3 things to watch as Drake basketball begins run at Missouri Valley Conference tournament

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Drake men’s basketball spent the last several months accomplishing the improbable.

Under first-year head coach Ben McCollum – who was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s coach of the year Wednesday– the Bulldogs finished as the league’s outright regular-season champions.

Bennett Stirtz earned the league’s top individual honor, the Larry Bird Trophy, given to the conference’s player of the year. He led the nation in minutes per game and finished the regular season as the only player in the NCAA to lead his league in scoring, assists and steals.

Drake ended the regular season with a 27-3 overall record, a 17-3 mark in conference play and the top seed at Arch Madness, the Missouri Valley’s conference tournament, which begins this week.

Drake head coach Ben McCollum calls to his players on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Knapp Center in Des Moines.

With almost every national storyline revolving around McCollum and the four players – Stirtz included – that he brought up from the Division II ranks, it’s obvious that the Bulldogs shocked a lot of people on their rise to the top.

Arch Madness begins on Thursday; Drake will play its first game on Friday at noon CT.

Here are three things to watch as the Missouri Valley Conference tournament gets underway.

Opponents from Drake’s three regular season losses sit on the other side of bracket

Drake’s three losses were to UIC, Murray State and Bradley. And only one of those losses, to the Braves, came by double digits.

But with the way the rest of the conference standings shook out, the Bulldogs won’t face any of the three programs that beat them unless Drake – and one of those programs – advances to Sunday’s championship game.

The Bulldogs’ quarterfinal opponent will be either Southern Illinois or Indiana State. Drake beat the Salukis, 75-65, on the road; the Bulldogs defeated the Sycamores, 71-53, on the road and narrowly escaped with an 85-81 overtime win at the Knapp Center.

More: Drake’s Bennett Stirtz wins…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/3-things-watch-drake-basketball-110317505.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-03-06 11:03:00

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