Drake vs. Miami Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
It’s a potential bracket-buster game on Friday as No. 12 Drake faces No. 5 Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Albany, New York. The Bulldogs are heating up at the right time, while the Hurricanes have stumbled near the end of the year.
Miami opened as slim 2-point favourites to win on the college basketball odds.
Drake vs. Miami NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this game will go on to face the winner of No. 4 Indiana versus No. 13 Kent State. The No. 12 versus No. 5 game is historically known as a bracket-buster because of the deceptively close quality of competition between the teams. Since 2017, seven 12-seeds have bounced a five-seed from the tournament. Last year, New Mexico State and Richmond both pulled off the feat, although neither team made it past the second round.
Drake has a combined 6-5 record in five previous NCAA Tournament appearances. Their best result was a Final Four appearance in their tournament debut in 1969. The Bulldogs’ last tournament appearance was as an 11-seed in 2021. They knocked off fellow 11-seed Wichita State in the First Four before falling to No. 6 USC in the first round.
Miami is in the Big Dance for the 12th time in school history and they enter with an even 11-11 overall record. Their best result was an appearance in the Final Four last year when they fell to eventual tournament champion Kansas. The Hurricanes have reached at least the Sweet 16 three times in the last decade.
These teams have never faced each other in Division-1 competition.
Drake Bulldogs (12)
Drake (27-7) is riding high after blowing out top-seeded Bradley, 77-51, in the Missouri Valley Tournament title game. The Bulldogs have won 13 of their last 14 games, with the lone loss coming against Bradley in the regular-season finale. This is an experienced team that started the year with wins over Louisiana and Mississippi State, teams that were both in the initial 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
Drake is led by guards Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn. DeVries, this year’s MVC Player of the Year, is averaging team-highs in points (19.1) and steals (1.1). Penn is second with 12.6 points per game and leads the team with 5.4 assists. The Bulldogs focus heavily on controlling the ball as they average 10.5 turnovers per game. Miami is also known to generate turnovers, so that will likely be a key battle in this game.
Miami Hurricanes (5)
Miami (25-7) captured the ACC regular-season crown with a 15-5 record in conference play, but ultimately fell short in the ACC Tournament, dropping an 85-78 decision against Duke in the semifinals. Despite that loss, the Hurricanes were arguably the most consistent team in the ACC and put together a 5-5 record against teams in the initial 68-team NCAA Tournament field. They picked up wins against No. 11 Providence, No. 4 Virginia, No. 11 NC State, No, 5 Duke and No. 11 Pittsburgh.
Miami has four players averaging double digit points this year, including ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong (16.2), Jordan Miller (15.3), Norchad Omier (13.6) and Nijel Pack (13.2). Wong also leads the team in assists (3.4) and steals (1.4), while Omier leads in rebounds (9.7) and blocks (1.3). This game could come down to the availability of Omier, who sprained his ankle against Duke on March 10.
DRKE
MIA