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Bradley basketball survives upset bid by Valparaiso at Arch Madness
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- Bradley basketball survives upset bid by Valparaiso at Arch Madness
ST. LOUIS — The Bradley Braves fought tooth and nails to survive against Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Valpo's tooth. Bradley's nails.
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The Braves stayed alive with clutch 3s from Alex Huibregtse, a battering ram performance by 7-foot-1, 255-pound Ahmet Jonovic and fierce, emotional finishing touches from Jaquan Johnson to emerge with a 90-84 double-overtime victory and escape an upset bid by the Beacons.
This, on a day of upsets when No. 9 Drake knocked No. 1 Belmont out of the tournament and No. 4 Murray State bowed out to No. 5 UIC, and No. 6 Northern Iowa stunned No. 3 Illinois State, leaving the road to an NCAA automatic bid wide open.
All that remains in the semifinals Saturday is No. 2 Bradley, No. 6 UNI, No. 9 Drake and No. 5 UIC.
"We had three wars with them (this season), we knew what we were in for," Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. "It's survive and advance. Alex, Quani, Meta all three of these guys made a big shot, a big play, big moments. Montana Wheeler was huge, A.J. Smith played big for us in the closing minutes. It was a battle from start to finish."
Bradley 7-foot-1 255-pound center Ahmet Jonovic was a battering ram with the ball during a 90-84 double-overtime victory over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on March 6, 2026.
Valparaiso's Rakim Chaney was limited to less than 9 minutes when he left the game with a suspected concussion after taking an inadvertent blow to the face from Wheeler's hand.
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"He wasn't remembering things, we weren't going to put him back in the game," Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell Jr. said. "I don't want to jeopardize him."
Missouri Valley Conference box score: Bradley 90, Valparaiso 84 (2OT)
Jonovic, meanwhile, was super-aggressive with the ball, barrelling through the paint and crashing into opponents, sacrificing his body. On one such drive with 3:11 left in the first overtime, Jonovic knocked out Valparaiso big man Shon Tupuola's tooth. With the game tied at 67-67, a Valpo teammate went to the paint area and picked up the tooth.
"My bad," Jonovic said, grinning just slightly. "We can hear it, one thought, one thing in our minds, get to Sunday, get to Sunday. That's what I was thinking, that's what all of have on our minds."
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It was all part of a white-knuckle ride for the Braves.
Bradley Braves fans react to a big moment in Bradley's 90-84 double-overtime victory over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on March 6, 2026.
With 69 seconds left in regulation, Bradley held a 64-58 lead. But Valparaiso got a 3-pointer from Brody Whitaker with 57 seconds left to cut it to 64-61.
Johnson missed a driving layup, Valpo swept away the rebound and Justus McNair buried a 3 with 23 seconds left. Tie game, 64-64.
Johnson tried for a buzzer beater jumper but it was no good.
The drama continued in the first overtime, when Whitaker hit another 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to put the Beacons ahead, 73-70.
But Huibregtse stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to save Bradley's season and force a second overtime.
Ahmet Jonovic (14), Alex Huibregtse (3) and Corey Thomas (4) help the Bradley Braves to a 90-84 double-overtime victory over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on March 6, 2026.
Valpo tried to steal it at the buzzer but Whitaker's layup was no good and a tip-in off a rebound failed as well. On they went to a second overtime, 73-73.
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"We've been in moment like that before," Johnson said. "We gotta keep our composure. We got a great coach, so I knew he was going to draw up a play for us, get a great shot up."
In that second overtime, the Braves took an 80-76 lead when Smith converted on a layup and-1 with 1:47 left.
Johnson then stripped the ball from Owen Dease and took off for a breakaway layup, pushing the large Bradley contingent in the grandstand into a frenzy as the lead opened to 82-76 with 1:28 left.
The star guard and MVC Defensive Player of the Year had a tough shooting night, at one point 4 of 18 from the field. But he delivered that dagger play.
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"He stays in attack mode, keeps shooting, keeps being aggressive, do what you do, be the player you are," Wardle said. "And he picked the right time to get in the gap and get a huge steal and the layup for us in a key moment.
"He is a young man who makes winning plays and knows how to play big in the big moments."
Bradley closed it out at the free throw line, as Jonovic, Huibregtse, Johnson, Smith and Wheeler made eight of them in the last 67 seconds.
When it was over, the Braves walked off to an ovation from their fans and a spot in Saturday's semifinals.
"They were tough, and it was a war," Wardle said. "But we were tough, too. I hope fans enjoyed the effort level and the physicality and the toughness that was displayed out there, because both teams were getting banged up ... you saw guys walking off (hurt) and get back in the game and battle for their teammates and battle for their school and that name on the their chest.
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"And that's what this is all about. With all the portal and NIL talk and all this stuff, it's still about representing your school and having school pride and playing as a team and playing for each other."
They said it
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Bradley head coach Brian Wardle, on freshman Montana Wheeler getting 15 points in his Arch Madness debut: "He's composed, he's mature beyond his years. These moments aren't too big for him. And I expect him to play well again tomorrow, too, and we need him to. ... We gotta get him in the right situations tomorrow, too, to make plays, because he's a dynamic player."
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Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell Jr.:"Unbelievable basketball game. ... Concussions, missing teeth, getting kneed, contusions ... it was very physical. And these guys competed, they didn't let it break them."
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Valparaiso guard Brody Whitaker: "It's tough to go out like that, but man, I feel like we left it all out there."
Bradley vs Northern Iowa betting odds
The No. 2 seed Bradley Braves face No. 6 seed Northern Iowa at 5 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Northern Iowa is favored to beat Bradley by 5 points in the betting info put out by OddsSharks at 3 a.m. Saturday.
The over-under is 128.5 and the money line is Northern Iowa -225 and Bradley +185.
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In the other semifinal, No. 5 UIC is favored to beat No. 9 Drake by 5.5 . The over-under is 141.5. The money line is Drake +190 and UIC -235.
Analytic site Kenpom says: UNI 67, Bradley 63.
Analytic site Bart Torvik, says: UNI 66, Bradley 62.
Analytic site Ken Massey says: UNI 68, Bradley 66.
Bravely Speaking
Bradley improved to 21-11, while Valparaiso finished at 18-15. ... Bradley guard Alex Huibregtsehad 15 points, and seven of them were in overtime. He also had four steals. ... BU center Ahmet Jonovicpiled in 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots ... Jaquan Johnsonhad 18 points, fueled on 8 of 11 from the free throw line, and seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. ... Johnson now has 82 steals, tying Hersey Hawkinsat 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. Smithwith 43. A top 10 spot on the program all-time single season list would require 260 (1980-81 BU team). ... A.J. Smithhad 12 points and nine rebounds. ... Freshman guard Montana Wheelerhad 15 points. ... Valparaiso got 24 points and 13 rebounds from JT Pettigrew. ... The Beacons got a game-high 25 points from Brody Whitaker. ... 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 43 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 Jacobsonhas 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.
(This story has been updated to add pictures, video and more information)
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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.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: MVC Tournament 2026: Bradley Braves survive Valparaiso at Arch Madness
