Utah State vs Bradley Prediction & Picks: Braves Bid for Home Win Over Rebuilt Aggies

After reaching the NCAA Tournament last season, Utah State lost their head coach and almost their entire roster. Tonight, their new coach and rebuilt roster get their first proper challenge of the new college basketball season as they visit Bradley (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+).

Former coach Ryan Odom, who led the Aggies to 26 wins, a runner-up finish to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament, and a March Madness berth, is now at VCU, with former Montana State head man Danny Sprinkle now in charge.

The players who led the way for last season's squad are either with Odom (Max Shulga and Sean Bairstow), at other destinations (like leading scorer Steven Ashworth, who is now at Creighton), or out of eligibility (like second and third-leading scorers Taylor Funk and Dan Akin).

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Bradley has had some changes from last season as well, but they aren't nearly as drastic. Leading scorer Rienk Mast transferred to Nebraska, Zek Montgomery transferred to Rhode Island, Ja'Shon Henry exhausted his eligibility, and Ville Tahvanaien opted to turn pro.

But while Utah State was picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Mountain West, the Braves were picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Drake and Northern Iowa and will be expected to make a run at their first March Madness berth since 2019.

Utah State vs Bradley Odds

Odds are courtesy of Bovada.

Spread

• Utah State +5 (-105)
• Bradley -5 (-115)

Over/Under

• Over 134.5 (-110)
• Under 134.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Utah State +185
• Bradley -225

Utah State vs Bradley Prediction and Picks

Prediction: Bradley to win

Picks: Bradley -5 (-115 at Bovada) & Utah State/Bradley over 134.5 (-110 at Bovada)

This is Bradley's second straight game against an opponent in rebuilding mode, as they opened the season with a trip to UAB, who lost scoring sensation Jordan "Jelly" Walker and a number of other key players from last year's NIT finalists.

The Braves passed Monday's test in Birmingham, with Darius Hannah's late layup lifting them to a 73-71 overtime win after they squandered a 16-point halftime lead.

The new-look Aggies, meanwhile, opened the Sprinkle era with a 101-48 win over the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, who plays in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Division II.

How will they fare in a much tougher contest tonight? Sprinkle did a great job at his alma mater, leading Montana State to 52 wins and back-to-back Big Sky tournament championships the last two seasons, but preseason prognostications indicate how little is expected of him and his new program this season.

Can Utah State exceed those low expectations? That remains to be seen, but of the players on last year's team, only guard Landon Brenchley, a walk-on who played six games and averaged 1.5 minutes per game, is still on the team.

That said, a Memphis team with a ton of new personnel and a suspended head coach went into Missouri last night and won by 15, so I'm not going to write off the Aggies here.

That said, Bradley's in a much more settled place at the moment, and while they took the scenic route on Monday night, that victory at UAB was a good one. I think they will follow it up with a good showing tonight in their home opener, and I'm rolling with the over along with the home team to cover.