Bradley Braves vs. Illinois State Redbirds live stream info, start time, TV channel: How to watch NCAA Basketball on TV, stream online

How to watch Bradley vs. Illinois State basketball game

By Scout Staff

Jan 25, 2025 at 2:50 pm ET • 3 min read

Halftime Report

Their last head-to-head back in February of 2024 was close, and so far it looks like that's how Bradley and Illinois State will finish this one. After one quarter, neither squad has the contest in the bag, but Bradley leads 28-26 over Illinois State.

Bradley entered the match having won four straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it five, or will Illinois State step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.

Who's Playing

Illinois State Redbirds @ Bradley Braves

Current Records: Illinois State 12-8, Bradley 17-3

How To Watch

When: Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Carver Arena -- Peoria, Illinois
TV: CBS Sports Network
Follow: CBS Sports App
Watch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV
Live Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $16.00

What to Know

We've got another exciting Missouri Valley matchup on schedule as the Illinois State Redbirds and the Bradley Braves are set to tip at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Carver Arena. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

If Bradley heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Illinois State took over last week. Illinois State snuck past Indiana State with an 85-81 victory on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Redbirds.

Illinois State got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Dalton Banks out in front who went 6 for 7 en route to 21 points. The dominant performance also gave Banks a new career-high in field goal percentage (85.7%). Another player making a difference was Johnny Kinziger, who posted 20 points along with six assists.

Meanwhile, Bradley had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They walked away with an 89-77 victory over the Bruins.

Bradley's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was JaQuan Johnson, who had 17 points plus three steals. Johnson had some trouble finding his footing against Murray State on Saturday, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Davis, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds.

Illinois State's victory bumped their record up to 12-8. As for Bradley, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-3 record this season.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's game: Illinois State has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 10.4 threes per game. However, it's not like Bradley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.4. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Illinois State is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. They might be worth a quick bet since they're sitting on a five game streak of covering the spread when playing as the underdog.