Welcome back to another Sunday of college basketball picks and predictions. There are a ton of intriguing matchups on tap today, so let's get into the top plays before the action tips off.
A Big Ten showdown featuring Illinois and Michigan headlines the picks. Plus, we check out predictions for Quinnipiac vs. Merrimack in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and then Missouri State vs. Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
Note that all betting lines are accurate as of this writing, but shop around for the best odds. Enjoy these college basketball picks and predictions for Sunday, March 2nd’s game Missouri State vs. Drake.
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Sunday's Best College Basketball Bets: Missouri State vs. Drake
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Missouri State vs. Drake (-14.5) | O/U 119.5 (-115/-105)
Alright, let's get really weird for our last pick today. Drake just clinched the regular season Missouri Valley Conference title on Wednesday - its first outright league title since 2008. The Bulldogs edged out Evansville in a hard-fought road win to seal the deal.
The letdown factor for Drake is very much in play here. We have to wonder about the Bulldogs' motivation for a meaningless game against a bad team right after locking up the conference title. Yes, it's at home but Drake could take it easy before the MVC tournament starts up later this week.
Full disclosure: Drake is a much better team than Missouri State. The latter is 9-21 overall this season and just 2-17 in league play. Normally, we wouldn't touch the latter to keep things close against a powerhouse squad like Drake.
Still, the situational spot favors Missouri State to cover a large spread. On that note, the Bears are 13-7 ATS as underdogs this season (65%) and 7-3 ATS as dogs of five or more points. They're also 2-1 ATS as double-digit road underdogs.
On the flip side, Drake is 1-7 ATS as a favorite of 10+ points this season. The Bulldogs are also only 2-6 ATS and 3-5 SU vs. Missouri State in their past eight meetings. Of course, this current Bears team is a bit worse in recent years - but it's a trend that's tough to ignore.
Speaking of previous matchups, Missouri State played Drake tough back in January. The Bulldogs ultimately prevailed in overtime but they scored just 55 points at the end of regulation.
Both teams play very slowly - Drake is 364th in pace nationally and Missouri State is 337th. That will severely limit the amount of total possessions, as evidenced by the very low total today. It was the case in their prior matchup, too. It also naturally makes it harder for any double-digit favorite to stretch out a lead and win big - no matter the talent discrepancy as we have here.
Pick: Missouri State +14.5 (-112)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Sunday:
