves get intro’d. The Panthers get intro’d. Like the way they circle up around the mascot, who does a little dance in the middle of their huddle.

Nice crowd. Jacked up. Ready to roll.

Tipoff … BU gets to the circle first, and Roberts has a little fun with Higgins, who has him test the ball. Here we go. …

Ali F steps out and takes the tip right to the rack for a layup. He read that well. Egolf and Eglseder jumped poorly, and Egolf swatted the ball upon landing. Ali F read it and ran. … Now a BU turnover, and Ali F nails a 3 and he is sky high. … Roberts responds. Bradley presses! Definitely a zone press, falling back to a 2-3 zone. And Koch lobs over the top and OB. … Now the Braves in a man. Eglseder the offensive rebound and putback. … A little rocky for the Braves to start. After Roberts’ first bucket, can’t get to the paint. … Oooo, bad call by Pollard. Maniscalco cleanly strips Koch on the block, and Pollard is behind the play and calls a hack. Not even close. Koch FTs make it 9-2 UNI, and against this defense, that’s not good. … Taylor Brown into the game and gets blocked at the basket on an out-of-control spin. … UNI is fired up. Big Time. Panthers look like they want nothing to do with the close slugfests of the last two meetings, which these teams split. Bradley has to weather this opening storm. Braves did yesterday. Have to again. … Moran grabs Roberts on an inbounds play and gets whistled. … Braves get to the paint, but can’t convert, and Egolf fouls on the rebound. … Here’s the press again.. It’s a soft 2-2-1. Just giving a different look, which is good. … Maniscalco hits a top-key jumper for 2. … Brown goes coast-to-coast and misses. … Eglseder scores over Sam Singh, in for Egolf. … Brown hits from the corner. … This is a fast-paced game. … Ahelegbe, who has been stone cold for several weeks, hits a 3. … Bradley gets some second chances and can’t convert. …

Timeout at 14:20 — UNI 14, Bradley 6

Very rocky beginning for BU. Got to hold the D together and get through this.

Platoon sub for UNI. … Marc Sonnen drains a 3 off the bench, and if this is how the day goes, it’s gonna be a long one for the Braves. … Warren misses in the paint. … Now Jake Eastman misses close after driving for BU. … Steal by Egolf in the post. … Nice pass from Eastman to Egolf underneath, but Egolf gets stripped by Sonnen. … Now Anthony James hits his first shot for UNI. … And Eastman charges for BU, which has nothing — nothing — going its way. …

Timeout at 11:35 — UNI 19, Bradley 6

The UNI starters check back in, and they are pumped up. The subs extend the lead, and Bradley looks helpless.

This is going to be a long, long, long, hard, hard, hard climb back for Bradley. Not impossible, but the Braves have got to play defense much better. Frustration level is visibly high. Let’s see how they respond. Got to get off the deck now. … No more press out of the timeout. … There you go: Roberts sees the mismatch against Ali F and backs him in and scores from the paint before Eglseder can step up to help. … BU looks a little more composed after the timeout. Decent defensive stop, followed by offensive patience and a baseline J by Brown. It’s 19-10. … Braves in the 1-3-1 and get another stop. … Egolf misses a baseline J, and Eastman somehow gets the rebound, but is off balance in the air and lands hard and loses it. He’s a little shaken up, but that was one tough board in traffic. … Moran penetrates for UNI and banks in a floater. … And now Brown airballs a quick 3. What the heck was that? … Eglseder grabs an ORB and gets hacked on the putback. …

Timeout at 7:44 — UNI 21, Bradley 10

Second unit back for UNI. … Singh chases down an ORB on the wing, goes back-and-forth with Warren and hits AW with a perfect bounce pass cutting down the lane. Warren scores, is fouled and converts the and-one. … Defensively, though, BU leaves Sonnen wide-freaking open again, and he 3-balls. And then Warren charges. … For every good, there’s two bads. … James gets wide open back door, but blows the bunny. … James fouls Maniscalco, and for the first time, UNI subs less than a full five. Four guys replace the subs; only Eglseder remains on the bench, while Lucas O’Rear mans the post for UNI. BU wins that battle vs. the subs, by two points. … Now Moran 3s and the Panthers cannot seem to miss out there. … Now Maniscalco gets called for pushing off Ali F on the dribble. That’s what you call live by the sword, die by the sword. Maniscalco gets some calls with some acting, and this time, Ali F did it back to him. … The press comes back after Maniscalco makes a pair of FTs he shot after getting fouled in the paint. … Now BU gives up a backdoor lob and dunk to Koch. … Well, Bradley is getting to the paint and now starting to get fouled. Warren at the line now. But the Braves have to shore up the defense, which has been a sieve. … Warren hits his throws. … Now UNI scores in transition. Bradley is just bad on defense here, and UNI is exploiting everything. If the Panthers could hit layups, they’d be up almost 20.  … Jim Les calls timeout after the transition bucket by UNI. Down 13 with a little over three minutes to play; unable to make any significant dent. … The Panthers are jumping the passing lanes, getting their hands on balls, contesting every shot. … Sonnen is on fire offensively. …

Timeout at 1:45 — UNI 34, Bradley 19

Bradley gets stuffed twice on its final possession of the half. UNI runs clock fofr a last shot. O’Rear gets to the rim and is goal-tended by Brown.

