Posted at 8:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle -106 BET365 -105 Sportsinteraction -105  888Sport -105 

Washington State -106 over Drake

CHI Health Center – Omaha, NE

Men's Basketball Championship - East Region - 1st Round

Steaming: truTV

10:05 PM EST. In the first round, the market is apt to dig for a trendy dog to make or break one’s bracket. Though the options are copious, there seems to always be a few names that emerge from the thickets to become a popular choice. Seemingly, Drake is one of those sides as the #10 Bulldogs are opened as a slight underdog and have since jumped the fence to where they are spotting a porkchop to the #7 Cougars. This in itself equates to value but there are more factors that have us leaning to Washington State given the enhanced tag we now get to take advantage of.

The Cougars are a team that play a slow and methodical style and enjoy playing a physical brand of basketball, which is quite contrary to the offense-oriented approach of Drake. The Cougars love to suffocate opponents from beyond the arc (they are 19th in both three-point field goals made against and three-point field goal attempts against) and rub shoulders in the paint. This is an area where the Cougars excel, as they stand as one of the best teams in the country in allowing rebounds (24th overall) where Drake sits near the bottom in offensive rebounds at 324th in America. While we are not one for breaking down X’s and O’s, we highlight this because Washington State will force Drake to play 40 minutes in a phone-booth so to speak. The matchup in itself is a nightmare, as the Bulldogs are renowned typically as an aggressive and fast-paced bunch. However, Drake is tasked with dealing with an outfit that resorts to body blows.

We also have the stock of Washington State, which remains in the tank. The Cougars have not won a tournament game since 2008 and the market is buying into this theme as much as anything else. The fact remains that despite the Cougs being winless in March Madness in 16 years they were still favored here against a team that has made it to the tourney three of the last four seasons. This same Drake team that is getting all the love and affection from the public that is fascinated by useless narratives. In this case, Drake is a club that is “poised” to make a run and get over the hump because they are drawing a listless outfit who haven’t won a tourney game in two decades. We repeat that this very team was still priced as an underdog initially. The bottom line is we get a chance to move in on an underpriced squad.

Sherwood

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