Wisconsin (17-14) vs. Bradley (25-9)

Game: Tuesday, March 14 inside the Kohl Center

Time: 8:30 P.M. CT

Watch: ESPN

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: Wisconsin 71, Bradley 64

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting Line: Wisconsin -3

After failing to advance in the Big Ten tournament, Wisconsin was unsurprisingly left out of the field of 68 on Selection Sunday. Now the NIT awaits the Badgers, who haven't participated in the tournament since 1996.

According to Greg Gard, Wisconsin will not be using the less-prestigious tournament to tinker with their lineups and rotations. They're focused on winning, and their first challenge will be the Bradley Braves.

It'll be interesting to see how much energy the Badgers bring on Tuesday night. In a game they absolutely had to have against Ohio State in the opening round of the Big Ten bracket, they came out tight and lifeless, only managing 18 points in the first half and shooting 34.4 percent from the floor. The standard at Wisconsin is NCAA tournaments — they made 19 straight from 1999 to 2017. What will an NIT game mean to this program?

Wisconsin is a two-seed in the NIT, with a slightly worse record than the top seed in their "region," Oregon. Michigan and Rutgers are the other Big Ten teams in the bracket.

Bradley was an automatic qualifier for the NIT after winning the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. In late January, Bradley was stuck in neutral at 13-8 with a 6-4 conference record. Then, they proceeded to rip off 10 straight wins to secure the regular season title, and added two more before falling to Drake in the MVC tournament title game.

The Braves are led by their junior center Rienk Mast. The big man leads them in points-per-game at 13.8, and they love to let him go to work inside. Mast shoots 52.3 percent from the floor and takes about 11 shots each game. He's not afraid to pull the three either, shooting 35.9 percent from downtown on 2.3 attempts per game.

In the opening round of the MVC tournament against Northern Iowa, Mast exploded for a career-high 30 points, which included three three-pointers. Over the next two games, though, he scored just eight points combined, as Indiana State and Drake only let him put up 10 total shots. In order to advance Tuesday night, Wisconsin must follow suit and limit the big man's attempts.

Duke Deen is another crucial part of what Bradley does. The point guard is slight at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, but he's experienced and crafty. The Troy transfer hasn't been shooting all that efficiently, but he leads the Braves in assists and three-pointers by a wide margin.

Bradley also features junior forward Darius Hannah, who is the older brother of Davion Hannah. Davion, a 2025 four-star from Glendale, Wisconsin, already has an offer from the Badgers and is well on his way to being an elite prospect in his class. Darius has started 12 games this season for the Braves and averages about 16 minutes per contest. When he's been on the floor, though, he's been an efficient scorer, hitting 61.4 percent of his shots.

After getting embarrassed in the first half against the Ohio State, the Badgers should be motivated to come out sharp against Bradley, even if it's not in the tournament they were hoping to play in. Any wins Wisconsin could tack on here in March would lessen the bitter taste of their disappointing season.

Should the Badgers advance, they'd face the winner of Liberty and Villanova, whose game tips off 30 minutes prior to Wisconsin's on Tuesday night.

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