Halftime — UNI 36, Bradley 19

This is a mess. Bradley needs Good Bradley to show up in the second half, or the season is over.

Some stats: UNI leads points off turnovers, 12-0. And points in paint, 12-6. And fast break, 4-0. And bench, 12-4. Panthers shot 46.7 percent, BU 28.6. Bradley is 6-for-21 from the floor, 7-for-7  from the line — the only thing the Braves did well — and 10 turnovers. UNI has two turnovers. What we are watching is what the dominant team in the league — UNI won it by three games — should do to the fifth-place team, which can’t bring itself to play hard all the time. …

Enough of that for now. On with the second half. …

Which begins with a BU turnover. … DSE gets a steal back, but can’t convert the layup in traffic. … More turnovers exchanged, and Warren scores a runout. … Egolf goes to the bench with blood running from his left eye area. Caught an elbow underneath. … Bradley gets a stop, but Maniscalco misses in transition, and Singh misses the tip. … Physically and mentally, BU looks much more focused to start the half than it did the game, and the defense is stronger. But really struggling to convert offense. …

Another BU steal. … Three turnovers already for UNI this half: one more than the entire first.

Timeout at 15:57 — UNI 36, Bradley 21

If the Braves had opened with this kind of intensity, they wouldn’t be in this hole.

Inbounds play, and Andrews curls the middle and lays it up, and off the rim. But he;s fouled. Makes the FTs. Another stop, even with a second chance, but no conversion again as Maniscalco misses a drive in traffic. … Kerwin Dunham scores on Warren at the block and gets fouled; converts the FT. So after more than five minutes, BU has made up one point. … Braves still can’t score easily, and the frustration builds again. Turnovers building, and UNI starting to find gaps. Panthers up 18. … Now BU steals and Maniscalco scores the breakaway. … Bradley just cannot solve the UNI defense. Maniscalco finds Singh on the block, but he’s guarded and he travels. …

Timeout at 11:57 — UNI 41, Bradley 25

There’s time, but it’s running out. Barring a dramatic turn — BU starts lighting up guarded shots, completely stops UNI from scoring — this one is about over. Just not seeing a game-changing run today.

The defense on Eglseder today has not approached the harrassment BU put on him in Peoria. Very little double, and he’s comfortable. …

Koch hits a 3 and UNI goes up by 21. … And a 3 by James runs the lead to 24. Les calls time.

Game. Over.

… Eastman makes a 3. Nice to see him stroke that. He can be a future weapon out there, along with his hustle.

Timeout at 7:33 — UNI 50, Bradley 32

A little trading buckets now. … Brown hasn’t played much the second half. I’d bet we don’t see him the rest of the way. He’s got a towel over his head. Not sure what’s going down there. …

Now, there was a funny play. BU defended rather well, and Ahelegbe forced up a guarded 3 vs. the shot clock. The ball smacked the board and missed the rim, and Koch was there to grab it, but knowing the clock was expiring, he just tucked it and seemed ready to hand it over. But the buzzer didn’t sound. So he got ready to shoot. Then the buzzer sounded. higgins said something to him; like to know what it was. Koch laughed. Like they say: Play to the whistle. …

Timeout at 3:39 — UNI 52, Bradley 36

Roberts called for goal-tending, but the shot looked short of the rim. Not that it matters. … UNI running clock now, and it’s just a matter of details. …

Hey! An Eddren McCain sighting! He’s off the bench and at the scorer’s table for the first time in weeks. First time he checks in since Jan. 30 at Illinois State. Andhere comes the bench: Milos Knezevic, Ryan Phillips. … A little floor time, a little TV time for the deep subs. Anthony Thompson awaits at the table, but the clock may run out on him. Will run out on him after Phillips scores. UNI dribbles it out. Will this be the last we see of Sticks?

Final score — UNI 57, Bradley 40

Well, at least the Braves scored 40.

They’re getting ready to tip off the MVC quarterfinals, with top-seeded UNI and Drake. Bradley and Creighton go in the 4-5 game at roughly 2:30. My colleague Dave Reynolds and I just got down from the hockey pressbox, where a lunch of tuna sandwiches, fruit and veggie soup was served. We are now ready to work. I’m sitting in the press workroom, but I can hear the national anthem being sung, quite nicely, by a lovely female voice out in the arena.

