Missouri Tigers and Drake Bulldogs square off in the opening round of NCAA Tournament

Drake Bulldogs (30-3, 20-3 MVC) vs. Missouri Tigers (22-11, 11-9 SEC)

Wichita, Kansas; Thursday, 7:35 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -6.5; over/under is 132.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 23 Missouri takes on Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers are 11-9 against SEC opponents and 11-2 in non-conference play. Missouri is fourth in the SEC scoring 84.5 points while shooting 48.5% from the field.

The Bulldogs are 20-3 in MVC play. Drake scores 70.1 points and has outscored opponents by 11.7 points per game.

Missouri averages 84.5 points, 26.1 more per game than the 58.4 Drake gives up. Drake averages 70.1 points per game, 3.7 fewer than the 73.8 Missouri gives up.

TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Grill averages 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Tigers, scoring 13.7 points while shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc. Mark Mitchell is averaging 14.1 points over the past 10 games.

Bennett Stirtz is averaging 19.1 points, 5.7 assists and 2.2 steals for the Bulldogs. Tavion Banks is averaging 10.5 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 5-5, averaging 89.1 points, 29.6 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 8.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.5 points per game.

Bulldogs: 9-1, averaging 68.9 points, 29.7 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 8.7 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

By The Associated Press