Drake vs Washington State Pick & Prediction for Thursday

Read our full betting preview for Drake vs Washington State below.

The No. 7 Washington State Cougars make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. It's been one of the laughingstock programs in high-major basketball, and it's finally back into the Big Dance.

Let's see how the Cougars fare against the No. 10 Drake Bulldogs, the champions of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs return to the NCAA Tournament for a third time in four seasons and will look to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time during this impressive stretch.

The NCAA Selection Committee showed the Drake Bulldogs some respect by giving them a No. 10 seed. Since February, the Bulldogs only lost twice.

Tucker DeVries is one of the best players in the sport. He just secured his second straight MVC Player of the Year award, averaging 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists. The 6-foot-7 versatile wing also added more playmaking to his arsenal due to a shaky point guard situation in Des Moines.

I'd bet DeVries wants this spot, too, after scoring just five points on 2-of-12 shooting in last year's tourney loss against Miami.

The Bulldogs' offense focuses heavily on shooting from downtown, attempting 3s on 41% of their field goals. DeVries is a solid shooter, but the trio of Atin Wright (40%), Conor Enright (44%) and Kevin Overton (36%) hitting shots could vault the Bulldogs to a win.

Wright is the most important of the bunch, averaging 13.9 points, including 20 in the Valley title game.

The X-Factor for Drake? Big-man Darnell Brodie. Let's face it: Drake doesn't have more physicality or length than the Cougars, but Brodie exudes exactly what the Washington State bigs do.

The issue is Brodie is the only bruiser on Darian DeVries' roster, so he'll need to avoid foul issues in this one, or the Bulldogs will lose interior size.

Washington State generated plenty of national headlines after beating Arizona in Tucson, but the Cougars lost three of their final six games. The Cougars scored fewer than 70 points in each of those three losses, which is a potential problem for the No. 7 seed.

The Cougars' offense ranks 64th in Offensive Efficiency, with an effective field goal percentage of 52% and a 3-point percentage of 34%. They just don't do anything exceptional on the offensive end — Wazzu wants to slow the game to a halt and make plays late in the clock.

Big man Isaac Jones leads the Cougars in scoring and rebounding with 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. I'd argue that he's not one of the top two most important scorers for Wazzu, though.

You know why? Myles Rice is the only real facilitator/shot-creator on the roster — he's averaging 15.1 points and 3.9 dimes.

The other most important piece is Jaylen Wells, a transfer from D-II Sonoma State. Standing at 6-foot-8, Wells is one of the sport's premier perimeter shooters, connecting on 42% of his shots from 3. When Wells is going right, his shooting opens up the scoring lane for Jones.

Washington State's bread and butter is defense. The Cougars have a ton of length, which makes shots difficult for opposing teams. Against the reliable Washington State defense, opponents shoot just 46% from 2-point range and 32% from 3.

Another advantage for Washington State is in the height department, as it ranks second nationally in average height, per KenPom. Drake ranks 307th nationally in the same metric.

I just don't think Washington State is seven-seed good, and the analytics know it. Washington State is three lines ahead of Drake, yet the Cougars are underdogs.

Coach Kyle Smith wants to slow the game down, and Drake will be in a great position if it can speed up Wazzu's offense.

There isn't enough shooting in the Cougs' arsenal to battle in a high-scoring showdown.

Pick: Drake ML