One observation: With Drake defeating SIU on Josh Young’s jumper with barely a second to play last night has affected the crowd. With the Salukis out, so is that big fan base. There are some here for the party, but not as many as there would have been with an SIU victory. It was the Salukis’ earliest exit ever from the MVC tourney, which debuted the play-in round in 1997.

First half of the UNI-Drake game, UNI needed a 10-point run to end the half down 24-23. Panthers need to pull away in the second. They should be in the NCAA tournament, even if they somehow lose this game. But losing to the No. 8 seed on first day of the tournament would be a bad thing, especially with having lost to last-place Evansville 10 days ago. Not the vision you want to leave in the Committee’s eyes. Lose this game, and the Panthers are swimming in sweat for the next eight days.

This just in: Lineups for the BU-Creighton game. Bradley will start Sam Maniscalco, Andrew Warren, Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Chris Roberts andWill Egolf. So Taylor Brown will sub for the third consecutive game since coming off his suspension. Creighton will start Josh Jones, Antoine Young, Justin Carter, Ethan Wragge and Kenny Lawson Jr.

UNI’s worries are over. Drake went 21 minutes without a field goal, and UNI outscored the Bulldogs 33-3 during that stretch. It took about four minutes of the second half to declare game over. Panthers no longer have to sweat an NCAA bid. Again, they shouldn’t have had any worries, but with now they absolutely don’t. Two minutes to go and they’re up 17 points. …

The refs in the BU-CU game are a most excellent crew: Mike Stuart, Steve Olson and Paul Janssen. Hope none of them gets a cramp, because the alternate is Gene Grimshaw, and BU coach Jim Les isn’t exactly buddies with Grimmy. …

Braves take the floor for warmups, and they’ll be wearing black today. For my thoughts on such blasphemy, read this column. For the record, I have nothing against the way the uniforms look; they’re classy. But black is not a school color. Bradley colors are red and white, and they’re red and white for specific reasons. They are not red, white and black. If the university wants an official color change, then go through the process and explain it. Doing something as a funky fad is cheap and just rubs me wrong about 1,000 different ways. And with that, we’re 9 minutes to tipoff. …

Former Bradley assistant coach Lennox Forrester is in the house. A few rows behind the BU bench. Lennox is now the head coach at SIU-E. And here we go …

Lousy toss by Stuart. Yeesh. Totally sideways. I know you only do it once a game unless there’s OT, but it’s not hard to toss a ball reasonably straight up. … Creighton goes inside to Lawson for its first points. … And now Lawson gets a putback for two more. Bad way to begin this game for BU: giving up an inside bucket and second chance points — and now a driving layup. Creighton up 6-0 at 18:07, and Les wants timeout. … Now a 3-pointer in transition for the Jays after a BU turnover and it’s 9-zip. … Here comes the cavalry: Brown, Sam Singh and Jake Eastman replace Egolf, DSE and Roberts, who at least had a pair of offensive rebounds. … Illegal screen by Singh. … Bradley’s first points on a dunk by Brown off a drive and dish from Eastman. … Now Warren scores with some persistence, on a hook from the base. … Braves starting to toughen up: a defensive board, kick and Eastman scores on the break. … Jones hits a 3 over the BU zone. … Now there’s no defense on either end; trading buckets. … At least it’s not a rout, just 12-8. … Wragge hits a 3 in transition for CU. … And finally, a timeout. …

Timeout at 14:01 — Creighton 15, Bradley 8

Braves at least showing a little life, but there is almost zero defense on either end at the moment. Looks like a run-and-gunner in the making, and that’s going Creighton’s way if it keeps up. …

Creighton subs all five coming out of the TO: Wayne Runnels, Casey Harriman, Kaleb Korver, Darryl Ashford, Cavel Witter.

Tough break: Bradley finally bucks up its defense — a 1-3-1 zone — and has the Jays on the ropes with two seconds left on the shot clock, 30 feet from the basket, and a pass gets kicked. Reset the clock for 15 seconds. … BU survives the extended possession. … Nice hustling pickup of a loose ORB by DSE and he scores. … BU back in man. … Hustling steal by Maniscalco, diving on the floor, he scoops to Roberts on the run, and CR tomahawks it. Lead cut to 15-12. Much better D by the Braves since the official timeout. Brown ties up Runnels underneath, and the ball will go to BU. Why it took the Braves the first six minutes of the game to start playing some defense is beyond comprehension. At least they’re playing some now. …

