Southern Illinois vs. Drake odds, prediction: 2026 MVC Tournament picks from proven model

'Arch Madness' returns to St. Louis as the 2026 MVC Tournament tips on Thursday afternoon. The first matchup is the No. 8 seed Southern Illinois Salukis taking on the No. 9 Drake Bulldogs. The winner advances to face top-seeded Belmont on Friday. SIU is 16-15 on the season and 10-10 in the MVC. Drake is 12-19 with a 6-14 MVC mark. These teams split their two matchups in the regular season both straight up and against the spread. 

Tipoff from the Enterprise Center is set for 4:30 p.m. ET. The Salukis are 4.5-point favorites in the latest Southern Illinois vs. Drake odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 135.5. Before making any Drake vs. Southern Illinois picks, check out the men's college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets if your first $5+ bet wins:

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered Week 18 on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 23-17 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.    

Now, the model has simulated Drake vs. SIU 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men's college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several men's college basketball odds and men's college basketball betting lines for Drake vs. SIU:

New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get $100 in bonus bets at FanDuel if your first $5+ bet wins:

Top Drake vs. Southern Illinois predictions

SportsLine's model is going Over on the total (135.5 points). These teams have seen contrasting trends on the total this season with SIU regularly going Under, while Drake trended to the Over. One intriguing note, however, is that Drake game went Over 76% of the time when the line was between 132-145, which is the case for this matchup.

It's the third matchup of the year for these teams, with one going each way in terms of the total thus far. This time around, the model is projecting 145 combined points as the Over hits in 73% of simulations.

How to make Southern Illinois vs. Drake picks

The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Drake vs. Southern Illinois, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.