Michigan State basketball vs. Bradley NCAA tournament tipoff: Matchup analysis, prediction
• What: No. 2-seed Michigan State vs. No. 15-seed Bradley, NCAA tournament, first round
• When: 2:45 p.m. Thursday
• Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
• TV/Radio: CBS/Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM; Sirius Ch. 135, XM 201
• Records: MSU is 28-6, having finished 14-4 in the Big Ten, winning the Big Ten championship and Big Ten tournament title. Bradley is 20-14 after finishing 9-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference championship and winning the MVC tourament title.
• Coaches: MSU — Tom Izzo is 602-231 in his 24th season as a head coach, all with the Spartans. Bradley — Brian Wardle is 153-139 in his ninth season as a head coach, including 58-74 in his fourth season with the Braves.
• Series: MSU leads 4-0 all-time, including a three-year series in the Izzo era, from 2006-2008.
Bradley
Pos. | Name | PPG |
F (10) | Elijah Childs (6-7) | 12.2 |
F (13) | Luke Van Bree (6-9) | 5.7 |
G (23) | Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (6-4) | 8.6 |
G (2) | Luqman Lundy (6-3) | 4.0 |
G (5) | Darrell Brown (5-10) | 14.7 |
MSU
Pos. | Name | PPG |
C (23) | Xavier Tillman (6-8) | 9.4 |
F (25) | Kenny Goins (6-7) | 8.3 |
G (11) | Aaron Henry (6-6) | 5.4 |
G (20) | Matt McQuaid (6-5) | 9.9 |
G (5) | Cassius Winston (6-0) | 18.9 |
• Bradley update: The Braves got here with three straight narrow victories in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after a 9-9 regular season in league play, which included an 0-5 start. Among their consistencies — defense. They led the MVC in field-goal percentage defense (.411) and were second in 3-point defense (.328). They’re also strong on the offensive glass. This Bradley team is known as a physical defensive squad that likes to get up and down the court, though their scores show that doesn’t always work. The Braves scored in the 50s (or less) eight times this season and scored in the 80s or above just four times. Bradley is a historically proud basketball program. It was a national power in the 1950s and had another good run in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and moments in the 1990s and 2000s, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2006.
• MSU update: The Spartans roll into the NCAA tournament having won five straight games and 10 of 11, including a three-game run at the Big Ten tournament last weekend. That finished with their third win over Michigan in 22 days. It came at a cost, however, with junior Kyle Ahrens being lost for the season with an ankle injury. The Spartans’ bench rotation now includes former starter Nick Ward and three freshmen: Gabe Brown, Thomas Kithier and Foster Loyer. This is MSU’s 22nd straight year making the NCAA tournament. That streak is the fourth-longest in college basketball history, behind ongoing streaks at Kansas (30) and Duke (24), and North Carolina’s 27-year run from 1975-2001. The Spartans haven’t advanced past the first weekend of the tournament since reaching the Final Four in 2015.
• About the matchup: Bradley wants to push the pace, screen hard and, as MSU assistant Dane Fife described it, use a lot of shot fakes: “They all shot-fake. Even the guys who don’t necessarily shoot.” The Spartans will have a size advantage, on the interior especially. Sophomore Elijah Childs is a nice post player at the mid-major level. He might become a big-time player in a year’s time. I think, at 6-7, he’ll find this matchup difficult. Point guard Darrell Brown makes the Braves go. He’s a strong kid who will let it fly. He’s small, but I think Matt McQuaid might wind up defending him, with Aaron Henry on the player described as a poor man’s McQuaid, 6-6 shooter Nate Kennell.
RELATED: Opposing Missouri Valley Conference coaches give the lowdown on MSU's opponent, Bradley
• Prediction: It’s not a good matchup for Bradley. Anything can happen in the NCAA tournament, but the Braves don’t seem to have the firepower or any real matchup advantages. Oddsmakers have the Spartans as 181/2-point favorites. That’s a big number, but I think MSU will win comfortably.
• Make it: MSU 79, Bradley 64
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Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.