Timeout at 11:45 — Creighton 15, Bradley 12

Lawson scores in the post, but at least the Jays had to work for that one. … Creighton is beating BU back in transition, though. Really putting the pressure on the pace. … Defensively, the Jays have played the first 10 minutes in man, rather than the zone that has flumoxed BU. … Roberts fails to finish on a drive, and Creighton responds by immediately going downstairs to Lawson. Egolf just can’t handle the guy, but at least he fouls him hard. Singh back for Egolf. Lawson misses both FTs, which is one reason you foul hard: Don’t let him score the EZ bucket, and make him shoot FTs. … Margin back to seven. …

In addition to the man defense, Creighton is driving the gaps and pounding to Lawson. A couple of wrinkles, and BU is struggling to handle both. …

Timeout at 7:37 — Creighton 21, Bradley 14

Now BU goes totally small: Brown the big man, with DSE, Maniscalco, Warren and Eastman. Manisalco scores. … DSE and Sammy team up to steal, and DSE drives and dishes for a Brown dunk. … This could be a struggle on the boards, but the Braves put up a fight after a CU miss, and DSE gets the board, kicks, the break and Maniscalco gets fouled pulling up for a 3. Some confusion over whether it was 2 or 3. He’ll shoot three after the video confirms his foot placement. He makes three and the smalls cut the lead to a pair. … Singh returns. … A stop by the 1-3-1 zone, and Singh clears out Lawson so Brown can get the free rebound. Nice work. Now Warren fouled at the rim and shoots for the tie: And it’s 23-23. … Nice stand on D, until Singh gets called for fouling Lawson with the shot clock at 4 seconds. Two on Singh, two on Egolf. Could we possibly see Anthony Thompson? … Lawson FTs put CU back up by two. … And now the Jays throw down their zone. BU stifled, and Roberts travels. … Bradley in a 2-3 itself now. … But CU patient and scores a 3 by Jones. … Runout by Maniscalco, who does a nice job getting fouled at the rim. …

Timeout at 3:49 — Creighton 28, Bradley 23

Warren blows a 2-on-1, keeping the ball himself on the wing with Roberts wide open in the middle; has to kick out when penetration is cut off, and the Braves can’t convert — and CU gets a transition 3 to extend the lead back to seven. … Ugly turnover by Carter for Creighton; he penetrates the top of the 2-3 zone and kicks out to — the ref. … Maniscalco hits a 3, and the Braves hang in. … And Maniscalco steps up and hits another 3 to cut the margin to one. … Airball off the board by Creighton, and BU has a chance to lead. Warren splashes a long 2, Dana Altman has to call timeout, and Bradley at :54.8 in the first half, leads CU for the first time this season. That’s after 99 minutes and 5.2 seconds, BU finally leads the Jays. …#

Another BU stop, and a high-flying board by Warren, and BU will hold for a late shot with only about four seconds differential between the clocks. … No dice, but the half ends, and Bradley gets to enjoy a lead through the break.. …

Halftime — Bradley 32, Creighton 31

Some halftime stats: Bradley shooting 39.3 percent, Creighton cools to 32.3. Bradley up in the paint 12-8 and off turnovers 10-8. Creighton up 4-2 on second-chances. Jays lead the boards 21-19. … Each team with seven turnovers. … Maniscalco playing great: 14 points, two assists, a steal, zero turnovers and he’s just chasing everywhere. … Brown has five rebounds, Warren eight points. … Lawson has 11 points and seven rebounds for Creighton. …

The reason Bradley got down early was atrocious defense to open the game. The reason the Braves got back into it was good defense. That will determine the game. Twenty more minutes of defense like the last several minutes of the first half, and BU will make the semis. Break down, and the Jays party on. …

Second half coming up. …

Bradley opens second half in a man, and Carter drives to the rim and is fouled by Warren. … Carter’s first free throw ties, and the second puts CU back in the lead. … Now Creighton presses. BU scrambles but breaks it. Can’t score, though. … Go zone and Egolf called for his third foul on a rebound. So in his last 12 minutes against the Jays, he has eight fouls. He fouled out in five minutes at Omaha last weekend. … Creighton getting the edge to start the second half; stronger on the boards and getting the ball into the paint again, although not with the impunity of the first six minutes of the game. … Eastman goes strong to the paint and makes a tough banker going left. …

WHOAAAAAAAA! Tough sequence underneath as Eastman and Brown team to corral an ORB. Brown powers back up and misses, but Roberts flies through the crowd out of nowhere and hammers the putback. What an athletic power play! Puts BU back in the lead. …

Timeout at 15:52 — Bradley 36, Creighton 35

Peoria golf king Rick LeHew gets pulled from the crowd for the BU trivia contest. Who is this Bradley player? Deon Jackson the answer. …

