Northern Iowa vs Bradley Pick, Odds & Spread (Mar. 3)

• The Braves are laying 10.5 points in the Northern Iowa vs Bradley odds in quarterfinal action at the MVC Tournament on Friday
• Bradley closed the regular season with 10 straight victories
• Don’t miss the latest Northern Iowa vs Bradley odds below, plus predictions

Arch Madness continues on Friday with quarterfinal action. Top seeded Bradley will make its first appearance of this year’s MVC Tournament, as they square off with eight seed Northern Iowa.

The Panthers are fresh off a 75-62 victory over Illinois State in the first round, but oddsmakers don’t expect a cinderella run out of this group. The Braves have been pegged as the heavy chalk in the college basketball odds, as they look to continue their stellar form.

Northern Iowa vs Bradley Odds

Bradley is currently a 10.5 point favorite, in a contest with a total of 135.5. Tip-off is set for 1 pm ET at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO, with ESPN+ providing streaming coverage.

Odds as of March 2 at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Northern Iowa vs Bradley Betting Trends

The Braves are the tournament’s top seed narrowly edging out Drake. Bradley won the MVC Tournament and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament bracket in 2019 and 2020, but haven’t been back to March Madness since.

They’re coming off a 16-4 conference schedule, a game better than Drake, but it’s the Bulldogs not the Braves that opened as the tournament favorites. The MVC heavyweights are incredibly even matched, with less than two points separating one another in offensive, defensive and Net rating.

Drake boasts a slightly better offense, but Bradley is no slouch. The Braves rank second in the MVC in field goal percentage, and third in three-point efficiency.

🏆MVC Regular Season Champs🏆@BradleyUMBB clinch the Valley title and Our Prairie Farms Recovery Play of the Week‼️#ValleyHoops pic.twitter.com/sXNTFt4JOV

— MVC Basketball (@ValleyHoops) February 28, 2023

Any deficiencies Bradley might have on offense, are covered up by their defensive prowess. The Braves led the MVC in scoring defense and finished first in opponent field goal percentage, while ranking second versus threes.

That spells bad news for Northern Iowa, who were miserable down the stretch prior to their opening round win. Coming into the MVC Tournament, the Panthers had dropped eight of nine outings. That stretch includes an eight point loss to Bradley at home, after losing to them by 15 on the road earlier in the season.

Northern Iowa got 23 points from leading scorer Bowen Born in the tournament opener, and they’ll need another monster game from him to hang with the Braves. Born ranked fourth in the MVC in scoring this season, averaging 17.2 points per game.

Scoring hasn’t been an issue for the Panthers during their miserable run, but defense has been. Northern Iowa ranked eighth in the conference during the regular season in scoring defense, and coughed up at least 80 points in four of their past five contests entering Arch Madness.

Northern Iowa vs Bradley Prediction

Bradley tagged the Panthers for 77 points the last time they met and held Northern Iowa to an average of 61 points in their two matchups. The Braves defense should dominate this contest, just like they have in each of their past six victories.

Bradley has held five of those six opponents to 61 points or less, including number two seed Drake. Three of those opposing teams failed to exceed 54 points, and it’s hard to imagine the Panthers finding too much success in this game.

2023 Missouri Valley Tournament Opening Odds

The Braves have covered in eight straight outings overall, beating the spread by an average of nearly seven points per contest. Five of those victories have been by double-figures, while Bradley has posted 18 double-digit wins this season.

They’re 2-0 ATS against Northern Iowa, and the Panthers have been a gold mine to bet against. Northern Iowa is 2-7 against the spread in their last nine outings, losing three times by double-digits, all to teams that rank significantly lower than the Braves.

Pick: Bradley -10.5 (-110)