Drake Bulldogs vs Missouri Tigers Prediction, 3/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs Missouri Tigers

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Location: INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, KS

TV: truTV

Odds/Point Spread: Missouri (-6)

INTRUST Bank Arena is the site where the Missouri Tigers (22-11) will try to beat the Drake Bulldogs (30-3) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. Drake is 6-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 132.

The Drake Bulldogs took the court against Bradley and took home the win by a score of 63-48 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 14 and Bradley racked up 14 fouls. They also converted 5 out of their 20 attempts from three-point range. Bradley finished shooting 69.2% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of their 13 tries. Additionally, Bradley grabbed 16 boards (2 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't have a block. Bradley dished out 13 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. Pertaining to defense, Drake allowed their opponent to shoot 41.5% from the floor on 17 out of 41 shooting. They also recorded 11 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 9 steals. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned a total of 29 with 10 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs converted 15 of their 23 attempts for a rate of 65.2%. Drake finished the contest having earned a 45.7% field goal percentage (21 out of 46) and knocked down 6 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc.

Bennett Stirtz is someone who was a major factor for the matchup. He went 53.8% from the floor and totaled 4 dimes. He played for 40 minutes played and grabbed 4 boards. He walked away with 24 points on 7 out of 13 shooting.

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Drake heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 30-3 for the campaign. They are turning it over 11.2 times per contest and as a squad are committing 15.7 personal fouls per game. As a team, Drake is collecting 31.0 rebounds per contest and has 440 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 180th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Bulldogs are hitting 35.5% on three-point shots (219 of 617) and 70.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 70.1 points per contest (282nd in D-1) while going 48.1% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs have forced 13.8 turnovers every game and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 10th in college hoops in allowing assists with 324 conceded so far this year. The Bulldogs defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.2% (680 of 1,538) and they surrender 25.1 boards per contest as a group. They surrender 31.0% on shots from distance while they are 1st in the nation in points per game allowed (58.4).

The last time they took the court, the Missouri Tigers took a loss by a final score of 95-81 against Florida. The Tigers were able to corral 11 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 25 for the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. Florida was called for 21 fouls for this game which took the Tigers to the charity stripe for 28 tries. They were able to convert 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 60.7%. In reference to 3-pointers, Missouri converted 4 out of their 16 tries (25.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Tigers shot 30 out of 68 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1%. The Tigers permitted Florida to convert 34 of their 55 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 61.8% in this matchup. They finished shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc by connecting on 9 out of 24 and ended up going 18 of 23 from the free throw line (78.3%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Missouri allowed Florida to snag 30 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Tamar Bates ended up having an impact for the Tigers for the contest. He racked up 16 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood and earned 1 assist for the game. He made 7 out of 18 for the game for a field goal percentage of 38.9%, and tallied 3 rebounds.

Missouri has a win-loss record of 22-11 this season. As an offense, the Tigers are shooting 48.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 19th in the country. Missouri has scored 2,787 points this year (84.5 per contest) and they grab 34.3 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 13.8 times per contest (160th in college) and they turn it over 10.7 times per contest. The Tigers commit 18.2 personal fouls per game and they go 72.5% from the charity stripe.

The Tigers defensively are ranked 238th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 73.8. They have forced 14.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (214th in college hoops). The Missouri defense allows 33.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (242 of 725) and opponents are connecting on 76.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.3 dimes and 32.8 boards per contest, which has them ranked 106th and 80th in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Missouri (-6)

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