Runnels floors Brown under the Creighton boards and gets called for a foul. Been a little rough down there today. … Tough, tough, tough shot by Maniscalco, in traffic, after driving to the block. … Egolf back in and holds his own against Lawson in the post. Lawson fires an airball. … Brown is out of the game after hitting the deck. They’re working on him at the end of the bench. Can’t tell what. Roberts scores while that’s going on. Creighton calls time and Brown jogs back. Looks like he’s OK. … Bradley leads 40-35. …

Bradley cheerleaders and band are on one end, and the BU fans mostly are on the other. But they’re doing a pretty good job of chanting, although it’s a little like an echo, with the fans’ part about a word behind the cheer guys and gals. …

BU in 1-3-1, and Witter hits a corner from the upper left gap. … Strong ORB by Roberts for two points.  … Roberts is having a heck of a game the last 10-15 minutes. Now he picks up a charging foul against Carter with some good position D. …

Timeout at 11:49 — Bradley 42, Creighton 38

DSE a strong move to the basket and scores. … Egolf does a nice job fronting Lawson in the post, but then gets outpositioned for the rebound and Lawson scores second-chance points. … That brings back Singh. … Now DSE hits a 3-pointer against the shot clock. That kid is fearless. … Eastman, too! He drives into the teeth of the Creighton defense, hangs against Lawson, scores and gets fouled. He’s pumping his fist and screaming. Big-time play. And makes the FT. Bradley up by eight now. Eastman comes out and gets mobbed at the bench. … On the other end, though, Creighton has scored second-chance points last two trips. Bradley can’t let that keep going on. …

Jays pressing again. … BU breaks it and Maniscalco scores a 3 out of the halfcourt set. … Jones answers with a 3 for the Jays. … Another ORB and score for CU, this by Carter, and cuts the margin to four points. He just flew in there. Four of the last five CU hoops have been second chances. Bad stuff for Braves there. …

Timeout at 7:25 — Bradley 55, Creighton 49

Bradley has to man up on the glass if it’s going to hold on and win this. Those second chances just undermine the mostly excellent D the Braves have played this half. …

Young finds a seam and scores. Margin at four. … Brown misses, but Egolf rebounds, and Maniscalco rolls out a 3, but he’s fouled. … Three FTs: makes all three and the lead is back to seven. … 22 for Maniscalco now. … Brown goes up for a rebound and is creamed from behind by Wragge. Brown will shoot a one-and-one: good and good and up by nine. Dare I say it: Don’t get up by 10? Oh wait, Bradley is not at home. … Now Creighton throws it away. … Time for BU to drop the hammer and take total control. … Maniscalco will shoot three more FTs. He is playing brilliantly. He uses a high screen to drive, runs into the help, but senses the main man chasing, so he rises to shoot and forces the foul. All three are good and BU is up a dozen. Fans in red are going nuts for the team in black. And now Creighton is coming unglued. Wragge travels, pretty much without any pressure. … Brown drives hard and flies for the floater, and Bradley is up 14. …

Uh-oh. Maniscalco is hurting, limping off. Seems to be grabbing his left leg, and they’re working his shin. Looks like a cramp. … He has been a monster today. A brilliant performance. … Now DSE gets fouled high and will shoot two in the double bonus. He makes both and BU is up 16. … This is the way you play. This is what we ought to see every game. … Big defensive board by DSE. … Pick and roll, Brown to Egolf, and the Bradley lead is 18. … Witter finally stops the blood flow of the 14-0 run with a baseline drive and gets fouled on the score. … Not over yet, but looking pretty good as long as the Braves keep playing tough. … Maniscalco is back. … Les calls a timeout with 4:19. …

Warren drives and bounces in a floater. … Maniscalco cramping up again as we get a stoppage in play. …

Timeout at 3:46 — Bradley 71, Creighton 64

Scoreboard has that screwed up. Now it’s right. …

Lawson a jumper, and here comes the press. Warren breaks it by himself and the Braves spread to run clock. … Maniscalco misses a guarded 3 at the clock buzzer, but Roberts gets the ORB, and now Creighton has to foul. This game is about over. … Maniscalco at the line again, but shooting only two this time. Makes both again. … He has 27, and now he has the ball and is fouled again. Two more for 29. … If Bradley loses this game now, somebody should be strung up by their toenails in the courthouse square. …

But they won’t. Maniscalco back to the line, shooting for the first 30-point game of his career. Last Bradley 30-pointer was Daniel Ruffin at Creighton in 2008. Maniscalco makes both and has 31. …

Game over. Just waiting for the buzzer. …

Defense was outstanding in the second half. Maniscalco was better than outstanding. He comes out o the game at 1:51 and gets a standing O from the BU faithful. …

BU band and few students are chanting: “Season’s over!” to the Jays.

