This super senior's experience means so much to Bradley basketball in the NIT
PEORIA — Ja'Shon Henry is a one-of-a-kind player for the Bradley Braves as they head into the NIT.
The departing fifth-year senior is the only player on the Braves roster who has appeared in a national postseason tournament game.
"The most important thing in an NCAA or NIT tournament game is to not let your confidence suffer," Henry said. "We are all here for a reason. Everything comes down to confidence and attention to detail."
The Braves face No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the opening round of the 2023 NIT on Tuesday night.
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Big Ten opponents are another thing Henry knows about. This will be the fourth time in his BU career he's faced one.
Henry was part of a 59-56 win over Penn State in the Cancun Challenge in 2018-19 as a freshman. He was on the floor that same season in the NCAA Tournament when Bradley lost 76-65 to Michigan State. And as a sophomore, he was in a 78-51 loss to Northwestern, where he produced four points and five rebounds in 21 minutes.
"It's a Power 5 school and they are big and physical," Henry said. "We feel like we're able to compete with a lot of programs from conferences like that. And this is a chance to show it."
Masterful Rienk
Bradley center Rienk Mast is anxious to get back on the floor and put the Braves' loss to Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game March 5 in the rearview mirror.
Mast had a career-high 30 points in the first round in St. Louis and went on to earn a spot on the Valley all-tournament team. But the first-team All-MVC selection was not happy with his other two games there, where he combined to score eight points.
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"I laid an egg in those two games," Mast said. "I have to own up to that. The NIT is a great stage to be on against some top teams. It's a chance to be seen nationally and we're excited to be in it."
Mast will have a key matchup in the paint against 7-foot Wisconsin center Steven Crowl.
Knocking off the rust factor
The Braves will have been parked for nine days by the time they tip off against Wisconsin late Tuesday night.They crammed film study and practice into an early work day Monday, then boarded a bus to Madison, Wis., and were gone by lunchtime.
"We haven't played in a while and we'll have to get rid of the rust quickly," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "That's a Big Ten team, really big and defensive. We'll have to stop their post scorers (Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl).
"That team looks better on film than their record shows."
Bradley at Wisconsin
When: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.
Watch: ESPN.
Listen: WMBD-AM 1470, FM 100.3
Records: Bradley, 25-9 (16-4), 1st in MVC. Wisconsin, 17-14 (9-11), 11th in Big 10.
All-time series: Bradley, 2-3.
Last meeting: Bradley L 66-43 on Nov. 25, 2011 in Chicago Invitational Challenge.
NET ranking: Bradley, No. 72. Wisconsin, No. 80.
KenPom ranking: Bradley, No. 86. Wisconsin, No. 76.
NIT seeding: Wisconsin, No.2.
Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle (8th season). Wisconsin, Greg Gard (8th season).
Players to watch: Bradley Braves: C Rienk Mast 13.8 ppg and 7.9 rpg, 35.9% from 3. He's an MVC first-team pick; F Malevy Leons 11.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg. MVC Defensive Player of the Year. First player in MVC history to reach 50 blocks and 50 steals in a season (52-52). Only player in NCAA Div.-I with 50+ blocks and steals and 200+ rebounds; F Ja'Shon Henry 9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 51st player in BU history to reach 1,000 career points; G Duke Deen 9.6 ppg, team-best 97a, 35.6% from 3. Wisconsin Badgers: 6-2 G Chucky Hepburn leads team in scoring (12.0 ppg), assists (89), steals (47) and shoots 42% from 3; 6-4 G Connor Essegian 11.9 ppg, 37.8% from 3; 6-9, 225-pound F Tyler Wahl 11.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg; 7-0, 250-pound C Steven Crowl 11.5 ppg, team-best 6.9 rpg.
Bravely Speaking: Bradley guard Ville Tahvanainen, who missed the MVC title game on March 5 with concussion symptoms, has been cleared and will play against Wisconsin. … Bradley won NIT championships in 1957, 1960, 1964 and 1982. … The Braves are making their 22nd NIT appearance, most in the 2023 field and third-most in tournament history. … Bradley's four NIT titles are the most among the 32 teams in the 2023 NIT field. … Pekin High School basketball and golf standout Justin Taphorn is a walk-on junior at Wisconsin. … The Braves could land some players and their coach on annual NABC awards lists this week. … BU center Rienk Mast is 13 points away from 1,000 career points. … Bradley and MVC Defensive Player of the Year Malevy Leons has 52 blocks this season. The entire Wisconsin team combined has 45. … If the Braves beat Wisconsin, they move on to face the winner of the Liberty-Villanova game in the second round on Saturday or Sunday.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley super senior Ja'Shon Henry leads the way in NIT vs Wisconsin
