Mar 14, 2021 - 10:30 PM ET
A busy week of basketball begins this Thursday with the First Four, as No. 11-seed teams the Wichita State Shockers and Drake Bulldogs take to the floor in a play-in contest.
College basketball betting odds opened with the Shockers as 2-point favorites to win and move on to face the No. 6 seed USC Trojans in the first round of the West Region.
Here are our best free March Madness picks and predictions for Wichita State vs. Drake on Thursday, March 18, with tipoff at 6:27 p.m. ET.
Wichita State vs Drake odds
Sharp money and line movement report
College basketball picks and predictions for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Loyola Chicago Ramblers. March Madness betting free picks ATS and Over/Under.
Conference: Big Ten. Bid: Automatic. Region: Midwest. Seed: No. 1. Tournament History: 40-31, 5 Final Fours in 30 appearances. Last appearance: 2013, lost to Miami in the Second Round. Season Stats Top Scorers: Ayo Dosunmu 20.9; Kofi Cockburn 17.6; Trent Frazier 10.4. Rebounds: Cockburn 9.6; Dosunmu 6.2; Avg team margin (plus-10.2). Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.23): Dosunmu (5.4/3.3), 135 assists. Last 10 Games: 9-1. Worst Loss: 72-81 at Michigan St. on Feb. 23. The Skinny: No. 3 Illinois claimed its first Big Ten Tournament title since 2005 by topping No. 9 Ohio State. Illinois has won seven straight, six in a row over top-10 foes and 14 of its last 15. The Illini are big, fast and strong and a legitimate national title contender. Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu both scored 16 points, both grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in overtime against the Buckeyes.
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Friday’s college roundup: Michigan coach tossed as Wolverines hold off Terps in Big Ten tourney
Michigan Coach Juwan Howard is ejected for arguing with Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon during a Big Ten quarterfinal.
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Michigan Coach Juwan Howard questions a call in the second half of Friday’s game against Maryland. Howard was later ejected from the game.
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Michigan Coach Juwan Howard was ejected midway through the second half after getting a shouting match with the Maryland bench, and the No. 4 Wolverines won 79-66 Friday to reach the Big Ten semifinals.
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Missouri State advances at Hoops in the Heartland
The 17th-ranked and top-seeded Missouri State Lady Bears opened Missouri Valley Conference Tournament play Friday with a 70-59 victory over eighth-seeded Southern Illinois at TaxSlayer Center.
The Lady Bears (21-2) won their 17th game in a row to advance to the Valley Tournament semifinals for the 22nd time, with MVC Player of the Year Brice Calip scoring 17 points to surpass 1,300 in her career, Abby Hipp tallying 11 and Elle Ruffridge adding 10.
The first quarter saw four ties and seven lead changes to a 17-17 deadlock, and Missouri State took the lead for good when Calip and Hipp combined for a 7-0 run to open the second period for a 24-17 lead with 8:21 on the clock.