The Missouri Tigers and Drake Bulldogs face off in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament in what will be a barnburner between two solid offensive teams. Both teams are looking to end their woes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament while playing in Wichita which will be filled with rabid fans from both teams.
Below, we will preview this March Madness college basketball game, giving the Missouri vs Drake overview, trends and our expert pick! Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
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Missouri vs Drake Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2025 NCAA Tournament
No. 6 Missouri Tigers (22-11) vs. No. 11 Drake Bulldogs (30-3)
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 7:35 PM EST
Venue: INTRUST Bank Arena — Wichita, KS
Coverage: TruTV
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Missouri vs Drake March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Missouri vs Drake can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: MIZ: (-270) | DRAKE: (+217)
Point Spread: MIZ: -6.5 (-108) | DRAKE: +6.5 (-114)
Total: 133.5 — Over: (-102) | Under: (-115)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Missouri | 15 | 125.3 (5) | 100.8 (70) | 68.2 (121) |
| Drake | 106 | 112.6 (76) | 98.5 (46) | 58.8 (364) |
Missouri vs Drake College Basketball Trends
- Missouri is 1-4 in its last five games.
- Drake is 5-0 in its last five games.
- Missouri is 12-3 in non-conference play this season.
- Drake is 13-0 in non-conference play this season.
- Missouri is 1-7 in its last eight NCAA Tournament games including a 1-2 record against double-digit seeds
- Drake has lost four straight games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri vs Drake Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
Missouri is one of the best shooting teams in the entire country. The Tigers rank 19th and 39th in the country in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, respectively. While they aren’t the best free throw shooting team as a whole, guard Tamar Bates shoots an incredible 94% from the free throw line, missing just five all season. Defensively, Missouri is not anything special, but that doesn’t matter when their offense gets going. One important stat to know: Missouri is 17-0 when they hold teams to 21 or fewer free throws, but are just 5-11 when they don’t.
In a shock to absolutely no one, Drake head coach Ben McCollum has a great basketball team. McCollum is in his first season at Drake after amassing a 395-91 record and four national championships at Division II college Northwest Missouri State. Drake not only sports a solid defense that can force even the best of teams to turn the ball over, but they also have star talent in guard Bennett Stirtz who averages over 19 points per game.
As crazy as it may seem, this entire game will come down to the play of one player. Missouri’s Caleb Grill is a massive key to this Tigers team and they struggle when he can’t get it going. Since the start of 2025, the Tigers are just 3-7 when he scores less than 15 points but 8-2 when he scores at least 15 points. Look for Drake to make it their mission to shut him down and get an upset.
For our Missouri vs Drake prediction, we are picking the Drake Bulldogs to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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