The annual NCAA basketball tournament March Madness, will tip off on March 18. 68 teams make the tournament, eight being play-in teams and the rest of the sixty teams are split up into sixteen seeds with four teams per seed. There are six rounds in the tournament the Round of 64, the Round of 32, the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four, and finally the National Championship.

After having a winless record in the SEC in the 2023-2024 season Missouri responded this season with a 21-10 regular season record and was selected last night as a 6 seed in March Madness. Missouri will face the 11-seeded Drake Bulldogs on Thursday, March 20 in Witchita, Kansas. Missouri’s 2024-2025 turnaround was led by Mark Mitchell who averaged 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, Caleb Grill who averaged 13.7 points per game and 40.5% from beyond the arc, and Tamar Bates who averaged 13.4 points per game Bates is the only player in college basketball who averaged a 50-40-90, 50% from the field, 40% from three, and 90% from the free throw line this season.

Missouri has struggled as of late, finishing up regular season play Missouri went on a three-game losing streak, losing to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. The Tigers broke the streak in the SEC tournament with their win over Mississippi State but lost their most recent game to Florida eliminating them from the SEC tournament. 

Missouri’s opponent Drake finished with a 30-3 record this season and won their conference. Drake plays good defense limiting their opponents to 58.4 points per game while Missouri gives up 73.9 points per game while Missouri has a tougher schedule that is still a big difference. A lot of Drake’s scoring comes from guard Bennent Stirtz who averages 19.1 points per game. The main weakness of this Drake team is their size, they have no players over 6’8, and Missouri will likely start two players over 6’8.

I think Drake’s elite perimeter defense will affect Missouri’s guards but I think Missouri’s leading scorer Mark Mitchell will have a big game because of Drake’s lack of size. If Missouri can expose Drake’s size weakness with Mark Mitchell’s inside scoring and play their game around the perimeter then I think the Tigers will move on to the Round of 32.

Score Prediction 

74-68 Missouri