The sixth-seeded Missouri Tigers will take on 11th-seeded Drake in an NCAA Tournament first round game, Thursday in Wichita. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Mizzou Basketball – Gameday Info
Game No. 34 – Drake Bulldogs (30-3) vs. Missouri Tigers (22-11)
Date/Time – March 20, 2025 – 6:35 pm
Location – INTRUST Bank Arena — Wichita, KS
Broadcast — TruTV
Radio — Tiger Radio Network
Live Stats — NCAA Live Stats
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
WICHITA, KS — The Missouri Tigers are back in the NCAA Tournament.
Mizzou missed out on the March Madness fun last year, after going 8-24 and losing 19 straight Southeastern Conference games.
But this season, the Tigers are back. They went 21-10 during the regular season, then won a game and lost a game in the SEC Tournament to now hit the NCAAs with an overall 22-11 record.
That was good enough to earn Mizzou the No. 6 seed in the West region, ahead of teams like Kansas, Connecticut, and Oklahoma (the 7, 8, and 9 seeds), and just behind Maryland and Memphis (the 4 and 5 seeds).
Mizzou fans were excited to see that their Tigers had earned enough of the selection committee’s respect to get the No. 6 seed, until they saw that their opponent would be the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champion, Drake Bulldogs.
Drake will come into Thursday’s matchup with a 30-3 record, which includes wins over Vanderbilt and Kansas State, along with a current seven-game winning streak. Oh, and just for good measure, the Bulldogs have won 18 of their last 19 games.
Thursday’s matchup will not be an easy one for either club.
Junior forward Mark Mitchell leads Mizzou with a 14.1 points per game scoring average. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Drake features the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense — allowing just 58.4 points per game. The Bulldogs limit possessions by working the clock on its own possessions and dominating teams with intense offensive rebounding. In fact, Drake has only allowed more than 80 points once this season.
Drake makes it very difficult for teams to score on them.
On the flip side, Missouri is one of the nation’s top scoring teams. The Tigers average 84.5 points per game, which is ninth-best in the country. And they do it in a myriad of ways.
Mizzou forces a lot of steals and loves to get out on the fast break. The Tigers also draw a lot of fouls and have take the third-most free throws of any team in the country this season.
Mizzou also takes and makes a lot of three-pointers and features four regular players that are making 40 percent or better on their threes. The Tigers also have two other players that don’t play as much that shoot 40 percent or better on three-pointers.
Missouri can score. The question will be can they do it against Drake and its No. 1 ranked defense in the country.
Mizzou shooting star Caleb Grill hopes to find his three-point touch again when the Tigers face Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Players to Watch: Mizzou’s offense is led by junior big man Mark Mitchell and senior guard Tamar Bates.
Mitchell leads the Tigers with a 14.1 ppg average, while Bates sits just behind at 13.4 ppg. Mizzou’s most dangerous threat though, might be fifth-year season wing Caleb Grill.
The 2025 SEC Sixth Man of the Year averages 13.7 ppg and has connected on 77 of the 190 three-pointers he’s attempted this season.
Another player to watch could be fellow senior Tony Perkins, who averaged 16.5 ppg for Mizzou in the SEC Tournament.
Drake is led by 2025 MVC Player of the Year, Bennett Stirtz. The junior from Liberty, Mo., averaged 19.1 ppg and also led the Bulldogs with 188 assists this season.
Teammates Daniel Abreu and Tavion Banks were often a handful for opponents in the paint. Abreu averaged 10.4 ppg, while Banks averaged 9.9 ppg even though he started just one game all season.
