Preview: No. 6 Mizzou Hoops Takes on No. 11 Drake in First Round of March Madness

It has been nearly a week since head coach Dennis Gates and the Missouri Tigers squad last played, most recently falling in the second round of the SEC Tournament to the eventual champions, the No. 1-seeded Florida Gators.

The end of the 2024-25 season was ugly, to say the least, and it didn't resemble the Tigers fans had grown accustomed to seeing throughout the year, both in and out of SEC play.

The club lost four of its last five games, with three of those losses coming against unranked opponents. Despite this, their consistent strong wins have given fans and voters confidence that they can defeat even the best of their opponents.

As a result, they were awarded one of the four No. 6 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, competing in the West Region. This region features top teams such as St. John's, Texas Tech, and Maryland, along with SEC teams like Florida, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, as well as Mizzou's biggest rival, the Kansas Jayhawks.

Though they earned a top seed in this year's bracket, claiming they have an easy first-round matchup is highly inaccurate, as Drake has been nothing short of incredible this year.

Despite their No. 11 seed, the Bulldogs cruised to a 30-3 record and easily won the Missouri Valley Conference, with little competition from the other teams.

All of their losses came within the conference, and they were by a combined deficit of just 10 points, demonstrating how they play to the level of their opponent every night and truly never had an off game this season.

Their 30-win total is impressive, but it appears less flashy when you dissect the level of competition throughout the year. Drake didn't face many big-name teams or clubs with strong records.

In fact, they faced just one team that made the NCAA Tournament this season, which was easily their toughest regular-season competition. That opponent was a familiar face: the Vanderbilt Commodores, whom they defeated 81-70.

Considering the Tigers are 1-1 against the Commodores this year, the Bulldogs appear to be a team that can win against anyone and should not be overlooked. That said, they haven't yet proven they are on the level of some of the other programs in this tournament.

Drake is under new guidance this season, as head coach Ben McCollum is in his first year on the sidelines after a highly decorated career in Division II basketball. Over a decade of coaching, McCollum won four National Championships and reached the tournament nearly every season.

McCollum has led the Bulldogs to their best record in program history, surpassing their previous high of 28 wins, a mark that stood since the program's founding in 1901. It's been an incredible turnaround, as less than a decade ago, the team won fewer than 10 games in three straight seasons.

Drake has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years and now has made it four times in the last five tournaments. However, the last time they advanced past the first round was during the 1970-71 season, when they made a run to the Sweet Sixteen.

It's safe to say it's a new era for McCollum and Drake, as they look to build on the historic season they've found themselves in, with their highest seed in the tournament since earning a No. 5 seed in the 2007-08 campaign.

What's really interesting about the team is how short their rotation is, with around seven players getting consistent minutes from game to game and only four averaging more than 20 minutes a night. They heavily rely on their top players, with the two highest minutes-per-game averages in all of NCAA basketball belonging to Bulldogs.

Remarkably, their leading scorer, Bennett Stirtz, averages just under 40 minutes per contest, ranking first in the country by over a full minute. He is truly the centerpiece of the team, leading Drake in nearly every statistical category on both sides of the ball.

The junior guard, playing in his first collegiate season, has really found a home with McCollum's team. Starting every game and playing nearly every minute of the season, Stirtz averages 19 points, 6 assists, and more than 4 rebounds per game.

His efficiency is highly respectable, averaging 50% from the field and 39% from three, while dominating the shots taken per game. Most of the time down the court, he's the one who starts the play with the ball—and often finishes it as well.

Defensively, he's amazing as well. His perimeter defense is stellar, and at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, the Missouri native is a solid presence in the paint. He also leads the Bulldogs in steals, averaging over 2 per game, all while committing fewer than 2 turnovers per game.

The key to advancing to the next round is undoubtedly finding the right defender to shut down Stirtz. In two of their three losses this season, he scored around 10 points, well below his average, but more importantly, he struggled to get a shot off.

If he can't score, he loses confidence and starts passing more, and Drake relies heavily on him to score in order to win.

This is certainly shaping up to be an exciting matchup between two strong offenses. With forward Mark Mitchell set to make his return from injury, expect him to be matched up against Stirtz early and often.

The No. 6-seeded Tigers tip off against the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. from Wichita, Kansas.