Drake closed the regular season with a thrilling overtime victory at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs outscored Missouri State 9-0 to start the extra session in a 68-60 win, a game the Bulldogs trailed by 10 in the second half.
That’s Drake coach Ben McCollum, who inherited a Drake team with only one returning player and directed the Bulldogs to the Missouri Valley regular season title and a 27-3 record in his first season at the helm.
The question now is do the Bulldogs need to win this week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to go to the NCAA Tournament.
McCollum is not listening to the at-large speculation surrounding the Bulldogs.
Junior guard Bennett Stirtz led the way with 23 points and says the Bulldogs stepped up their level of play in overtime.
Stirtz was asked if the Bulldogs deserve an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win the Valley Tournament.
The Bulldogs will be the top seed at Arch Madness in St. Louis and open Friday at Noon. The Full bracket will be released Monday morning.
