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Bradley vs. Lewis - Don't take Division II teams lightly
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Lewis University Flyers vs. Bradley Braves - Sunday, November 8 at 2:05pm CST
Forgive me if I choose to ignore the words “Division II” associated with Lewis University. When young men don the uniform of their school in competition against a Division I opponent, they don’t see the supposed difference in ability. They block out the notion that they weren’t good enough to play at the top level of amateur basketball in the nation. They won’t believe that they should lose the game.
The five men across from them put their shorts on one leg at a time. Just like them.
The “Any Given Sunday” theory of the NFL applies not only to pigskin, but to any meeting of competition between two groups of beings from the same species, regardless of pedigree or scouting reports. Historically, this presumption of superiority on paper leads to some electric sports moments that send emotional chills down the spines of even the most hardened fans.
Where were you when the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team “shocked the world” with their upset of the Russians? Or when the Jim Valvano-led NC State Wolfpack stunned Houston in 1993 on a last-second alley-oop? Harry Truman defeating Thomas Dewey… Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson… New York Jets stunning the Baltimore Colts… upsets can and will happen without discrimination, at any moment in time. 
There has been a recent rash of so-called “major upsets” inter-divisionally in college sports, most notably the Division I-AA Appalachian State Mountaineers’ victory over the vaunted Michigan football team in Ann Arbor. However, most media outlets overlook the fact that the gap that separates those schools with television contracts and those with 35-year-old busses is narrowing rapidly.
This theory of borderline divisional equality (which sounds a bit oxymoronic) was most freshly evident by the performance of the Lewis University Flyers last week against Notre Dame on the hardwood. During a presumably meaningless exhibition game, Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey was forced to play stars Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson more than 35 minutes each to escape with an inconsequential victory. And while the goal of the exhibition season isn’t to wear out potential All-Americans before the standings become relevant, the Irish proved that most Division I schools aren’t willing to swallow their pride by falling defeat to a “lesser” school to help their legs stay fresh into March.
So what is the function of this nonsensical drivel? Lewis invades Peoria on Sunday for an exhibition
battle against the Braves. And while I’m confident that Coach Jim Les isn’t pushing Lewis aside like I did of the direction booklet on my newborn son’s portable playard, if the battle at Carver Arena is anything like the Flyers/Fighting Irish standoff, the Braves will be tested by a well-coached, nothing-to-lose bunch that gave Notre Dame and AP Player of the Year and All-American Luke Harangody everything they could handle for 30 minutes.
So don’t judge me if I choose to look at the Lewis University Flyers as a basketball team, and not just a Division II speed bump on the road to the regular season.
Prediction: Chris Roberts goes for 22 points against an overmatched Lewis backcourt corps, and the Braves emerge victorious 80-63. Book it.
To view the official game notes from BradleyBraves.com, click here.
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