ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Drake men’s basketball team arrived at the Enterprise Center with a simple mantra:“Just ruin someone else’s weekend.”
For two days, it worked.
The Bulldogs, who were the kings of Arch Madness the previous three years, brought an entirely new cast of characters to the event this time. They also carried with them a lowly 9-seed and a nine-game losing streak.
“We knew we were better than that,” junior guard Andrew Alia asserted.
They were.
The first weekend Drake ruined belonged to 8-seed Southern Illinois, laid low by a Bulldog comeback in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Next, Drake put together its best game of the season to ruin the entire month for top-seeded Belmont, whose March Madness aspirations withered beneath a 100-point onslaught.
But Alia suffered a broken tibia in the first half of that contest. And Drake soon limped into the offseason with him, losing its legs and falling to rugged Illinois-Chicago 72-51 in the semifinals on Saturday, March 7.
A third game in three days proved to be too daunting for the Bulldogs, who finished their first season under coach Eric Henderson with a 14-20 record.
“The losing streak was tough on us,” Henderson allowed. “But it was important that, when you wake up, you stick your chest out and you still have a lot of great pride in having that Bulldog on your chest.
“We didn’t lose our spirit.”
The fifth-seeded Flames (19-14) wore the Bulldogs down, outscoring them 40-20 in the paint while owning a 40-28 advantage on the glass. Drake guards Owen Larson and Jalen Quinn played the full 40 minutes, but their 3-point accuracy betrayed them, as they combined to make just 3-of-14 shots from that distance.
Quinn, a senior who led the Valley in scoring, called the upset of Belmont his favorite memory of his lone season wearing Drake blue.
“That energy we brought to watching film, to walkthroughs, whatever it was, it was a positive energy,” he said of the Bulldogs’ tournament preparation.
With that victory, Drake made Missouri Valley Tournament history, as the only school to win 11 consecutive games here, and the first 9-seed to advance to the semifinals.
And that’s what makes the rest of the 2025-26 campaign such a mystery. The final week of Drake’s season was such a jarring contrast to the month that preceded it, that Alia was asked why his team wasn’t able to play with this much bravado more often.
“This has been probably one of the most skilled teams I’ve been a part of,” said Alia, who was the lone Bulldog to be a part of the previous two coaching regimes. “But honestly, the effort in games, whether it’s putting aside your ego or just being more team-oriented, I think that’s where we struggled. Obviously, this whole weekend we were able to put that aside and play for each other.”
Added sophomore Eli Shetlar, a sophomore transfer from Indiana State who sat out last winter but led the Bulldogs in 3-point shooting this season: “Every night in the Valley, it’s physical. If you don’t play your hardest, you’re going to lose. Every game has to be a battle next year.”
Alia, who was second to Quinn in minutes played for Drake this season, anticipates being fully healed in three months. And, yes, he does plan on returning to Des Moines for his senior season.
What does he want to see change in 2026-27, as Drake seeks to reclaim its spot atop the Valley?
“Just being with competitors all the time and having that competitive spirit is going to be the biggest thing,” he said.
For two days, the Bulldogs had that in St. Louis. But that only got them halfway to where they’re accustomed to finding themselves in March.
UNI men advance to Valley Tournament final: Leon Bond III scored 19 points to lead Northern Iowa to a 73-69 victory over Bradley in the Missouri Valley semifinals on Saturday.
The Panthers will play UIC at 11 a.m. CT Sunday in the championship game, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake men's basketball season ends in Missouri Valley semifinals