Bradley vs Illinois State Prediction 2/19/25 College Basketball Picks

The Bradley Braves and the Illinois State Redbirds meet Wednesday in college basketball action from CEFCU Arena. Here’s a Bradley vs Illinois State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Bradley vs Illinois State pick. We will examine: 

The Bradley Braves’ recent form and player performance

The Illinois State Redbirds’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Bradley Braves

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Illinois State Redbirds

Recent betting trends in games played between Bradley and Illinois State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Bradley vs Illinois State game

Bradley Braves Betting Preview

The Braves have been a hot and consistent team for most of the year. They’ve got just one instance of consecutive losses in the books so far. Bradley opened the season on an 8-1 run with a lone loss to Washington State in their second game of the season. After another loss to Santa Clara, the Braves beat San Francisco, Canisius, Valparaiso, Indiana State, and Missouri State before falling to Drake. After another win streak over UIC, Indiana State, Murray State, Belmont, and Illinois State, the Braves fell to UIC, Northern Iowa, and Belmont in succession. Since then however, it’s been three straight wins over Evansville, Southern Illinois, and Drake for Bradley, giving the team a 21-6 overall run through the first 27 games of the year so far. 

In the Drake matchup on Sunday, Bradley held a one-point advantage 31-30 by the break. The Braves kept it up from there on a 30-29 stretch, giving the team a 61-59 win in the end. Duke Deen was the team’s top scorer with 12 points, three assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Zek Montgomery added 11 points with four assists and two steals, while Demarion Burch led the bench scoring with nine points and one rebound in 12 minutes of action on the floor. 

Illinois State Redbirds Betting Preview

Over on the Illinois State side, they were looking pretty good record-wise in early January. Since then, however, the Redbirds have been quite choppy in the win column. Illinois State hit a 10-5 run through their first 15 games though, taking out North Dakota State, Ohio, Trinity Christian IL, UAB, Pacific, Saint Louis, Northern Illinois, Cornell, Murray State, and Southern Illinois. After losses to Evansville, Northern Iowa, and Drake, the Redbirds took out Missouri State, Indiana State, Belmont, Valparaiso, and UIC over the next six outings. Since then, however, the Redbirds have lost three straight games, falling to Northern Iowa, Drake, and Indiana State in succession for a 15-12 overall run across 27 games this year. 

In the Indiana State matchup over the weekend, the Redbirds faced a seven-point deficit going into the second half. Illinois State didn’t end up getting any closer on a 45-43 run from there, resulting in an 85-76 loss in the end. Tops in scoring was Chase Walker with a double-double off the bench on 22 points and 11 rebounds alongside four assists. Leading the starters was Johnny Kinziger with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists in the defeat. 

Why the Illinois State Redbirds will win

• Illinois State has won four of its last five home games.

Why the Bradley Braves will win

• Bradley has won seven of its last eight road games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Illinois State has lost each of its last three games against the Missouri Valley Conference.

Bradley vs Illinois State Prediction 

I’m going to stay with Bradley here. The Braves are coming off a nice road win over a good Drake team, shooting 53.5 percent from the field with 16 points off 13 Bulldogs turnovers. Not everything was perfect though, as Bradley committed 13 turnovers themselves for 11 Drake points. Still, that makes three straight victories for the Braves so they’re hot coming into this matchup. 

Bradley powered out a 61-57 home win the last time these teams met up back on January 25. It wasn’t the most impressive win in the world, but the Braves played great defense with just 31 percent shooting allowed. I’d like to see a higher total from Bradley here, but all things considered, they should be in control most of the way.