The Bradley Braves will take on the Northern Iowa Panthers in the first conference game of the season. Will Northern Iowa or Bradley continue their momentum tonight? Let’s see the NCAAB odds.
Northern Iowa Panthers vs. Bradley Braves
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 – 8:00 PM EST at Carver Arena
We’re betting on the first conference game of the year! In the MVC, Northern Iowa will take on Bradley in Peoria, IL at the Carver Arena. The Bradley Braves are just 2-5 on the season but are coming off a massive win against Maine, 71-39. That’s got to be a confidence booster, regardless of how bad Maine is going to be this season.
Bradley lost to South Dakota State, Howard, Colorado State, Brown, and Duquesne. Some of these games were winnable but they did have a tough schedule so far this year. Against Brown, Bradley lost by three, to Colorado State, Bradley lost by six and to Duquesne, Bradley lost by eight. All of those games were on a neutral court.
Foul shooting has been the biggest problem for Bradley. They’re shooting 56.2 percent from the line and teams are banging 81.2 percent of foul shots at the line against Bradley. That’s a huge difference and a reason why they’ve lost so many games. I don’t think either number is very sustainable and would like to believe that Bradley shoots better from the foul line on their home court.
The Braves are shooting 31.7 percent from deep and 48.2 percent from inside. These aren’t great numbers but not awful numbers either. Northern Iowa is allowing 55.1 percent inside and 35.8 percent from outside. And while Northern Iowa has been the best defensive rebounding team in the country, allowing just 15.7 percent of offensive rebounds, I think that’s more by chance than anything else.
Northern Iowa doesn’t have a single-player averaging more than 4.8 rebounds per game. They don’t have a Cockburn or a Sanogo or a Tshiebwe. While Northern Iowa does have more height, Bradley can still be effective don’t the offensive glass as the Braves have still brought down 34.4 percent offensive rebounds this season.
All season long Bradley has struggled with turnovers. The Braves are turning the ball over 22.5 percent of the time. However, the Panthers of Northern Iowa have only forced 10.9 percent of turnovers this season. If Bradley is able to get more shots up and extra second opportunities, the Braves will have success on the offensive end. 70 points is a magic number for Bradley and I’d like to think they can get there against Northern Iowa.
On the other hand, Bradley has held opponents to just 39.3 percent inside the paint this season. Northern Iowa has really struggled to get second-chance points, bringing down just 19.7 percent of opportunities, which is 347th in the nation. Inside, it’s going to be hard to score against Bradley as Northern Iowa also shoots just 43.3 percent inside the arc.
Of course, the Panthers love to shoot the three and have nailed 36.6 percent of them. That will likely stand true against Bradley but on those misses, there’s a good chance that only one of every five misses becomes an offensive rebound for a second chance.
Prediction
Bradley is going to get the easier buckets inside and fight for offensive rebounds while Northern Iowa is going to launch threes and go one-and-done when they miss. Also, Northern Iowa is very limited when it comes to depth. The Panthers are giving their bench just 24 percent of the minutes and the Braves have all the height advantage and more depth in this one.
For my NCAAB picks, I like Bradley +4.5 here against Northern Iowa in this conference game. Bradley’s better than a 2-5 record with one win against one of the worst D1 teams this season. They’ll prove that tonight. Let’s go, Bradley!
NCAAB Pick: Bradley +4.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
