(1) Murray State vs. (9) Bradley preview
WBB: The Racers and Braves meet today in the Valley Tournament quarterfinals
Murray State will open postseason play Friday afternoon against Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Here’s what you need to know:
#1-seed Murray State (22-7 overall, 16-4 Missouri Valley Conference) vs. #9-seed Bradley (14-18 overall, 7-13 MVC) — 12:00pm at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
NCAA NET Rankings: Murray State #56; Bradley #205
Series history: 6th meeting (Murray State leads 5-0)
You can stream the game on ESPN+
Jeremy Rose will have the radio call on WBZB, with the pregame show starting at 11:30am
Murray State Scouting Report
365 days ago, Murray State beat Bradley, 87-49, in the opening round of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Today, the two meet again, this time the Racers will try to punch their ticket to the Valley Tournament semifinals for the first time in program history.
Murray State enters today with the #1 scoring offense in America, averaging 87.7 points per game. The Racers beat Bradley, 81-55, back on February 20th in Peoria, as Katelyn Young led Murray State with 28 points that evening.
There are a couple milestones to watch in this game that a pair of Racers are working toward. Young is 54 points away from becoming the 17th player in Division I history to score 3,000 points in a career. There have been seven 300-rebound seasons in Murray State history, and senior forward Ava Learn is 20 boards away from joining that club.
The Racers are 7-0 this year when Briley Pena hits at least three three-pointers in a game, and they’re 7-0 when Trinity White makes at least a pair of triples. With the Big 4 of Young, Learn, Haven Ford and Halli Poock combining to average 67.9 points per game this year, when the Racers are able to get offensive contributions from others, they can be very difficult to beat.
Bradley Scouting Report
The Braves won their opening tournament game on Thursday, as they overcame an early deficit to beat Valparaiso, 64-58. Kaylen Nelson had 16 points to lead Bradley, as she was one of four Braves to score in double-figures.
Soleil Barnes is the only Bradley player to average double-figures in scoring this year, as she puts up 15.6 points per game. Barnes shoots 38.4% from the floor and 32.1% from beyond the arc.
Bradley is not a great scoring team this year, as they’re #300 nationally in scoring offense with 58.8 points per game. The Braves hang their hat on the defensive end, as they’re #73 in America in scoring defense, allowing 59.5 points a contest.
After a slow start in Peoria, Murray State outscored Bradley 68-43 in the final three quarters on their way to winning. If the Racers can get off to a fast start, it will be tough for the Braves to stay within arm’s reach. Bradley hasn’t scored more than 75 points in a game all year, and have only scored 70+ in one of their last 22 games.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ podcast posted after the game.