Check out our free Bradley vs Illinois State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Normal. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Bradley vs Illinois State Pick & Preview: Wednesday, February 8th Betting Odds
Braves vs Redbirds Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Bradley Braves at Illinois State Redbirds
- Where: Normal at Redbird Arena
- Date: Wednesday, February 8th
- Betting Odds: Bradley -7.5, BRADLY -354 | ILLST +268 O/U 132.5
Braves Preview:
The Bradley will take the floor in today’s game in the middle of a 4 game win streak and have an overall record of 17-8. On the road, the Braves will be playing their 11th game of the season, having gone 5-6. This season, Bradley has been favored to win in 17 games, sitting with a mark of 14-3. For today’s contest, Bradley has a betting line set -7.5 points in their favor.
Malevy Leons comes into today’s game as the Braves’ leading scorer at 11.84 points per contest. Not only has Leons been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Bradley’s top rebounder at 6.32 boards per contest. Behind Leons, the team has benefited from the strong play of Duke Deen, who is second on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. Overall, he has hit 40.4% of his shots and is adding 2.28 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Bradley this season, as they are currently ranked 224th in college basketball at 70.5 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Braves’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.8%, placing them 267th in the NCAA.
Redbirds Preview:
Illinois State will take the floor against the Braves with an overall record of 10-15. Currently, the Redbirds have been the home team 13 times, sitting with a record of 7-6. So far, the Redbirds have been the underdog 14 times, going 3-11 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +7.5 underdogs on the spread.
Illinois State’s leading scorer this season is Seneca Knight, who is averaging 11.4 points per contest. So far, Knight has accounted for 16.65% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 5.92 rebounds per game and 1.32 assists. Darius Burford is the second leading scorer for the Redbirds, averaging 11.83 points per game. Between him and Burford, they are accounting for 33.2% of the team’s scoring.
On offense, Illinois State comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 286th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Redbirds’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.2 points per game. So far, 36.91% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 36.4%.
Free Spread Prediction: Bradley Braves -7.5
If you are eying this matchup between Illinois State Redbirds and Bradley Braves as a candidate to place a bet, we have done the work for you and our model recommends taking Bradley to cover the spread as -7.5 favorites on the road. Although both team’s are going to look to get up shots from outside, we see Bradley shooting well enough to keep the Redbirds at bay. Before tip-off, lock in a bet on the Braves’ to win the game and cover the spread.
