posted February 22, 2008 at 18:29 in NCAA B Free Picks

It ain't nothin' but bulldogs on the court on Saturday, as the Drake Bulldogs (23-3 SU, 16-5-1 ATS) visits Indianapolis to play the Butler Bulldogs (25-2 SU, 13-12-1 ATS) in a special "bracket-buster" game that will pit two of the nation's best teams, and perhaps the two best from "mid-major" conferences, tipping off at 5 PM ET from the Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* DRAKE has played six of its last seven games OVER The total

* DRAKE is 4-0-1 ATS in its last five road games

* DRAKE has won nine of its last ten road games SU

* BUT is 4-9-1 ATS in its last 14 games

* BUT has won its last nine games SU

* BUT has covered two of its last seven home games

* BUT is 13-0 SU at home this season

* BUT has played four of its last five home games UNDER the total

There are some similarities between these teams, not just that they have come out of lightly-regarded conferences (Drake the Missouri Valley, Butler the Horizon) to break into the upper reaches of the national rankings. They both take good care of the ball (Butler commits just 10.3 turnovers a game, Drake only 12), they have similar shooting percentages (45% for Drake, 45.1% for Butler), both hit about the same amount of three-pointers, both are about 75% from the line, both like to control the pace, and while neither of them plays what one could call "lockdown" defense, they are capable in that regard.

Drake's Tuesday loss to Bradley puts a damper on things, this is true, and Butler is the team that is in the top ten. However, Butler has been through some shooting woes lately, hitting just 39% against Wisconsin-Green Bay, 42% against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 40% against Cleveland State and 38% against Illinois-Chicago. On balance, this is weaker opposition than Drake faces in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Drake is more offensively capable than any of those aforementioned opponents, all of whom Butler defeated.

We're not expecting another mental breakdown from a Drake team that went scoreless in the final five minutes of the Bradley game, turning a ten-point lead into a deficit. And the Bulldogs from Des Moines have the more versatile front court people, including Jonathan Cox, who leads the conference in both three-point percentage AND rebounding (if you can believe it).

We'll grab the points with Drake, the underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PREDICTION: DRAKE BY 3

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)