When: Approximately 2:45 p.m. EST, Thursday March 21.

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Des Moines, Iowa.

TV: CBS/How to watch

Radio: 94.9 WMMQ-FM (Lansing)

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bradley coach Brian Wardle sees resemblances of Michigan State in his team.

But the 15th-seeded Braves may have to play their best game of the season to advance over No. 2 MSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. On Wednesday, Wardle, in his ninth season, said he's glad to have brought Bradley back to the tourney for the first time since a Sweet 16 run in 2006 and is excited for the challenge of facing Naismith Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

"I would say we mirror Michigan State in a way," Wardle said. "I have a lot of respect for Coach Izzo. ... a lot of what we do is man-to-man, rebounding is an emphasis for us. We like to get up and down when the opportunities are there and push it and then we will try to execute in the half court."

The Braves won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament after stringing wins against Missouri State, Loyola-Chicago and Northern Iowa in three straight days. Bradley also beat Penn State on Nov. 21 to win the Cancun Challenge before conference play.

Point guard Darrell Brown — a third team All-MVC honoree — leads the Braves averaging 14.7 points per game and 43.9 percent from 3-point range and have shooter Nate Kennell, who's second on the team shooting 40.3 percent from deep, available off the bench.

Brown will guard Big Ten Player of the Year Cassius Winston, who leads the Spartans averaging 18.9 points and 7.6 assists per game. Winston is the driving force behind MSU's offense, which averages 78.8 points compared to Bradley's 66.6.

Bradley shot 39.1 percent from 3 during conference play, slightly higher than MSU's season-mark (38.4 percent). Izzo said MSU is going to try and force the Braves inside.

"Brown and Kennell can shoot it from long range and that's always the worry against a lower seed against a higher seed, the 3-point shot," Izzo said. "I've seen nights where they've made a ton of them from long, long rage, we're going to have to do a good job of defending that."

The Spartans are 4-0 all-time against Bradley, including meetings in three straight seasons from 2006-2008. MSU traveled to the home floor of the Braves in Peoria, Illinois during in 2007, and rallied late to win 66-61.

This season, outside of Loyola-Chicago, which went to last season's Final Four and beat Bradley once this season 81-68, the Braves have not played a team in this season's tournament field or were once in the Associated Press Top 25.

But that doesn't mean they can't put a team on upset alert, like when 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee State beat No. 2 MSU in the opening round of the tourney in 2015-16.

"They're definitely a relentless team," shooting guard Matt McQuaid said of Bradley. "They finished their conference strong. We just gotta be ready and come out with a sense of urgency, knowing they're not going to quit the whole game and staying on our toes until the end of forty minutes is up."

Predictions

Casey Harrison: MSU 82, Bradley 62

Chase Michaelson: MSU 77, Bradley 52