[December 18, 2025] Indiana State (7-4) vs Bradley (7-4)

[BlueBleeder]

Yeah, I'm not a rah rah rah, we played hard and competed kind of guy. That gets you nothing in life.....can you be proud of your effort, sure, but if you're not giving everything you have when you play, why the hell are you here? So, giving your best effort should never be a question. We should have won this game. The players have to wear the piss poor start.....maybe the coaching too. I think it was mostly the players coming out a bit flat and not responding to the quick punch in the mouth, until we were down big early. We made some good adjustments and starting playing better, only to piss away the opportunities to win the game. I'll never back down off the unbelievably bad coaching decisions on player rotation, or lack there of, in the last 20 plus minutes of game time. You just can't leave your best rebounder and most athletic guy on the bench when we needed rebounds and his ability to rim run against an opponent with tired legs. Like you said, SSOM, a COACHING MALPRACTICE!!

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Like you said, SSOM, a COACHING MALPRACTICE!!

Also, just to be clear - a lot of people saying we were “out coached” and that’s probably fair. But it’s got nothing to do with bench usage - Bradley was in foul trouble throughout and forced to go deep into the bench. Once OT hit they fouled out 2 starters so they were cycling through players out of necessity - not because it was some coaching masterclass.

 

[sycamorebacker]

Well, win some, lose some.

 

[DyedBlue]

There wasn't much animation on the replay, must of been the magic word.

 

[DyedBlue]

Oops on that. Touched the keyboard and it posted. All of the Refs, off camera, had been warning Wardle to sit down and quit harassing them. He just wouldn't do it so I believe it was a cumulative effect "T" because he ignored the warnings.

 

[Huff77]

Also, just to be clear - a lot of people saying we were “out coached” and that’s probably fair. But it’s got nothing to do with bench usage - Bradley was in foul trouble throughout and forced to go deep into the bench. Once OT hit they fouled out 2 starters so they were cycling through players out of necessity - not because it was some coaching masterclass.

The move to zone though at the end was brilliant. We had wasted way to much clock before our timeout and then they dropped that on us with like 11 seconds...we were deer in the headlights. That being said, that's not the first time Wardle has done that to us in the past...graves said coaches know other team tendencies....clearly our coaches do not....or at least did not in that scenario

 

[Huff77]

Also ..I'm not encouraged...I want to be...but Bradley is mid pack. Belmont and illinois state are likely to pull away. If they don't, then I'll be encouraged.

 

[treeman]

Also, just to be clear - a lot of people saying we were “out coached” and that’s probably fair. But it’s got nothing to do with bench usage - Bradley was in foul trouble throughout and forced to go deep into the bench. Once OT hit they fouled out 2 starters so they were cycling through players out of necessity - not because it was some coaching masterclass.

Where I saw that we were outcoached was twice down the stretch (I think at the end of regulation and in at least 1 OT) there was a timeout and Wardle came out in a different defensive set and just totally threw the possession out of rhythm, that is huge in a 3 OT game. We seriously didn’t do 1 thing different for about 25 game minutes.

During I believe the 3rd OT the camera showed Vorst on the bench, I thought “oh good, Enel is finally in” (I didn’t think Vorst was playing bad but he was just gassed and we needed something else). Then they zoom out to the game and I see a line-up of Hall, Bruno, Camp, Boogie, and Scott. What the fuck is that line-up???? in game where we needed rim protection and rebounds we roll out that? Horrible

 

[DyedBlue]

The lack of OT substitution has been beaten to death and adequately commented upon
..............................................................Bradley................ISU
Players > 40 minutes.......................2........................4
Players >30 minutes........................5.......................5
Players >20 minutes.......................8.........................5...............Bradley used depth to end up with only two players above 40 minutes

Only Young at 16.5 minutes was "+" on +/- at +8. Alocen and ESB with similar minutes were 0.

