THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball earned the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and a No. 10 seed in the East Region, facing No. 7 seed Washington State in the first round at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., with a late tip-off scheduled for 9:05 p.m.
 
Drake is back in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years, one of 37 Division-I teams to qualify for the Big Dance in at least three of the last four seasons.
 
The Bulldogs repeated as State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champs with wins over Evansville, Bradley and Indiana State. During the championship game, junior swingman Tucker DeVries poured in a game-high 27 points en route to earning his second straight MVC Tournament MVC award.
 
Junior guard Atin Wright was named to the MVC All-Tournament team for his efforts over all three games of Arch Madness.
 
DeVries became the ninth-ever player and first since Doug McDermott to win the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year trophy in back-to-back seasons. He was also named an AP All-America Honorable Mention.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday night's game will be televised live on TruTV and streamed online with the March Madness app. The TV broadcast crew includes Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (analyst), Avery Johnson (analyst) and AJ Ross (sideline reporter). 
 
Locally in the Des Moines area, the game can be heard on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines as well as the Varsity Network App with Michael Admire (play-by-play) and Paul Doerrfeld (analyst). 
 
The national radio call will also be available on Westwood One with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst).
 
WATCH PARTY INFORMATION
For the information on where to watch the game in either Des Moines or Omaha, please visit alumni.drake.edu.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY
Drake makes its 16th all-time postseason appearance, its seventh NCAA appearance and its third NCAA appearance in four years. Drake has three NIT berths and a title in the 1975 National Commissioners Invitational Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs are 14-14 all-time in postseason tournament games, including a 6-6 record in NCAA Tournament games.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Drake also has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, 2021, 2008, 1971, 1970 and 1969.
 
The Bulldogs advanced to the Final Four in 1969 falling to Lew Alcindor led UCLA, 85-82, in the semifinal round. Drake whipped North Carolina, 104-84 in the third place game.
 
Prior to the win over Wichita State in 2021, Drake's last NCAA Tournament win was a 79-92 double-overtime verdict past Notre Dame in the semifinal round of the 1971 NCAA Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kan.  
 
The Bulldogs also own NCAA Tournament wins over Houston, Texas A&M and Colorado State.
 
In its 2008 NCAA appearance, the 5th-seeded Bulldogs suffered a 101-99 last-second overtime loss to Western Kentucky as Ty Rodgers buried a deep three-pointer as time expired.
 
SURVEYING THE FIELD
Drake owns a 4-1 record against the 68 teams selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs earned an 85-77 triumph over Oakland in the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic. Oakland is a No. 14 seed in the South Region playing Kentucky Thursday. Drake also beat Akron, 79-59, in the third-place game of the Cayman Islands Classic. The Zips also are a No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region, playing Creighton in Pittsburgh, Pa., Thursday.and
 
Drake handed Nevada its first loss of the season, 72-53, Nov. 9 in Henderson, Nev. The No. 10 seed Wolf Pack will play No. 7 seed Dayton in the West Region Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah. Drake also claimed a 68-56 home victory against Grambling which is a No. 16 seed in a Midwest Region First Four game against Montana State Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.  Drake suffered a 79-78 overtime loss at UAB on Dec. 22. UAB is a No. 12 seed playing San Diego State Friday in Spokane, Wash.


DRAKE VS. THE QUADRANT
This will be the first game against Washington State in nearly 90 years. Washington State won the inaugural contest, 28-27, in Pullman, Wash. on Dec. 16, 1935. 
 
Regarding the other teams on their side of the bracket, the Bulldogs have a 6-3 mark (6-1 home/0-2 road) against South Dakota State, while the series against Iowa State is the longest in Drake history. Iowa State owns a 110-65 advantage in the series which started in 1908. The two teams haven't played since the 2018 Big Four Classic when the Cyclones earned a 77-68 victory at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
 
DRAKE VS. THE PAC-12
This will be Drake's first test against a Pac-12 Conference team since falling to USC, 72-56, in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. Drake shot 18.9 percent in the second half as the Trojans broke away from a 40-37 halftime lead.
 
Drake owns a cumulative 9-12 record against Pac-12 schools with its last victory coming at Arizona State, 94-93 on Dec. 1, 1990.
 
DRAKE VS. THE POWER FIVE
The Bulldogs are 3-3 in their last six games against Power Five conference teams with their last victory against a Power Five opponent coming against then No. 15 Mississippi State, 58-51,  in Lincoln, Neb., on Dec. 20, 2022 as part of the Battle in the Vault. 
 
Prior to the 2022-23 season, Drake's last Power Five victory was over Kansas State, 80-70, in its 2020-21 season-opener on Nov. 25, 2020, in Manhattan, Kan., in the Little Apple Classic.
 
TOURNAMENT TESTED
This will mark the third tournament that Drake is competing in this season. The Bulldogs finished third in the Cayman Islands Classic, beating Oakland (85-77) in the first round before falling to Stephen F. Austin (92-68) in the semifinal round. Drake whipped Akron (79-59) in the third place game. 
 
Less than two weeks ago, Drake won three games in as many days to capture its third State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship in St. Louis, Mo., March 10 beating regular-season champ Indiana State, 84-80, in the title game.
 
GARNERING RESPECT
Drake enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 3 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major
poll, No.4 in the latest College Basketball Ratings Percentage Index, No. 47 in the latest NET basketball rankings and No. 51 in the latest KenPom rankings.
 
AP TOP 25 POLL
Washington State is ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, while Drake is receiving votes for the second straight week this time around accumulating 26 votes.

OMAHA HOMECOMING
Drake's trip to Omaha will be a special homecoming for head coach Darian DeVries and his son Tucker. 
 
Before taking over the Bulldogs' program, DeVries was an assistant coach at Creighton University for 17 years and spent 20 total seasons (1998-2018) on staff with the Bluejays. During that span, he helped guide the Bluejays to 19 postseason appearances and 12 NCAA Tournament berths.
 
Tucker DeVries was born in Omaha on Dec. 7, 2002, while his father was assistant coach at Creighton. Tucker grew up in Omaha and initially attended Elkhorn South High School before moving to Waukee, Iowa when his father became head coach at Drake. Through the years it was a common sight to see Tucker DeVries shoot baskets on the CHI Health Center basketball court following Creighton home basketball games. 
 
DRAKE-WASHINGTON STATE CONNECTIONS
Drake redshirt sophomore forward Carlos Rosario is a transfer from Washington State where he appeared in 22 games last season, averaging 9.9 minutes, 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds. He was medically redshirted in 2021-22. Rosario has played in 31 games for Drake this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds.
 
Washington State guard Joseph Yesufu began his collegiate career at Drake, playing in the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 campaigns before transferring to Kansas for two years where he was a reserve guard on the 2022 NCAA championship team.

UP NEXT
The winner of Drake-Washington State will play the winner of South Dakota State-Iowa State on Saturday, March 23.