#771/772 ASA PLAY ON 8* Under 135.5 Points – Drake vs USC, Saturday at 4:30 PM ET - The Bulldogs struggled to put point on the board on Thursday beating Wichita State 53-52. The Shockers ranked 82 nationally in defensive efficiency and were one of the smaller teams in the tournament (243rd in effective height). Now they face a USC team that is HUGE and plays great defense ranking 20th nationally in defensive efficiency and 11th in eFG% defense. The only defense Drake saw this season that was on par with this USC defense was Loyola Chicago who is very good on that end of the court. In their 3 games vs the Ramblers, the Bulldogs scored 45 (in regulation), 54, and 65 points. They don’t take many 3 pointers and most of their scoring comes from inside the arc (59% of their points). The problem is the Trojans are fantastic and defending the 2-point shot (2nd nationally) and because of their massive height (7’0, 6’10, an 6’8 along the front line) they block a lot of shots and are tough to score over inside. Drake will struggle offensively again on Saturday. USC, same as Drake, doesn’t attempt many 3-point shots. On top of that, the Bulldogs defend the 3 well so we won’t see much scoring from behind the arc in this game. Both teams are slow paced so a limited number of possessions are expected. USC is a bad FT shooting team (64%) and Drake is just OK at 70%. Neither team fouls very often so most of the scoring should be done inside the arc which limits points in a low possession game. The Bulldogs when at full strength vs mainly average defenses in the MVC were solid offensively. However since the loss of Hemphill & Penn, two of their main offensive threats, they’ve averaged just 66 PPG over their last 10. Hemphill was back last night but is on a limited minute role (10 minutes vs Wichita) and Penn is still out. This one is an UNDER play for us.