Every year I get asked why I love March Madness and what makes it the greatest sporting event in the world. For me it is the fact that 68 come to a single elimination tournament and are all vying for the same thing a National Championship. That is the obvious answer, but the other part of what makes this event so great is the small schools that most casual fans don’t know about winning a game against a power school. That has already happened twice this year when McNeese upset Clemson and last night when Drake upset Missouri. The Drake game is eliciting far more of a reaction from college basketball fans than the McNeese and Clemson game, or at least it seems that way in my immediate basketball circle.
Why? Well, the SEC has been praised as the best conference in college sports, and to them, “it just means more,” or at least that is what those schools' athletic directors will have you believe. Drake is a small school from Des Moines, IA who has had a lot of success in the last 20 in the Missouri Valley conference. This year, Drake is what many would describe as the ultimate Cinderella.
I wrote earlier about some reasons why Drake would win their opening round game but just to summarize. They are coached by former Northwest Missouri State coach Ben McCollum. McCollum won 4 National Championships at his previous stop. He brought most of his old roster from Division 2 with him to Division 1 Drake, and all they have done is win 30 games, run away with the Missouri Valley, and have the best Valley player since Larry Bird, who also happens to be mentioned on some All America Teams, and they win a lot!.
Drake is so disciplined that they never deviate from what makes them successful, they play slow against everyone and dictate the pace. The pace is uncomfortable and not a natural playing style. A team like Missouri, who comes out of the mighty SEC, plays fast and beat a lot of great teams this season. Let’s just say that the Tigers were expected to win in the eyes of their fans and this one is not sitting well. Missouri shouldn’t be surprised, Drake already beat another SEC team this year when they beat Vanderbilt in a Feast Week Tournament. The Missouri fans were vocal on social media, but they were not the only ones being vocal.
The Drake Athletic Director Brian Hardin took to X to share his pleasure with the win and got a little trolling in as well. Remember things in the SEC “just mean more”
First win in the round of 64 in school history. First appearance in the round of 32 since 1971. Incredible. Some might say, “it just meant more!” https://t.co/J7YrFCStJd
— Brian Hardin (@DrakeADHardin) March 21, 2025
I am all for being humble and believe that you should be humble when you win and even more humble when you lose, but this was a huge win for Drake and every one of those players who never thought they would have a chance to play in Division 1. The SEC is a good basketball conference and one of the best historically, but there are a lot of great teams from the lower conferences who deserve all of the same coverage that high majors get. The win gets the Valley a lot of money so it may mean more to the lower level conferences. I wonder what AD Hardin will say if Drake beats Texas A&M tomorrow.