Bradley reaches Sweet 16

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – For years, Peoria has filled Illinois’ far-flung rosters with basketball talent.

Finally those players have a reason to start staying home at Bradley.

Two days after knocking out No. 4 seed Kansas out of the NCAA tournament, the 13th-seeded Braves bounced No. 5 Pittsburgh 72-66 on Sunday afternoon at the Palace.

Bradley advanced to a Sweet 16 matchup with top-seeded Memphis, the Braves’ first third-round appearance since 1955. It also makes them the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16 since No. 13 Oklahoma in 1999.

“Bradley basketball is back on the map in a big way,” said Bradley coach Jim Les, also one of the university’s greatest players.

Experts may call its two victories upsets, but Bradley (22-10) was the stronger team physically and mentally each time.

Instead of living off Friday’s Kansas thriller, the Braves came back Sunday with intense focus. They held Pittsburgh without a field goal for the first 8:13, building a 10-2 lead.

The Panthers (25-8), fresh off the best-shooting game in school history, missed their first seven shots and grew increasingly frustrated.

When they eventually took a lead a few minutes into the second half, the momentum turned for the final time after a technical foul. Pitt center Aaron Gray was called for a turnover, felt the call was unwarranted and spiked the ball. At the time, Pitt led 35-34. Bradley seized on the moment, exploding with a 19-4 run to lead 53-39 and never trail again.

“That showed we were starting to frustrate them a lot,” Bradley center Patrick O’Bryant said. “They may have gotten a call or two that didn’t go their way and that just made them more mad. He did that out of frustration and we took advantage of it.”