Final score — Bradley 81, Creighton 62

Sorry, folks. No live blog today. I didn’t make the trip to Omaha, and Dave Reynolds is on his own (pray that he finds the Qwest Center). No live TV in P-City, either. Besides, Bradley already is locked into the 4-5 game at the Valley tournament next week, so the biggest things at stake today for the Braves are:

- assuring an overall winning with a victory, or leaving .500 in play with a loss,

- assuring a winning Valley record with a victory, or going .500 with a loss,

- breaking an 11-year losing streak in Omaha with Jim Les’s first win there,

- and having an impact on who they’ll play in the first round of the MVC tournament.

I did participate yesterday in another Q&A with the White & Blue Review, a Website that covers the Creighton Bluejays.

Enjoy the game and see you at Arch Madness.

With just one game remaining in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season, there are still multiple scenarios determining who Bradley’s opponent will be in the 4-5 game of the Valley tournament next Friday afternoon.

First, here are Saturday’s final regular-season matchups:

Southern Illinois at  Wichita State

Missouri State at Indiana State

Bradley at Creighton

Evansville at Drake

Illinois State at UNI

Here are the scenarios for the 4-5 game, according to MVC tiebreaker guru Mike Kern:

If Creighton beats Bradley on Saturday, then those two teams will have a rematch in the tournament six days later.

Creighton could also be the Braves’ opponent if BU wins along with Evansville, Northern Iowa and Indiana State.

Missouri State plays BU if BU wins and Missouri State wins.

Indiana State plays BU if Bradley, Drake and Indiana State win or if Bradley, Evansville, Illinois State and Indiana State win.

For what it’s worth, I cannot ever remember a season with this many possibilities entering the final game. Parity rules in the Valley this year.

Courtside at Carver Arena, for Bradley Braves Senior Night and the departure of six-year man Sam Singh.

Or, as they allegedly call Singh in Wichita: “Chief.” Kinda like the gentle giant in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall revealed that nickname for Singh today when he spoke at the BU luncheon. Marshall explained to BU coach Jim Les they call Singh Chief “because he’s been there long enough take over when you leave.”

Marshall spoke about how watching Bradley (and of course Wichita State) reach the Sweet 16 in 2006 alerted him to the quality in the Missouri Valley. A year later, the Shox came calling, and Marshall accepted the job there as head coach, leaving Winthrop, which he had built into a low-DI power with seven trips to the NCAA tournament. He noted the luncheon crowd, which has been smaller than years past but still nice, and told the fans: “You have a special, special program. It’s not like this everywhere. Trust me, not even close.”

We’re about 10 minutes till anthem time, and they’re conducting Senior Night ceremonies for the BU old guys: Singh, Chris Roberts and Ryan Phillips, along with manager Michael Peplow. Singh in particular gets a nice ovation from the crowd. Gotta hand it to a guy who puts up with all those injuries and the attendant rehabs for six years as a role player. Of course, being a perennial college student ain’t a bad gig if you can get it.

The refs tonight are Tom O’Neill, David Hall and Steve Skiles.

Bradley will start the same lineup as the one that tipped off Saturday’s victory over Drexel: Sam Maniscalco, Andrew Warren, Chris Roberts, Dyricus Simms-Edwards and Will Egolf. That means Taylor Brown will watch at least for a while. No word on whether his suspension continues, but he is in uniform. The Shox will start Aaron Ellis, Clevin Hannah, Graham Hatch, Toure’ Murry and J.T. Durley. They’re missing David Kyles, who is likely done for the season with a broken hand. And Marshall said at the luncheon that big man Gabe Blair, who has a bruised thigh, won’t play either. Blair is not in uniform.

The stakes: A win by Bradley clinches at least sixth in the MVC and keeps the Braves out of the play-in game of the Valley tournament. A win by Wichita State clinches second place for the Shox and leaves Bradley with work to do.

Video running. Music playing. People clapping. Kids ringing the floor to slap fives with the Braves’ starters upon lineup introductions. Almost ready to roll. …

PA man Paul Herzog intros Egolf, then says, “The four guards from Bradley …” That’ll make some people ballistic. There’s some severe dislike for the four-guard set out there. Hey, I say you go with what works. Four guards can work, if they’re the right guards and the right big man. BU was pretty successful with that in 2006-07; would have been moreso with just one good big as a sub, and that was simply a tough break. Now, whether this set works against a physical bunch like Wichita State, we’ll soon see. Here comes tipoff. …

First play, backdoor lob from Maniscalco to Roberts for the two-hand dunk. Nicely done. … BU second possession runs clock against stiff defense, but Maniscalco gets fouled on a floater in the lane as the clock winds down. I love watching Maniscalco get antsy on his free throws. He leans, leans, dances, while the ball is in flight. Never stands still. And he makes both. … Both teams already switching up defenses, zone to man, in the opening three minutes. BU struggles to get inside the Shox zone, but exploits the man immediately for Egolf, who gets fouled and converts both FTs. … Now Maniscalco 3s in transition and BU is up 9-2. … Now Warren 3s and BU is up 12-2. Excellent start. …

