Drake and Butler have had a battle today.

7 minutes left in the game and neither team has had more than a 5 point lead.

Drake won 71-64 and finally answered critics who said they hadn't played, much less beat, anyone. They went to a hostile building belonging to a top ten team and won the game by gutting it out.

Great game.

The Valley may be sneaking a 2nd bid in if the Salukis could win out til the Valley final, 20-13 with an RPI in the 40's may just do it.

It was great to see Drake silence the critics, for now. They made some cluch shots down the stretch and Josh Young led the way with a career high in points.

I hope Drake is not the only MCV team to go to the big dance.

Aside from the SIU winning out scenario, Illinois St. also has a good shot, especially since they have Creighton and the Salukis upcoming this week. A sweep may put the redbirds on the good side of the bubble.

Creighton still has a good enough RPI to merit discussion if they play solid in the last 2 weeks as well.

I think 2 are going in from the Valley and if the chips fall right - which would probably involve Drake losing in the semis - they could sneak 3 in.

It was nice to watch the Drake vs. WSU game on ESPN last Saturday. They brought their 'A' game too, played really well (against a much weaker WSU team). And the ESPN announcers couldn't compliment Drake enough, they really loved them some Dawgs - maybe they were trying to pay back some respect to a top 20 team that has been heavily neglected during the course of their run.

It was funny to catch them identify Klayton Korver as Kyle Korver a few times - and once they even corrected it.

Drake won the Missouri Valley Tournament in St. Louis today (Arch Madness), beating Illinois State 79-49. You couldn't tell that Drake wanted this one badly at all. They looked incredible this afternoon and should be rewarded with a decent NCAA seed when this coming Sunday rolls around. Was nice to hear the announcers have nothing but nice things to say about the Bulldogs as well. 28 wins - a school record and this will be the first NCAA berth since 1971. This was also the first time the top seed had won the Valley tourney in 11 seasons.

Congrats to the Drake Bulldogs! While my Dawgs didn't do so well and probably aren't even going to make the NIT, I am happy for our Valley Champs. They should get at least a 5-seed. I hope Illinois State makes it in, though I don't have much love for those Redbirds... blame it on having been Saluki track athlete. It would be a travesty for the MVC to only get one bid. (It could really happen though, especially after Sunday's game.) Props to Osiris for those two crazy dunks in the championship game!!

Drake gets to go to Tampa as a 5 seed and face Western Kentucky. Should they win, they most likely will play 4 seed UCONN. Good job Drake! They had a great crowd at the Knapp Center watching the unveiling of the brackets (the crowd also watched the Drake women lose in the MVC finals earlier) - at least a couple thousand.

So sorry, Drake fans. Heck of a game!

An absolutely heartbreaking loss for Drake this afternoon - 101-99 in OT on a Western Kentucky 3 as time expired. Drake came back from 16 down in the second half to force the OT and led 96-93, then 99-98 with six seconds remaining before the game winner for the Hilltoppers.

The teams combined for 30 MADE 3 point shots. Drake hit 31 of 38 free throws while WKU made 54% of its field goals. What a horrible way to end a storybook season - I can't say how badly I feel for these guys and Drake fans. Literally, nearly the whole state was behind this team.

I agree. Valley fans were behind this team as well! What a great game -- it was too bad Drake had to lose!

Definitely a disappointing game. But what heart they played with, to come back from 16 down and send the game into OT. Watching the highlights on ESPN, the announcer was commenting that it was the best NCAA tourney game he's seen in years.

Also, the kid that hit the game winning 26 footer (Ty Rodgers) couldn't say enough about what a great team and a great bunch of guys the Drake squad is:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000035

I'm sad it's over, but what a great run Drake had in a year they were picked to finish 9th in the league.

Too bad for Drake. Their game was one of the proverbial "it's a shame someone has to lose this game" games.

Personally I had the cigar lit for WKY back when they had the 16 point lead, what a gutsy performance that was.

Speaking as someone who witnessed it live. Drake fan was there in huge numbers and made themselves heard as well, I'm guessing that they or Clemson was best represented during the quadrupleheader.

Keno Davis has apparently agreed to leave Drake for the Providence job (tripling his salary). I'm disappointed, but it's hard to turn down that kind of money. Ultimately, I don't think it will be a good move for him. Just my opinion, tho.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/8037092...away-from-Drake