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Drake Basketball: Bulldogs destined for 2023 Missouri Valley crown

By Shea Irish

Beau, of Urbandale, is crowded the 40th Beautiful Bulldog during Drake University's annual contest marking the start of Drake Relays week on Monday, April 22, 2019, at the Knapp Center on the Drake campus in Des Moines. The bulldog is owned by T.J. and Angela McKenzie.0422 Beautifulbulldog 002 Cr2
Beau, of Urbandale, is crowded the 40th Beautiful Bulldog during Drake University's annual contest marking the start of Drake Relays week on Monday, April 22, 2019, at the Knapp Center on the Drake campus in Des Moines. The bulldog is owned by T.J. and Angela McKenzie.0422 Beautifulbulldog 002 Cr2 /
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Drake Bulldogs guard Tucker Devries Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Drake Bulldogs guard Tucker Devries Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Conference Tournament and Postseason recap:

Drake came into ‘Arch Madness’ as the 3 seed, matching up with 6 seed Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals, which was an absolute defensive struggle. They pulled away from the Salukis in the second half to win 65-52 and then had to square off with 2 seed Missouri State, a game that would be decided by star freshman Tucker DeVries’ game-winning free throws with just one second left in OT.-

By defeating the Bears to advance to the championship game, Drake set up another showdown with the Ramblers, a rematch of the 2021 MVC Final. Things looked promising after jumping out to a 13-4 lead by the second media timeout, but Loyola Chicago came storming back on a 23-5 run over the next nine minutes of game action to secure the lead.

Drake ended the half strong by scoring the last five points, making it a narrow 27-25 Ramblers lead at the break. The second half was a story of many runs. Loyola Chicago would expand the lead to 7 or 8 points on multiple occasions, but the Bulldogs would battle back each and every time.

Roman Penn’s free throws with 0:22 left in regulation made it just a 2-point game, but eventually, the Ramblers would outlast Drake for a 64-58 victory and a second straight MVC crown. Drake put up a more than valiant effort for the second year in a row and doing so with the absence of crucial two-way guard D.J. Wilkins made it impressive in itself.

Although the Bulldogs missed out on the NCAA Tournament in 2022, they received an invite to a postseason tournament for the third time in four seasons. Playing in the CBI Tournament, Drake went on to win a postseason game for the second straight year by defeating IPFW. They blew a 17-point halftime lead in the second round vs UNC Wilmington, which turned out to be the season finale for Darian DeVries’ squad.

Anything short of another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 will be a disappointment for Drake, and these Bulldogs will certainly be ready to face those expectations head-on come the start of next season. The roster is locked and loaded with proven winners, star power, a ton of experience, and plenty of depth. As they say, the third time will be the charm for the Des Moines’ hometown team in their pursuit of an MVC Tournament crown.