Illinois State vs Drake 1/26/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Drake Bulldogs (14-6) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (10-10)
January 26, 2022 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Illinois State Redbirds +2 ; Over/Under: -149.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Drake Bulldogs and the Illinois State Redbirds meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Redbird Arena. Drake is currently 14-6 on the year. The Bulldogs beat Northern Iowa in their last game. As for Illinois State, they’re 10-10 and fresh off a loss to Evansville. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Drake got off to a spotty 3-3 start over their first six games this year, but they haven’t lost consecutive outings since. The Bulldogs are 8-2 in their last 10 games. In the last five they’ve beaten Evansville, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa.
In the Northern Iowa game, the Bulldogs came back from a 41-34 halftime deficit to force overtime. When the buzzer sounded, Drake had an 82-74 comeback win. Tops in scoring was Roman Penn with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Over on the Redbirds’ side, they started out fairly well this year at 8-5 through their first 13 outings. Since then Illinois State is just 2-5, though. The losses in that stretch have come to Wisconsin, Valparaiso, Drake, Missouri State and Evansville.
In Sunday’s matchup versus Evansville, Illinois State had a 25-19 lead at the break. The Redbirds fell behind 37-28 in the second half on the way to a 56-53 loss, however. Antonio Reeves led the team on 23 points with three rebounds.
The Redbirds are 4-0 ATS in their last four at home and 7-2 ATS in the last nine overall. Illinois State is 4-0 ATS in their last four after a straight-up loss.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are 1-8 ATS in their last nine road games and 11-5 ATS in their last 16 Wednesday games. Drake is 4-17-1 ATS in the last 22 overall.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Drake here. The last time these teams met up back on January 12, the Bulldogs secured an 86-75 win. Drake shot a smooth 55.9 percent from the field in the victory, collecting 27 rebounds and 18 team assists along the way. The game was very close during the first half but the Bulldogs were eventually able to pull away. This rematch should be more comfortable for Illinois State, but I still think Drake can power out a cover if they get off to a good start offensively.