Both teams should have been better at FT line. Both could have argued it lost the game at the line. ISU: 30/43 and BU 17/27
Bradley had been averaging -3 RBD Margin/game, but was +6 last night. That could be a quality of opposition affected number

One core group of ISU players played 18.5 minutes together and that included the closing minutes of regulation and essentially all of the three OT's. Since the final margin ballooned to 9 points, each of those 5 guys got hit with a -9 for the 3rd OT in the +/- calculation.

Player.....................Minutes............Rbds............A/TO............Pts.................+/-.............Comments
Scott........................49.......................12................2/2................24..................-17.................Incredible effort coming off illness. He was also credited with 3 blocks, but I counted at least 4
Vorst........................42.......................11................2/1................17..................-5...................By far most minutes he has ever seen; even came back from minor injury
Young.....................16.5....................1...................3/2...............2.......................+8..............2.1 PPM was highest by far for any ISU Player. His inconsistency can be maddening, BUT...
Wagner...................51.5...................6..................1/0................21....................-12...............+/- worsened by -9 in 3rd OT; #3 scored 8 quick points on him to open the game
Hall..........................44.......................5..................5/2................16.....................-11...............lost 9 pts in +/- in 3rd OT. Was probably only ISU player not visibly exhausted.
Alocen....................18.25................3....................2/1...............6.........................0..................2/7 from field BUT the team performs better when he is on the floor. Shut down #3
JVB..........................36.5....................0...................3/5................7......................-8..................+/- in 3rd OT was -9; Made big shot but 5 TO's is a lot
St. Bernard............17......................4....................0/1...............6.........................0................. As noted, conspicuous by his absence in 2nd half and OT
Bean.........................9 seconds......0....................0/0..............0.........................0.....................In the scorebook

Combinations Data:

Combination:...............................................................................Minutes.............PPM...............PPP............Combo +/-
JVB, Wagner, Scott, Hall, Vorst...............................................18.5....................1.57...............1.04................-12.........Last 3 minutes of regulation and 3 OT's essentially
Young, Wagner, Scott, Hall, Vorst..........................................12.25.................1.88...............1.18................+6.........Quite Effective same group with Young for JVB
Alocen, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Vorst..............................5.5......................2.78...............1.19................+5...........High Offensive output & +5
Alocen, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Scott.............................4.5......................1.75................0.86.................+1..........
Hall, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Scott....................................3.75..................1.3....................0.833.............-5............Not much offense
Hall, Young, Alocen, Vorst, Scott...........................................2.75.....................3.375.............2.08...............+3............First Half comeback group I think
Hall,Wagner, Alocen, JVB Scott..............................................1.75....................1.61................1.6..................+1............
Hall, Wagner,Alocen,Vorst. Scott..........................................1.5.........................0.......................0...................-6...........Devastating 1.5 minutes
Hall, Wagner, Young, St. Bernard, Scott..............................1.25.......................0.......................0....................-4...........Same for this 1.25 minutes
Alocen, WagnerJVB, Vorst, Scott...........................................1.25.........................0.876.............0.347............-4...........5 minutes of action and -14 on the scoreboard

 

[bigsportsfan]

The lack of OT substitution has been beaten to death and adequately commented upon
..............................................................Bradley................ISU
Players > 40 minutes.......................2........................4
Players >30 minutes........................5.......................5
Players >20 minutes.......................8.........................5...............Bradley used depth to end up with only two players above 40 minutes

Only Young at 16.5 minutes was "+" on +/- at +8. Alocen and ESB with similar minutes were 0.

Both teams should have been better at FT line. Both could have argued it lost the game at the line. ISU: 30/43 and BU 17/27
Bradley had been averaging -3 RBD Margin/game, but was +6 last night. That could be a quality of opposition affected number

One core group of ISU players played 18.5 minutes together and that included the closing minutes of regulation and essentially all of the three OT's. Since the final margin ballooned to 9 points, each of those 5 guys got hit with a -9 for the 3rd OT in the +/- calculation.

