The Missouri Valley Conference is ranked among those top 12 conferences, and Bradley is that top team in it not going to the NCAA. Other ways the NIT fills its field • Automatic qualifiers ...

Drake will be making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the past five years after winning the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2019.

BOTTOM LINE: Drake and Bradley play for the MVC Championship. The Bulldogs’ record in MVC play is 19-3, and their record is 10-0 in non-conference games. The Braves are 17-5 against MVC opponents.

Duke Deen led Bradley with 12 points and Darius Hannah hit the winning dunk with 10 seconds left as the Braves knocked off Drake 61-59 on Sunday. Deen went 4 of 10 from the field (3 for 7 from 3 ...