Missouri State vs Drake 1/1/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Drake Bulldogs and the Missouri State Bears meet Sunday in college basketball action from JQH Arena. Drake is currently 11-3 on the year. The Bulldogs beat Valparaiso in their last game. As for Missouri State, they’re 6-7 after a win over Northern Iowa. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Drake won six straight games to kick off the season, then fell to Indiana State to finish off November. Since then it’s been a 5-2 run for the Bulldogs with wins over UIC, Omaha, Mississippi State, St. Ambrose and Valparaiso. 

Back on Thursday versus Valparaiso, the Bulldogs were down 26-24 by halftime. Drake posted a 44-37 edge from there and won it 68-63. Darnell Brodie led the way with 19 points, and Garrett Sturtz doubled on 14 points with 11 rebounds. 

Over on the Missouri State side, they went 3-3 over their first six games with wins over Missouri S&T, Middle Tennessee and Oakland. The Bears are 3-4 since then with wins versus UIC, Central Michigan and Northern Iowa. 

Matched up against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, the Bears jumped out to a 40-29 halftime lead. Missouri State cruised from there to a 79-67 victory. Tops in scoring was Halen Ridgnal with 24 points and 11 rebounds. 

PICK: I’ll probably stick with Drake here. The Bulldogs had a little trouble putting away Valparaiso in their last outing, but overall they’ve played quite well lately outside of a couple losses to Richmond and Saint Louis. Drake has hit 68 points or more in three of their last four outings and Missouri State has hit 77 or more in three straight. I like this one to finish as a fairly high total, with Drake powering out the cover/win.