The Murray State Racers (17-14) and Drake Bulldogs (24-7) tussle Friday in an MVC Tournament quarterfinal. Tip from Enterprise Center in St. Louis is slate for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Murray State vs. Drake odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
No.7 seed Murray State advanced to this game with a 78-50 win over Valparaiso in the opening-round win Thursday. MSU lost to Drake twice in the regular season by an average margin of 21.0 points. The Racers are playing in their 1st MVC Tournament after being a member of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1948-2022. They went 11-9 in the MVC campaign.
The Bulldogs went 15-5 in placing 2nd in the MVC regular-season standings. Four of their 5 setbacks on the circuit were before Jan. 20, but Drake is 10-1 since then. The Bulldogs have been solid at both ends of the floor but have been especially strong on defense lately, holding foes to a 40.8% accuracy mark from the field during a 10-game win streak from Jan. 21-Feb. 22.
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Murray State vs. Drake odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Murray State +390 (bet $100 to win $390) | Drake -575 (bet $575 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Murray State +10.5 (-110) | Drake -10.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 142.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Murray State vs. Drake picks and predictions
Prediction
Drake 76, Murray State 68
Moneyline
The underdog is a slight lean ATS but is not actionable on the moneyline. AVOID.
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Against the spread
The Racers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 neutral-site games.
Murray State had some outlier defensive shooting percentages down the stretch. The Racers figure as a below-average defensive team to be sure, but they are more likely worthy of being an 8.5-point underdog in a slower-paced game, and that’s what Friday’s contest is likely to be.
Drake is the better team but is also quite inconsistent.
BACK THE RACERS +10.5 (-110). Consider a partial-unit play; there is not a lot of leverage here.
Over/Under
Respecting a well-made number here. Figure a game in the low 140s. PASS.
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