Drake Holds Off Indiana State in Missouri Valley Championship
The Drake Bulldogs defeated the Indiana State Sycamores by a score of 84-80 on Sunday afternoon to win the Missouri Valley Conference championship game and be the fourth team to receive an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament behind the Morehead State Eagles (Ohio Valley), Longwood Lancers (Big South), and Stetson Hatters (Atlantic Sun). The Bulldogs got off to a hot start in this one as they were able to go up 17-6 nearly six minutes into the first half and this lead would do nothing but continue into halftime as Drake was up 45-32 heading into the break.
Indiana State has made national media all season because they cracked into the Top 25 NCAA Division I Rankings, have an icon on their roster in sophomore center Robbie Avila, and are the school that NBA legend Larry Bird attended and played for. However, while Indiana State was without a question deserving of some hype, Drake has not gotten any, and they are no slouch. The Bulldogs only finished a game behind the Sycamores in Missouri Valley Conference play, even managing to go 16-0 at home this season. Coming into this championship game the Bulldogs had won four games in a row and were on a mission to keep it going as they looked like they were more ready for this game than the Sycamores from the jump. While this game looked over for a memento as Drake went up by 17 in the second half, Indiana State came back with their best play of the game as they tied the game up 74-74 with nearly three and a half minutes left. Unfortunately for Indiana State, their incredible season came to an end as they were unable to complete their comeback in the closing minutes losing this one in St. Louis.
While Drake will likely be given a rather low seed come to Selection Sunday next week, they might very well be a team many are picking to win their first-round game and upset a much more well-known opponent. For now, though the Bulldogs will enjoy their conference championship win led by junior guard Tucker DeVries, senior forward Darnell Brodie, and junior guard Atin Wright who scored 27, 17, and 17 points in this game, respectively. With this win, Drake wins their second Missouri Valley Championship in a row and while they lost a close game to Miami (FL) last year in the first round, Drake fans are hopeful this year's NCAA tournament game will have a different result.
