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The fun of March Madness is in picking the upsets that shock everyone else – and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was able to call one of the few surprises from Thursday.
Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament was a relatively muted affair – with only two games being decided by five points or less as nearly every other contest was a blowout.
Still, there were two massive upsets that were sure to wreck many a bracket – and Kelce called one from a mile away.
On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce had plenty of praise for his upset pick in the west region: the 11-seeded Drake Bulldogs.
‘The West has one of my favorite teams in the NCAA right now and that’s Drake,’ the tight end said.
‘Drake University, they have a fun story. Their coach and four of their players are from Division II.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made a bold March Madness prediction that paid off
The 11-seed Drake Bulldogs pulled off the upset of six-seed Missouri on Thursday night
Drake head coach Ben McCollum (L) and star guard Bennett Stirtz (R) played in D-II last year
However, Kelce did admit that Drake’s first round opponent – the six-seeded Missouri Tigers – could pose a threat.
‘They got some guys that could play, although I think Missouri is a really good team, and that’s going to be a tough game for them,’ the 35-year-old said. ‘That’s my Cinderella team this year. I’m rooting for them.’
Well, Kelce was right. One of the more trendy upset picks in the field of 68 this year, Drake ended up knocking off Missouri 67-57 in Wichita, Kansas.
Coached by Ben McCollum, the Bulldogs were led by point guard Bennett Stirtz – who dropped 21 points in the victory.
Despite giving up 26 foul shots, Drake was able to slam the breaks on Missouri’s typically up-tempo offense – leading the Tigers to shoot 33 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range.
It’s a remarkable season for the Bulldogs, who picked up McCollum, Stirtz, and others from Division II Northwest Missouri State. McCollum has won four D-II national titles since 2016.
They made the hire after coach Darian DeVries departed for West Virginia. DeVries was recently hired as the new coach at Indiana.
Next up for Drake is the three-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders. That game will be played on Saturday at 6:10pm Eastern Time.
