Tonight at 8:30, Bradley will play Drake in an opening round game of the MVC Championship Tournament. As the Peoria Journal-Star's Dave Reynolds points out, Bradley faces an uphill battle in its attempt to win the tournament and the MVC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Bradley has its work cut out for itself as no team has made it from the Opening Round to the Championship game.
This is the third game of the season between the two schools. In the regular season finale this past Saturday in Peoria, Bradley crushed the Bulldogs 90-64. Bradley shot 63 % in the game, which was one of the Braves' best offensive performances in years.
Will Bradley win? I think so. By 26? Probably not. As Drake coach Mark Phelps mentioned, the game will take place on a neutral court so that will somewhat level the playing field. Also, I don't think that Bradley can shoot as well as they did on Saturday. However, I don't think Drake can stop Andrew Warren. If they set up double- and triple teams on Warren, I don't think the Bulldogs can stop Bradley from exploiting the paint area with their slashing guards and their bigs. It would be great if Bradley could build a big lead and take out the starters, as the Braves play again tomorrow (if they win), and have three possible games in the next three days. This game will be a lot closer.
Prediction:
Bradley 68, Drake 60
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