Player.....................Minutes............Rbds............A/TO............Pts.................+/-.............Comments
Scott........................49.......................12................2/2................24..................-17.................Incredible effort coming off illness. He was also credited with 3 blocks, but I counted at least 4
Vorst........................42.......................11................2/1................17..................-5...................By far most minutes he has ever seen; even came back from minor injury
Young.....................16.5....................1...................3/2...............2.......................+8..............2.1 PPM was highest by far for any ISU Player. His inconsistency can be maddening, BUT...
Wagner...................51.5...................6..................1/0................21....................-12...............+/- worsened by -9 in 3rd OT; #3 scored 8 quick points on him to open the game
Hall..........................44.......................5..................5/2................16.....................-11...............lost 9 pts in +/- in 3rd OT. Was probably only ISU player not visibly exhausted.
Alocen....................18.25................3....................2/1...............6.........................0..................2/7 from field BUT the team performs better when he is on the floor. Shut down #3
JVB..........................36.5....................0...................3/5................7......................-8..................+/- in 3rd OT was -9; Made big shot but 5 TO's is a lot
St. Bernard............17......................4....................0/1...............6.........................0................. As noted, conspicuous by his absence in 2nd half and OT
Bean.........................9 seconds......0....................0/0..............0.........................0.....................In the scorebook

Combinations Data:

Combination:...............................................................................Minutes.............PPM...............PPP............Combo +/-
JVB, Wagner, Scott, Hall, Vorst...............................................18.5....................1.57...............1.04................-12.........Last 3 minutes of regulation and 3 OT's essentially
Young, Wagner, Scott, Hall, Vorst..........................................12.25.................1.88...............1.18................+6.........Quite Effective same group with Young for JVB
Alocen, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Vorst..............................5.5......................2.78...............1.19................+5...........High Offensive output & +5
Alocen, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Scott.............................4.5......................1.75................0.86.................+1..........
Hall, JVB, Wagner, St. Bernard, Scott....................................3.75..................1.3....................0.833.............-5............Not much offense
Hall, Young, Alocen, Vorst, Scott...........................................2.75.....................3.375.............2.08...............+3............First Half comeback group I think
Hall,Wagner, Alocen, JVB Scott..............................................1.75....................1.61................1.6..................+1............
Hall, Wagner,Alocen,Vorst. Scott..........................................1.5.........................0.......................0...................-6...........Devastating 1.5 minutes
Hall, Wagner, Young, St. Bernard, Scott..............................1.25.......................0.......................0....................-4...........Same for this 1.25 minutes
Alocen, WagnerJVB, Vorst, Scott...........................................1.25.........................0.876.............0.347............-4...........5 minutes of action and -14 on the scoreboard

Wouldn't that be roughly .5 points per minute for Not-Sterling Young? Eight points divided by 16.5 minutes................ I'm confused. Two points per minute would be 33 points.

 

[EvilleSycamore]

I did not see the game. I see a lot about the coaching…. Who was “the coach” last night? Was Graves running the show or was it Slussinger again?

 

[Gotta Hav]

Well, win some, lose some.

These wise words are TRUE for MOST games, but this game is THE EXCEPTION. You HIT this dramatic 3/4 court length SHOT and play 3 OT's, you MUST WIN to create SYCAMORE LORE. If we win this game FANS will talk about it FOREVER and BRAG I was there when BUGGENHOUT hit THE SHOT and WE BEAT BRADLEY...but now, whatcha got...not much. The attached highlight reel includes THE SHOT, and the THREE OT's.

Highlights - ESPN Search

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www.espn.com

 

[RunSyc]

I did not see the game. I see a lot about the coaching…. Who was “the coach” last night? Was Graves running the show or was it Slussinger again?

Slussinger coached. Graves sat right behind the bench.

I arrived late; from my vantage point, looked like Graves had little to no in-game coaching responsibilities.

Glad he's following doctor orders, can't rush back before he's cleared.

