Drake vs Belmont Prediction 3/6/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Drake Bulldogs and the Belmont Bruins meet Friday in MVC Tournament college basketball action from Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Here’s a Drake vs Belmont prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Drake vs Belmont pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game. 

Drake Bulldogs Betting Preview

The Bulldogs have had a pretty rocky year overall. Drake hit a 4-1 stretch back in January with wins over Southern Illinois, Murray State, Indiana State and Evansville, which put the team at 12-10 overall through the first 22 games. The Bulldogs would record losses in each of the next nine outings however, before taking out Southern Illinois in the MVC Tournament first round.

On Thursday versus Southern Illinois, Drake was down by four points 31-27 going into the second half. The Bulldogs came back on a 40-32 run from there however, powering out the 67-63 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Jalen Quinn with 22 points and four boards. Eli Shetlar added 16 points with three rebounds in the victory as well.

Belmont Bruins Betting Preview

Over on the Belmont side, they started out the year at 13-3 then took wins over Northern Iowa, Drake, Valparaiso, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Valparaiso, Murray State, Drake and UIC. After a loss to Bradley the Bruins beat Northern Iowa, Murray State, Indiana State and Evansville before a loss to Illinois State. That gives Belmont a 26-5 overall record this year.

Matched up against Illinois State on Sunday the Bruins headed back out onto the court in the second half with a slim 40-38 edge. Belmont got outscored 43-34 the rest of the way however, leading to an 81-74 loss in the end. Tops in scoring was Tyler Lundblade with 17 points, and Jabez Jenkins added 14 points with six boards, three assists and three steals in the defeat.

Drake vs Belmont Prediction

I’ll probably just stick with Belmont. The Bruins had a bad second half against a pretty decent Illinois State team in their last outing though, eventually shooting just 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the line with 47.2 percent shooting allowed from the field on defense. Belmont did pretty well otherwise, hitting 50 percent from the field with just nine turnovers. The Bruins are still 4-1 in their last five games, scoring 87 or more points in each of those victories.

Belmont won both meetings between these teams this year, 78-76 on the road January 10 and 103-90 at home on February 3. In that most recent matchup the Bruins shot a nice 59.1 percent from the field with 48.6 percent (17-of-35) from outside. Belmont had a 42-34 edge in the paint and put up just five turnovers but did give up 53.3 percent shooting on defense. The 32-24 rebounding deficit didn’t help either. Drake can give Belmont some problems here if the Bulldogs play well.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Belmont Bruins TBA