Timeout at 15:45 — Bradley 12, Wichita State 2

Of course, I would be remiss not to remind you that too many Bradley hot starts at home this year have turned into meltdowns and losses at the end. We have a long way to go. …

Shox really struggling offensively. No rhythm at all. … Now Roberts becomes the third Brave to 3. … Shox get a runout, but Hatch forgets to dribble and runs three-and-half steps en route to the layup, which gets wiped out by the traveling call. … Brown enters the game, along with Jake Eastman. … Marshall is going to be an unhappy dude pretty quick. Shox just whistled for their fifth foul, and BU has zero. … He’s working it as his team gives Warren a layup through the middle of the halfcourt defense. … Now Singh in for Egolf. Only Maniscalco and Warren haven’t sat yet. … Now Shox foul No. 6 against BU’s 0 and we’re more than seven minutes in. … Nice hustle by Brown, who holds off his man in transition, falls down under the basket while blocking out, then springs back up in time to block a post shot — from behind primary defender Singh — by Garrett Stutz. …

Timeout at 11:46 — Bradley 17, Wichita State 6

With the clock stopped, it’s a good time to wish longtime timekeeper Gary Scudder all the best as he handles his final Bradley game tonight. Gary has been a fixture on the Bradley scorer’s table since 1968, when he started doing BU freshman games at Robertson Field House. Yes, young-uns, all schools used to have freshman teams. …

Singh scores on a jumper from the elbow. BU clicking all over right now. Good Bradley has shown up tonight. Will Good Bradley stick around for the finish? … Brown gets BU’s first foul. … Hannah gets his second foul, guarding Maniscalco on a 3-pointer, and now Marshall has a dilemma. He’s leaving his PG in the game in a tough matchup, and after Maniscalco’s FTs, BU leads by 16. … Brown rains a 3, and Marshall calls a timeout. Braves up 25-6. …

Shox on a mini-run now, thanks to a couple of BU misses, a lousy pass for a turnover, and the Shox converting. …

Timeout at 7:43 — Bradley 25, Wichita State 12

Bradley continues to make FTs: 9-for-9. … Shox cut the lead to 10 as BU goes soft in the halfcourt, then turnover, runout and 3-pointer in transition. … Now to single digits on Stutz FTs. … Warren stems the tide with a 3. … But too-easy backdoor for the Shockers — or “Shocks.” I was just castigated by Wichita Eagle beat reporter Paul Suellentrop for my “Shox.” He wasn’t buying my excuse that such shorthanded crap is allowed on a blog. … So, no more “X.” Thank God, BU fans might say. Last they saw the X-Man, Xavier McDaniel, he grabbed 23 rebounds on the Braves. In one game. … Meanwhile, BU runs its lead back to 15. …

Timeout at 3:16 — Bradley 36, Wichita State 21

Marshall, btw, is in blue pinstripes. Lookin’ snappy. He wasn’t wrong at lunch today when he noted that he and Les are the best-dressed coaches in the league. But he noted to Les: “It’s hard for me. You got all that NBA money stashed away.” …

Bradley turns it over while running clock on last possession, but Shocks (happy, Paul?) can’t capitalize.

Halftime — Bradley 39, Wichita State 27

Pretty good half. Bradley needs one at least as good in the second to win this, because I have a feeling Wichita State will play much better. …

Scudder gets a certificate of appreciation at halfcourt during a ceremony, and is joined by his family. I’ll applaud that — to heck with rules about no cheering on press row. …

And I must confess a professional rooting interest in the outcome of this game. I want Bradley to clinch a top-six seed, because covering games on the opening night of the Valley tournament makes for a massively long day and weekend. I’d rather work all day, skip the play-in games and have one decent dinner. …

Halftime contest tonight is a shootout between winners of halftime shootouts at BU women’s games all year. They start at the free-throw line, then back up each time someone makes a shot. Winner is the person who sinks the longest. Three quick makes, and they’re already shooting from halfcourt. Finally, the last contestant gets his first shot. Now, they can just give it the ol’ heave-ho. … D.J. Piehowski of the Bradley Scout swishes from halfcourt! Back it up some more. He’s counting down. And … we … have … a … winner! Five hundred buckeroos to D.J., who loses his eligibility as soon as he cashes the check. …

