Is Drake a Hot Upset Pick to Beat Missouri in Round 1?

As you fill out your brackets for this season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney, be aware that there is an interesting narrative lurking just underneath the 6 seed Mizzou vs 11 seed Drake Thursday evening game in Wichita, Kansas.

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Drake’s head coach Ben McCollum is a hot commodity at the moment for a job at a more high profile school (University of Iowa). McCollum has led Drake to a 30-3 record and won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. Previously he was the long tenured head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri St (2009-2024). He won 4 Division III National Championships at NWMo. St. 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Winning won over 80 percent of his games at Northwest Mo. St. in Maryville, Mo.

Four players followed McCollum from Maryville to Des Moines to play for the Bulldogs. Isaiah Jackson (Independence, MO.), Bennett Stirtz (Liberty, Mo.), Mitch Mascari (Geneva, Il.), and Daniel Abreu (Springfield, Mo.). Those four led Drake in minutes this season. Stirtz was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 19 points per game.

Can these four transfers from Division III Northwest Missouri State make a longer, quicker and stronger Mizzou Tiger team uncomfortable late into the 2^nd half? The odds should favor the 6 seed Tigers who like to get up down the floor, and have a deep bench. Drake’s deliberate slow down style may frustrate Mizzou though, or the Tigers may very well overwhelm the Bulldogs. There are some pro prognosticators out there who are predicting Drake to pull off the upset.

No doubt there will be some in Maryville rooting for their former coach and teammates/classmates to drop a stunner on the favored Mizzou team. Is this upset likely? No. But there are upsets every year and a key to getting ahead with your picks is being able to get an upset or two correct. This is part of the intrigue of NCAA tournament basketball.