The Bradley Braves will be at Redbird Arena to take on the Illinois State Redbirds in a Missouri Valley matchup. Action gets underway at 4:00 pm ET on Sunday, Feb. 14 and will air on ES3.
The Redbirds beat Evansville 70-60 on Thursday. Nick Banyard was the team’s high scorer with 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The Braves are coming off a 54-43 loss against Loyola Chicago on Wednesday. Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye led the game in scoring with 18 points.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Redbirds winning the first matchup 55-52. Despite the loss, Donte Thomas had a standout performance with 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and one block.
The Redbirds have gone 15-11 Straight Up (SU) and 12-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Illinois State has some room to improve after their below-average performances recently. In the last 10 games, Illinois State has only averaged 53.4 points per game compared to the 67.0 they’ve averaged on the season. Expect Illinois State to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Braves, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the nation with an average of 23.0 fouls per game.
In the other locker room, the Braves head into the game with records of 10-14 ATS and 4-22 SU. Offensively, the Braves have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 54.7 points per game by averaging 69.2 during that stretch.
In their previous meeting this season, Illinois State beat Bradley, moving its SU record against Bradley to 8-2 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. On the other hand, with a 6-4 record, Bradley has the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Illinois State held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings. Bradley never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – IllSt, ATS Winner – IllSt
Notes
Bradley averages 54.7 points per game, placing the team just 254th in the nation. Illinois State ranks 56th in points allowed, giving up 66.9 points per game.
The Illinois State Redbirds have a defensive rating of 98.9 (ranked 88th), while the Bradley Braves have an offensive rating of 82.3 (ranked 351st).
The Illinois State Redbirds average a field goal percentage of 40.9% this season. The Bradley Braves are a winless 0-15 when opponents have a FG% of 40.9% or greater.
On average, the Illinois State Redbirds attempt 21.0 three point field goals per game and the Bradley Braves attempt 18.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Illinois State is 9-7, while Bradley has a subpar record of 1-11.
Illinois State has forced an average turnover percentage of 20.9% this season. Bradley has an underachieving 3-17 record when its TO% is 20.9% or higher.
