It wasn’t an easy path for either team, but the top two seeds, Drake and Bradley, will meet for the MVC tournament title this afternoon.
Top-seeded Drake outlasted a gritty Belmont team in the semifinals after outscoring the Bruins 36-20 in the second half. Belmont made every offensive possession tough for the Bulldogs, but Bennett Stirtz and Co. were able to knock down enough shots and lock down defensively in the second half to reach their third consecutive MVC championship.
Bradley survived Valparaiso and its potential Cinderella run as the No. 11 seed. The Braves trailed at the half and struggled to contain All Wright, who finished with 24 points and knocked down more 3-pointers by himself than Bradley — the top 3-point shooting team in the country.
We don’t always see the top two teams in the league square off for the conference title, but I think it’s safe to say that’s what we’ll be treated with in this matchup.
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Bradley vs. Drake Odds
Drake is a 2.5-point college basketball odds favorite on BetMGM against Bradley while the Over/Under is at 119.5 points.
The Moneyline for Bradley is at +125 and -155 for Drake.
Bradley vs. Drake On TV
The matchup between Bradley and Drake will be televised on CBS.
Today’s game tips off at 2:10 p.m. ET.
Bradley vs. Drake Prediction
I predict Drake will barely pick up the win here. And I also predict this game to go over 119.5 points.
I originally picked the Bulldogs to win the title in the MVC tourney preview, and despite them not looking very good in the semis, I still think they find a way to win.
Drake has won ugly games all season long, and that’s what it did against Belmont. Nothing seemed to go the Bulldogs’ way in the first half, but coach Ben McCollum made some adjustments at the break and his squad came out and made the plays it needed to.
Southern Illinois and Belmont took similar approaches in their game plans against Drake — make everyone but Stirtz beat them. It didn’t entirely work, as Stirtz finished with 15 and 24 points. He needed to do much more against the Bruins than against SIU. No other player scored in double figures against Belmont.
If Drake’s supporting cast doesn’t step up today, I think the Bulldogs will be in trouble against Bradley. Their defense can keep them in the game like it typically does, but Bradley is too good of a team and will take advantage of empty possessions, which Drake had plenty of against Belmont.
I imagine the Braves will take that same defensive approach today but will have to do a better job against Stirtz than they did against Wright. The MVC Freshman of the Year was left open way too often while the Braves went under ball screens and allowed him open looks. They guarded him much better in the second half, however.
On the other side, it’ll be hard for Bradley to win if they shoot from the outside at the same rate they did against Valpo. The Braves were 5-for-16 (31.3%) from the arc, 9% lower than their country-leading 40.4%.
These teams split the season series with Bradley winning the most recent meeting, 61-59, on Feb. 16. It was one of Drake’s three losses this season. Bradley shot 41% from 3 in its win, but 25% from the outside in the loss to the Bulldogs.
Ultimately, I think this one will come down to how well the Braves shoot from 3 and how well they contain Stirtz. I think they’ll struggle in both areas and Drake will find a way to prevail like it has all season to win their third straight league tournament.
