Updated March 7, 2026, 5:56 p.m. CT
ST. LOUIS — The Bradley Braves are lined up to play Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals at Enterprise Center on Saturday evening.
The two deans of the Valley coaching ranks, BU’s Brian Wardle (two titles) and UNI’s Ben Jacobson (four titles) will match moves on the sidelines.
Wardle is trying to get Bradley to the Arch Madness finals for the fifth time (2-2).
Bradley made a push at the end with a 3-pointer and three free throws from A.J. Smith to cut an 18-point deficit to 13 at the half. UNI took a 45-32 lead to the break.
The Braves slipped behind 16-12 at the first media break as UNI’s Trey Campbell hit a pair of mid-range jumpers.
There was an ongoing physical battle in the paint between 7-foot-1 BU center Ahmet Jonovic and 6-8, 235-pound UNI center Will Hornseth. Jonovic was forced to the bench with two fouls in the first five minutes.
UNI rattles off seven points in 90 seconds for a 27-17 lead, forcing Bradley to take a timeout with 8:31 left in the half. Panthers guard RJ Taylor finished that off with a stepback 3 and a jumper.
The Braves are having trouble getting inside against Northern Iowa’s defense. They have faded to a 34-19 deficit with 4:35 left in the first half.
Montana Wheeler fires up an air ball, UNI gathers it in and heads the other way, and Trey Campbell sticks it for a 3-pointer and a 37-19 lead with 4:09 left in the half.
Arch Madness odds
Who do the oddsmakers think will win the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes with it?
Here are odds posted by FanDuel:
- Belmont +145
- Northern Iowa +480
- Bradley +500
- Illinois State +600
- Murray State +1000
- UIC +1100
- Southern Illinois +2000
- Valparaiso +4000
- Indiana State +10,000
- Drake +12,500
- Evansville +30,000
Who the Braves could face
Bradley will play Valparaiso on Saturday. They split their games this season.
Bradley and Bracketology
ESPN bracketology maven Joe Lunardi’s latest projection for the NCAA Tournament has Bradley as a No. 14 seed playing No. 3 Purdue in the St. Louis group.
Bradley is the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, even though they have had a tough ride with analytic sites this season.
BU is seventh in the conference in Kenpom rankings, and fifth among Valley teams in the NCAA’s NET ranks.
NCAA NET: Belmont 55; UNI 82; Illinois State 91; Murray State 103; Bradley 111; SIU 115; UIC 117; Valparaiso 154; Drake 209; Indiana State 215; Evansville 307.
KenPom: Belmont 56; UNI 82; Illinois State 95; UIC 111; Southern Illinois 115; Murray State 117; Bradley 124; Valparaiso 155; Indiana State 204; Drake 214; Evansville 312.
Bravely Speaking
Bradley is 21-11. … Bradley star guard Jaquan Johnson now has 82 steals, tying Hersey Hawkins at 82 (1987-88) for third on the BU all-time single-season list. The BU record is 86, held by Dyricus Simms-Edwards (2012-13). … Johnson is third in the nation with 82 steals. … The Braves had 12 steals against Valpo, giving them 256 steals for the season, led by Johnson with 82 and A.J. Smith with 43. A top 10 spot on the program all-time single season list would require 260 (1980-81 BU team). … A.J. Smith had 12 points and nine rebounds. … Word is the Valley expects at least 20 assistants from high-major programs to attend the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament this weekend in St. Louis. … This is the 50th Arch Madness tournament; 43 of 49 champions have come from the top three seeds. The Nos. 1 and 2 seeds have 36 titles. … Bradley is above .500 against 8 of the 10 other schools in the MVC tourney. They have never faced Belmont and are below .500 vs SIU. … The Braves have won the Valley tourney 10 times (second-most) and have 44 Arch Madness wins, second only to Illinois State’s 47. … Only 11 coaches have won the Arch Madness tourney more than once. Bradley’s Brian Wardle (twice) is one of them. UNI coach Ben Jacobson has four title wins, second-most in tourney history. … No team in the MVC tournament history has won four games in four days to take the title. … Only once has a No. 7 seed or worse reached the Valley title game (Valpo, No. 7, 2020). … Northern Iowa comes into Saturday’s semifinal against Bradley at 21-12 on the season. The Braves split the regular-season series with a 75-69 win at Carver Arena and 61-49 road loss in the rematch. … Bradley leads the all-time series with UNI 40-39. The Braves are 4-3 against the Panthers at Arch Madness.
