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Drake vs Wichita State Picks and Odds

John Perrotto

by John Perrotto in College Basketball

Updated Mar 15, 2021 · 2:24 PM PDT

Tyson Etienne drives
Wichita State's Tyson Etienne (1) brings the ball up the court against Houston during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Houston. Houston won 70-63. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
  • Wichita State is a two-point favorite against Drake in an NCAA Touranment First Four game on Thursday night at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
  • Drake lost in the MVC Final to Loyola-Chicago, while Wichita State was bounced in the AAC semis by Cincinnati
  • The odds, spread and analysis for Drake-Wichita State can be found below

The last two teams to get at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament square off a First Four game when Drake and Wichita State meet at 6:27 pm ET Thursday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

The winner gets the #11 seed in the West Region and would face USC on Saturday in the first round at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Drake is 25-4, but has lost two of its last three games. The Bulldogs are also on a three-game losing streak against the spread.

Wichita State (16-5) had its eight-game winning streak end Saturday when it lost to Cincinnati 60-59 in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament as a 4.5-point favorite.

Drake vs Wichita State Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Total
Drake Bulldogs +110 +2 (-110) Over 141 (-110)
Wichita State Shockers -130 -2 (110) Under 141 (-110)

Odds taken March 15th from FanDuel

Shocker of a Story

It would have been hard to envision Wichita State making the field of 68 in November.

Coach Gregg Marshall’s contract was bought out just before the start of the season and seven players from last season’s team transferred. Yet Wichita State rallied around interim coach Isaac Brown – who has since been given the job full-time – and won the AAC regular-season title.

Wichita State’s strength is in the backcourt with sophomore Tyson Etienne and senior Alterique Gilbert, a transfer from UConn.

Etienne was the co-Player of the Year in the AAC and is averaging a team-high 17-points a game. He has scored at least 20 points in 10 of the Shockers’ 21 games and committed just 24 turnovers in 716 minutes played this season.

Etienne shared POY with Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig.

While Gilbert can score, his strengths are as a facilitator and defender. He has averages of 10.3 points, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals.

Gilbert was one of the few Shockers to play well in the loss to Cincinnati as he finished with 14 points and five rebounds. However, Gilbert missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have won the game as Wichita State made just 1 of 8 shots from the floor in the final 4:17.

Etienne was held to 13 points and junior forward Morris Udeze added 11 points and seven rebounds.

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Banged-Up Drake

Drake opened the season 18-0 but then injuries hit, and the Bulldogs have won just four of their last seven. They lost to Loyola Chicago 75-65 in the MVC Tournament championship game March 7th as 8.5-point underdogs.

Senior forward Shanquan Hemphill (14.1 points, 6.3 rebounds) and junior guard Roman Penn (11.2 points, 5.5 assists) were lost for the season in February to leg injuries. There is an outside shot that Hemphill does play on Thursday, according to Drake’s head coach Darian DeVries.

Drake still ranks 18th in the nation in KenPom.com’s adjusted offensive efficiency with 114.6 points per possession.

Drake’s defense played poorly in the title game, though. Loyola shot 59.1% (26 of 44) from the field, including 58.8% (10 of 17) on three-pointers.

Sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu has helped pick up the scoring slack with Hemphill and Penn sidelined by averaging 23.6 points over the last seven games. He has raised his season average to 12.1 after scoring 8.5 points a game in the first 22 contests.

Senior guard Tremell Murphy and junior forward D.J. Wilkins both scored 20 points against Loyola’s usually stingy defense.

Murphy has back-to-back games with 20 points after reaching that mark only once in the first 27 games. Wilkins reached 20 for just the second time this season.

Wilkins has a 10.6 scoring average and Murphy is at 10.2.

One-Time Rivals

Drake and Wichita State used to play each other twice a season when the Shockers were in the MVC. However, Wichita State has not played the Bulldogs since joining the AAC for the 2017-18.

Now they square off in the Big Dance.

Like most First Four games, this one figures to be close. The edge goes to Wichita State, though, having played better late in the season than Drake.

  • Pick: Wichita State -2 (-110)
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