Bradley vs. Northern Iowa odds, line: 2019 MVC Tournament Championship picks, predictions from model on 111-87 roll

No. 5 seed Bradley will take on No. 6 seed Northern Iowa at 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday for the Missouri Valley Conference title in St. Louis. The Braves are favored by two, while the over-under for total points scored is 119.5 in the latest Bradley vs. Northern Iowa odds. Top-seeded Loyola-Chicago, a Final Four team last season, was bounced by Bradley in the semifinals, while Northern Iowa defeated No. 2-seed Drake in the other semifinal. Now it appears the historically strong mid-major conference will be a one-bid league with a winner-take-all showdown determining who goes to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. So before you make your MVC Championship game predictions, be sure to check out the Bradley vs. Northern Iowa picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $4,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 18 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a strong 111-87 run against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up. 

Now, the model has simulated Bradley vs. Northern Iowa 10,000 times. We can tell you it’s leaning over, and it has also generated a strong against-the-spread pick that cashes in nearly 60 percent of simulations. You can only see it at SportsLine.

For Sunday’s showdown, the model knows one big advantage for Bradley will be its ability to run its opponent off the three-point line. The Braves have only allowed conference foes to shoot 31 percent from behind the arc this season. That’s the best mark in the Missouri Valley Conference and should be a huge leg up against a Northern Iowa squad that gets 37.7 percent of its offensive production from beyond the arc, second-most in the MVC.

Bradley has impressive size and length on the wing and in the defensive interior, which is how they were able to hold Loyola to just 51 points on Saturday. Nate Kennell, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and Ja’Shon Henry are all big guards who could give Northern Iowa’s shooters trouble on Sunday and turn the game into a slugfest that suits Bradley’s demeanor.

But just because the Braves boast a stingy defense doesn’t mean they’ll cover the Bradley vs. Northern Iowa spread.

Ben Jacobson’s squad is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 and fifth appearance in his 13 years as head coach. The Panthers rebound the ball extremely well despite a heavy guard-oriented rotation. In fact, the Panthers rank second in the conference in defensive rebounding percentage (77.4) despite six of the top seven players in their rotation identifying as guards. 

They also value the ball on offense, turning it over on just 17.3 percent of possessions. That’s the best mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Who wins Bradley vs. Northern Iowa? And which side of the spread cashes nearly 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over Sunday, all from the model that has returned more than $4,200 to $100 players the last two years, and find out.