Most college basketball fans recognize that the Missouri Valley has long been one of the best mid-major conferences in the country. Hopefully, they also recognize that the Drake Bulldogs are one of the programs that make it such a great league. The program has a long and proud history, putting cheap Drake basketball tickets in short supply. More importantly, the Bulldogs have recently emerged out of a dark period to once again become a perennial contender in the Missouri Valley, increasing the demand for last-minute Drake basketball tickets.

Glory Days

For a while in the late 1960s and early 70s, Drake basketball experienced the kind of success that most mid-majors can only dream about. In 1969, coach Maury John led the Bulldogs to just their second conference championship in 30 years. More importantly, he got Drake invited to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs won two games to reach the Final Four, ultimately finishing third after beating North Carolina in the Third Place Game. That season turned out to be anything but a fluke when Maury led the Bulldogs to the Missouri Valley championship in each of the next two seasons, with Drake advancing to the Elite Eight in both 1970 and 1971.

One Season Wonder

Unfortunately for Drake, Maury left the program in 1971 and the magic surrounding the program was lost. It took until the 2007-08 season for the Bulldogs to get back in the spotlight. In what turned out to be his only season at Drake, Keno Davis coached the Bulldogs to a 28-5 campaign that saw Drake win both the regular-season and tournament titles in the MVC and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1971. It may have been just one season, but it breathed some much-needed life into the Drake program. More importantly, it has allowed the Bulldogs to find some semblance of consistency and once again become a team worth watching inside the Missouri Valley Conference.