Halftime stats include … BU shooting 59.7 percent and Wichita State 38.5.  Bradley leads the boards 14-12. Shocks lead in the paint 12-10, Bradley leads both second-chance points and fast-break points 5-2. Shocks lead 9-8 off turnovers. All those indicators would point toward a closer game than what we see, which is why I expect this one to tighten up. the differences are BU his 6-of-10 from 3 Land, compared to 3-of-12 by the Shocks, and BU has made 11 of 13 FTs to the Shocks’ 4-of-4. …

Second half coming up …

Maniscalco a long guarded 3 to open the half. … And another from the corner. Sammy is hot hot hot. … Shocks battle underneath for third-chance putback. … And Maniscalco hits another 3 with a man in his face. He is feeling it. Never seen him quite like this. He’s not even conscious of the defender being on him. … Now Maniscalco hits Brown with a touchdown bomb, OB to under the BU basket for a dunk. Terrific play. Caught the Shocks napping big time. … But the Shocks aren’t going away. BU’s defense is pretty porous. …

Timeout at 15:35 — Bradley 50, Wichita State 41

Durley gets called for an intentional foul of Roberts, driving the paint. … The Shocks are finally crashing the boards, and they own the paint right now. Also, four second-chance points to start the half. Bradley needs to turn up its physicality or this could turn quick. …

And we have another contest winner: Wings for the house as a student hits the layup, the 3 and the halfcourt shot. …

Roberts splits his FTs. … Then Maniscalco to Roberts for the lob-and-dunk again. … Non-plussed, Hatch hits a 3 for Wichita State, and then Egolf scores inside for BU. Defense takes a holiday. … Brown gets his third foul, trying to stop Ellis inside at 13:45. Ellis splits his FTs, but Stutz rebounds, only to lose possession when he brings the ball down to his waist and gets tied up. … Egolf gets his third at 12:59, and Bradley is flirting with some serious trouble with its two most active rebounders in foul trouble. … Hatch hits a 3 and the margin is seven points. … Maniscalco launches a fast and very long 3 and misses, and Hatch buries one, cutting the margin to four. …

Timeout at 11:38 — Bradley 57, Wichita State 53

Out of the timeout, Brown scores for a temporary reprieve from the onslaught. … And now Singh leans on Stutz in the post, and Stutz gets called for traveling as he tries buck off the Chief. … Stutz called for goal-tending, tapping a Brown shot off the rim, and BU back up by eight. But still 10 minutes to play. … Now Stutz and Singh get called for fouling each other. … Stutz picks up another foul, his third, elbowing Egolf in the post. … Bradley needs to respond positively to this physicality. … DSE drives for a layup in traffic and the margin is back to 10 points … for all of about 10 seconds. 3-pointer by Demetric Williams and a BU turnover and Egolf’s fourth foul, and two FTs by Hannah and it’s five. … Shocks’ press giving BU some trouble. … Braves shots not falling, Shocks are. … Now a runout, Murry scores and is fouled by Singh …

Timeout at 6:17 — Bradley 65, Wichita State 63

Not looking good for BU, which has been creamed on the boards in the second half, 15-4. … Murry FT makes it a one-point game. … Airball by Roberts and a shot-clock violation by Bradley at 5:41. … And Hannah gives teh Shocks their first lead on a layup in traffic. … Warren dribbles the ball off his foot and OB, and the natives are restless. … Another rebound, another offensive rebound, for the Shocks, and Singh gets his fourth foul to put Durley at the line. He misses. … Ugly, ugly, ugly. … Simms-Edwards drives and gets fouled and makes his throws to regain the lead. At least somebody has some moxie. … Durley steps out and hits an 18-footer over Singh after BU finally D’d up, but Singh misses underneath for the Braves. … Inside four minutes, Shocks ball, and they lead by a point. …

And another ORB by Durley and a putback for three-point bulge. … DSE steps up with a big 3 vs. the shot clock and the crowd loves that. Tie game because the freshman has guts. … Now Durley double-dribbles in the post. …

Timeout at 2:15 — Bradley 70, Wichita State 70

Maniscalco a missed 3 and we’re inside 2 minutes. … Murry does likewise, and BU has the ball back. … Warren passes up a shot in the lane and winds up hitting a 3 from the corner just before the clock expires. … Hannah hits a 3 to tie and  WSU calls a timeout at :44.1. …

DSE drives and misses a pullup at 20 seconds, and Wichita rebounds, calls timeout at :14.1. …

Hatch throws the inbounds long, and Hannah slips trying to get free from Maniscalco, who picks up the loose ball, drives and is fouled at the bucket by Hannah. Maniscalco makes both. … BU leads by two with 11.7 to play. … Shocks call timeout. …

Under pressure from DSE, Murry launches an airball 3, which Durley rebounds behind the basket but can’t get a look before the buzzer.

Final score — Bradley 75, Wichita State 73

Plant a big sloppy wet one on Dyricus Simms-Edwards, BU fans.