Missouri State hosts Stirtz and Drake
Drake Bulldogs (17-2, 7-2 MVC) at Missouri State Bears (7-13, 0-9 MVC)
Springfield, Missouri; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -8.5; over/under is 119.5
BOTTOM LINE: Drake visits Missouri State after Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points in Drake's 81-71 victory over the Valparaiso Beacons.
The Bears have gone 5-4 at home. Missouri State is seventh in the MVC at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 72.8 points while holding opponents to 47.5% shooting.
The Bulldogs are 7-2 against MVC opponents. Drake has a 13-2 record against teams over .500.
Missouri State scores 70.0 points, 12.2 more per game than the 57.8 Drake allows. Drake has shot at a 49.0% clip from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points greater than the 47.5% shooting opponents of Missouri State have averaged.
The Bears and Bulldogs square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Dez White is averaging 15.5 points for the Bears. Vincent Brady II is averaging 12.7 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 43.3% over the last 10 games.
Mitch Mascari averages 3.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, scoring 11.8 points while shooting 47.0% from beyond the arc. Stirtz is shooting 48.1% and averaging 17.6 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bears: 2-8, averaging 62.9 points, 26.2 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 6.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.8 points per game.
Bulldogs: 8-2, averaging 68.4 points, 27.7 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 9.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.