Northern Iowa @ Drake | 03/05 | 11:00 PM UTC
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ANALYSIS: Drake and Northern Iowa collide in the Missouri Valley Tournament... Join SportsLine now to see the full pick!
ANALYSIS: Drake and Northern Iowa collide in the Missouri Valley Tournament... Join SportsLine now to see the full pick!
ANALYSIS: Missouri State won and covered both meetings with Valparaiso and is the third-best team in the Missouri Valley. The Bears, who shoot 48.3 percent from the field, need to winning the MVC Tournament to get to the NCAAs. It starts on Friday. Valpo has lost four of its last six, while Missouri State has won seven of its last eight (6-1-1 ATS). Big win and cover by the Bears.
ANALYSIS: It’s go time for Belmont. The winner of the Ohio Valley Tournament is going to the NCAAs; that’s it. The Bruins went 25-3 this season for this moment. They went 17-9-1 ATS and were clearly the best team in OVC play. Belmont won both meetings this season against Jacksonville State, covering one. On Friday Belmont validates its regular-season work and covers.
ANALYSIS: The neutral game site in Evansville, Ind., for the OVC Tournament gives Eastern Kentucky the edge because the Colonels handled being away from home much better than Austin Peay, going 11-4 during their 21-6 season (16-8-1 ATS). The spread suggests these two are rated much closer than I have them, but Austin Peay comes in limping with three straight losses, and losses in four of its last five (1-4 ATS). I’m on Eastern Kentucky.
ANALYSIS: Southern Utah has been cruising along all season in the Big Sky Conference, with coach Todd Simon doing an amazing job. The Thunderbirds are 17-3 overall, 10-2 in conference play and tied for first in the Big Sky. This is a huge game for them, and they'll have to beat Portland State again on Saturday in their regular-season finale. Southern Utah averages 85.6 points, which is third in the nation, shoots 47.6 percent from the field and has senior point guard John Knight III running the show. The Thunderbirds are the play.