In a March Madness shocker, the 11th-seeded Drake Bulldogs upset No. 6-ranked Missouri 67-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Not only was the win historic—it was the school's first NCAA Tournament victory in over 50 years—but it was also seismic in terms of college basketball's conference hierarchy.
The SEC, which sent a record 14 teams into the tourney this year, reigned supreme over its rival conferences. And Drake fans, in the waning seconds of the game, couldn't help but gloat at the conference with an "overrated" chant as the Bulldogs knocked off the SEC's Tigers.
But that wasn't all.
After the game, Drake's athletic director Brian Hardin took to his account on X and poked fun at the SEC's slogan, "It Just Means More."
"First win in the round of 64 in school history," Hardin wrote. "First appearance in the round of 32 since 1971. Incredible. Some might say, “it just meant more!"
That's a ruthless—and perhaps well-earned—troll job by Hardin, as the SEC's Tigers, aside from a furious second half comeback, certainly looked overmatched for much of the game against the Missouri Valley Conference's Bulldogs.
And the confident Bulldogs, as coach Ben McCollum said at a news conference after the victory, weren't surprised by their takedown of Missouri.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect this," McCollum said. "... I expected exactly this. I expected [the Bulldogs] to compete. I brought winners with me. That's what I brought. I guess my superpower is finding winners, finding tough kids and believing in them. So I kind of expected this. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I know I try to be humble in other words. But man, I believe in these kids."
Drake moves onto the second round in the West Region of the bracket, where it will next take on the No. 3 seed Texas Tech.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake AD Perfectly Trolls SEC After Bulldogs' NCAA Tournament Upset vs. Missouri.
