Drake vs Wichita State Pick: West Region First Four, March 18th

Drake vs Wichita State Pick – Thursday, March 18th – West Region First Four: Drake comes into their first four meeting with Wichita State with a 25-4 record, and are 20-6-1 ATS on the season, and have gone Over the betting total in 17 of their 27 games this season. They take on a Wichita State team that is 16-5 on the season, with a 9-9-1 ATS record, and have gone Under the betting total in 10 of their 19 games this season. The two teams meet for a chance to face USC on Saturday in March Madness’s first round.

〉More March Madness Betting: Appalachian St. vs Norfolk St. Pick

Drake: The Bulldogs finished the regular season 2nd in the Mississippi Valley Conference. They met Loyola Chicago in the final and lost 75-65. It was their 3rd meeting of the season vs Loyola Chicago, losing the first in ugly fashion 81-54, they came back the following night and beat them in overtime 51-50 in a rock fight, before losing March 7th in the Conference Final. Loyola Chicago shot 59.1% from the field and 58.8% from three and were in control the whole time. Drake was 22-2 before losing Starting point guard Roman Penn for the season to a leg injury. They went 3-2 without him. Penn gets 5.5 assists per game. The rest of the team averages 8.3. They are led by 6’6 Senior Shanquan Hemphill, who averages 14.1 points per game & 6.3 boards. Drake shoots the ball well, hitting 49.4% from the field, 37.0% from three, and 71.3% from the stripe.

Wichita State: The Shockers won the regular-season American crown. They had an eight-game winning streak heading into the conference tournament’s semi-finals when they were upset by Cincinnati as 4 point favorites. Alterique Gilbert had 14 points to lead Wichita State; he averaged 10.3 on the season. Leading scorer Tyson Etienne, the conference’s co-player of the year, had 13 points. He averaged 17 on the season. Those are the only two shockers averaging double digits. Wichita State struggles shooting the ball at times, hitting just 40.8% from the field, 34.2% from three, and 68.9% from the stripe.