Murray State vs Missouri State Prediction 2/1/25 College Basketball Picks

The Murray State Racers and the Missouri State Bears meet Saturday in college basketball action from JQH Arena. Here’s a Murray State vs Missouri State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Murray State vs Missouri State pick. We will examine: 

The Murray State Racers’ recent form and player performance

The Missouri State Bears’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Murray State Racers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Missouri State Bears

Recent betting trends in games played between Murray State and Missouri State

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Murray State vs Missouri State game

Murray State Racers Betting Preview

The Racers have been a mixed bag so far this year. Murray State has a few brief win streaks among some losing stretches for a .500 record. The Racers beat Bethel TN, Middle Tennessee, Maryland Eastern Shore, Texas Arlington, Evansville, and Southeast Missouri State during a 6-2 opening run. After a losing streak to Western Kentucky, Indiana State, Nebraska and Charlotte came a 4-1 run with wins over Loyola Chicago, Drake, Northern Iowa, and Valparaiso (and a loss to Illinois State). Since then it’s been a 1-4 run for the Racers. The lone victory came over Southern Illinois. Otherwise, it was losses to UIC, Bradley, Belmont, and Evansville, resulting in an 11-11 overall run through the first 22 games of the year. 

In the Evansville matchup on Wednesday, the Racers came out of the first half with a 25-20 edge. Murray State lost it in the second, however, getting outpaced 58-49 the rest of the way to a 78-74 loss. JaCobi Wood led the team with 29 points, four rebounds, and two assists. AJ Ferguson put up 19 points with three rebounds and two assists, while Terence Harcum chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 32 minutes of work. 

Missouri State Bears Betting Preview

Over on the Missouri State side, they weren’t doing too badly by late December. The Bears haven’t recorded a victory since then, though. Missouri State opened on a 7-5 run with wins over Missouri Southern State, Tulsa, Texas Arlington, High Point, Oral Roberts, Lincoln MO, and UC Santa Barbara. The losses were to Butler, Boston College, South Dakota State, Indiana State, and Washington State. Since then it’s been losses to Evansville, Valparaiso, Bradley, UIC, Southern Illinois (twice), Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Drake, and Indiana State in succession. The result has been a 7-15 record through 22 games so far for the Bears. 

Matched up against Indiana State on Wednesday, the Bears hit a 36-25 advantage in the first half. Missouri State was blitzed 47-31 in the second half however, giving them a 72-67 loss in the end. Leading the team along the way was Dez White with 16 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Michael Osei-Bonsu added 14 points with six boards and two assists, while Chase Martin had 11 points with two rebounds and one assist off the bench. 

Why the Missouri State Bears will win

• Murray State has lost four of its last five games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Missouri State has won four of its last five day games at Great Southern Bank Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Murray State has lost the first half in six of its last eight day games against Conference opponents.

Why the Murray State Racers will win

• Missouri State has lost each of its last 12 games against Conference opponents.
• Murray State has won the first half in each of its last four road games against the Missouri Valley Conference.

Murray State vs Missouri State Prediction 

I’ll take a stab at Missouri State here, but I’m probably not touching it. The Bears are on a rough run, sure, but they’ve been competitive in a few of those recent losses. One came on the road versus Indiana State on Wednesday, as Missouri State shot 49.1 percent from the field with 27 rebounds and 13 team assists. The mistakes caught up with the Bears late though, as they committed 17 turnovers for 20 Sycamores points. Missouri State has scored 67 or more points in three of the last four games, so fix they can minimize the butterfingers this time they’ve got a decent shot at staying in range on the scoreboard—especially at home. If not, however, Murray State will control this game.