Bradley basketball vs Drake score today: Live updates, game highlights at MVC championship
ST. LOUIS — The Bradley Braves have been here before, on the court with Drake in the Enterprise Center in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The old rivals are squaring off Sunday afternoon in the Arch Madness championship game, with the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament at stake.
The Braves have cut a 10-point deficit down to six with 7:40 left as they get corner 3s from Duke Deen and Darius Hannah and a rim drive for free throws from Jaquan Johnson.
Bradley slipped 10 points down in the opening four minutes of the second half, missing its first six shots before Darius Hannah fought a layin up and into the bucket to cut it to 37-29.
The Braves had the ball on a turnover and took a timeout with 20.5 seconds left in the half.
Duke Deen’s 3 from the top of the key was partially blocked, Drake recovered it and Isaiah Jackson raced the other way for a layup as the buzzer went off, sending Bradley to the locker room down 31-27.
With the shot clock burning down, Darius Hannah takes a contested jumper, no good. But Ahmet Jonovic grabs an offensive rebound, kicks it out top to Demarion Burch, and he drains a 3 for a 27-24 Bradley lead with 4:02 left in the first half.
Big play guys everywhere. Burch put in a stepback jumper a minute earlier, and Christian Davis hit a corner 3 76 seconds before that.
The Braves turn the game back their way as Christian Davis gets a dunk and Darius Hannah drive to the rim for an and-1 and a 19-15 BU lead with 9:06 left.
The Braves forced Drake into a shot clock violation after that with 8:37 left.
Drake takes timeout. Bradley on a 7-0 run over 2:28.
Bradley senior Darius Hannah has gone to the rim twice in the first four minutes to help the Braves to an 8-6 lead at the under-16 media break.
All eight Bradley points have come in the paint.
Make that 10 of 10. Coming off the break, Hannah rolls to the rim and jams it in for 10-6 lead.
Zek Montgomery’s jumper as the shot clock is expiring is no good, and Drake takes it the other way for a 3 from the right wing by Bennett Stirtz and a 15-12 lead on his second 3 of the game.
Jaquan Johnson ends up on the deck with the ball on the ensuing possession, but it’s ruled a jump ball and Drake gets it coming out of the 12-under break.
The Braves are in a scoring drought of 2:28.
Bradley was eliminated by Drake in the 2022-23 title game, 77-51, and again last season in the semis, 72-67. They have met in Arch Madness in 10 of the last 15 years (Bradley, 5-4).
The Braves come in at 26-7 overall after a 15-5 conference effort that captured the No. 2 seed. Drake is 29-3 overall with a 17-3 conference effort to earn the No. 1 seed.
Below are game updates from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Duke Deen drills his first 3-pointer of the game, from the left corner, Braves get a stop, and freshman Jaquan Johnson goes barreling to the rim to draw foul shots, which he split.
BU cuts it to 42-35 with 9:25 left.
Hannah hits a 3 from the left corner and now the Braves get it within six at 8:18. Hannah has 16 points for Bradley. No one else has more than 5.
The Braves now 1 of 8 from the field as the second half reaches 8:14 old. Drake only 3 of 10.
They go to the media break with 11:46 left and Bradley down, 37-29. Braves without points in the last 4:01.
Hannah fights a layin up and in for Bradley’s first points of the second half 4:15 into it.
Cuts Drake’s 10-point lead to 37-29. The Braves missed their first six shots of the half.
The Braves miss their first two shots of the second half — both 3-pointers.
Drake gets a second-chance layup from Daniel Abreu and a dunk from Cam Manyawu to break it open, 35-27 with 17:31 left.
Timeout, Bradley, plus media break.
Bradley has 9 points from Darius Hannah and 5 each from Demarion Burch and Christian Davis.
Drake has 12 from Bennett Stirtz.
Both teams are shooting 52% from the field.
Braves have the ball on a turnover and take a timeout with 20.5 seconds left in the half.
Duke Deen’s 3 from the top of the key is partially blocked, Drake recovers it and Isaiah Jackson races the other way for a layup as the buzzer goes off, sending Bradley to the locker room down four.
