Bradley Successful Sustainability

One-on-One with Brian Wardle

(St. Louis, MO) – Bradley is on the verge of attaining its third-straight, twenty-win season. Creating successful sustainability is one of coach Brian Wardle’s goals and achievements. When Bradley captures that victory it will also be the program’s sixth twenty-win season over the past eight seasons.

Wednesday the Braves (19-6, 10-4) host Southern Illinois (12-13, 7-7) as part of the MVC Game of the Week double-header. Tip time is set for 6 pm (Central) and can be seen on your local Gray Media television stations and on Matrix Midwest in St. Louis. Game two sees Drake visit Illinois State.

This will be the 110th meeting between the two Illinois rivals. Bradley leads the series 59-50 and the Braves have won the last five head-to-head meetings, including their December game in Carbondale. Bradley’s Zek Montgomery scored 22 points and the Braves prevailed 83-60.

Southern Illinois has won seven of its last nine games and Bradley just snapped a rare, three-game losing streak.

Wardle has been vocal that his team hadn’t been practicing well, but feels like his team has turned a corner on that front. He says the Bradley seniors are taking more leadership during this season closing push.

Here is my entire conversation with Bradley head coach Brian Wardle.

The Valley’s top-four teams receive an Arch Madness first round bye. Bradley is currently tied for second place with Northern Iowa and Belmont is one game back at 9-5. SIU, Illinois State and Illinois Chicago are two games further back at 7-7.

Bradley ranks 83rd in the NET and 95th at KenPom. SIU is comes in at 183 in the NET and 176 at kenpom.com.

Go here to see our conversation with SIU’s Scott Nagy.

Successful sustainability is what all Valley programs are pursuing and Brian Wardle and the Braves seemed to have found it.

Do Good

 

Editor: Cover photo of Zek Montgomery, courtesy of bradleybraves.com.