Drake vs. Southern Illinois MVC Tournament Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Saturday, March 4, 2023

The No. 2 seed Drake Bulldogs (25-7, 15-5 MVC) are favored by 5 points in the MVC Tournament against the No. 3 seed Southern Illinois Salukis (23-9, 14-6 MVC) on Saturday at Enterprise Center, starting at 6:00 PM on CBS Sports Network. The matchup has a point total of 126.5.

Drake vs. Southern Illinois Odds

• Drake odds to win: -212
• Southern Illinois odds to win: +176
• Spread: Drake (-5)
• Total: 126.5

Drake vs. Southern Illinois Promo Codes

Game Time and Information

• Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023
• Time: 6:00 PM ET
• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Where: St. Louis, Missouri
• Venue: Enterprise Center

Who Will Win Drake vs. Southern Illinois?

Drake and Southern Illinois Betting Trends, Records Against the Spread

In games this season it was favored by 5 points or more, Drake has a 10-10-1 record against the spread.

Southern Illinois is 1-3 against the spread when an underdog by 5 points or more this season.

The Bulldogs and Salukis average 15.3 more points between them than the over/under of 126.5 for this game.

Opponents of the two teams average a combined 0.5 fewer points per game (126) than this game’s total of 126.5 points.

Drake’s average point total in matchups this season is 140.3, 13.8 points higher than the over/under in this game.

Salukis games this year have averaged a total of 127.4 points, 0.9 more than the point total in this matchup.

So far this season, the Bulldogs have put together a 14-16-1 record against the spread.

The Salukis’ ATS record is 12-17-2 this year.

Drake Stats & Insights

Drake outscores opponents by 10.9 points per game (scoring 75.6 per game to rank 91st in college basketball while allowing 64.7 per contest to rank 37th in college basketball) and has a +349 scoring differential overall.

Drake prevails in the rebound battle by an average of 3.6 boards. It is recording 33.4 rebounds per game (87th in college basketball) compared to its opponents’ 29.8 per outing.

The Bulldogs knock down 8 three-pointers per game (109th in college basketball), 1.2 more than their opponents (6.8).

Drake averages 100.6 points per 100 possessions on offense (27th in college basketball), and gives up 86.1 points per 100 possessions (55th in college basketball).

Offensively, the Bulldogs have played better at home this season, scoring 80.3 points per game, compared to 72.5 per game in away games.

Southern Illinois Stats & Insights

Southern Illinois puts up 66.2 points per game (317th in college basketball) while giving up 61.3 per contest (13th in college basketball). It has a +156 scoring differential and outscores opponents by 4.9 points per game.

Southern Illinois is 320th in college basketball at 28.8 rebounds per game. That’s similar to the 29.8 its opponents average.

Southern Illinois makes 7.9 three-pointers per game (118th in college basketball) at a 32.9% rate (256th in college basketball), compared to the 6.1 per game its opponents make, at a 32.8% rate.

Southern Illinois ranks 203rd in college basketball averaging 92.9 points per 100 possessions on offense, and defensively is 53rd, allowing 86 points per 100 possessions.

At home the Salukis are putting up 70.2 points per game, 6.1 more than they are averaging away (64.1).

Drake Key Players to Watch

Tucker DeVries leads the Bulldogs in scoring, tallying 19.2 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Darnell Brodie leads Drake in rebounding, averaging 6.9 per game, while Roman Penn leads the team in assists, distributing an average of 5.4 in each contest.

The Bulldogs get the most three-point shooting production out of DeVries, who makes 2.6 threes per game.

DeVries is Drake’s leader in steals, averaging 1.1 steals per game, while Brodie leads them in blocks with 0.9 per contest.

Southern Illinois Key Players to Watch

Marcus Domask is atop nearly all of the Salukis’ leaderboards by recording 17 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Lance Jones is reliable from deep and leads the Salukis with 2.1 made threes per game.

Southern Illinois’ leader in steals is Jones (1.7 per game), and its leader in blocks is J.D. Muila (0.5 per game).

Drake vs. Southern Illinois Prediction

• Pick ATS:

  Drake (-5)
  

• Pick OU:

  Over (126.5)
  

• Prediction:
  Drake 69, Southern Illinois 64

How to Bet on Drake vs. Southern Illinois

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