One of the nation’s top offensive teams battles the country’s best defensive team Thursday evening, when sixth-seed Missouri plays #11-seed Drake in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Tipoff is set for 6:35 in Wichita. Dennis Gates’ Tigers are 22-11 and finished 10-8 in the tough Southeastern conference. It’s Mizzou’s highest seed in 13 years. The Tigers have scored at least 80 points in ten straight games. Mizzou ranks ninth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 85 points a game.
The Bulldogs are 30-3 and are coached by Ben McCollum, who won four national titles at Northwest Missouri State. Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference title. The Bulldogs’ top player is standout Bennett Stirtz, who averages 19 points a game. He’s from the Kansas City suburb of Liberty. Drake leads the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 58 points a game.
You can listen to tonight’s game on the Central Bank Tiger Radio Network from Learfield on Zimmer’s KTGR (FM 105.1 and 100.5) and on KCMQ (FM 96.7) with Mike Kelly and Chris Gervino.
