Belmont Bruins (16-11) vs. Drake Bulldogs (22-5)
February 21, 2024 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Drake Bulldogs -9.5; Over/Under: +155.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Belmont Bruins and the Drake Bulldogs meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Knapp Center. Belmont is fresh off a win over UIC that improved the Bruins to 16-11 so far. As for Drake, they’re 22-5 overall and coming off a win over Murray State. Let’s get into our Belmont vs. Drake prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Belmont Bruins
The Bruins started out on a decent 11-5 run this year, then lost to Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Bradley, Illinois State, Indiana State and Missouri over the next seven. Since then it’s been wins over Murray State, Valparaiso, Southern Illinois and UIC in their last quartet.
Matched up against UIC on Sunday, the Bruins jumped out to a 46-32 halftime edge. Belmont kept the pace from there with 29 more points and cruised to the win 75-60. Cade Tyson was the top scorer on the team with 18 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes of work.
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Drake Bulldogs
Over on the Drake side, they only lost five of their first 23 games this year. Those defeats came courtesy of Stephen F. Austin, UAB, Belmont, Missouri State and Indiana State. The Bulldogs have beaten Southern Illinois, Bradley, Evansville and Murray State in the last four.
In the Murray State game on Sunday, the Bulldogs posted a pretty easy win. Drake was up 48-29 by halftime and closed on a 47-43 run for a blowout result 95-72. Kevin Overton was tops on 23 points, and Tucker DeVries adds 22 points with seven rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE BELMONT VS DRAKE PREDICTION
I’ll stay with Drake. The Bulldogs are playing well right now and coming off a blowout win over a middling Murray State team. Drake hit a scorching 60.7 percent from the field in that one and 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from 3-point range. In four straight games, the Bulldogs have hit 74 points or more.
As for Belmont, they were able to take a home victory the last time these teams met up back on January 7. In the 87-65 win, the Bruins got off to a great start and eventually shot 57.1 percent from the field. It was a sloppy game with 15 turnovers on each side, but I like Drake to bounce back with a much better effort in the home rematch. I think the Bulldogs will get some revenge with a cover here.
