What to know about Missouri basketball, Drake’s first-round NCAA Tournament opponent
THE MADNESS IS HERE AND SO IS OUR TEAM. COVERAGE. KCCI JEFF DUBROF IS LIVE IN MILWAUKEE, WHERE THE CYCLONES LOOK TO MAKE ANOTHER SWEET RUN. BUT WE START WITH SHANNON EARHART. LIVE IN WICHITA WITH THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE CHAMPION DRAKE BULLDOGS. SHANNON. SCOTT. THEY’RE TESTING OUT THE LIGHTS RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE GETTING READY FOR THE FIRST ROUND TOMORROW. IT’S DRAKE, THE 611 SEED AGAINST MISSOURI. THE SIX SEED. SOMETHING TO NOTE ABOUT DRAKE. DRAKE OPTS FOR THE GREAT SHOT, NOT THE GOOD SHOT. THAT’S WHY COACH MCCULLUM SAYS THEY PLAY AT A VERY PATIENT TEMPO. SOME MAY CALL IT SLOW. MCCULLUM CALLS IT PATIENT. THE BULLDOGS LEAD THE COUNTRY IN MOST MADE FIELD GOALS IN THE LAST FIVE SECONDS OF THE SHOT CLOCK. BUT IT’S NOT INTENTIONAL, MCCULLUM SAYS. IT’S NOT THAT WE TRY TO SLOW IT DOWN, IT’S THAT IT’S DIFFICULT FOR US TO GET A SHOT BECAUSE OF THE ATHLETICISM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BALL. MISSOURI IS ONE OF THE TOURNAMENT’S MOST ACCURATE SHOOTING TEAMS, SO DRAKE HAS TO BE DIALED IN TOMORROW. WATCH MITCH MASCARI. HE HAS NOT BEEN HIMSELF, THOUGH HE IS DRAKE’S BEST THREE POINT SHOOTER. HE’S ZERO FOR EIGHT IN THE PAST TWO GAMES. YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S PART OF SHOOTING. YOU KNOW, IT’S THAT’S WHY, YOU KNOW, 40% SHOOTERS ARE SUCH A HOT COMMODITY. IT’S NOT REALLY THE THE ONES YOU MAKE. IT’S THE ONES YOU MISS. SO JUST KEEP SHOOTING. SHOOTING WITH CONFIDENCE. THAT’S THE ONLY WAY TO YOU KNOW, IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE THEM. YEAH. DRAKE IS THE 11 SEED AND PLAYING THE SIX SEED. BUT WE HAVE SEEN THE 11 SEED UPSET MULTIPLE TIMES IN THIS TOURNAMENT. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. MIZZOU AND DRAKE PLAY A
What to know about Missouri basketball, Drake’s first-round NCAA Tournament opponent
Updated: 11:02 PM CDT Mar 19, 2025
Drake enters the NCAA Tournament with a clear path to its first trip beyond the round of 64 in more than 50 years.The Bulldogs earned a No. 11 seed during Sunday’s selection show and will take on No. 6 seed Missouri in the first round. The game is slated for 6:35 p.m. CT this Thursday in Wichita, Kansas.Here’s what to know about Missouri.Missouri basketball: Record, stats and moreLocation: Columbia, MissouriRecord: 22-11Conference: SEC (10-8)NCAA Tournament history: The Tigers made a miraculous return to the national spotlight this season after going 0-18 in SEC play a year ago. Missouri is back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2023, when it won a first-round game as a No. 7 seed before falling in a major upset to No. 15 seed Princeton in the second round.Before that first-round win two years ago, Missouri hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since the first round in 2010. Mizzou has only advanced beyond the first weekend once since 2002: an Elite Eight trip in 2009.This will be a dramatic style clash, as Drake plays the slowest pace in Division I, according to college basketball analytics resource KenPom, while Missouri is much faster. The Tigers have the fifth-most efficient offense in the country and are 55th in fastest average offensive possession length.Good news for Drake: Missouri has not played its best basketball as of late. The Tigers started 15-3 but have lost eight of their last 15 and four of the last five.Mizzou players to watch Missouri has three players averaging between 14.1 and 13.4 points per game.Mark Mitchell is the team’s leading scorer and also checks in at second place in rebounds (4.6 per game). Mitchell missed Missouri’s SEC Tournament game vs. Florida but is expected to be back for the NCAA Tournament, according to reports.Former Iowa State Cyclone Caleb Grill is second on the team at 13.7 points per game. He’s among the nation’s most dangerous shooters, making 2.8 threes per game at a 40.5% clip.Another player with in-state ties, former Hawkeye Tony Perkins, has started 27 games this year for the Tigers and is second in assists per game (2.6).Five different Missouri players have made 30 or more 3-pointers while shooting 33% or better from beyond the arc.» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
WICHITA, Kan. —Drake enters the NCAA Tournament with a clear path to its first trip beyond the round of 64 in more than 50 years.
The Bulldogs earned a No. 11 seed during Sunday’s selection show and will take on No. 6 seed Missouri in the first round. The game is slated for 6:35 p.m. CT this Thursday in Wichita, Kansas.
Here’s what to know about Missouri.
Missouri basketball: Record, stats and more
- Location: Columbia, Missouri
- Record: 22-11
- Conference: SEC (10-8)
NCAA Tournament history: The Tigers made a miraculous return to the national spotlight this season after going 0-18 in SEC play a year ago. Missouri is back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2023, when it won a first-round game as a No. 7 seed before falling in a major upset to No. 15 seed Princeton in the second round.
Before that first-round win two years ago, Missouri hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since the first round in 2010. Mizzou has only advanced beyond the first weekend once since 2002: an Elite Eight trip in 2009.
This will be a dramatic style clash, as Drake plays the slowest pace in Division I, according to college basketball analytics resource KenPom, while Missouri is much faster. The Tigers have the fifth-most efficient offense in the country and are 55th in fastest average offensive possession length.
Good news for Drake: Missouri has not played its best basketball as of late. The Tigers started 15-3 but have lost eight of their last 15 and four of the last five.
Mizzou players to watch
Missouri has three players averaging between 14.1 and 13.4 points per game.
Mark Mitchell is the team’s leading scorer and also checks in at second place in rebounds (4.6 per game). Mitchell missed Missouri’s SEC Tournament game vs. Florida but is expected to be back for the NCAA Tournament, according to reports.
Former Iowa State Cyclone Caleb Grill is second on the team at 13.7 points per game. He’s among the nation’s most dangerous shooters, making 2.8 threes per game at a 40.5% clip.
Another player with in-state ties, former Hawkeye Tony Perkins, has started 27 games this year for the Tigers and is second in assists per game (2.6).
Five different Missouri players have made 30 or more 3-pointers while shooting 33% or better from beyond the arc.
» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page
» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
