March Madness: Drake vs. Missouri odds, picks and predictions
The Bulldogs are dancing for the third straight year after another strong season in the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished 17-3 in league play and made their fifth consecutive MVC Tournament final, winning the title for the third year in a row. A 63-48 win over the No. 2 seed Bradley Braves Sunday sealed their automatic bid. Junior G Bennett Stirtz has been the go-to guy, averaging 19.1 points per game (PPG).
No. 24 Missouri is back in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2018 after finishing sixth in the SEC with a 10-8 conference record. The Tigers struggled late, dropping 4 of their last 5 regular-season games before falling to the Florida Gators 95-81 in the SEC quarterfinals Friday. Despite the rough finish, they'll lean on junior G Mark Mitchell, who leads the team with 14.1 PPG.
– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Men's Basketball Coaches Poll
THE BRACKETS ARE BACK! The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back! $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for top bracket. Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now!
Drake vs. Missouri odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 6:29 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML) : Drake +220 (bet $100 to win $220) | Missouri -275 (bet $275 to win $100)
: Drake +220 (bet $100 to win $220) | Missouri -275 (bet $275 to win $100) Against the spread (ATS) : Drake +6.5 (-118) | Missouri -6.5 (-102)
: Drake +6.5 (-118) | Missouri -6.5 (-102) Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Can you survive? USA TODAY Sports' Men and Women's Basketball Tournament Survivor Pools are here with a $2,500 prize for each contest! Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now!
Drake vs. Missouri picks and predictions
Prediction
Drake 68, Missouri 64
BET DRAKE (+220).
Momentum is everything in college basketball, and Drake has it heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs have won 7 straight, including a dominant run through the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. While the SEC is undoubtedly tougher, Drake handled its schedule and picked up solid wins over Miami, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State.
Drake thrives on defense, allowing just 58.4 PPG — the best mark in the country. The Bulldogs slow the game down, force 13.8 turnovers per contest, and have held opponents to 60 or fewer points in half of their games. That's a major challenge for a Missouri squad that shoots 37% from beyond the arc and has scored 80-plus points in 25 of 33 games.
Missouri limped into the tournament, losing 5 of its last 7 games, and has just 1 NCAA Tournament win since 2010. With Drake's defense and momentum, the Bulldogs are primed to pull off the upset.
PASS.
If you'd feel more comfortable taking Drake with the points, that's completely understandable; I'd rather take the better odds on the moneyline, believing the Bulldogs can win this game outright.
PASS.
Drake's defense makes the Under tempting, but it's not the right play here. The Bulldogs have hit the Under in 6 of their last 8 games, but Missouri's high-scoring style has led to the Over hitting in 8 of its last 10 outings. With the total set lower than expected, it's a tough call. If it were closer to 140, the Under would be worth a look, but instead, I'll stick to betting the moneyline.
Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now!
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow @DrewPhelps05 on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / College Sports Wire / High School / Recruiting
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Roosters put NRL on notice by stunning Bulldogs
The Sydney Roosters have put the NRL on notice as enforcer Naufahu Whyte inspired a stunning 32-12 win over Canterbury that looms as the most important win yet in their top-eight quest. Friday night's victory at Allianz Stadium lifts the Roosters to eighth place amid the battle for the remaining finals spots, though their fate remains in the balance with three games to go. But claiming their biggest scalp of the season in the third-placed Bulldogs, the Roosters proved they'll be capable of some serious damage should they get past the Dolphins, Manly and Wests Tigers and into finals. Easts appear to be finding form at just the right time, winning their past three games by a combined total of 116-28, with winger Daniel Tupou bagging a hat trick in the latest smash-up. Roosters prop Whyte, among the NRL's major improvers this year, led the charge and had two tries - as many as he'd scored across 52 NRL games before Friday. His side up by only two points, Whyte grabbed an Angus Crichton offload after it bounced away from Canterbury's Josh Curran and dived over just before halftime. Whyte punished Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey for dropping Hugo Savala's bomb, bullocking past four defenders to make it a three-score game just after the break. It continued a brilliant year for Whyte, who has excelled with the unenviable task of replacing Jared Waerea-Hargreaves as the Roosters' forward pack leader. The game was never again close after Whyte's feats, with Tupou scoring a second try from a Sam Walker cross-field kick to put the Roosters on track with 25 minutes left. INTERCEPT 🙌 — NRL (@NRL) August 15, 2025 Tupou's third try in the final minutes made it 182 for his career, moving the left winger into outright fourth in the all-time try-scoring stakes, well clear of Manly legend Steve Menzies (180). The Bulldogs' loss puts a sizeable dent in their top-two hopes. Beating Melbourne at AAMI Park next week now appears non-negotiable if they are to finish higher than third. A top-four finish remains likely, given Cameron Ciraldo's side need only one more win across the final three weeks to confirm a double chance in finals. But the Bulldogs have now lost two of their past three games, both to sides outside the top eight. The Roosters may need to contend without Billy Smith as they fight to shore up their top-eight spot, after his ugly cannonball tackle on Sam Hughes in the first half. The NRL has taken a dim view of similar tackles in recent times, with Coen Hess and Felise Kaufusi receiving multi-week bans in the past month. Hughes later went on report for a high shot on Smith in the second half.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Yankees at Cardinals prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, trends, and stats for August 15
