ST. LOUIS — Bradley Basketball fans swarmed the city of St. Louis in preparation of the Braves’ title defense that begins Friday afternoon at Arch Madness.
Before the madness begins with the game against Southern Illinois University at 2:35 p.m. Friday, the Braves had a positive practice at the Enterprise Center.
The team was full effort up and down the court, and Head Coach Brian Wardle seemed to be pleased with what he saw from the team.
“It’s great to be back. We’re excited for another great postseason tournament in Arch Madness and excited for this team and this group. [We] have a nice energy and nice bounce about us, and we’re excited to compete at 2:30 tomorrow,” said Coach Wardle.
Most of the players on the team were a part of the MVC Championship team last season, when Bradley improbably went from being the fifth seed in the tournament to winning it all and punching their ticket to March Madness.
Among the players on the roster last season were seniors Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell. Both seniors spoke about what last year meant to them.
“The tournament last year was special,” said senior point guard Darrell Brown. “We fought through a lot of adversity with some comeback wins. It was a great run overall.”
“[Last year] gives us a lot of confidence going into this tournament. We’ve been here, so we have a lot of guys who are experienced and know how to win,” said senior guard Nate Kennell.
Bradley has played SIU twice this year and won both times. Coach Wardle discussed what to expect going up against an opponent for a third time in the same season.
“You just kind of tweak things, little details. It comes down to playing under the lights. It’s a different type of feel out there at a conference tournament. You got to go out there and perform. I think for both teams it’s going to come down to defensively who makes the least amount of mistakes, and you have to make big shots,” said Wardle.
SIU coach Bryan Mullins also gave his thoughts on what it means to play Bradley again this year.
“Obviously we have a tough opponent in Bradley. We’ve played them tough both times, and I think [the players] are really looking forward to this weekend. Right now it’s about us being us and playing the right way,” said Mullins.
Mullins continued to say that the Salukis need to put together a full 40 minutes of complete basketball, something they have not done against Bradley this year.
Both teams were enthusiastic ahead of their clash Friday afternoon, and the fans that made the trip to St. Louis are optimistic as well. Bradley finished the regular season with an 11-7 conference record, and the Salukis finished their conference season with a record of 10-8.
