The Drake Bulldogs (4-0) will aim for their second straight upset when they face the Florida Atlantic Owls (4-2) in the 2024 Charleston Classic semifinals on Friday morning. Drake took down Miami (FL) as a 9.5-point underdog on Thursday afternoon, notching an 80-69 win in a game that it led wire-to-wire. Florida Atlantic got past Oklahoma State in one of the other quarterfinals, picking up an 86-78 win after pulling away in the second half. This is the first meeting between these schools since 2002.
Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday at TD Arena. Florida Atlantic is favored by 4 points in the latest FAU vs. Drake odds, while the over/under is 146 points per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Drake vs. FAU picks, you'll want to see the NCAA Basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 3 of the 2024-25 season on a 156-114 betting roll (+1762) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on FAU-Drake. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- FAU vs. Drake spread: FAU -4
- FAU vs. Drake over/under: 146 points
- FAU vs. Drake money line: FAU: -165, Drake: +140
- FAU vs. Drake picks: See picks here
- FAU vs. Drake streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Florida Atlantic can cover
Florida Atlantic lost a pair of high-scoring games away from home last week, but it bounced back with an overtime win against Liberty as a 1.5-point underdog on Saturday. Freshman center Matas Vokietaitis had 17 points and six rebounds on 7 of 9 shooting, while junior guard Leland Walker added 16 points and three assists. The Owls got off to a hot start in this tournament with an 86-78 win over Oklahoma State on Thursday, covering the spread as 2-point favorites.
Senior guard KyKy Tandy had 21 points, while Walker completed a 3-point play with 4:38 remaining to give FAU its first lead since it was 16-14. Tandy drilled a 3-pointer with 2:41 remaining to cap a decisive 11-1 FAU run. The Owls have won eight of their last 12 games dating back to last season, and they are 9-3 in their last 12 Friday games. See which team to pick here.
Why Drake can cover
Drake remained perfect on the season with its best showing of the campaign on Thursday, taking down Miami as nearly a double-digit underdog. The Bulldogs had previously notched a pair of wins over Division I opponents in Stephen F. Austin and Florida Gulf Coast. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes on Thursday and never trailed in a wire-to-wire win.
It was Drake's first win over an ACC opponent since beating Wake Forest in the second game of the 2017-18 season. The Bulldogs entered Thursday's game ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 51.0 points per game. Miami was scoring 98 points per game prior to that matchup, so Drake was able to flex its defense against a quality opponent. See which team to pick here.
How to make FAU vs. Drake picks
The model has simulated Drake vs. Florida Atlantic 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins FAU vs. Drake, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Drake vs. FAU spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 156-114 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
