The Belmont Bruins and the Bradley Braves meet Saturday in college basketball action from Carver Arena. Belmont is 14-6 overall this year. The Bruins beat Murray State in their last game. As for Bradley, they’re 13-7 so far after a win over Indiana State on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Belmont Bruins
Belmont went 9-5 over their first 14 games with losses to Furman, Lipscomb, Tarleton State, Illinois State and Middle Tennessee. The Bruins are 5-1 since then with wins over UIC, Missouri State, Valparaiso, Northern Iowa and Murray State.
In the Murray State game, the Bruins took a 34-30 edge into the break. Belmont outscored the Racers 46-35 from there and won the game 80-65. Tops in scoring was Ben Sheppard with 23 points and six rebounds.
Bradley Braves
Over on the Braves’ side, they lost to Utah State, Liberty, Auburn, Arkansas and Belmont in their first 14 games. Bradley is 4-2 since then with wins over UIC, Valparaiso, Evansville and Indiana State.
In the Indiana State game on Wednesday, the Braves were down 39-34 at halftime. Bradley fought back on a 44-28 second-half run and took the win 78-67. Rienk Mast managed to double up on 18 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Belmont. This should be a pretty good matchup, though; you could make a case either way. The Bruins have won five straight games, scoring 74 or more points in each of those outings. Belmont had a close call or two during that stretch, however they’ve played quite well against comparable teams lately. As for Bradley, they bounced back from a loss to Drake with a nice win over a pretty good Indiana State team on Wednesday. I expect the Braves to be in the mix the whole way here. Should be a good one to watch.