The top two dogs in the Missouri Valley Conference meet in what has the potential to be the biggest game in the league until these two teams meet again on Feb. 16.
College basketball betting odds have Bradley as the favorite to win the regular-season championship at -115 and Drake as the second favorite at +210.
Bradley (13-2 overall, 4-0 MVC) is coming into this game on a five-game winning streak, including winning a pair of overtime games over Valparaiso and Indiana State. Drake (12-2, 0-2) is on a two-game losing streak after being upset at home by Murray State on Sunday.
There’s no doubt the Bulldogs want to get back on the winning path, and a win here would make ending the losing skid that much better.
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Drake at Bradley Betting Odds
Bradley is a 2.5-point favorite on BetMGM against Drake while the Over/Under is at 126.5.
The Moneyline for Bradley is at -140, and at +115 for Drake.
Drake at Bradley On TV
The matchup between Drake and Bradley will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Drake at Bradley Prediction
I predict that this game will go Under 126.5 points. I also predict Bradley will cover the 2.5-point spread as a home favorite.
You would think that with Drake having the top scorer in the league, they would have a high-powered offense. But that’s far from the truth.
Despite Bennett Stirtz leading the league with 18.3 points per game, the Bulldogs rank ninth in the conference, averaging 72.4 PPG. That’s not an awfully low average, but it’s the Bulldogs’ pace of play that keeps them from putting points on the board.
In fact, Drake ranks last in the country (364th) at 60.8 in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom. The Bulldogs work through their offense and nearly drain the shot clock on each possession to find a quality shot.
Bradley doesn’t play much faster, ranking 290th in adjusted tempo (65.9).
Because of how slow these teams play — and how good they have been defensively — I can’t see this being a high-scoring game.
Drake is allowing just 58.2 points per game, while Bradley is allowing 68.4 points per outing. Both teams rank in the top three in the league in opposing field goal percentage. The Braves shoot the ball really well from the outside (43%), so I especially expect the Bulldogs to do their best to slow the pace and not give the Braves many opportunities to get hot.
With 11 turnovers per game, Drake doesn’t turn the ball over a ton, so I don’t anticipate Bradley getting out into transition very often.
The Over/Under is low and it won’t take a ton for this game to go over the total, but both of these teams value the ball and possessions. The one thing to consider is this game potentially going into overtime, but I think Bradley will knock down its free throws down the stretch to cover the spread in a close one, and keep this from going into overtime.
