The Drake Bulldogs, who opened the season with 18-straight victories, have now lost two of their last three games.
This weekend offered the Drake men’s basketball team two televised opportunities to move atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings and prove that they were indeed an NCAA Tournament-level team. The Bulldogs squandered their first chance. A second-half surge by No.23 Loyola handed Drake its second loss of the season as the Bulldogs fell to the Ramblers 81-54 at the Knapp Center on Saturday. Drake dropped to 19-2 on the season and 10-2 in MVC play. This one may have stung more than the first loss, with Drake’s at-large postseason hopes possibly clinging to Sunday’s rematch. The Bulldogs once seemed to be on the fast track to possibly earning at least a bid to the NCAA Tournament without having to win the Arch Madness event next month. Drake, which opened up the season with 18 straight victories, quickly became one of the biggest success stories in college basketball. But there was only one thing missing from Drake’s schedule: a marquee win. Saturday could have provided it with Loyola, a top-25 team that entered Saturday’s showdown with 10 straight wins.
