When Drake and Braley met in the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament last season, the familiar rivals played for hardware.  Drake, the two-seed in last year’s tournament, waltzed to a 77-51 victory over the top-seeded Braves to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The teams met again in St. Louis Saturday, and while the stakes might not have been quite as high, the drama and intensity surely exceeded their previous meeting.

Drake came out on top in the two teams’ 2023 meeting, and ultimately the Bulldogs did again in 2024, squeaking out a 72-67 game that was closer than even the final score suggested.  Bradley’s Connor Hickman had an open look to tie the game from beyond the arc with four seconds remaining, but the shot was just a touch too strong, and after corralling the rebound, Drake’s Tucker DeVries was fouled and made both free throws to put the game on ice.

The missed three to tie put a damper on a stellar performance from Hickman, who led all players in the game with 21 points on 50% shooting from the field and three three-pointers.  “It kills me not to execute down the stretch,” Hickman said postgame of the missed game-tying shot, later adding that a turnover with a minute left in regulation was a major factor in the Braves’ loss.

Bradley started Saturday’s rematch strong, taking leads of 13-5 and later 23-9 in the opening period.  The strong start proved futile for the underdog Braves, who ultimately relinquished the lead by half.  Though Drake never led by more than six points at any point in the game, the Bulldogs maintained small leads throughout the majority of the second half and would hung on when it mattered down the stretch.

For the victorious Bulldogs, Cal State Northridge transfer guard Atin Wright was the top dog, turning in a 20-point performance including five shots made from beyond the arc.  Reigning Larry Bird conference player of the year Tucker DeVries notched 17 points and six rebounds, a strong performance in his own right.  The ever-clutch DeVries scored the Bulldogs’ final field goal with 25 seconds remaining before making the aforementioned game-sealing defensive rebound and free throws.

Drake will return to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship game for the fourth consecutive season Sunday.  The defending champion Bulldogs will face top-seeded Indiana State on Sunday with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.  A win would earn the Bulldogs an unprecedented third conference championship in just six years under head coach Darian DeVries, who guided the Bulldogs to the championship and an NCAA tournament berth in 2021 and 2023.