Drake Bulldogs vs South Dakota Coyotes Prediction, 12/18/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs South Dakota Coyotes

Date: Friday, December 18, 2020

Location: Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, SD

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Drake (-5.5)

The South Dakota Coyotes (1-5) host the Drake Bulldogs (6-0) at Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Friday. The line on this contest has Drake as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 145.

Drake will play this game with a win-loss record of 6-0 on the campaign. They average 84.0 points per game (42nd in Division 1) while shooting 52.8% from the floor. The Bulldogs are connecting on 40.7% on shots from beyond the arc (50 of 123) and 71.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Drake is grabbing 39.7 boards per contest and has accumulated 108 assists for the year, which is 36th in the country in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.0 times per game and as a group are committing 16.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Bulldogs are able to force 14.7 turnovers every game and they draw 13.7 fouls. The Bulldogs defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 36.4% (124 of 341) and they surrender 31.7 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 108th in D-1 in allowing assists with 53 conceded for the season. They are conceding 32.8% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 35th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (60.2).

The Drake Bulldogs faced the Air Force Falcons and took home the win by a score of 81-53 in their last game. Drake finished the contest with a 56.4% field goal percentage (31 of 55) and buried 10 of 24 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 9 of their 14 shots for a percentage of 64.3%. When it comes to rebounding, they earned 37 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 16 assists in this contest in addition to earning 7 steals and 2 blocks. When it comes to defense, Drake allowed the other team to shoot 56.4% from the field on 31 of 55. Air Force doled out 5 dimes and 10 steals for the contest. In addition, the Falcons collected 18 rebounds (3 offensive, 15 defensive) and added 2 rejections. Air Force ended up shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of their 20 tries. They converted 4 out of their 18 tries from 3-point land.

D.J. Wilkins is someone who was a major contributor for the game. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 7 out of 11 shooting. He played 33 minutes played and also snagged 3 boards. Wilkins finished the contest at 63.6% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. One more player that had an impact in this matchup for the Bulldogs was Roman Penn. He collected 3 boards and also earned 8 dimes. He finished 55.6% from the field in the matchup by going 5-of-9 (11 points). When this game wrapped up, Penn was on the hardwood for 23 minutes.

South Dakota has a record of 1-5 so far this year. The Coyotes are committing 18.3 fouls every game and they go 72.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 13.3 times per contest (179th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 10.2 times per game. South Dakota has 412 points so far this year (68.7 per contest) and they collect 33.5 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Coyotes are shooting 40.9% from the field, which ranks them 294th in Division 1. The Coyotes on the defensive side of the court are 262nd in college hoops in points allowed per game with 76.0. They have forced 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.0% from the field (211th in the nation). The South Dakota defense allows 31.7% on shots from distance (44 of 139) and opponents are making 79.7% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 11.5 assists and 38.8 boards every game, which is 111th and 268th in college hoops.

The last time they took the hardwood, the South Dakota Coyotes went home victorious with a score of 91-78 against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Coyotes were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards for a total of 31 in the matchup. They also blocked 2 shots while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Jackrabbits were called for 18 fouls in the matchup which took the Coyotes to the free throw line for 19 tries. They were able to knock down 15 of them for a clip of 78.9%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, South Dakota knocked down 12 of 24 tries (50.0%). Overall, the Coyotes finished shooting 32 for 66 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.5%. The Coyotes permitted the Jackrabbits to knock down 21 of their 49 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.9% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 33.3% from beyond the arc by hitting 10 of 30 and finished the game at 26 out of 29 from the free throw line (89.7%). In the matter of rebounding, South Dakota permitted South Dakota State to grab 32 in total (2 on the offensive side).

Stanley Umude was important for the Coyotes in this contest. He knocked down 17 out of 26 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 65.4%, which gave him 41 points. Umude pulled down 11 boards in his 38 mins played and had 2 dimes for the matchup. An additional guy that ended up being a major factor for South Dakota was A.J. Plitzuweit. He ended up walking away with 17 points in 36 minutes played via 5 out of 11 shooting for the game. Plitzuweit ended the game having shot 45.5% from the floor while contributing 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take South Dakota (+5.5) and over 145 points

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