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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