The No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament is at stake when Northern Iowa visits Bradley today. This is the final game of the regular season for both teams, and they’re tied for second in the MVC. Drake has locked up the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed.
Regardless of who wins, both UNI and Bradley will receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The top four teams are already secured — Drake, UNI, Bradley, and Belmont — and none will have to play until the quarterfinals.
Bradley (23-7, 14-5) has won five of its last six and is coming off an 11-point win over Valparaiso. UNI (20-10, 14-5) nearly went unbeaten in February but lost in overtime to Drake last Sunday. It was their first loss since they lost on Jan. 29 to … Drake.
UNI won 83-69 when these teams met in early February, and led by as much as 30 late in the second half.
Northern Iowa at Bradley Odds
Bradley is a 3.5-point college basketball odds favorite on BetMGM against Northern Iowa while the Over/Under is at 141.5 points.
The Moneyline for Northern Iowa is at +135 and at -165 for Bradley.
Northern Iowa at Bradley On TV
The matchup between Northern Iowa and Bradley will be televised on ESPN2.
Today’s game tips off at 2 p.m. ET.
Northern Iowa at Bradley Prediction
I predict Bradley covers the 3.5-point spread. I also predict for this game to go under 141.5 points.
The Braves’ offense features a ton of ball screens and plenty of opportunities for open 3s. UNI struggles against screen-heavy opponents and I expect Bradley to have no issues finding open looks from the outside. The Panthers allow opponents to shoot 36.5% from the arc in league play, which is the fourth-worst mark in the conference. Bradley is the top 3-point shooting team in the Valley (40.9%).
Despite its struggles guarding the 3-point line, UNI is still one of the top defenses in the conference. Per KenPom, UNI’s defensive adjusted efficiency of 102.4 in conference games ranks second, while their defensive effective field-goal percentage of 51.2% is third-best.
Bradley has one of the better defenses in the league, as well. The Braves’ defensive effective field-goal percentage of 48.6% is second-best and their DAE of 104.3 is fourth-best in the MVC.
Six-foot-6 senior Tytan Anderson will likely create some problems for the Braves’ defense, however. Anderson nearly posted a double-double in the previous meeting and leads the Panthers with 15.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He’s scored in double-figures in six straight.
UNI likes to play through center Jacob Hutson, who averages 12.2 PPG. Trey Campbell (11.6 PPG) and Ben Schwieger (10.2) also average double-digits.
Bradley’s leading scorer and point guard Duke Deen only had two points in the last meeting and was 1-for-11 from the field. He averages 14.3 PPG and shoots 41% from the perimeter. I expect him to perform much better this time around. Zek Montgomery scores 12.6 PPG for the Braves while Darius Hannah chips in with 12.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG. Bradley averages 78.4 PPG and UNI averages 74.5.
It’s not often that a team is swept in conference play by a team of a similar caliber, and I don’t expect that to happen to the Braves here.
UNI is 3-4 against the spread as an underdog and Bradley is 11-12-1 as a favorite. The over is 4-8 when the Panthers are on the road and 8-7 when the Braves are at home.
