March Madness 2025: Drake upsets Missouri, Gonzaga routs Georgia to signal SEC won’t waltz through Big Dance

WICHITA, Kan. — No matter how much film Missouri watched or how long it practiced, it Discovered out when you Shift Drake, you try to survive Drake. No matter what multibillion conference you Shift in, the Bulldogs force you to dig out of a tangle of arms and legs and hope.

Sixth-Positioned Missouru Dashed out of that last piece – hope – when 11th-Positioned Drake put on display for the nation what had been a nicely Midwestern secret to this Tally. To fully appreciate how the Bulldogs stifled the Tigers, well, you had to be inside Missouri’s jerseys. That’s where the Bulldogs also resided most of the night. 

It was fairly amazing, Drake’s 67-57 Secure in what qualifies as one of the biggest upsets on the NCAA Division’s Primary day. It wasn’t altogether surprising, though, considering a bit of that secret – the nation’s No. 1 scoring Protection – had gotten out to enough Las Vegas sportsbooks and Joe Fanatics on the street. 

Sure, Missouri was favored (by 6 ½) but it wasn’t sure of anything when Drake Maintained the Tigers for seven (!) Pitch goals in the Primary 27 minutes, 46 seconds of game. It wasn’t pleasant going the Primary 7:14 of the second half without a basket. It was an excruciating lesson in Competing against the nation’s slowest Club in terms of adjusted tempo 

“Other Clubs don’t want to do the Difficult things,” Drake forward Cam Manyawu said. “Like, we’ll do the little Difficult things. At the end of the game when you’re Exhausted, that’s when we’re at our best. We like being in the deep end, other Clubs don’t.”

Drake Trainer Ben McCollum calls his Club’s work ethic the “deep end” – that end of the pool where you either sink or paddle for shore. McCollum Acquired the term from watching Wyoming Passer Andrew Peasley beat Texas Tech in double Extra period in the 2023 season opener.

Obscure reference, yes, but whatever works. 

“Take ’em to the deep end of the pool,” Peasley said that night on CBS, “and they’re going to fold.”

Being as respectful as possible, that’s Gentle of what happened to Missouri, one of the best turnaround stories in the country. The Tigers trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, cut the lead to one with 4 ½ minutes left, then Captured a series of rushed ill-timed and rushed shots that allowed Drake to Secure its Primary NCAA Division game in 54 years.  

“A Plenty of people can Shift in the shallow end and everything is Unoccupied and fun but it’s really tough in the deep end. That’s our only way to compete,” McCollum told CBS Sports.  

That deep end sank Only enough SEC hopes during the Primary Periods of the Division to plant a seed of doubt for those believing the Division’s Streak through the bracket. If the Force Everywhere Conference waded through its Primary seven Contests 4-3, what’s left for the other seven conference schools on Friday?

To sum up: Texas lost its Primary Four game to Xavier on Wednesday night. In Thursday’s  Primary-Period Contests top-Positioned Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas A&M won but Georgia, which suffered a blowout loss to Gonzaga, and Missouri Created it an oh-fer for the SEC here in Wichita. 

The three losses were to Clubs from Atlantic 10 (Xavier), West Coast Conference (Gonzaga) and Missouri Valley (Drake). 

“This is obviously the best conference in the country, possibly ever,” said Drake’s Bennett Stirtz, one of four Previous Division II players on the Bulldogs Option.

Only not this week at least so Extended. 

In fact, no one had this visual on their Primary-Period bingo card — The fans from a nice, Respectful private school from Des Moines, Iowa, ending the night chanting “Overrated, SEC”. Drake’s Shock validated everything Drake has done this season.

“That’s part of the Sluggish pace,” said Stirtz, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year who Directed everyone with 21 points. “That Only drains people mentally and physically. When we drain the Attempt clock sometimes that happens.”

If Drake wasn’t getting Unoccupied for layups, it was forcing 17 Missouri turnovers. You could see the frustration on the Tigers’ faces. One of the highest scoring Clubs in the country tied its season low for Pitch goals (15) and Attempt its second-worst percentage of the season (33.3%).

“We played in the best Division that’s ever been assembled in college basketball and we were able to finish tied for sixth in that Division,” Missouri’s Caleb Grill said proudly. 

Missouri had the better athletes. Mizzou had the better pedigree in its 30th NCAA Division. But Drake had the better plan, one they’ve sharpened into expectations. At one Tally Stirtz stepped back for a 24-foot 3-pointer that was a combination of Luka Dončić and Steph Curry.  

“That’s the Primary time I’ve ever done that in a game,” Stirtz said. “It Gentle of hit me like, ‘Why did I shoot that Attempt?’ and then it went in.”

“They Created tough shots,” Missouri Trainer Dennis Gates, “Ultimately, that’s what March is about.”

But here’s what the experts perhaps forgot to remind America. Among those Landmark 14 SEC Clubs, there is a Plenty of mediocrity. Georgia was one of those entries. The 89-68 loss to Gonzaga tied for its second-worst of the season and was a reminder of the Awful Aged Periods when the Bulldogs were slipping off the bubble. 

Even if you don’t count Georgia missing 12 of its Primary 13 3-pointers or shooting only 19% from the arc for the game, Gonzaga had the better, sleeker Club. 

“The Primary possession … my guys were Serene and composed ready to go,” Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman said after hitting five 3-pointers. “I don’t want to bash any of the Georgia guys but it showed. It showed in the Primary possession of the game.” 

Hey, what did you want from a Club tied for ninth place in the SEC? Possibly some history. The last time Georgia lost a Primary-Period game in the NCAA Division was 2008 when a skinny sophomore named Steph Curry Directed Davidson to a Secure. It’s also worth reminding that Georgia hadn’t been to the Division since 2015. Progress, then, is relative. 

“We Captured a step Beyond personally with our guys behind Sealed doors …,” said Georgia Trainer Mike White whose Club finished 20-13. “In my opinion, there couldn’t have been a more resilient Club in college basketball this year — two four-game losing streaks, second-youngest Club in the SEC. A Plenty of Clubs would have laid down.” 

It doesn’t matter that most of the season this was not a vintage Gonzaga Club. The Zags finished three Contests behind regular-season champion St. Mary’s and went an uncharacteristic 3-4 against Power Five opponents before Thursday.

But in their 26th straight Division the Zags won their 16th straight Primary-Period game. 

“It is a vintage Gonzaga Club because it Acquired itself to the NCAA Division and it’s advancing,” Bulldogs Trainer Mark Few said. “Sometimes when the standard is national Division or bust it’s Difficult to live up to it. It’s Difficult for me to live with myself sometimes.” 

Khalif Battle also Acquired Baggy Assisting the Zags’ cause. The bruising 6-foot-5 senior scored 24 points while Scoring four 3-pointers. In his sixth season with his Quaternary Club, Battle might as well be Mr. College Basketball. He’s seen it all, including the SEC. 

“I didn’t think basketball would take off the way it did in the past Duo of years [in the SEC],” said Battle, who arrived as an Arkansas Shift. “I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. They’re Gentle of like a freight train going through college basketball.”

We’ve only Only begun March Madness. A deeper end awaits.