Drake vs. Wichita State: First Four Odds, March Madness Prediction
Two No. 11 seeds have one final chance to make it into the final 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament. After falling short in the AAC Tournament, the Wichita State Shockers are set to meet the Drake Bulldogs in Thursday’s second play-in game.
This should be an incredibly close game. Wichita State is a slim 1.0-point favourite to win on the college basketball odds with a total of 141.
Drake Bulldogs vs. Wichita St. Shockers NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Bettors loved the Bulldogs this season, as they were 21-6 against the spread and have covered in six of their last eight games. Drake was also a scoring machine, hitting the Over in six of their last seven games and 17 times overall.
There’s only one number Wichita State cares about when it comes to Drake: 11. That’s the number of times these teams have played each other since 2012 and it’s also the number of wins the Shockers have over the Bulldogs since 2012. Wichita State is coming into Thursday’s play-in game with eight wins in their last nine games overall. The Shockers have won 15 straight games against Missouri Valley Conference teams.
(11) Drake Bulldogs
Drake (25-4) dominated the Missouri Valley Conference this year and picked up 25 regular season wins for the first time since 2007. The Bulldogs are shooting 49.6 per cent from the field, ranking No. 15 in the country in that category. They also rank in the top-50 in points allowed (64.66), rebounding (30.93) and field goal percentage (54.5).
Joseph Yesufu was a big reason this team started the season 18-0. The sophomore averaged a team-high 12.1 points per game and shot over 80 per cent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs play with a balanced roster and had five players averaging double-digit points per game. As a team, Drake averaged 77.4 points per game.
(11) Wichita St. Shockers
Despite falling in the AAC Tournament semi’s, the Shockers (16-5) were the best team in their conference. Wichita State had won eight straight games before their semifinal loss to Cincinnati and went 11-2 in the AAC. Sophomore guard Tyson Etienne leads the Shockers with 17 points per game, while chipping in 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
The season started off tough after head coach Gregg Marshall left this team in disgrace, but Isaac Brown was able to keep the team focused and lead them to the best regular season record in the AAC. This is a defensive team, who only turned the ball over on 15.9 per cent of their possessions, the 27th-best rate in the country.
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