Bradley Basketball: 3 Keys to Upsetting Michigan State in Round of 64

By Joey Loose | Mar 20, 2019

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Ja'Shon Henry #22 of the Bradley Braves runs on to the court with his teammates after beating the Northern Iowa Panthers during the final game of the MVC Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 10, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Bradley Braves beat the Northern Iowa Panthers 57-54 to win the MVC Championship. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 17: The Michigan State Spartans pose for photos after beating the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Bradley Basketball surprised the Missouri Valley, winning Arch Madness to make the NCAA Tournament. Do they have a chance to surprise the Spartans on Thursday?

Following their victory in Arch Madness a few weeks ago, the Bradley Braves are in the NCAA Tournament. They won a few solid games in the non-conference season before starting MVC play 0-5. To some they were an afterthought, but this team really got things going when it mattered most, winning three straight games in St. Louis, including an upset of defending Final Four team Loyola-Chicago.

As they prepare for the Tournament, the Braves have an unenviable task ahead of them. They drew a 15-seed and matched up with a Michigan State team that just won the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans have won 10 of 11 games and come into the NCAA Tournament playing great basketball. This Spartans group was worthy of a top seed, but can still do a lot of damage in the bracket.

Yet again, many people are writing off the Braves as an afterthought, expecting the Spartans to crush them and move on. Regardless of how they’ve been playing lately, the Spartans still have their own demons to exorcise. This team hasn’t advanced out of the opening weekend of the Tourney in four years. Just two seasons ago, they fell in the first round to 15-seed Middle Tennessee. They’re susceptible to upset, though it’s true that those Blue Raiders had a more potent team than these Braves.

Bradley isn’t a Big Ten powerhouse, but they aren’t a slouch either. Junior guard Darrell Brown is the player to watch for the Braves and he can really light it up from outside. This is Bradley’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in thirteen years, and things went very well for that Braves squad. They made the Sweet Sixteen as a 13-seed back in 2006, though they face a much tougher challenge for history to repeat itself.

Let’s look at three keys to Bradley pulling off this major shocker over Michigan State, a result that would bust brackets everywhere.