DRAKE BULLDOGS STARTERS
| Player | Yr. | Pos. | Ht./Wt. | PPG | RPG | Assists | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Cam Manyawu | Jr. | Forward | 6’8/230 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 29 | 42 |
| 4 Isaiah Jackson | Gr. | Guard | 6’3/180 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 62 | 31 |
| 14 Bennett Stirtz | Jr. | Guard | 6’4/180 | 19.1 | 4.4 | 188 | 71 |
| 22 Mitch Mascari | Gr. | Guard | 6’5/200 | 9.8 | 2.2 | 42 | 45 |
| 54 Daniel Abreu | Gr. | Forward | 6’6/220 | 10.4 | 3.3 | 33 | 33 |
MIZZOU TIGERS STARTERS
| Player | Yr. | Pos. | Ht./Wt. | PPG | RPG | Assists | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 Anthony Robinson II | So. | Guard | 6’3/180 | 9.2 | 3.1 | 112 | 64 |
| 2 Tamar Bates | Sr. | Guard | 6’5/195 | 13.4 | 2.7 | 34 | 44 |
| 12 Tony Perkins | Sr. | Guard | 6’4/200 | 8.7 | 2.6 | 80 | 35 |
| 25 Mark Mitchell | Jr. | Forward | 6’9/230 | 14.1 | 4.6 | 62 | 31 |
| 33 Josh Gray | Gr. | Center | 7’0/260 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 19 | 10 |
Up Next: The winner of Thursday’s contest will move on to the Round of 32 and play the winner of the evening’s other game No. 3-seed Texas Tech versus No. 14-seed UNC-Wilmington. The Round of 32 game will take place on Saturday, with the winner advancing to next weekend’s Sweet 16.
2024-25 Missouri Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV/Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2024 (Monday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Memphis | Memphis, Tenn. | L 83-75 (0-1) |
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Howard | Mizzou Arena | W 77-62 (1-1) |
| November 11, 2024 (Monday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Eastern Washington | Mizzou Arena | W 84-77 (2-1) |
| November 14, 2024 (Thursday) | 6:30 p.m. | Home | Mississippi Valley State | Mizzou Arena | W 111-39 (3-1) |
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Home | Pacific | Mizzou Arena | W 91-56 (4-1) |
| November 24, 2024 (Sunday) | 4 p.m. | Home | Arkansas – Pine Bluff | Mizzou Arena | W 112-63 (5-1) |
| November 27, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Lindenwood | Mizzou Arena | W 81-61 (6-1) |
| December 3, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | California | Mizzou Arena | W 98-93 (7-1) |
| December 8, 2024 (Sunday) | Noon | Home | #1 Kansas | Mizzou Arena | W 76-67 (8-1) |
| December 14, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Long Island | Mizzou Arena | W 88-61 (9-1) |
| December 17, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6:30 p.m. | Home | Jacksonville State | Mizzou Arena | W 83-72 (10-1) |
| December 22, 2024 (Sunday) | Noon | Neutral | Illinois | St. Louis, Mo. / Enterprise Center | L 80-77 (10-2) |
| December 30, 2024 (Monday) | 6:30 p.m. | Alabama State | Mizzou Arena | Mizzou Arena | W 82-65 (11-2) |
| January 4, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | #2 Auburn | Auburn, Ala. | L 84-68 (11-3) |
| January 7, 2025 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | LSU | Mizzou Arena | W 83-67 (12-3) |
| January 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | Vanderbilt | Mizzou Arena | W 75-66 (13-3) |
| January 14, 2025 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | #5 Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | W 83-82 (14-3) |
| January 18, 2025 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | W 83-65 (15-3) |
| January 21, 2025 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Texas | Austin, Texas | L 61-53 (15-4) |
| January 25, 2025 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Home | #16 Ole Miss | Mizzou Arena | W 83-75 (16-4) |
| February 1, 2025 (Saturday) | Noon | Away | #14 Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | W 88-61 (17-4) |
| February 5, 2025 (Wednesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | #4 Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | L 85-81 (17-5) |
| February 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | #10 Texas A&M | Mizzou Arena | L 67-64 (17-6) |
| February 12, 2025 (Wednesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Oklahoma | Mizzou Arena | W 82-58 (18-6) |
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | Georgia | Athens, Ga. | W 87-74 (19-6) |
| February 19, 2025 (Wednesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | #4 Alabama | Mizzou Arena | W 110-98 (20-6) |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | L 92-85 (20-7) |
| February 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Mizzou Arena | W 101-71 (21-7) |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | L 97-93 OT (21-8) |
| March 5, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. | L 96-84 (21-9) |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | #19 Kentucky | Mizzou Arena | L 91-83 (21-10) |
| March 13, 2025 (Thursday) | 6 p.m. | Neutral | #10 Mississippi State | Nashville, Tenn. / Bridgestone Arena | W 85-73 (22-10) |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Neutral | #2 Florida | Nashville, Tenn. / Bridgestone Arena | L 95-81 (22-11) |
| March 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 6:35 p.m. | Neutral | #11 Drake | Wichita, Kan. / INTRUST Bank Arena |  |