The No. 6 seed Missouri Tigers (22-11) will take on the No. 11 seed Drake Bulldogs (30-3) in a 7:35 P.M. matchup on Thursday, March 20. The game between Drake and Missouri is a Western bracket game. The 11 seed is good, having several players off a Division II championship team, but Missouri is too good a team for them.
Missouri will prevail, but Drake will make it closer than people expect. This season was the third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championship for Drake. Meanwhile, Missouri competed in the rough and tumble southeastern conference. Do you think Drake has a chance in this game?
Drake’s Key Players
Drake plays at a very slow pace and has only two players who average over 10 points a game. But they have another two players who average almost 10 points a game. The leading scorer for the Bulldogs is Bennett Stirtz. Stirtz is a junior 6-foot-4 guard from Liberty, Missouri. He averages 19.1 points per game. Daniel Abreu is a junior 6-foot-6 forward from Springfield, Missouri. He averages 10.4 points per game for the Bulldogs. He is the second-scoring option.
The third-leading scorer for the Bulldogs is Tavion Banks, a 6-foot-7 junior guard. He averages 9.9 points per game. The fourth-leading scorer from the Bulldogs is senior guard Mitch Mascari. The 6-foot-6 player averages 9.8 points per game and is from Geneva, Illinois. Drake also starts Cam Manyawu and Isiah Jackson. You can see the full roster here.
The Bulldogs rank 15th in the nation in rebounding efficiency. The Tigers rank 126th. That is a big advantage for the No. 11 seed here. In defensive efficiency, the Bulldogs rank 26th nationally while the Tigers rank 165th. This is another big advantage for Drake.
Missouri’s Key Players
The Tigers have three players who average more than 10 points a game. The leading scorer for Missouri is Mark Mitchell. Mitchell is a junior guard from Kanas City. He averages 14.1 points per game. Caleb Grill is a senior guard from Wichita. He is the second-leading scorer for Missouri at 13.7 points per game.
The third-leading scorer for the Tigers is Tamar Bates. He is a junior guard from Kansas City as well. He averages 13.4 points per game. You can view all of the statistics for Missouri here.
What Is Next?
The winner of the game will play the winner of the Texas Tech and University of North Carolina Wilmington game. The winner of that game will most likely be Texas Tech. They have a player, JT Toppin who might be the best player in America. If Missouri wins this game against Drake, as expected, it will have its hands full with Toppin and Texas Tech.
Prediction
Missouri is 15th in the Ken Pom rankings. The Bulldogs rank 58th. This is a gaping distance and probably shows as much respect for the SEC as it shows a lack of respect for the Missouri Valley Conference. However, when one takes this gap into account along with Drake’s advantages in both rebounding and defensive efficiency they point to a very close Missouri win. Though, Drake will make a game of it. Missouri wins 60-58. The sloth-like tempo of Drake will win out and be the tempo of the game.
Conclusion
This game between Drake and Missouri will be close and entertaining. Closer, at least than a 6/11 game should be. This game is a great way to kick off the tournament. It is between two evenly matched teams. Missouri should win a close one. This game is sure to please the fans in Lexington.
