Southern Illinois vs. Drake Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - MVC Tournament

The No. 8 seed Southern Illinois Salukis (16-15, 10-10 MVC) are 4.5-point favorites to win and move closer to a guaranteed berth in the NCAA Tournament bracket against the No. 9 seed Drake Bulldogs (12-19, 6-14 MVC) in the MVC Tournament Thursday at Enterprise Center, starting at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The matchup has an over/under set at 135.5 points.

Southern Illinois enters this game on the heels of an 81-67 win against Evansville on Sunday. In the win, Damien Mayo Jr. paced Southern Illinois with 23 points. Drake enters this matchup after a 75-53 loss to Northern Iowa on Sunday. Eli Shetlar totaled 15 points, three rebounds and one assist for Drake.

Southern Illinois vs. Drake Odds and Game Time

• When: Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri
• Spread favorite: Southern Illinois -4.5
• Moneyline favorite: Southern Illinois -231
• Moneyline underdog: Drake +189
• Over/Under: 135.5 points

How to watch Southern Illinois vs. Drake

• TV Channel: ESPN+
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Southern Illinois vs. Drake

• This season, Southern Illinois and its opponents have combined to outscore Thursday's over/under of 135.5 points 19 times.
• In Drake's 29 games this season, 22 finished with more combined points than Thursday's over/under of 135.5.
• The Salukis average 73.3 points per game against the Bulldogs' 75.3, amounting to 13.1 points over the contest's total of 135.5.
• The 144.8 points per game these two teams allow to opponents on average this season are 9.3 more than the 135.5 over/under in this contest.
• Southern Illinois has a 143 average over/under in its games this season, 7.5 more points than the over/under in this contest.
• The over/under for this game is 15.0 points lower than the average over/under in Drake's games this season (150.5 points).

Betting the Spread: Southern Illinois vs. Drake

• Southern Illinois is 16-14-0 against the spread this year.
• This season, the Salukis have an ATS record of 6-3 in their nine games as a favorite of 4.5 points or more.
• Drake has played 29 games, with eight wins against the spread.
• The Bulldogs are 5-6 ATS when underdogs by 4.5 points or more this year.
• Southern Illinois is 5-8 against the spread, and 7-6 overall, at home.
• At home, Southern Illinois is 4-3 ATS as a 4.5-point favorite or greater.
• Away from home, Drake is 4-7 overall and 3-8 against the spread.

Betting the Moneyline: Southern Illinois vs. Drake

• Southern Illinois has been the moneyline favorite in 15 games this season and won 10 (66.7%) of those contests.
• The Salukis have entered nine games this season favored by -231 or more and are 8-1 in those contests.
• Southern Illinois has a 69.8% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
• Drake has been chosen as moneyline underdogs in 18 games this year and has walked away with the win five times (27.8%) in those games.
• This year, the Bulldogs have won two of eight games when listed as at least +189 or worse on the moneyline.
• Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Drake has a 34.6% chance of pulling out a win.