The Murray State Racers and the Drake Bulldogs meet Friday in Missouri Valley Tournament college basketball action from Enterprise Center. Murray State is 17-14 overall this year. The Racers beat Valparaiso in their Thursday tournament game. As for Drake, they’re currently 24-7 on the year after a loss to Bradley on Sunday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Murray State Racers
The Racers stayed above .500 over their first 24 games, going 13-11 overall. Murray State finished off the regular season with a 3-3 run, taking wins over Illinois State, Evansville and Valparaiso alongside losses to Bradley, Drake and Missouri State.
Matched up against Valparaiso in the Thursday tournament game, the Racers stormed out to a 38-25 halftime edge. Murray State kept it up in the second with a 40-25 run and took the win 78-50. Leading the way was Jamari Smith with 19 points and three rebounds.
Drake Bulldogs
Over on the Drake side, they managed an 18-6 run through their first 24 games this year. The Bulldogs would then beat Valparaiso, Murray State, Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Belmont and Illinois State before a loss to Bradley.
In the Bradley matchup back on Sunday, the Bulldogs took a 37-34 deficit into the second half. Drake was outscored 36-27 from there and limped to a 73-61 loss. DJ Wilkins led the sam with 14 points and five rebounds in the defeat.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I might take a stab on Murray State here. The Racers are 4-1 in their last five games, and they had zero troubles versus Valparaiso in the Thursday tournament matchup. Murray State has scored well lately with 69 or more points in five straight outings. All of that said, Drake won both meetings between these teams this year: 82-64 on January 7 at Knapp Center and 92-68 at CFSB Center on February 7. Murray State is going to have to get off to a good start and play a complete game here in order to find a potential cover but I think they can do it.