Mizzou Central

Live Blog: No. 6 Mizzou Takes on No. 11 Drake in Round 1 of NCAA Tournament

 Live updates and thoughts from Wichita from the Missouri Tigers’ first game of March Madness.

Joey Van Zummeren

March 20, 2025; Wichita, Kansas, USA; The Missouri Tigers huddle after warm ups ahead of their game against the Drake Bulldogs at Intrust Bank Arena in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
March 20, 2025; Wichita, Kansas, USA; The Missouri Tigers huddle after warm ups ahead of their game against the Drake Bulldogs at Intrust Bank Arena in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament. / MissouriOnSI
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WICHITA, Kan. — The 6-seed Missouri Tigers begin play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Intrust Bank Arena, taking on the 11-seed Drake Bulldogs.

Missouri enters Thursday's game as slight favorites, but the Missouri Valley Champions will not be an easy out for the Tigers.

“The team collectively does a great job being stars in their roles," Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said of Drake in a press conference Wednesday. "If you look at their 30 wins, there's been different guys step up. It's not just been an All-American step up. It's not just been their best player. It's been other guys playing their role, but when it's their turn, they're prepared to produce.”

The Bulldogs are led by guard Bennett Stirtz, who averaged 21 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

Missouri has a shooter to match that production though, with guard Caleb Grill. Although, the veteran has struggled to find consistency as of late, having shot under 40 percent on 3-point shots in seven of the last eight games.

A hot start for Grill could act as a catalyst for Missouri to control the pace against a Drake team that prefers a slower pace, averaging just 70.1 points per game.

This is Missouri's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in three years under Gates, falling in Round 2 in the 2023 Tournament. Playing meaningful March basketball is a heel turn from last season though, where the Tigers finished winless in play in the Southeastern Conference.

For live coverage for the Tigers' first round matchup, follow our live blog below.

Live Updates

(Refresh for the newest updates. Most recent at the top)

Instant takeaways:

This was exactly the style of game, Missouri couldn’t afford to get into. And more importantly, the one that Drake needed. Missouri got out to the defensive start it needed, but the offense wasn’t there to back it up. Missouri will look back at this game regretting the small, but crucial, mistakes it made in the final minutes. But in reality, Drake won this game in the middle 20 minutes of it by attacking the paint offensively and taking advantage of a hurried Missouri offense.

FINAL: Missouri loses 67-57

Second Half:

0:31: Missouri trails 67-55: Missouri is now living on prayers at the free-throw line. All hope for the Tigers has been drained.

1:08, Missouri trails 61-55: This is shaping up to be too little too late for the Tigers.

With a chance to make it a one-possession game, Drake swats the ball out of Anthony Robinson II's hands, taking the possession away from Missouri.

1:26, Missouri trails 60-55: Marques Warrick had the confidence, space and time on a 3-point attempt, but it falls outside. Drake almost had a great alley-oop, but the Missouri defense disrupts it.

Instead, Cam Manyawu goes one-for-two at the free-throw line.

2:07, Missouri trails 58-53: If Missouri is going to make anything of this comeback, a dunk Caleb Grill just slammed down from a nice assist from Anthony Robinson II is going to ghave to be the real ignitor.

2:47, Missouri trails 56-51: Missouri really could've used a 3 from Caleb Grill to bring the deficit back to two possessions, but his struggles from the preimeter continue. He's now 1-for-7 on 3-point shots tonight.

Missouri has found flashes, and possible sparks for a comeback. But Drake has been much more consistent.

4:50, Missouri trails 52-50: T.O. Barrett might as well have been injected with an absurd amount of caffiene directly into his veins. He came rocking over to the Missouri sideline after his defense caused the shot clock to run out on the Drake possession.

6:10, Missouri trails 52 - 48: After reviewing a foul that is confirmed, Missouri's Tamar Bates is up to four fouls.

At the line, Drake misses both. Huge momentum swing for Missouri to start a possible comeback.

7:32, Missouri trails 52-44: Every time the Tigers find even a little bit of life, Drake has a stronger response to stomp it out.

A 3-point make from Marques Warrick brought Missouri within 10 for the first time since the 14:11 mark, but Drake's Bennett Stirtz responds with a ridiculous, deep 3-point make of his own.

Drake's passing has been incredibly smooth. It seems to be a step ahead of what the Missouri defense can process.

12:00, Missouri trails 43-30: Tamar Bates makes a layup to secure Missouri's first field goal in over four minutes. The Tigers still look rushed on offense, and its led to multiple turnovers that Drake took advantadge of.