The Journal Star provides updates from Enterprise Center in St. Louis. See highlights below:
Bradley vs. Northern Iowa live score updates
| TEAMS | 1st half | 2nd half | — | FINAL |
| Northern Iowa | 45 | 00 | — | 00 |
| Bradley | 32 | 00 | — | 00 |
HALFTIME: Northern Iowa 45, Bradley 32
Braves finished the half on an 11-6 ride, getting 3 free throws and a 3-pointer from A.J. Smith to cut the deficit to 13.
Demarion Burch arrives
The Braves, down 41-27 with 1:58 left, send in guard Demarion Burch for Timoty van der Knaap. It’s the first appearance by Burch since the Feb. 24 game against UIC.
UNI 37, Bradley 19
Montana Wheeler fires up an air ball, UNI gathers it in and heads the other way, and Trey Campbell sticks it for a 3-pointer and a 37-19 lead with 4:09 left in the half.
Stick out that tongue
Northern Iowa goes up 32-19 with 6:18 left in the half when Leon Bond III launches in a 3-pointer from the left wing, then retreats down the floor sticking out his tongue.
UNI breaks it open
UNI rattles off seven points in 90 seconds for a 27-17 lead, forcing Bradley to take a timeout with 8:31 left in the half.
Ben Schwieger hits a jumper. Then BU big man Corey Thomas misses at the rim as the shot clock expires, and RJ Taylor comes down and hits a stepback 3.
Braves try to answer with a 3 by freshman Montana Wheeler, but it doesn’t go. UNI cleans up the rebound, feed Taylor, and he knocks in a jumper for 27-17.
UNI up by 6
Ben Schwieger hits a jumper for an 18-12 UNI lead as the 12-minute mark arrives.
Kai Yu in the game for Bradley, and he’s going to be very important over these next minutes as Jonovic sits with foul trouble.
Super-charged opening minutes
Northern Iowa opens a 12-9 lead in the first 5:33 with a pair of mid-range jumpers from Trey Campbell.
Big battle going on in the paint between 7-foot-1 BU center Ahmet Jonovic and 6-8 UNI center Will Hornseth.
They are banging on each other relentlessly, and Jonovic forced to the bench with two fouls early.
- Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026
- Time: 5 p.m. CT
- Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.
Bradley vs Northern Iowa will be available via CBS Sports Network.
Record: 21-11
- Nov. 3: St. Bonaventure 69, Bradley 66 | RECAP
- Nov. 8: Bradley 85, Central Michigan 54 | RECAP
- Nov. 12: University Tennessee-Martin 78, Bradley 67 | RECAP
- Nov. 15: San Francisco 75, Bradley 64 | RECAP
- Nov. 19: Bradley 87, UMass-Lowell 77 | RECAP
- Nov. 24: Bradley 88, Princeton 64 | RECAP
- Nov. 25: UC San Diego 87, Bradley 77 | RECAP
- Nov. 26: Bradley 74, Liberty 64 | RECAP
- Dec. 2: Bradley 64, Washington State 60 | RECAP
- Dec. 6: Bradley 84, Northern Illinois 55 | RECAP
- Dec. 14: Bradley 86, North Central College 53 | RECAP
- Dec. 18: Bradley 108, Indiana State 99 (3 OT) | RECAP
- Dec. 21: Bradley 73, Southern Illinois 69 | RECAP
- Dec. 29: Bradley 76, Evansville 68 | RECAP
- Jan. 1: Belmont 88, Bradley 78 | RECAP
- Jan. 4: Murray State 86, Bradley 66 | RECAP
- Jan. 7: Bradley 93, Drake 66 | RECAP
- Jan. 10: Bradley 75, Northern Iowa 69 | RECAP
- Jan. 13: Bradley 94, Evansville 90 (OT) | RECAP
- Jan. 17: Illinois State 88, Bradley 62 | RECAP
- Jan. 21: Bradley 75, Indiana State 68 | RECAP
- Jan. 24: UIC 85, Bradley 70 | RECAP
- Jan. 31: Bradley 87, Drake 73 | RECAP
- Feb. 3: Bradley 72, Valparaiso 65 | RECAP
- Feb. 6: UNI 61, Bradley 49 | RECAP
- Feb. 9: Bradley 95, Belmont 84 (OT) | RECAP
- Feb. 15: Bradley 70, Southern Illinois 60 | RECAP
- Feb. 18: Valparaiso 79, Bradley 72 | RECAP
- Feb. 21: Bradley 74, Illinois State 60 | RECAP
- Feb. 24: UIC 93, Bradley 86 (2OT) | RECAP
- March 1: Bradley 87, Murray State 78 | RECAP
- March 5 Quarterfinals: 2 Bradley 90, 7 Valparaiso 84 (2OT)
- March 6 Semifinals: 2 Bradley vs 6 Northern Iowa, 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.
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.