With the shot clock burning down, Darius Hannah takes a contested jumper, no good. But Ahmet Jonovic grabs an offensive rebound, kicks it out top to Demarion Burch, and he drains a 3 for a 27-24 Bradley lead with 4:02 left in the first half.
Big play guys everywhere. Burch put in a stepback jumper a minute earlier, and Christian Davis hit a corner 3 76 seconds before that.
Bennett Stirtz’s third 3-pointer, from the left wing, brings Drake back to a 20-19 lead with 7:36 left.
Bradley’s biggest lead has been four points, while Drake’s biggest has been three.
The Braves turn the game back their way as Christian Davis gets a dunk and Darius Hannah drive to the rim for an and-1 and a 19-15 BU lead with 9:06 left.
The Braves forced Drake into a shot clock violation after that with 8:37 left.
Drake takes timeout. Bradley on a 7-0 run over 2:28.
Zek Montgomery’s jumper as the shot clock is expiring is no good, and Drake takes it the other way for a 3 from the right wing by Bennett Stirtz and a 15-12 lead.
Jaquan Johnson ends up on the deck with the ball on the ensuing possession, but it’s ruled a jump ball and Drake gets it coming out of the 12-under break.
Bennett Stirtz knocks down a 3 from the right wing, then Duke Deen loses the handle for a turnover and the Bulldogs convert on a two-on-one break from Tavion Banks for a 12-10 lead with 14:24 left.
The Braves pick up a layin from Zek Montgomery to calm it down with a 12-12 tie.
Bradley senior Darius Hannah has gone to the rim twice in the first four minutes to help the Braves to an 8-6 lead at the under-16 media break.
All eight Bradley points have come in the paint.
Make that 10 of 10. Coming off the break, Hannah rolls to the rim and jams it in for 10-6 lead.
Bradley big men get right to working inside as Ahmet Jonovic and Darius Hannah both layin shots at the rim, and Duke Deen goes to the rim on a back cut for 6-2 in the first three minutes.
Bradley sticks with its openers, guards Duke Deen and Zek Montgomery, wing Christian Davis, forward Darius Hannah and big man Ahmet Jonovic.
Drake counters with guards Isaiah Jackson, Mitch Mascari and Bennett Stirtz and forwards Cam Manyawu and Daniel Abreu.
Bradley pre-game hangout: Braves fans can join the Bradley family, friends, cheerleaders, Bravettes, basketball pep band and Kaboom! at the pregame hangout at Bally Sports Live! at Ballpark Village during the Arch Madness Tournament in St. Louis this weekend.
On Sunday, the pregame party will start at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
There are trolleys to shuttle fans between Ballpark Village and the Enterprise Center. Those shuttles run continuous from Ballpark Village to Enterprise Center, starting one hour before the start of the first game each day and ending approximately one hour after the conclusion of the final game.
Sendoff from team hotel: Fans are welcome to attend the Braves team send-off from the Embassy Suites St. Louis Downtown Lounge (4th Floor) with the BU band, Bravettes, and Cheerleaders. Sunday send-off starts at 11:15 a.m.
Bradley is 26-7 overall now, the ninth-most wins in a single-season in program history. … Bradley head coach Brian Wardle’s 13 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament wins are most in program history. … Sunday’s matchup will mark the 20th time the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have squared off in the title game in MVC Tournament history. … Bradley senior guard Duke Deen has 102 3-pointers this season. He has 260 in 103 career games, trailing only Jeremy Crouch (262) in program history. … Bradley has made 321 3-pointers this season, third-most in a single season in program history behind the 2006-07 team (349) and 2007-08 (346). … Deen has 356 career assists with the Braves, 12th all-time. He had 4 assists Saturday to pass Anthony Parker and Sam Maniscalco, both at 355. … Bradley is 20-8 all-time as a top 3 seed in the MVC Tournament. BU is 6-3 as the No. 2 seed, and 43-41 all-time in MVC tournament games. …The Braves now are 16-1 in games in which freshman Jaquan Johnson has at least two free throw attempts, an assist and a steal. … Bradley senior forward Darius Hannah extended his ongoing program record for career games played to 148. … CBS has Kevin Harlan slated to call Sunday’s title game.
