Bradley’s momentum following back-to-back quality Missouri Valley Conference wins was halted Wednesday when the Braves fell to a pesky Valparaiso team. The Braves (18-10, 11-6) knocked off league-leading Belmont and then defeated Southern Illinois on the road before that loss.
Now with three games remaining until Arch Madness, the Braves are tied for second in the conference standings with UIC, who they visit on Tuesday. The top three seeds in the league tournament are rewarded with a first-round bye.
RELATED: College Basketball Odds to Win the 2026 National Championship
Illinois State (18-10, 10-7) has been without its top player, Chase Walker, for its last two outings. Walker suffered a hamstring injury Feb. 12 and has been sidelined since. I imagine he’ll be held out until the conference tourney.
Regardless, the Redbirds still picked up a big-time 78-61 win over Murray State in their last game. I thought ISU would struggle against the Racers without its big man. I was wrong. We’ll see if his absence has a larger impact in this contest.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
Illinois State at Bradley Odds
As of this writing, Bradley is a 3.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM against Illinois State, while the Over/Under is at 144.5.
The Moneyline for Bradley is -170 and +145 for ISU.
Illinois State at Bradley on TV
The matchup between Illinois State and Bradley will be televised on ESPN2.
Tonight’s game tips off at 8 p.m. ET.
Illinois State at Bradley Prediction
I predict Bradley covers the 3.5-point spread. I also predict this game goes over 144.5 points.
Last time these teams met, the Redbirds held the Braves to 62 points and kept Bradley guard Jaquan “Bully” Johnson to just 10 points and 2-for-10 from the field. I don’t think that will happen again today.
The 5-foot-10 Johnson is a two-way impact player, and his 16.9 points per game are the second most in the league, while his 2.7 steals per game are the most. He also dishes out 3.5 assists and grabs 4.1 rebounds per game.
Illinois State has one of the top defenses in the conference and is only allowing 68.1 PPG in league games. Its 48.4% allowed on two-point attempts is also the best in the conference. A big reason for this, though, is the interior presence of Walker.
Without him, I think the Braves can get into the paint more, which will open up opportunities from 3-point range. The Braves want to shoot the ball from the outside and have the second-most 3-point attempts in the league. They’re knocking them down at a 38.1% clip.
Alex Huibregtse’s 43.9% from 3 leads the conference, and he is averaging 12.4 PPG. The Braves are averaging 77.9 PPG and have an adjusted offensive efficiency of 111, which ranks third in the conference.
The Redbirds proved against Murray State that they can still be successful offensively without Walker. They got contributions all across the board, and I expect that to be the case again today against an average Bradley defense.
There are still a handful of guys that can score for ISU, and they should be able to space out the floor well enough to get into the paint where the Braves don’t have a great rim protector.
Johnny Kinziger will navigate the offense and averages 11.4 points and three assists per game. Ty’Reek Coleman scores 11 PPG, while Landon Wolf has made his presence felt lately and has scored in double-figures in five of the last six games. The Redbirds are averaging 76.4 PPG and shooting 47.1% from the field.
Even without its top player, ISU has the depth and balance to come away with a win, but I think the Braves find ways offensively to take advantage of Walker’s absence and get a key home victory.
