
Drake Bulldogs at Missouri Tigers
· Men's Basketball Championship - West Region - 1st RoundNo. 11 seed Drake holds on after blowing big lead and beats Missouri 67-57 in March Madness opener

Tavion Banks added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (31-3), who along with first-year coach Ben McCollum advanced to a second-round West Region matchup with third-seeded Texas Tech on Saturday.
“We just fought. That's kind of what we have to do, is just continue to grind and compete,” said McCollum, who won four D-II national titles at Northwest Missouri State before taking the Drake job last April. “We have guys that want to do that.”
Missouri (22-12) grinded, too, reducing that 15-point deficit to one down the stretch. But the Tigers had expended too much energy, and Drake scored the next six points to take back control and put the game away.
Caleb Grill finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers. Tamar Bates had 10 before fouling out.
“It's a memorable season for our guys, a great accomplishment to say the least, but it was cut short. There's no doubt about it,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “It's loser goes home, and we didn't do enough to come away with a win.”
As expected, the game was a stylistic clash: Drake and its nation-leading scoring defense trying to force a rock fight, and Missouri with its top-10 scoring offense trying to push the tempo whenever it had the chance.
There were very few until the second half.
The Bulldogs made every shot a chore, and at the other end, they patiently probed for openings. Usually it was Stirtz — one of the Northwest Missouri State quartet who followed McCollum to Drake — who was knocking down a 3 or driving to the rim.
The Missouri Valley champs forged a 30-23 halftime lead. And it appeared as if the small school from Des Moines, Iowa — with an enrollment of 4,774 — would be able to put the game away, extending the advantage to 43-28 with 12:40 to go.
That's when Missouri began to press in an attempt to push the pace, and the Bulldogs struggled to deal with it. At one point, the Tigers ripped off 10 consecutive points, closing within 52-51 on Mark Mitchell's free throw with 4:28 remaining.
That was the closest Missouri would get down the stretch.
“Drake answered it,” Gates said. “I credit them, because they settled back in. We just didn't execute. We got the shots. We had an opportunity to tie the game; that's why we were down one. ... We just didn't make enough shots or have enough stops.”
Missouri had lost four of its last five entering the tournament, and the Tigers sure looked like a slumping team in the first half. The result was a deficit that they were simply unable to overcome.
How can I watch Drake vs. Missouri?
Recent Plays
2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 67 - 57 |
2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 67 - 57 |
2nd 0:06 | Tavion Banks Steal. | 67 - 57 |
2nd 0:06 | Marques Warrick Turnover. | 67 - 57 |
2nd 0:13 | Tavion Banks made Free Throw. | 67 - 57 |
Statistics
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25-46 | FG | 15-45 |
54.3 | Field Goal % | 33.3 |
5-10 | 3PT | 4-16 |
50.0 | Three Point % | 25.0 |
12-24 | FT | 23-26 |
50.0 | Free Throw % | 88.5 |
31 | Rebounds | 26 |
9 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
22 | Defensive Rebounds | 18 |
18 | Assists | 10 |
13 | Steals | 8 |
3 | Blocks | 1 |
15 | Turnovers | 17 |
1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
15 | Total Turnovers | 17 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
23 | Points Off Turnovers | 13 |
9 | Fast Break Points | 11 |
38 | Points in Paint | 22 |
20 | Fouls | 20 |
15 | Largest Lead | 2 |
Game Information
Location: Wichita, KS
Capacity:
2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
Drake | 17-3 | - | 31-4 |
Bradley | 15-5 | 2 | 28-9 |
Northern Iowa | 14-6 | 3 | 20-13 |
Belmont | 13-7 | 4 | 22-11 |
Illinois State | 10-10 | 7 | 22-14 |
UIC | 10-10 | 7 | 17-14 |
Murray State | 9-11 | 8 | 16-17 |
Indiana State | 8-12 | 9 | 14-18 |
Southern Illinois | 8-12 | 9 | 14-19 |
Evansville | 8-12 | 9 | 11-21 |
Valparaiso | 6-14 | 11 | 15-19 |
Missouri State | 2-18 | 15 | 9-23 |
2024-25 Southeastern Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
Auburn | 15-3 | - | 32-5 |
Florida | 14-4 | 1 | 34-4 |
Alabama | 13-5 | 2 | 28-9 |
Tennessee | 12-6 | 3 | 30-8 |
Texas A&M | 11-7 | 4 | 23-11 |
Ole Miss | 10-8 | 5 | 24-12 |
Kentucky | 10-8 | 5 | 24-12 |
Missouri | 10-8 | 5 | 22-12 |
Mississippi State | 8-10 | 7 | 21-13 |
Arkansas | 8-10 | 7 | 22-14 |
Georgia | 8-10 | 7 | 20-13 |
Vanderbilt | 8-10 | 7 | 20-13 |
Oklahoma | 6-12 | 9 | 20-14 |
Texas | 6-12 | 9 | 19-16 |
LSU | 3-15 | 12 | 14-18 |
South Carolina | 2-16 | 13 | 12-20 |