'The real deal': Unbeaten Bradley drawing notice from national college basketball voices

Bradley is off to its best start in nearly 40 years and defeating some good teams while doing it — now college basketball experts across the nation are taking notice.

The Braves and coach Brian Wardle remained one of around two dozen unbeaten Division-I teams on Saturday night with a 79-70 victory over Vermont, the program's best start since the 1985-86 team began 9-0 four decades ago. The combined record of the teams defeated by BU is 27-4, not including the games vs. the Braves.

We took a spin around social media Saturday night to see what experts and fans were saying about the red-hot Braves, who are building an NCAA Tournament resume as it moves up to No. 1 in the Ratings Percentage Index and No. 77 in the KenPom rankings.

The accolades continued on Monday as Bradley grabbed a vote in The Associated Press poll (its first since 2006-07), four votes in the USA TODAY Sports coaches' poll and landed No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

The game: Bradley basketball stays perfect after winning big nonconference showdown with Vermont

What the experts were saying

"Bradley is now 6-0 with wins over UAB, Utah State, Tarleton State, Tulane, UTEP and Vermont," national analyst Jeff Goodman posted Saturday night on X.com. "Brian Wardle has done a terrific job even after losing a few key pieces."

John Fanta of Fox Sports called Bradley a "mid-major program to monitor" after the win over Vermont, pointing out the dynamic duo of Darius Hannah and Malevy Leons combining for 33 points and 13 rebounds in the home win.

"Three of Bradley's six wins have come over KenPom top-100 teams," Fanta wrote, "Brian Wardle is underrated."

The social media account Mid-Major Madness simply reposted the winning score and wrote "Bradley is the real deal."

Matt McClain, a former WMBD and WYZZ anchor, now an analyst for ESPN, pointed out the combined record for BU's opponents was 27-4, not counting the six games against the Braves.

McClain also highlighted the strength of the Missouri Valley Conference, which is 50-18 (.740) through Saturday's games. The league last season was 96-69 (.550) during the nonconference, according to McClain.

What the fans were saying

Bradley fan @DavidNordhielm reposted the Mid-Major Madness sentiment and added a simple hashtag, directed at the voters in The Associated Press weely poll: "#RankBradley," he wrote.

Another fan, @Connor_King39, agreed, saying with a 6-0 mark and three wins over top-100 teams, the Braves "better be getting votes."

What Baseball Hall of Famers are saying

Well, at least one. Chicago Cubs great and Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins was in the crowd Saturday night at Carver Arena, cheering on the Braves as they remained undefeated.

What's Jenkins doing in Peoria? The former MLB hurler has "friends who reside here and can be seen regularly at several local watering holes, usually after hunting or fishing trips," the Journal Star's Nick Vlahos wrote in 2018.

"Let's go (Bradley). I am in the house tonight," Jenkins wrote on X.com, along with a peace sign.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Twitter reacts to Bradley basketball unbeaten start, win over Vermont