The No. 1 seed Drake Bulldogs (27-3, 17-3 MVC) will try to stay on track for a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title when they face the No. 8 seed Southern Illinois Salukis (14-18, 8-12) in the quarterfinals of 2025 Arch Madness on Friday afternoon. Drake cruised to a regular-season championship, winning the league by two games over second-place Bradley. The Bulldogs earned a first-round bye, while Southern Illinois used a late shot to win a thriller against No. 9 seed Indiana State on Thursday afternoon. Drake notched a 75-65 road win in the lone regular-season meeting between these teams, which came on Feb. 1.
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on Friday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Drake is favored by 9.5 points in the latest Drake vs. Southern Illinois odds, while the over/under is 127.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Southern Illinois vs. Drake picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 18 of the 2024-25 season on a 221-162 betting roll (+1895) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Drake-Southern Illinois. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
Drake vs. Southern Illinois spread: Drake -9.5Drake vs. Southern Illinois over/under: 127.5 pointsDrake vs. Southern Illinois money line: Drake -532, Southern Illinois +391Drake vs. Southern Illinois picks: See picks hereDrake vs. Southern Illinois streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Drake can cover
Drake has been one of the biggest mid-major stories in college basketball this season, with first-year coach Ben McCollum leading his team to a conference title and the No. 1 seed in the MVC…
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