Bradley vs. Michigan State Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
Only eight times has a No. 15 seed knocked off a No. 2 in the NCAA Tournament. That’s what Bradley attempts on Thursday when the Braves take on Big Ten champion Michigan State in East Region play from Des Moines, Iowa.
Bradley (15)vs. Michigan State (2) NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this East Region games faces either No. 7 Louisville or No. 10 Minnesota on Saturday. Sparty lost to the Cardinals in the regular season and beat the Gophers. Michigan State is +1400 at Sports Interaction to win the school’s third national title, while Bradley is +500000.
The last of those eight all-time No. 15 over No. 2 upsets came in 2016 when Middle Tennessee beat Michigan State 90-81. The Spartans also disappointed last year in the NCAA Tournament when they were a No. 3 seed and knocked off in the second round by No. 11 Syracuse. Sparty hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend since a run to the 2015 Final Four as a No. 7 seed. Bradley is in the NCAAs for the ninth time in school history but first since 2006. That team, a No. 13 seed, upset No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Pittsburgh to make the Sweet 16 before losing to Memphis.
It’s the first meeting between the Spartans and Braves since December 2008. MSU is 4-0 in the series all-time.
Bradley Braves
Bradley finished 9-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season, tied for fifth. The Braves won three close games in the conference tournament, earning the automatic bid with a 57-54 victory over Northern Iowa. Bradley was down 18 points with 17 minutes remaining in the game. It was Bradley’s first MVC Tournament title since 1988. Second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Darrell Brown leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and is an excellent three-point shooter in hitting 43.9 per cent from deep. The Braves have one player from Canada: Freshman guard Ja’Shon Henry is from Saskatoon. He averages 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in about 12 minutes per night. Bradley did play one Big Ten team this season, beating Penn State 59-56 in a Thanksgiving tournament in Cancun. Michigan State beat PSU 71-56. Bradley is 2-5 ATS in its past seven non-conference games.
Michigan State Spartans
Perhaps no team got a worse placement in the Big Dance than Michigan State. The Big Ten was clearly the best overall conference in the nation this season and sent eight schools to the NCAA Tournament, most of any conference. The Spartans won the regular-season and conference tournament titles and beat an excellent Michigan team three times for the first time ever. Yet, MSU was stuck as a No. 2 seed in the same region as overall betting favourite Duke. Michigan, meanwhile, got the much easier draw as a No. 2 in the West. Might have been better had MSU lost the Big Ten title game to Michigan. The Spartans did lose reserve Kyle Ahrens in that game to an ankle injury and his season is over. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per night. MSU is 1-5 ATS in its past six NCAA Tournament games.
