Drake vs USC Pick: West Region Round 1, March 20th

Drake vs USC Pick – Saturday, March 20th – West Region Round One: Drake won its first NCAA tournament game in 50 years Thursday in a 53-52 victory over Wichita State in a First Four matchup of No. 11 seeds. Sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu led Drake with 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting, logging all 40 minutes in the win. Senior Tremell Murphy carried over his great play from the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. He combined to score 40 points on 16 for 20 shooting in a semifinal win over Missouri State and a loss to Loyola Chicago. He had 11 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists. Meanwhile, 6’10 275 pound Junior Darnell Brodie dealt with foul trouble and still put up 9 points 10 rebounds. He averaged 7.7 points 7.2 rebounds on the season. Star point guard Roman Penn suffered a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 21, and forward ShanQuan “Tank” Hemphill, the Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Year, broke his foot on Feb. 10. Hemphill underwent surgery and made his first appearance since the injury Thursday night, scoring three points and grabbing four rebounds in 10 minutes. Drake struggled with their shot against Wichita State and went for long stretches without scoring. After hitting 49.4% from the field on the year, they hit just 37.7% against the Shockers.

〉More March Madness Betting: UC Santa Barbara vs Creighton

After squeaking by Utah 91-85 in double overtime in the Pac12 quarterfinals, USC fell to Colorado 72-70 in the Semi’s 7 Foot freshman Evan Mobley was excellent in the loss going for 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He led the Trojans on the season averaging 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. Guard Tahj Eaddy is the other Trojan averaging double digits with 13.7 points. Guard Drew Peterson just missed double digits averaging 9.9 points 5 offensive boards per game on the season. USC closed the season poorly, losing 4 of 8. Will they be able to turn it on here? USC scores 74.8 points per game, hits 46.7% from the field, 34.8% from behind the arc, and 64.8% from the foul line.