Drake vs Missouri State Odds, Lines, and Spread

• The Drake Bulldogs (13-0, 4-0 Missouri Valley) play the Missouri State Bears (9-1, 5-1 Missouri Valley) on Wednesday, January 27
• This game was originally scheduled for January 17th but was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns
• See the odds, spread, analysis, and best bet below

The Drake Bulldogs and Missouri State Bears will play the first game of a two game set at the JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri on Wednesday night (Jan, 27, 9:00 pm ET).

Drake has not played a game since January 4th due to COVID-19 complications. In that game they throttled Southern Illinois 86-55 extending their undefeated streak to 13 games. Missouri State was equally impressive last time out destroying Division II opponent Missouri S&T 94-49.

The Bulldogs have owned this series winning four of the last five matchups but it was the Bears winning the last on 97-62 last February. The current odds are showing Drake as a 3.5 point favorite in this matchup.

Drake vs Missouri State Odds

Odds as of January 26th at FanDuel.

Drake Can Make it Rain

Before their COVID-19 hiatus, the Drake Bulldogs were putting on a shooting master clinic leading the nation in three-point percentage sinking 43.5% of their attempts. Their accuracy was on full display the last time they took the floor against Southern Illinois dropping 60% of their long range attempts. It’s still early but there are whispers of this team possibly being able to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament this season.

Why Undefeated Drake Basketball Can Make a Deep Run in March https://t.co/zmd2vQitVz

— Barstool Bench Mob (@stoolbenchmob) January 18, 2021

In the Bulldogs win over the Salukis, they only attempted 15 three-balls but were able to connect on nine of them. They took a 41-21 lead into halftime but it wasn’t their marksmanship that was the story of the game. They absolutely crushed Southern Illinois on the glass winning the rebounding battle 37-17. Joseph Yesufu paced the team in scoring with 16 points off the bench in the winning effort.

Missouri State Is a Contender

When Drake was forced to postpone the Missouri State series last weekend, the Bears immediately found a a Division II opponent to play. They would have had 18 days between games but now they are looking at a more manageable eight days. In the win over Missouri S&T, Missouri State looked dominant.

Ridder Posts Career High to Lead Bears to Home Win https://t.co/inBaLcWXcD

— Missouri State Basketball (@MSUBearsHoops) January 18, 2021

The Bears currently rank 20th in the country in points per game so they are no strangers to big numbers in the scoring column. The 94 points they put up on Missouri S&T matched a season-high but they only scored 14 more points than their average. They are a consistent bunch that can get scoring from anyone on the roster on any given night. It was Jared Ridder leading the way against Missouri S&T with a career-high 23 an efficient 9-13 shooting from the field.

Best Betting Angle

The Drake defense has been very good all year and that is why the total for this game is as low as it is. Only eight teams in the country are more efficient defensively than the Bulldogs but this will be the best offensive team they have played all year. The Bears also run at the fastest pace of any Missouri Valley team Drake has seen so far this season. If the Bears can control the pace, we can expect a few more possessions than the Bulldogs typically see in a game.

Given Drake’s layoff circumstances, Missouri State should be able to keep this one closer than any conference game the Bulldogs have played. If that happens, we will likely see both teams score over 70. We could also get a free throw contest at the end of this one that could push the total over the posted number.

Pick: Over 145.5 (-110)