The Belmont Bruins take on the Drake Bulldogs. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Belmont Drake prediction and pick. Find how to watch Belmont Drake.

The Drake Bulldogs are once again one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. Their veteran lineup is making one more run at a conference championship and what it hopes will be a berth in the NCAA Tournament followed by a deep run. Drake is two wins away from notching a fifth 24-win season in the past six years. The Bulldogs are three wins away from registering a fourth consecutive 25-win season. They have been great, and it's because they have been able to keep a core roster together with minimal defections to the transfer portal. This team is really good, but the real secret to its success is the chemistry of this group. When the same set of players stays together for a few years, they develop a level of cohesion which enhances communication, instincts, and all the various natural reactions which — when fine-tuned — produce better basketball.

Drake is tied with Indiana State for the Missouri Valley lead at 13-3. The Bulldogs need to win this game to stay in line to at least share the regular-season conference championship with the Sycamores.

The Belmont Bruins, having graduated to the MVC after leaving the Ohio Valley Conference — its previous conference home — are doing reasonably well. It's not easy to move up the conference ladder, but the Bruins are holding their own. They are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Valley entering this game. If they can get fourth place in the conference, they would get a bye in the Missouri Valley Tournament and would therefore have a better chance of getting the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Having to play and win one fewer conference tournament game improves the odds of winning the conference tournament, which is the ultimate goal for every Valley team.

Here are the Belmont-Drake College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Belmont-Drake Odds

Belmont Bruins: +9.5 (-105)

Drake Bulldogs: -9.5 (-115)

Over: 156.5 (-110)

Under: 156.5 (-110)

How To Watch Belmont vs Drake

Time: 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT

TV: ESPN Plus

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Belmont Could Cover the Spread

The spread is really large. Drake is a good team but has played a lot of close games in the Valley this season. The Bulldogs are a good team but have felt the strain of being a target alongside Indiana State. Drake has been such a fixture — and such a consistent winner — in the Missouri Valley over the past six years that the Bulldogs get everyone's best game. Belmont is a decent team and, while it might not win outright, should be able to put up a good enough fight that it will cover.

Why Drake Could Cover the Spread

The Bulldogs are playing at home against a team which is four games lower in the conference standings. Drake is 13-3 in the Missouri Valley, Belmont just 9-7. Drake badly needs this game to win or at least share the conference championship. Drake, as we have mentioned above, has a veteran roster which has been together for a few seasons and knows how to play together under pressure and great stress. Are you really going to bet against this kind of team in this kind of situation? There's a lot to like about Drake's situation entering this game.

Final Belmont-Drake Prediction & Pick

Drake very likely wins the game, but the spread is large. Stay away and wait for a live play.

Final Belmont-Drake Prediction & Pick: Drake -9.5