Northern Iowa Panthers (3-7) vs Bradley Braves (6-4)
Game Info: Monday, January 11, 2021 at 8:00 pm (McLeod Center)
Betting Odds: Northern Iowa Panthers -2 -- Over/Under: 138.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
Where to Watch: ESPN+ Stream College Basketball all season on ESPN+. Sign up now!
Bradley faces Northern Iowa on Monday, January 11th at McLeod Center for an NCAA basketball MVC matchup.
Bradley and Northern Iowa will be playing in game two of a back-to-back in conference play on Monday. Game one was played on Sunday afternoon and the final score of that game was 78-72 in favor of Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa and Bradley were tied at 36 apiece at halftime, and the game remained close until the very end. Northern Iowa was finally able to find some breathing room and earned the six-point conference victory, a very much-needed one. Bradley as a team shot 41% from the field and 38.5% from the three-point line in the loss. Northern Iowa shot 50.9% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc in its victory. Bradley's leading scorer in the game was Terry Nolan Jr., who has 17 points for the Braves. UNI's leading scorer was Austin Phyfe, who had 18 points for the Panthers.
Bradley is now 6-4 on the year and 0-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. After such a strong nonconference season (which included a very close game against a tough Missouri team), Bradley would have loved to start the MVC season with a win over a struggling rival. That did not happen on Sunday, but Monday is another chance. Avoiding the season series sweep is important for Bradley here, as starting conference play with an 0-2 record would be a very tough way to begin. Bradley's leading scorer so far this season has been F Elijah Childs, who has scored 14.5 points per game for the Braves. Bradley scores 74.6 points per game and allows 61.2 points per game to its opponents as well.
Northern Iowa is now 3-7 on the year and 2-3 in conference play. UNI was a team on a lot of people's radars heading into the season, but the Panthers got off to a rough start in conference and non-conference play this season. Now at 2-3 in MVC play, Northern Iowa is back in business and will look for another win on Monday. Northern Iowa scores 73.5 points per game and allows 73.3 points per game to its opponents this season.
Northern Iowa is a 2-point favorite and the total is set at 138.5. I like Bradley to rebound from the loss on Sunday and pick up the victory on Monday night. It is tough to beat the same team twice on a back-to-back, especially a team like Bradley. These two teams are so close in talent, each of them deserves one win in this series, and I think Bradley gets the W on Monday.
Ron’s Pick Bradley +2
AUTHOR: Ron Romanelli
Follow Ron Romanelli on Twitter @RonnieRomanelli