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Bradley basketball 'excited to play' Wisconsin in the NIT first round

dave eminian, journal star
·5 min read
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The Bradley Braves basketball team has its first-round NIT opponent.

The Missouri Valley Conference champions will meet Wisconsin of the Big Ten Conference in a first-round game scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Kohl Center in Madison, Wisc. The game will air live on ESPN.

Wisconsin (17-14) finished 11th in its conference at 9-11 and earned the No. 2 seed in its quadrant of the National Invitation Tournament and will host Bradley in the Round of 32.

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Bradley (25-9) won the regular-season MVC championship for the first time since 1995-96 and won 25 games for the first time since 1988. The Braves earned the spot in the NIT because of the MVC title. BU's shot at an NCAA bid ended with a loss to Drake in the Arch Madness championship game.

"I'm learning about them right now, have not watched them this season," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "I know the Wisconsin way, how they play. Very tough to beat at home, very disciplined, never foul, low possession games.

"We'll know (Monday, after film session and practice). I think we look at it as just a chance to play Wisconsin, which we're looking forward to."

Wardle is no stranger to the NIT. He took Green Bay to the NIT back-to-back in his final two years before taking over at Bradley, losing to Belmont and Illinois State in the first round.

"We have had a chip on our shoulder at times this season, but right now we're just preparing for this one-game-at-a-time tournament," Wardle said. "Our guys are really excited to play."

The NIT bracket and facts

The Braves landed in the lower left quadrant of the NIT bracket.

The top four seeds in their pod are No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Liberty and No. 4 Florida. If Bradley beats Wisconsin, it will face the Liberty-Villanova winner.

NIT 2023: What to know about National Invitational Tournament schedule, times, TV

The upper half of Bradley's side of the bracket includes No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma State, No. 2 Sam Houston, No. 3 North Texas and No. 4 Washington State.

With Selection Sunday settled for the NCAA, Bradley can look back at its schedule and point to five tournament teams on it — Utah State, Auburn, Arkansas, Drake and SEMO. The Braves went 2-5 in those games, with wins against Drake and SEMO.

Bradley is in the NIT field for the 22nd time, the most among any team in the 2023 field. And those 22 appearances for the Braves are third-most all-time in NIT history.

Bradley's four NIT titles are the most among any teams in the 2023 field.

A familiar face

Wisconsin's roster includes Pekin native and former Dragons basketball and golf star Justin Taphorn.

The 6-foot-5 guard is a junior in his third season as a walk-on. He has appeared in four games (six minutes) this season, and 15 games for his career at Wisconsin.

Taphorn helped Pekin to a Class 3A Regional championship as a junior and was the team's captain as a senior. He was a three-year varsity golfer at Pekin and twice went to the state tournament.

How was the NIT selected?

The NIT will not be selected or played until after the NCAA Tournament field is set, which is not until Sunday, March 12. That means the Braves will have at least a week before they'll be suiting up again.

After the NCAA field of 68 is set earlier Sunday, the 32-team NIT field was selected. Only the top 16 NIT teams are seeded, with the top four in each of the four eight-team "pods" earning home games. The remaining 16 NIT teams were selected based on geography where possible.

Let's answer some questions: Bradley's Arch Madness run is over, so what's next?

When is the NIT?

NIT first-round games are Tuesday and Wednesday at campus sites of the higher-seeded teams. Second-round games are next Saturday and Sunday at campus sites, and the quarterfinals are March 21-22, also on campuses.

The NIT moves the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the semifinals and championship, set for March 28 and 30.

Tickets

Tickets for Tuesday's game between Wisconsin and Bradley went on sale Monday morning beginning at 10 a.m. central time.

Tickets can be ordered online at UWBadgers.com or by phone at 1-800-GO-BADGERS. Tickets are $25 (100 level) and $20 (200/300 Level).

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 Twitter @icetimecleve.

2023 National Invitation Tournament

Games listed in bracket order. Second-round games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

TOP LEFT BRACKET

  • Oklahoma State vs. Youngstown State, 6 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

  • Washington State vs. Eastern Washington, 10 p.m. Tuesday, ESPNU

  • North Texas vs. Alcorn State, 7 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

  • Sam Houston vs. Santa Clara, 8 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

BOTTOM LEFT BRACKET

  • Oregon vs. UC Irvine, 10 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2

  • Florida vs. UCF, 6 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2

  • Wisconsin vs. Bradley, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN

  • Liberty vs. Villanova, 8 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2

TOP RIGHT BRACKET

  • Rutgers vs. Hofstra, 6 p.m. Tuesday, ESPNU

  • Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2

  • New Mexico vs. Utah Valley, 9 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

  • Colorado vs. Seton Hall, 10 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2

BOTTOM RIGHT BRACKET

  • Clemson vs. Morehead State, 6 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

  • UAB vs. Southern Miss, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN+

  • Vanderbilt vs. Yale, 8 p.m. Tuesday, ESPNU

  • Michigan vs. Toledo, 6 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN2

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball vs. Wisconsin in the first round of the NIT