We’re looking forward to this game between the Drake Bulldogs vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders. Things got a touch scary for the three-seed Red Raiders in their opener, before they closed out UNC Wilmington, 82-72. Meanwhile, the 11-seed Bulldogs are gonna Bulldog…which is exactly what they did in their opener, taking down the six-seed Missouri Tigers in one of the early upsets.
Now they head to the Round of 32 looking for another upset victim. This is a Bulldog team that has shown they’re game to go head-to-head with the top teams in the country. Ask Missouri about what this 11-seed brings to the court. It’s a heck of a lot of bite.
They get after it on defense, and will want to slow this one down vs. a very good Tech offense in what will be a matchup of teams with opposing strengths (defense vs. offense). Led by Bennett Stirtz (averaging over 19 points per game), the Bulldogs make opponents work hard for buckets, and as noted above, they can hit threes.
Drake is a 30-win team (albeit in an admittedly weak Missouri Valley Conference) that slotted into the 11-seed, but can compete higher up the bracket. They didn’t arrive with a “happy to be here” attitude. They’re thinking Sweet 16. Will they get there? Maybe not, as this is a very good Red Raiders unit, but we like getting the 7.5-points and look for them to give Texas Tech a real battle.
Play: We’re on Drake +7.5