NCAA Bubble Teams Breathe Sigh of Relief As Drake Wins MVC Tournament

Ryan Phillips | Mar 9, 2025

Ben McCollum and his Drake Bulldogs won the MVC tournament and secured a spot in the NCAA tournament as a result. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Drake is in the men's NCAA tournament field, and a number of teams are breathing a sigh of relief.

The Bulldogs beta Bradley 63-48 to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and lock in a place in the field of 68. The victory brought Drake's record to 30-3, a tremendous achievement for first-year head coach Ben McCollum.

Drake was considered a bubble team coming into the game. They ranked 59th in the most recent Net rankings, and were 61st on KenPom. They have since moved up to 58th on KenPom and would likely move up in the next round of Net rankings.

With Drake securing its bid, a number of teams on the bubble can breathe a sigh of relief. There will be less competition for the at-large spots when brackets are picked next Sunday. A loss by Drake would have put a 29-win team with a 2-0 record in Quad 1 games in the mix for one of the final spots.

A bunch of bubble teams are thrilled with the result.

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