A busy week of basketball begins this Thursday with the First Four, as No. 11-seed teams the Wichita State Shockers and Drake Bulldogs take to the floor in a play-in contest.
College basketball betting odds opened with the Shockers as 2-point favorites to win and move on to face the No. 6 seed USC Trojans in the first round of the West Region.
Here are our best free March Madness picks and predictions for Wichita State vs. Drake on Thursday, March 18, with tipoff at 6:27 p.m. ET.
Wichita State vs Drake odds
Sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonThis line is a fence-jumper at PointsBet USA, which opened Wichita State -2.5 Sunday night and is at Drake -2.5 as of 4 p.m. ET today. "Sixty-eight percent of spread bets and 61 percent of spread money on Drake," PointsBet's Wyatt Yearout said. The total opened at 139, peaked at 141, then backed up to 140, with ticket count almost dead even and 59 percent of money on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this game
Wichita State Shockers vs Drake Bulldogs betting preview
Injuries
Wichita State: Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler F (Questionable), Jaden Seymour F (Questionable), Trevin Wade G (Questionable).
Drake: ShanQuan Hemphill F (Probable), Roman Penn G (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 13-4 in the Shockers' last 17 games following an ATS loss. Find more NCAA betting trends for Wichita State vs. Drake.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
When we last saw the Shockers they lost by a single point to Cincinnati in the semifinal of the AAC Conference Tournament. Prior to that upset defeat, they had won eight straight contests, including a 68-63 victory over the Houston Cougars, the No. 7-ranked team in the country. If they beat Drake, the Shockers will go in hot to a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with USC.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are coming off a 75-65 loss to Loyola-Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament finals. Drake was the best bet in college basketball for the first half of the season, going 15-0 SU and 13-0 ATS through its first 15 games.
Two things have happened since that have made the Bulldogs go 7-4 SU in their last 11 games and 7-6-1 ATS in their previous 14: Oddsmakers caught on to this mid-major secret, and Drake suffered injuries to their leading scorer ShanQuan Hemphill (14.1 points per game) and starting point guard Roman Penn (11.2 points and 5.5 assists per game).
Penn is done for the season but Hemphill is on track to play in this contest, although he'll likely have some rust after not suiting up for more than a month. Both teams have +100,000 March Madness odds to win the title.
The Shockers haven't been the greatest team against the spread but they have been winning games and went 16-5 SU in the highly-competitive American Athletic Conference. Besides their win against Houston, they also defeated SEC program Ole Miss on the road and had a very close road loss to an Oklahoma State team that just played in the Big 12 Championship game.
Another factor to consider is experience at this stage and Drake hasn't played in the NCAA Tournament since 2008, while Wichita State has made it into the Big Dance in eight of the last nine years. Back the Shockers against a banged-up Bulldogs squad.
PREDICTION: Wichita State -2 (-110)
Over/Under Pick
Wichita State has a terrific defensive unit that holds opponents to 40.1 percent shooting – including just 28.7 percent from beyond the arc. That said, the Shockers are inefficient on the offensive end of the floor, ranking outside the Top-300 schools in the country with a 41-percent mark from the field.
The Bulldogs have been much more efficient on offense, but playing in the MVC isn't exactly the toughest of competition and they've definitely taken a step back with the injuries to Hemphill and Penn. Drake is very tough defensively, though, limiting foes to 64.1 ppg on 41.6 percent shooting.
Both teams also prefer to play at a slower pace, ranking outside the Top 200 in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom. With the Under going 6-0 in Wichita State's last 6 NCAA Tournament games, back it again.
PREDICTION: Under 139.5 (-110)
First Half Pick
Both teams have been getting off to slow starts in recent games. Drake is coming off a 31-point first half against Loyola-Chicago and put up just 24 points in the first 20 minutes of its regular-season finale versus Bradley. The Shockers, on the other hand, have scored 32 first-half points in each of their past two contests.
Both squads also play solid defense in the early going, with the Bulldogs holding opponents to 30.9 first-half ppg and the Shockers giving up 31.4. Take the first half Under.
PREDICTION: First Half Under 65.5 (-110)
Wichita State vs Drake betting card
- Wichita State -2 (-110)
- Under 139.5 (-110)
- First Half Under 65.5 (-110)
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s March Madness Wichita State vs. Drake picks, you could win $59.58 on a $10 bet?
Use our March Madness parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
Where can I bet on March Madness odds?
March Madness is one of the most popular times of the year for sports bettors, which of course makes it one of the busiest times of the year for online sportsbooks. Every betting site will offer March Madness odds but the top sites are safe and secure, offer a wide range of banking options, and give you a ton of markets for each game. Check out the best March Madness betting sites in your region.
