Belmont the first March Madness 1 seed to fall, with Drake advancing to the MVC semis

Coming into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Belmont Bruins were viewed as the big favorite to win. They were the 1-seed, winning the regular season title with a 16-4 record in league play. As the top seed, they faced 9-seed Drake, who defeated Southern Illinois the night prior in the first round matchup.

Drake, last year’s MVC champion, has taken a big step back after losing its head coach and entire roster to the transfer portal. But while they went 6-14 in league play, the Bulldogs were competitive against Belmont in the two regular season losses between them, including a two-point loss in the first matchup. 

But this time around, the Bulldogs got off to a hot start and got the early lead. They managed to have a 48-41 lead on Belmont midway through. In the second half, the Bruins defense continued to struggle, allowing the underdogs to push out to a double-digit lead. From there, Drake refused to ease up, shooting nearly 60% from the field en route to a shocking 100-79 win to move onto the Missouri Valley Tournament semifinals.

Jalen Quinn, who leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 ppg heading into the game, scored 31 points for the Bulldogs. Owen Larson chipped in with 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, with the team making 11 three-pointers and making 27/31 from the free throw line.

Aidan Noyes led the Bruins with 19 points, while Player of the Year Tyler Lundblade finished with 11 points on 4/11 FG. In the end, it was the poor defense which came back to haunt the 1-seed.

This loss puts Belmont at 26-6 overall but there’s no real chance for them to have an at-large bid, having four Quad 3 defeats. The next question for them is whether longtime head coach Casey Alexander sticks around for another year, as his name has been mentioned more often than usual in coaching carousel talks.

For now, Drake’s season continues, playing the winner of Murray State and Illinois-Chicago.