Bradley Braves vs Illinois State Redbirds Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bradley Braves vs Illinois State Redbirds

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: CEFCU Arena in Normal, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois State Redbirds (12-6) will take on the Bradley Braves (13-6) at CEFCU Arena on Saturday.

The Bradley Braves faced off with Evansville and went home with a win by a final score of 94-90 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Braves finished with 23 and Evansville totaled 20 fouls. They made 11 out of their 24 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Evansville finished the game at 74.2% when shooting free throws by converting 23 of their 31 attempts. Additionally, Evansville snagged 31 rebounds (6 offensive, 25 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Evansville recorded 19 dimes and had 3 steals in the game. In the matter of the defense, Bradley allowed their opponent to shoot 50.9% from the floor on 28 out of 55 shooting. They also dished out 16 dimes in the matchup while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 31 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Braves buried 20 of 26 shots for a percentage of 76.9%. Bradley wrapped up the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (34 out of 68) and converted 6 of their 22 shots from downtown.

Jaquan Johnson is a player who was a contributor for the matchup. He finished the game shooting 54.5% from the floor and also distributed 7 assists. He played for 36 mins played and snagged 5 rebounds. He recorded 35 points on 12 out of 22 shooting.

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Bradley heads into this game with a win-loss record of 13-6 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Bradley is grabbing 35.3 boards per game and is sitting with 251 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 175th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Braves are connecting on 34.6% on shots from downtown (167 of 483) and 72.5% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 79.1 points per contest (135th in the country) while hitting 44.1% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Braves have forced 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They relinquish 36.0% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 147th in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.2). The Braves defense is giving up a FG percentage of 43.9% (459 of 1,046) and they concede 36.6 rebounds per game as a team. They are currently ranked 236th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 245 conceded on the year.

For their last game, the Illinois State Redbirds went home defeated by a final of 94-89 when they played Indiana State. The Redbirds were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 26 in the game. They gave up possession 8 times, while recording 4 steals for the game. Indiana State earned 19 personal fouls for this game which took the Redbirds to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to make 18 of those for a rate of 75.0%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Illinois State knocked down 9 of 21 tries (42.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Redbirds shot 31 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a rate of 55.4%. The Redbirds allowed Indiana State to convert 32 out of 57 tries from the field which had them at 56.1% for this game. They finished 33.3% from three-point range by connecting on 8 of 24 and ended up going 22 out of 30 at the free throw line (73.3%). Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, Illinois State permitted Indiana State to pull down 25 overall (5 offensive).

Mason Klabo ended up being important for the Redbirds for the contest. He made 5 out of 9 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 55.6%, and tallied 4 rebounds. He tallied 15 points in his 23 mins of playing time and totaled 1 assist for the matchup.

Illinois State has a win-loss mark of 12-6 for the campaign. The Redbirds commit 17.3 personal fouls per game and they go 67.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.0 times per contest (206th in college) and they turn it over 10.7 times per game. Illinois State has scored 1,418 points on the season (78.8 per game) and they pull in 36.9 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Redbirds are hitting on 48.1% from the floor, which ranks them 54th in college.

The Redbirds are ranked 45th in college in points given up per game with 67.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the floor (102nd in the country). The Illinois State defense surrenders 31.4% from downtown (120 of 382) and opponents are converting on 67.2% of their foul shots. They surrender 11.8 dimes and 32.3 total rebounds per game, which is 64th and 68th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois State

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