Bulldogs with Power 4 Win
(St. Louis, MO) – Ben McCollum answered the ‘can McCollum coach at the Division 1 level’ emphatically today as Drake topples Miami. The Bulldogs never trailed during the Missouri Valley Conference’s first ‘power conference’ win of the early season. Drake’s upset of the Atlantic Coast Conference team (80-69) is part of the first day of multi-team event action at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic.
Bulldog play-by-play man Michael Admire joined us and gives us a behind the scenes look at the upset and Drake’s first four games.
The Bulldogs opened the game with seven straight points and never relinquished the lead and earned its first ACC win since 2017 and its first against a power conference team since 2022.
Bennett Stirtz led the Bulldogs with 21 points. Daniel Abreu recorded his first D1 double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Stirtz added six assists. Mitch Mascari added 15 points, but it was the Bulldog defense that sparked the victory.
Admire joined us for an in depth conversation about the game and the season. Head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts to hear his analysis.
Miami came into the game averaging 98 points-per-game, but the Bulldog defenders held to Hurricanes to just 69 points. Drake stifled the Hurricane shooters. They made just 30 percent of their first half shots and just over 40 percent of their entire game total.
McCollum won 81% of his games at Division 2 Northwest Missouri State (394 wins) and is yet to taste defeat at the D1 level. Stirtz, Abreu and Mascari were NWMSU Bearcats last season.
The Bulldogs now face Florida Atlantic in the Classic’s second round. Game time is set for 10:30 a.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.
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Flooding, lightning strikes, etc. have cost @RacersHoops two home games. Had to play 'neutral site' tonight instead of at home and Wednesday's goes from home to away. Tough break for the Racers, and the whole area has been hit with difficulties. #FatherHarry
Murray State's scheduled home game Wednesday vs. Southern Illinois being moved to Banterra Center in Carbondale. #ValleyHoops
Gigantic game for @BradleyUMBB today in Des Moines. If they have a chance to catch @DrakeBulldogsMB, they have to win today. The Bulldogs can basically win the title today. @BustingBrackets breaks it all down. #FatherHarry https://bit.ly/3EGiVgi
Not rooting for any particular @ValleyHoops, but chaos is always fun. If things break certain ways, after today there could be a six-way tie for fifth place.
Fun to listen to @MLBLarry on the @SIU_Basketball/@BelmontMBB game tonight. Good job brother. #FatherHarry
