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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ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 9: Cameron Krutwig #25 of the Loyola Ramblers and Elijah Childs #10 of the Bradley Braves fight for a rebound during the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Enterprise Center on March 9, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Rebounding

The Braves have played quality basketball, especially in the last month, but this was against MVC competition in a weak year for the conference. They haven’t played a team like Michigan State this season, and as already mentioned, the Spartans will pose a tough task for that Braves defense. It’s almost a given that the Braves are going to need an elite defensive effort in order to contend in this game, but rebounding is an even more important task.

Bradley is not an outstanding rebounding team, and nobody outside of forward Elijah Child grabbed more than 6 boards a game. The Braves currently sit at 104th in defensive rebounding while they rarely get second chances on offense (215th in offensive rebounding). They’re going to need to crash the boards and prevent the Spartans from getting second chance opportunities or they’ll find themselves buried early.

Michigan State ranks 24th in the nation at grabbing offensive rebounds and has a frontcourt full of big talent. Containing Nick Ward, Xavier Tillman, and Kenny Goins seems like an impossible task for the Braves, but they need to control the glass. All three of those Spartans are talented rebounders that will make the Braves pay on second chance opportunities.

This game will be a challenge for the Braves’ big men like forward Elijah Childs and center Koch Bar, but they need to win this challenge to stay in the game. Fighting Ward and Tillman to grab those loose rebounds will be key to staying alive in this one.