Betsided

Best College Basketball Prop Bets for Drake vs. Washington State in NCAA Tournament First Round

By Reed Wallach

Drake's Tucker DeVries shouts in celebration on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at The Knapp Center in Des
Drake's Tucker DeVries shouts in celebration on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at The Knapp Center in Des / Michelle Gutierrez/The Register / USA
facebooktwitterreddit

Drake and Washington State cap off coverage on Thursday night, the first of the Round of 64, with a barn-burner expected.

You can get our full betting preview here for this high-level matchup, but this is going to target player props for some of the most impactful players in the game, including Tucker DeVries, Jaylen Wells, and Myles Rice.

Here's three player props to close out Thursday's action:

New Caesars Sportsbook users, sign up below and get no-sweat first bet up to $1,000!

Best College Basketball Player Prop Bets for Drake vs. Washington State

  • Tucker DeVries OVER 19.5 Points
  • Jaylen Wells OVER 2.5 Three's Made
  • Myles Rice UNDER 14.5 Points

Tucker DeVries OVER 19.5 Points

DeVries is looking to avenge his dismal 1-for-13 shooting performance in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament against Miami, and the sixth-leading scorer in the country may be up to the task against Washington State.

Wazzu is outside the top 200 nationally in the midrange and post-up points allowed per possession, according to ShotQuality, which is where DeVries thrives. The 6'7" forward is dangerous in the high post as he initiates contact and has a deft turnaround jumper. It helps that the Bulldogs forward is an 81% free throw shooter as well.

Look for DeVries to get his fair share of shots up and get to his season average, even against a stout defense of Washington State.

Jaylen Wells OVER 2.5 Three's Made

Drake's defense is built around packing in the paint, cleaning the glass, and forcing contested jump shots. While Washington State is a rim-running offense, the team has a dangerous three-point shooter in Jaylen Wells, who has canned over 42% of his threes this season.

Wells takes about five threes per game, but given the schematic matchup, I think we can see an above-average volume from deep and for Wells to get to three threes at + money.

Myles Rice UNDER 14.5 Points

Given how Drake lines up on defense, I think the stud freshman may underperform his scoring output on Thursday night.

Rice loves to get inside with an innate ability to finish around the rim, but Drake's defense is built to keep opponents out of the paint, so I think we see him take on the role of a facilitator more given that he's a 27% three-point shooter this season.

Further, Rice struggled to close the season, failing to go over this number in six of the last eight games. Did he hit the freshman wall? Possibly this matchup won't help his case.

Looking for more March Madness betting coverage? We got you covered right here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Track Reed's bets here!

Home/March Madness