 

[Huff77]

These wise words are TRUE for MOST games, but this game is THE EXCEPTION. You HIT this dramatic 3/4 court length SHOT and play 3 OT's, you MUST WIN to create SYCAMORE LORE. If we win this game FANS will talk about it FOREVER and BRAG I was there when BUGGENHOUT hit THE SHOT and WE BEAT BRADLEY...but now, whatcha got...not much. The attached highlight reel includes THE SHOT, and the THREE OT's.

Highlights - ESPN Search

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www.espn.com

I will say I lost my voice yelling at everyone in the concourse to get their a$$ back in their seat after the shot.

 

[ISUCC]

the game was on TV here in Indy, so was able to watch it until WNDY cut to Dateline in the first OT session

but did anyone else notice that JVB clearly stepped out of bounds on his last drive to the bucket to try to tie it when we were down 2? I can't believe the ref missed it, he was right there.

And did he travel before launching the game tying 3? Not that they should have called it, it just looked like he took extra steps.

 

[BlueBleeder]

the game was on TV here in Indy, so was able to watch it until WNDY cut to Dateline in the first OT session

but did anyone else notice that JVB clearly stepped out of bounds on his last drive to the bucket to try to tie it when we were down 2? I can't believe the ref missed it, he was right there.

And did he travel before launching the game tying 3? Not that they should have called it, it just looked like he took extra steps.

Oh he absolutely traveled before launching the buzzer beater. Glad they didnt call it, but ultimately it didn’t wouldn't have mattered if they did since we lost anyway.

 

[Huff77]

the game was on TV here in Indy, so was able to watch it until WNDY cut to Dateline in the first OT session

but did anyone else notice that JVB clearly stepped out of bounds on his last drive to the bucket to try to tie it when we were down 2? I can't believe the ref missed it, he was right there.

And did he travel before launching the game tying 3? Not that they should have called it, it just looked like he took extra steps.

Yes, stepped out....was forced out. Did it again in a later OT, also missed. And the travel, meh...what's a travel. Theres also the question of how do you catch turn dribble, take 3 steps and shoot from your hip in 1.2 seconds?

 

[IndyTreeFan]

Yes, stepped out....was forced out. Did it again in a later OT, also missed. And the travel, meh...what's a travel. Theres also the question of how do you catch turn dribble, take 3 steps and shoot from your hip in 1.2 seconds?

In our “Fundamentals of Coaching Basketball” class, Tates Locke told us (most of the people in that class wanted to be coaches, I was there for the entertainment value) that when you’re a coach, there’s two people in your gym that you need to be tight with - the official scorer and the official timekeeper. That’s how JVB did all that in 1.2 seconds.

 

[sycamorebacker]

the game was on TV here in Indy, so was able to watch it until WNDY cut to Dateline in the first OT session

but did anyone else notice that JVB clearly stepped out of bounds on his last drive to the bucket to try to tie it when we were down 2? I can't believe the ref missed it, he was right there.

And did he travel before launching the game tying 3? Not that they should have called it, it just looked like he took extra steps.

They don't call travel any more, or 3 seconds, or offensive fouls.

 

[sycamorebacker]

These wise words are TRUE for MOST games, but this game is THE EXCEPTION. You HIT this dramatic 3/4 court length SHOT and play 3 OT's, you MUST WIN to create SYCAMORE LORE. If we win this game FANS will talk about it FOREVER and BRAG I was there when BUGGENHOUT hit THE SHOT and WE BEAT BRADLEY...but now, whatcha got...not much. The attached highlight reel includes THE SHOT, and the THREE OT's.

Highlights - ESPN Search

Search for all players, teams, articles, events, videos and more.

www.espn.com

By definition, if the games are close you don't win all of them. Maybe we can get one back and win one we are supposed to lose.
Last night was a game that was decided by 1 rebound, 1 made shot or 1 TO. It's amazing how close a lot of games are.

Yes it would have been nice to be able to recall the victory. I remember being at Butler when we lost in 4 OT's. They are fun to watch but not fun to lose.