#7 Murray State vs. #2 Bradley preview
MBB: The Racers and Braves will meet Friday in the Arch Madness quarterfinals
#7-seed Murray State will challenge #2-seed Bradley Friday in the Arch Madness quarterfinals. Here’s what you need to know:
#7 seed-Murray State (16-16 overall, 9-11 Missouri Valley Conference) vs. #2-seed Bradley (24-7 overall, 15-5 MVC) — 6:00pm CST at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
KenPom Rankings: Murray State #142; Bradley #92
NCAA NET Rankings: Murray State #142; Bradley #81
Series history: 21st meeting (Bradley leads 11-9)
You can watch the game on MVC TV/ESPN+
Kenny Roth and I will have the radio call, with the pregame show starting at 5:30pm CST. You can listen to the game here: https://player.amperwave.net/2845
Vegas line: Bradley -4.5
Murray State Scouting Report
The Racers come in off a 74-53 win over Evansville in the opening round of the tournament Thursday night. Terence Harcum scored a career-high 31 points against the Aces, going 7-for-7 from deep. In his last six games, the senior guard is 22-for-44 from three-point range as he is really closing the season strong.
Murray State held Evansville to 34.7% from the field last night, which was the 4th-worst shooting night by a Racer opponent this year. The Racers are 13-2 this year when holding an opponent to worse than 45.0% from the field. In Bradley’s two wins over the Racers this year, the Braves shot 53.2% in their 74-61 win in Murray, and then 45.5% in their 85-83 win in overtime 13 days ago.
In that game February 22nd in Peoria, the Racers jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, and then led by as many as 16 in the second half. Harcum led the way with 22 points, as the Racers shot 40.0% from the field, but made just 9-of-27 from beyond the arc. After making 14-for-28 from three last night against Evansville, we’ll have to see if the Racers stay hot or regress back toward their conference average of 32.6% from three-point range.
Bradley Scouting Report
The Braves clinched the #2-seed with a 73-56 win over Northern Iowa on Sunday. In their last five games, Bradley is #2 in offensive efficiency in the Valley, and the Racers will be tasked with slowing down this high-powered offensive attack.
Bradley is led by First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference standout Duke Deen. The Valley’s Preseason Player of the Year scored 20 of his 24 points two weeks ago against Murray State in a six-minute stretch in the second half that helped the Braves dig out of their 16-point hole. His range is officially “anywhere in the gym.” The Racers will do their best to crowd his as soon he gets across half court to try to make him a driver rather than a shooter.
The other leading scorers for Bradley to watch are Zek Montgomery (12.6 PPG), Darius Hannah (12.1 PPG) and Christian Davis (9.6 PPG).
In their last five games, Bradley is shooting 47.9% from the field, 42.3% from three and 70.4% from the free throw line. They’ve only averaged 12.8 free throw attempts in those five games. The Racers will try to continue guarding without fouling and keep the Braves off the free throw line.
Murray State beat Bradley at home the last two seasons. This season, the Racers took the Braves to overtime in Peoria. History has shown the Racers can compete with, and beat, one of the best teams in the Missouri Valley in Bradley. Tonight, Murray State will try to do it with a trip to the Arch Madness semifinals on the line.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ podcast posted after the game.