Pacific vs Bradley prediction: Pacific's veteran core tests a rebuilt, short-handed Bradley in Peoria
Pacific returns most of last season's minutes, while Bradley opens its season with 10 newcomers and its top returning scorer in a walking boot.
- Expect a grinding, possession-by-possession game in which Pacific's continuity and rebounding face Bradley's ball security and pressure on an unfamiliar rotation.
- Pacific's ball handling against Bradley's ball pressure: the Tigers ranked 340th in turnover rate last season, and the Braves ranked 52nd in forcing them.
- No spread or total has been posted. Last season's adjusted net ratings put these teams close together, 115th for Pacific and 120th for Bradley.
Continuity against a clean slate
Season openers reward teams that already know each other, and this one tilts hard that way. Pacific brings back 78.2% of last season's minutes from an 18-15 team. Bradley went 21-13 last season, but it replaces the majority of that production and welcomes 10 newcomers under 11th-year coach Brian Wardle.
That gap makes last season's numbers far more useful for Pacific than for Bradley. The Tigers' core is intact. TJ Wainwright scored 13.0 points a game and shot 38.8% from three. Jaden Clayton ran the offense with 6.4 assists a game. Isaac Jack finished inside at a 67.4% clip. The big loss is Elias Ralph, last season's leading scorer at 16.7 points a game, who carried a team-high 24.4% usage. Dave Smart has added transfers CJ Jones (UIC and Kansas State), Dominick Harris (Gonzaga, LMU, UCLA and Loyola Chicago) and Jacob McFarland (Houston).
Bradley's preseason picture is mostly names. The Braves were picked sixth in the Valley's preseason poll, and their watch-list trio includes Northeastern transfer Xander Alarie and Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Trevon Payton.
Pacific vs Bradley: quick answers
When is Pacific vs Bradley?
Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 12:00 AM ET.