Its Friday, August 15 and the Yankees (64-57) are in St. Louis to begin a series against the Cardinals (61-61). Luis Gil is slated to take the mound for New York against Andre Pallante for St. Louis. New York took two of three from the Twins in the Bronx earlier this week. The series win keeps them in possession of a Wild Card spot but 0.5 games over Cleveland and within 6.5 games of Toronto in the American League East. After taking two of three from the Cubs last weekend, the Cards spit the bit this week losing two of three at Busch Stadium to the Rockies. Sitting at .500 for the season, St. Louis sits 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the National League. Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long. Game details & how to watch Yankees at Cardinals Date: Friday, August 15, 2025 Time: 8:15PM EST Site: Busch Stadium City: St. Louis, MO Network/Streaming: YES, FDSNMW Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out. Odds for the Yankees at the Cardinals The latest odds as of Friday: Moneyline: Yankees (-132), Cardinals (+111) Spread: Yankees -1.5 Total: 9.0 runs Probable starting pitchers for Yankees at Cardinals Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: Luis Gil vs. Andre Pallante Yankees: Luis Gil (0-1, 7.27 ERA)Last outing: August 9 vs. Houston - 3.38 ERA, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 7 Strikeouts Cardinals: Andre Pallante (6-9, 4.95 ERA)Last outing: August 9 vs. Cubs - 32.40 ERA, 6 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 0 Strikeouts Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type! Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Yankees at Cardinals The Yankees have won 28 of 55 games following a defeat In 2 starts since being activated off the disabled list, Luis Gil has struck out 10 hitters in just 8.2 innings Giancarlo Stanton has hit in 5 straight games (9-17) with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs It has been 3 games since the Cardinals last covered the Run Line If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports! Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Yankees and the Cardinals Rotoworld Best Bet Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Yankees and the Cardinals: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the New York Yankees on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the St. Louis Cardinals at +1.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0. Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Royals play the White Sox in first of 3-game series
Chicago White Sox (44-77, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (60-61, third in the AL Central) Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: White Sox: Aaron Civale (3-7, 4.91 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 62 strikeouts); Royals: Noah Cameron (6-5, 2.52 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 76 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Royals -187, White Sox +155; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals open a three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Kansas City has a 60-61 record overall and a 30-29 record at home. The Royals have a 20-5 record in games when they hit at least two home runs. Chicago has a 44-77 record overall and an 18-41 record on the road. The White Sox are 23-58 in games when they have allowed at least one home run. Friday's game is the eighth time these teams match up this season. The Royals are ahead 5-2 in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: Maikel Garcia has a .302 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 31 doubles, five triples and 11 home runs. Kyle Isbel is 14 for 35 with a home run and seven RBIs over the past 10 games. Lenyn Sosa leads the White Sox with a .273 batting average, and has 16 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs, 13 walks and 48 RBIs. Edgar Quero is 10 for 41 with two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 5-5, .257 batting average, 5.04 ERA, even run differential White Sox: 2-8, .219 batting average, 5.00 ERA, outscored by 14 runs INJURIES: Royals: Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (abductor), Steven Cruz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Jac Caglianone: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (oblique), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Mark Canha: 10-Day IL (elbow), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (ankle), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow) White Sox: Mike Tauchman: day-to-day (shoulder), Chase Meidroth: 10-Day IL (thumb), Dan Altavilla: 15-Day IL (lat), Prelander Berroa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ky Bush: 60-Day IL (elbow), Miguel Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Drew Thorpe: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
