One week since winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, Drake basketball knows who its opponent will be in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 11-seeded Bulldogs will face 6-seed Missouri in Wichita on Thursday.
Behind first-year head coach Ben McCollum, Larry Bird Trophy winner Bennett Stirtz – and three other Division II transfers – Drake enters the tournament on a seven-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs set a program record with 30 wins and won its third-straight conference championship. Could Drake’s eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament be the charm?
Here is a breakdown of the Bulldogs’ matchup against Missouri.
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Drake basketball enjoys its best season in decades
The Bulldogs are one of five programs nationwide with 30-or-more wins this season and only one of two – alongside Duke – with just three losses. That record includes wins against Miami, Vanderbilt and Kansas State.
Drake’s success can be attributed to a lot of things, but the four players that McCollum brought with him from Northwest Missouri State played a huge role in keeping the Bulldogs at the top, despite the departure of Darian DeVries and most of last season’s roster.
Stirtz leads all NCAA Division I players in minutes per game, averaging 39.2 and playing 40-or-more minutes in 22 of 33 games this season. The 6-foot-4 guard led the Missouri Valley Conference in points (631), assists (188) and steals (71). His averages – 19.1 points, 5.7 assists and 2.15 steals per game – are all top 40 in Division I.
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Missouri’s season-long turnaround lands the Tigers in Big Dance
The Tigers went 0-18 against SEC opponents last season, but this year has been very, very different. Missouri defeated Kansas – when the Jayhawks were No. 1 – and dropped 110 points on Alabama.
A year ago, the Tigers were 215th in the nation in scoring offense. This year, Missouri is ninth in the nation, averaging 84.5 points per game. Mark Mitchell leads the way, averaging 14.1 points per game while shooting 51.2% overall.
But basketball fans in Iowa may be more familiar with a different pair of players on Missouri’s roster. Caleb Grill (13.7 ppg) transferred to the Tigers from Iowa State, and Tony Perkins (8.7 ppg) came to Missouri from the Hawkeyes.
Missouri’s prolific bench versus Drake’s go-to guys
The Bulldogs’ starting lineup has never wavered. Save for one game – in which Tavion Banks got the start over an injured Isaiah Jackson – it’s been the same five guys starting each game. Stirtz, Jackson, Daniel Abreu, Mitch Mascari and Cam Manyawu.
And that lineup works for Drake. Stirtz and Mascari rarely leave the court, Abreu and Jackson pile on the defense and Manyawu does a bit of everything as the man in the middle.
Missouri boasts its cast of characters as well, but the Tigers’ bench puts a lot of points on the board. Led by Grill – who’s started just one game this season – Missouri’s bench players contribute close to 30 points per game .
Drake vs Missouri prediction: March Madness first round
Drake defeats Missouri in a matchup that leans on defense more than high-scoring offense.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake vs Missouri prediction, pick for March Madness first round
