Eli Radarman
Wichita, Kansas – First-year manager Ben McCollum would not have seen all of this 365 days ago. In fact, at this point last year, McCollum had been away for a few weeks since leaving Division II Northwest Missouri for the Bulldogs’ top job.
But nights like Thursday were part of McCollum’s vision when he landed at Drake on April 1st. That’s why the 11th Seed Bulldogs 67-57 first round NCAA tournament didn’t have a sixth seed Missouri victory at Indrust Bank Arena.
“I’d lie if I said I wasn’t expecting this,” McCollum said late Thursday night after Drake secured his first NCAA tournament victory since 2021. “…I was expecting this exactly. I (my player) brought me the winner. I think it was something I brought.
“I know I’m trying to be humble, in other words. But man, I believe in these kids.”
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The Bulldogs who joined the game as a 5½ point loser in ESPN BET were physically dominant on the board. Junior guard Bennett Stillz, one of the four Drake starters who played Division II basketball last season, poured 21 points. The program was able to reach Sweet 16 for the first time since 1971, and won its second victory against No. 3 Seed Texas Tech on Saturday.
This is the latest chapter in McCollum’s storybook debut season at Drake, a small school in Des Moines, Iowa, with 4,774 enrollments.
He compiled a 395-91 record and won four national titles in northwestern Missouri in 15 seasons from 2009 to 2024. He arrived at Drake last spring, accepting former Division II recruits, junior college relocation, and former coaches after accepting Indian coaches after getting a job as head coach at Virginia.
The unlikely group adopted McCollum’s patient, slow tempo style, struck a 30-3 record and won the NCAA Tournament Bertitude as the Missouri Valley Conference champion.
On Thursday, McCollum’s small bulldogs held Missouri to the lowest half of the season, surpassing the Tigers 38-22 in paint, holding back a delayed charge to win the 31st victory of the season through performances.
“For our peers, I think we just fought,” McCollum said. “It’s like something we have to do. We just keep fighting, shattering, we keep competing, we’ve got people who want to do that.
In a clash of style, Drake drew the high-scoring Uptempo Tigers into Slugfest for a 30-23 halftime advantage. That lead grew by 15 points after halftime, with Missouri reducing the gap to 52-51, leaving 4:28 behind the 12-2 scoring run.
A 15-6 response from the Bulldogs at the final 4:02 was enough to close the victory. Tavion Banks earned the MVC Sixth Man of the Year honor and was a middle school transfer that claimed Drake’s rebound performance on Thursday, earning seven of his 15 points on that stretch.
McCollum praised Stillz’s calmness as he started Crowing Grand with a stepback jumper by helping to steward the Bulldog in the final minutes.
“He’s in a lot of big games,” McCollum said. “Obviously, from a personality standpoint, that’s probably what we match up very well. I’m a little more intense. We’re crazy. He’s so calm. He can evaluate exactly what I’m saying when he’s on the floor so that we can fix it.”
