PEORIA, Ill. – The Bradley Braves season will continue, with at least one more home game in front of the home crowd.
Bradley was announced as the 3-seed in the Dayton Region of the National Invitational Tournament Sunday night. They earned an “exempt bid” into the NIT, by virtue of being the highest remaining team in one of the 12 top conferences this season. The Missouri Valley is ranked 11th.
The Braves will host the North Alabama Lions of the A-SUN on Wednesday night at 7:00 P.M. at Carver Arena.
Bradley Head Coach Brian Wardle tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan Show”, with the NIT, you never know who you’re going to play.
“Literally last night when we found out, we were together as a team, had a little team dinner at my house…had a good time, found out who we were playing. We just print off their box score, stat sheet, read through it, watch a little five to ten minutes of film, get a feel for them, then the guys go home and go to bed,” Wardle says.
The Braves did have several practices over the weekend to stay sharp for the NIT. Wardle says he and his staff got right to work Sunday night preparing for the game with North Alabama.
Wardle confirms Seniors Darrius Hannah and Zek Montgomery have chosen not to play in the NIT.
“We have moved on, we’re really focused on our opponent, and getting this tournament locked in,” Wardle says.
The Lions finished their season with a 24-10 record overall, and a 14-4 mark in the A-SUN. Like Bradley, North Alabama lost in the title game of their conference tournament, losing to top seed Lipscomb.
The Lions are led by Jacari Lace, who averages 17.4 points per game.
This is Bradley’s 3rd straight trip to the NIT. Last season, the Braves defeated Loyola-Chicago at home before losing to Cincinnati. The year prior, Bradley lost to Wisconsin in the NIT opening round.
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