Anthony Robinson II is standing with the rest of the team in the huddle after limping off the court minutes ago.

13:08, Missouri trails 41-28: Missouri guard Anthony Robinson has hobbled off the court after taking a rough fall to the wood on a failed layup attempt.

14:08, Missouri trails 39-28: Missouri's Jacob Crews gets trapped defending a one-on-one, which Drake's Tavion Banks wins with a layup. Gates calls a timeout for Missouri. Defensively, the Tigers look overwhelmed.

First Half: Drake leads Missouri 30-23

First half takeaways:

This half turned into the low-scoring game that fits Drake’s style much better. Missouri’s defense was able to disrupt this early by forcing turnovers,, but Drake eventually cracked through, attacking inside the paint. The 10-2 run really hit Missouri, and there hasn’t been much stability on offense thus far. The Tigers will need to improve on both sides of the court in the second half.

Drake Bulldogs forward Daniel Abreu (54) looks to pass against Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II
Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs forward Daniel Abreu (54) looks to pass against Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (0) in the first half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

First Half Stats

Stats from the first half of Missouri-Drake in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
Stats from the first half of Missouri-Drake in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament. / statmonitr

END OF HALF: Missouri trails 30-23: Missouri has found its footing again, scoring five unanswered points. An and-one from Mark Mitchell on a nice jumper delivered the most enthusiastic reaction from the Tigers on the court since the beginning of the scoring skid.

Drake ended the half by holding onto the ball until Tavion Banks found some space in the paint to put down a layup. Caleb Grill's half-court chuck fell short as the clock hit zero.

1:27, Missouri trails 28-18: Missouri guard Tamar Bates delivering a passionate speech in the huddle with teammates as Missouri calls timeout. Missouri has been outscored 10-2 in the last four minutes.

This run was punctuated with a commanding dunk from Isaia Howard, who then gave a stare down to Missouri's T.O. Barrett. This Drake team is beginning to play with confidence.

3:36, Missouri trails 24-16: Drake is starting to find more ways to crack the Missouri defense. The Tigers have tried to stay quick in the half court, but haven't made a field goal since the 6:42 mark in the half. Drake has now scored six unanswered points.

10:12, Missouri trails 15-10: Dennis Gates shows some serious energy, jumping up and down to communicate a defensive call in transition after Jacob Crews sank a 3-point shot to respond to a 3 from Drake's Isaia Howard's made a 3 of his own.

The contrast between Gates and Drake head coach Ben McCollum has been stark. None better than the other, but McCollum is down on the court, energetic and living with every moment. Gates is his usual consistent, hard to break state.

13:43, Missouri leads 7-5: The energy swing that Missouri took in under the last stretch was evident from its bench's reaction after an errant pass from Drake went out of bounds. Missouri takes over posession after Tony Perkins made a 3-point shot on the previous.

Pregame

• Starting lineup introductions made it clear just how many Drake and Missouri fans travelled to Wichita. Missouri guard Caleb Grill, a Wichita native, is met with the loudest cheers when introduced.

• 6:42 p.m.: Both teams have now taken the court for the game. Missouri fans have filled their section right behind the Missouri bench, breaking out into a "M-I-Z" chant. There's plenty of open seats still in the arena, but the Tigers' section is here loud and proud.

• The Killers' unofficial anthem of the Missouri Tigers, "Mr. Brightside," was played over the loud speakers as the team walked out onto the court for warm ups. A good omen for the Tigers?

• According to the clock in the arena, the game is now set to begin at 6:51 p.m. CT.

Officiating Crew

Pat Adams, Darron George, Michael Palau

Starting Lineups

Missouri
Anthony Robinson II
Tamar Bates
Tony Perkins
Mark Mitchell
Caleb Grill*

Grill is making his first appearance in the starting lineup since the opening games of the season. He's in over Trent Pierce.

Drake
Cam Manyawu
Isaiah Jackson
Bennett Stirtz
Mitch Mascari
Daniel Abreu

How to Watch: Mizzou vs. Drake 

Who: Missouri Tigers (22-11, 10-8 SEC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (30-3, 17-3 MVC)
When: Thursday, March 20 at 6:35 p.m. CT
Where: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas
TV: truTV

Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Sirius XM Home: 204
Sirius XM Away: 204

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Joey Van Zummeren
JOEY VAN ZUMMEREN

Joey Van Zummeren is studying journalism at the University of Missouri. From Belleville, Ill., he joined Missouri Tigers On SI as an intern in 2023. His beats include football and basketball.

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