Bracketology 2023: 5 conferences with teams that can bust your bracket
![Florida Atlantic Owls guard Alijah Martin (15) does the Gator Chomp after in the second half after defeating the Gators. The Florida Gators menÕs basketball team hosted the Florida Atlantic Owls at Billy Donovan Court at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL on Monday, November 14, 2022. Florida Atlantic defeated Florida 76-74. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]Gai Ufbasketballfau](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F93c246987712840be555b192871cc8313e82565e9149eb9239d56032b35c1134.jpg "Florida Atlantic Owls guard Alijah Martin (15) does the Gator Chomp after in the second half after defeating the Gators. The Florida Gators menÕs basketball team hosted the Florida Atlantic Owls at Billy Donovan Court at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL on Monday, November 14, 2022. Florida Atlantic defeated Florida 76-74. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]Gai Ufbasketballfau")
Missouri Valley – Drake Bulldogs
It may be a bit of recency bias due to the success Loyola-Chicago had as a member of the Missouri Valley but, it seems like no matter who wins the auto-bid from Arch Madness they are a trendy pick to pull at least a first-round upset. It’s likely to be the case on Sunday when the Drake Bulldogs see their name pop up on the screen.
Not only did they win their three tournament games by an average of 17 points, and they also beat top-seeded Bradley by 26 points in the final. They accomplished the feat by hanging 77 points on defensive-minded Braves, a total they hadn’t surrendered since November 22 when Auburn scored 85. The Bulldogs will enter the NCAA tournament winners of 12 of their last 14 and likely a trendy pick to win at least one game.
Offensively, Drake is led by MVC player of the year Tucker DeVries who averages 19 points and 5.6 boards while knocking down nearly 39% of his three-point attempts. They average 75 points per game and rank in the top 100 nationally in effective field goal percentage, two-point percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage. Defensively, the Bulldogs are just as good, ranking 45th in defensive efficiency and in the top 70 those same key field goal percentages.
They are also 18th in the country in defensive rebounds per game (27.6) and are conversely 4th in the nation in opponents’ offensive rebound percentage. This is a veteran-laden squad, led by a talented sophomore who could very well bust your bracket before the first weekend.