March Moments – Bradley’s 2006 Rise

Four Valley Teams Went Dancing

(St. Louis, MO) – 2006 was the greatest season in Missouri Valley Conference NCAA Tournament history. Bradley rode that tidal wave of success and into the Sweet Sixteen. Bradley’s 2006 rise was unexpected, unlikely and thoroughly exciting.

Recent Bradley success reminds hall-of-fame broadcaster Dave Snell of that 2006 team. The Braves finished the regular season with a middle-of-the-road 11-7 record, but Bradley’s 2006 rise began in St. Louis. Coach Jim Les’ team defeated perennial Arch Madness Champion Creighton and then knocked off regular season champion Wichita State.

Snell says the team had under achieved until Les changed his rotation and added J.J. Tauai to the starting line up.

 

 

Arch Madness was the coming out party for 7′ center Patrick O’Bryant. Bradley’s star player Marcellus Sommerville was the team’s headliner, while O’Bryant dominated on both ends of the floor. During BU’s semifinal win, he scored 17 points, grabbed ten rebounds and blocked five shots. Sommerville finished his Bradley career with 1,493 career points and enjoyed a very long professional career.

While O’Bryant who was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Snell says Sommerville was the team leader, best player and the answer to a trivia question.

 

 

Bradley’s 2006 Rise

After landing one of the last NCAA Tournament ‘at-large’ bids, the Braves joined Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Wichita State in the Big Dance. While SIU and UNI were eliminated in the opening round, the Shockers and Braves each reached the Sweet Sixteen (See our interview with WSU broadcaster Mike Kennedy for more on that Shocker success).

The Braves faced Kansas in the opening round. Despite being huge underdogs, as a 13 seeded team against a ‘blue-blood’ like Kansas, the Braves held their own. Sommerville connected on five, three-point baskets and finished with 21 points. Daniel Ruffin scored 11, Will Franklin added 14. Bradley scored the unlikely 77-73 victory in arguably the biggest upset victory in BU history.

Snell says it was thrill to announce and the result would have been highly unlikely earlier in the season.

 

 

Bradley drew fifth seeded Pittsburgh in the tournament’s second round and O’Bryant was a dominating force. The sophomore center scored 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Sommerville added 18 and Lawrence Wright contributed 14. BU won 72-66 and Bradely’s 2006 rise climbed to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Valley squad dropped an 80-64 decision to John Calipari’s Memphis Tigers. Les was charged with a technical, Sommerville scored 18 points while O’Bryant was held to eight points, he grabbed 14 rebounds.

O’Bryant had turned enough heads to become an NBA first-round draft pick that Spring. Snell says O’Bryant’s season hadn’t been that outstanding but two weekends in March made him a very wealthy man.

 

 

Follow the Leader

Snell says the 2006 Braves learned from the characteristics of their coach. He says Les was a lot like current coach Brian Wardle. He was an over achiever and the team picked up on his tenacity and work ethic.

 

 

The veteran broadcaster likes the progress of the current Braves team. They have won two straight Arch Madness trophies and many in Peoria believe the Braves can be even better next season.

 

 

Bradley’s 2006 rise was one for the history books and was the last time the Braves participated in the national tournament until the 2019 season and now they’ve qualified in back-to-back campaigns. Perhaps another Bradley rise is on the way.

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Editor: For our full interview with Dave Snell, head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts!