Drake vs Missouri State Prediction 1/25/25 College Basketball Picks

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

The Missouri State Bears’ recent form and player performance

The Drake Bulldogs’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Drake Bulldogs

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Missouri State Bears

Recent betting trends in games played between Drake and Missouri State

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

Drake Bulldogs Betting Preview

Drake has been one of the most successful teams in the nation so far this year. Outside of consecutive losses early this month, the Bulldogs are spotless in the record column. Drake took out York College Nebraska, Stephen F. Austin, Florida Gulf Coast, Miami, FAU, Vanderbilt, Georgia Southern, Valparaiso, St. Ambrose, Kansas State, Green Bay, and Belmont during their first dozen games, then lost to UIC and Murray State. Since then it’s been more wins over Bradley, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, and Valparaiso in succession, giving the Bulldogs a nice 17-2 overall record through 19 games so far this year.

Matched up against Valparaiso in their Wednesday game, the Bulldogs went into the locker room sporting a 43-29 edge. Drake let off the gas in the second on a  42-38 deficit but still took the 10-point win 81-71 in the end. Bennett Stirtz led the team on 24 points with nine assists and five boards. Mitch Mascari added 21 points with four rebounds in 40 minutes as well.

Missouri State Bears Betting Preview

Over on the Missouri State side, they’ve had a significantly more difficult time finding success this year, despite posting a reasonable record in their first dozen outings. Missouri State beat Missouri Southern State, Tulsa, TX-Arlington, High Point, Oral Roberts, Lincoln MO, and UC Santa Barbara with losses to Butler, Boston College, South Dakota State, Indiana State, and Washington State in their first 12 matchups. It’s been an ugly losing streak since then, though. Missouri State has fallen to Evansville, Valparaiso, Bradley, UIC, Southern Illinois (twice), Illinois State, and Northern Iowa in their last eight games for a 7-13 overall record through 20 games.

On Tuesday in the Northern Iowa matchup, the Bears held a 37-31 deficit by the break. Missouri State fell further behind in the second on a 42-37 run and took the loss 79-68 in the end. Topping the scorer was Zaxton King with 17 points, three steals, and four rebounds. Michael Osei-Bonsu added 11 points with eight boards, and Dez White had 10 points.

Drake vs Missouri State Prediction

I’m staying with Drake. The Bulldogs are looking great these days and coming off another nice win over a middling Valparaiso team. Drake posted 55.3 percent shooting in that one with 27 rebounds and a nice 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the line. The Bulldogs have scored a combined 152 points in their last two games, which is a nice upgrade after 66 or fewer in four straight (a 3-1 run).

As for Missouri State, they shot quite well (53.2 percent) and had a 27-27 rebounding tie against a decent Northern Iowa team in their latest loss. The problem (mostly) was the Bears’ issues with ball security. Missouri State gave up 13 turnovers for 18 Panthers points in the defeat. Considering the Bears have been below 69 points in four of their last five (an 0-5 stretch), I’m not sure they’ve got the firepower to keep pace with Drake in any capacity—even at home. The Bulldogs should own this one from wire to wire, so long as they can keep the turnovers under control themselves.