More:Missouri Valley basketball preseason poll: Bradley basketball picked as favorite
Live stream on Paramount+
Game lines and odds from VegasInsider as of Saturday night:
Record: 26-7, 15-5
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
Bradley-Drake score updates
Braves picking it up
Both teams scuffling
Bradley fights back from 10 down
Drake opens 8-point lead
Numbers after 20
HALFTIME: Drake 31, Bradley 27
:20.5 left
Big play
Stirtz for 3
Hannah again
Drake 15, Bradley 12
Drake surges
Hannah imposing his will
Braves open 6-2
Starters
What Bradley fans in St. Louis need to know
Bradley vs Drake by the numbers
Bravely Speaking
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| TEAMS | 1st half | 2nd half | — | FINAL |
| Bradley | 27 | 00 | — | 00 |
| Drake | 31 | 00 | — | 00 |
The all-time series is led by Bradley 94-74, with the Braves holding a 9-6 record against the Bulldogs in the MVC Tournament, including a 4-5 record all-time in the championship game. The Braves are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Duke Deen, Zek Montgomery, and Darius Hannah, who all average over 12 points per game this season. Duke Deen continues to climb the MVC career made three-point record list with 260 career made threes, trailing only Jeremy Crouch’s 262 for most all-time. Off the bench, Jaquan Johnson continues to make an impact, recording his 50th steal of the season, moving just four steals behind Billy Wright’s freshman record of 54.
Drake is led by MVC Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz, who averages 19 points per game, 5.8 assists per game, and 4.4 rebounds per game. The game will be available to watch on CBS with Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner on the call. Tipoff is set for 1:15 PM CST from the Enterprise Center.
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Drake vs. Bradley odds, how to watch, free picks: Model reveals predictions for 2025 MVC Tournament final
A spot in the 2025 NCAA Tournament will be on the line on Sunday on CBS and Paramount+ when the Drake Bulldogs take on the Bradley Braves in the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game. Drake is 29-3 on the season and won the MVC regular-season title with a 17-3 record. Bradley earned the No. 2 seed after a 26-7 season where the Braves went 15-5 in conference play. This will be the second time in three years these two teams have met in the MVC Tournament final and it’s Drake’s fifth championship game appearance in a row.
Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. ET at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The latest Drake vs. Bradley odds from SportsLine consensus list the Bulldogs as 4-point favorites, while the over/under for total points scored is 118.5. Drake is the -192 favorite on the money line, while Bradley is a +159 underdog. You can watch this matchup on CBS and Paramount+, where you can get a seven-day free trial right here.
Check out the game’s latest odds here:
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 18 of the 2024-25 season on a 221-162 betting roll (+1895) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Here are the college basketball best bets for Bradley vs. Drake (on Paramount+) on Sunday:
These two teams split two head-to-head matchups during the regular season and both were rock fights, but they still reached at least 120 points in both contests. Drake scored a 64-57 win in Peoria over the Braves on Jan. 8 and then Bradley got revenge with a 61-59 win on the road on Feb. 16. The Bulldogs haven’t allowed an opponent to score more than 61 in each of their last seven games, but the model is still expecting that these two offenses execute just well enough to eclipse this total. The Over hits in nearly 70% of simulations. Don’t forget to stream the game on Paramount+, where you can get a free seven-day trial.
Brian Wardle’s squad hasn’t participated in March Madness since 2019, but this looks like Bradley’s best chance at getting back to “The Big Dance.” The Braves led the nation in 3-point shooting (40.5%) and were also top 30 in the country in field-goal percentage (48.5%) and field-goal percentage defense (40.5%). Both of these teams won in each other’s building this year and now the model is giving the neutral-court edge to Bradley, as the Braves cover in well over 60% of simulations. Don’t forget to stream the game on Paramount+, where you can get a free seven-day trial.
You’ve seen the model’s college basketball best bets for Drake vs. Bradley in the 2025 MVC Tournament championship game. Now, get picks for every game from SportsLine’s model that’s on a 221-162 roll on college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Visit SportsLine to get all of its college basketball picks for Sunday right here.
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