University of Missouri
Drake
Men's Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament Thursday versus Drake
3/19/2025 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| #23/24 Missouri (22-11, 10-8 SEC) vs. Drake (30-3, 17-3 MVC) | |
| Game Details | Thursday, March 20 • 6:35 p.m. • Wichita, Kan. • Intrust Bank Arena |
| Television | truTV |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM: 211 or 204 | Sirius XM App: 966 |
| Game Notes | Missouri | Drake |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
University of Missouri men's basketball begins its quest for a national title when it meets Drake in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Tipoff in Wichita is set for 6:35 p.m. on truTV.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Mizzou enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-11 overall record. The Tigers are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• The Tigers finished tied for sixth in the SEC this season – a conference that earned a record 14 bids. MU posted a 10-8 mark in league play before advancing to the SEC Quarterfinals.
• Junior Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 14.1 points per game, while Caleb Grill at 13.7 and Tamar Bates at 13.4 follow closely behind.
• Josh Gray has a team-best 5.3 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II leads MU with 3.5 assists.
• MU is ninth nationally with a scoring offense of 84.5 and 23rd with a scoring margin of +10.6.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Missouri Valley title.
• The Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 30-3 overall record and is ranked No. 25 in the AP poll.
• Bennett Stirtz leads Drake with 19.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.
• Daniel Abreu is second with 10.4 points.
• Cam Manyawu has a team-best 5.4 rebounds.
• The Bulldogs rank first nationally with a scoring defense of 58.4 points, while scoring 70.1 points.
SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1910 as Missouri Valley Conference foes, the Tigers hold a 27-7 advantage in the all-time series.
• The schools have played only two times in the last 70 years with Mizzou sweeping a home-and-home series in 1986 and 1987.
TIGERS VERSUS MISSOURI VALLEY
• A member of the Missouri Valley from 1907 to 1928, the Tigers own a 242-151 all-time record versus the league. Since leaving the MVC, the Tigers are 92-44 versus league foes.
• The Tigers are also 2-0 against the Valley in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Creighton in 1989 and Southern Illinois in 2003.
• MU has won its last three versus Valley schools, last playing a team in 2020 with a win over Bradley.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Mizzou is competing in its 30th NCAA Tournament.
• The Tigers are 23-29 all-time in their first 52 NCAA Tournament contests
• MU has advanced as far as the Elite Eight on five occasions (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009).
• It marks the second NCAA Tournament bid in three years for the Tigers under head coach Dennis Gates. In 2023, Mizzou defeated Utah State for its first postseason win in 13 years before falling to Princeton in the second round.
TOURNAMENT NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Seeded sixth, the Tigers have their highest seed since a No. 2 seed in 2012 (and just the fourth time in the last 31 seasons with a top-six seed).
• It marks the third time MU has been a six seed, losing its opener in 1988 and going 1-1 in 2003.
• Overall, Mizzou is 11-13 all-time in the round of 64 and 13-10 in games as the higher-seeded team.
VERSUS THE 2025 FIELD
• Mizzou played a tournament team in 22 of its 33 games in 2024-25 with an 11-11 record.
• The Tigers went 2-2 in non-conference contests – defeating Kansas and Alabama State, while falling to Memphis and Illinois.
• Mizzou then went 8-8 versus tournament teams in league play before splitting two games in the SEC Tournament.
• Drake, meanwhile, won its only game against a tournament team with a win over Vanderbilt.
WICHITA HOMECOMING
• The most excited player on the Tigers roster to be headed to Wichita is Caleb Grill.
• A Wichita native, Grill was named 2019 Kansas Male Athlete of the Year, playing basketball, football, track and baseball at Maize High School.
• Grill is now second on the Tigers with 13.7 points per game, leading Mizzou with 77 made triples.
KANSAS NATIVES
• While the state of Kansas is usually defined as the enemy for Mizzou, four Tigers call Kansas home.
• Tamar Bates (Kansas City), Caleb Grill (Wichita), Mark Mitchell (Kansas City) and Aidan Shaw (Overland Park) are all native Kansans.
NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• While Aidan Shaw is the only current Tiger that was on the roster for the team's last tournament run in 2023, seven additional players have played in the national postseason prior.
• Mark Mitchell (2024 Elite Eight at Duke) and Caleb Grill (2022 Sweet 16 at Iowa State) have enjoyed the most amount of postseason success.
• Other players to appear in the tournament include Tamar Bates (Indiana), Josh Gray (South Carolina), Tony Perkins (Iowa), Jeremy Sanchez (Cleveland State) and Marques Warrick (Northern Kentucky).
COACH OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST
• Whitten Family Head Coach Dennis Gates was recognized among the nation's best last week.
• Gates is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year (Drake's Ben McCollum is also).
• Gates has also already been announced a finalist for the Jim Phelan Award (nation's top coach) and Ben Jobe Award (top minority coach).
