In a shocking turn of events during the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals, Belmont Bruins were upset by the Drake Bulldogs following a stunning 100-79 loss. Belmont was the No. 1 overall seed in the MVC Tournament and had received a bye in the opening round.
Belmont’s upset loss is even more stunning considering the fact that Drake had come into the conference tournament on a nine-game losing streak. Prior to beating Southern Illinois in the opening round of the MVC Tournament, they had not won a game since Jan. 28. Drake had also suffered the loss of head coach Ben McCollum and star guard Bennett Stirtz to Iowa back in the offseason.
Following the upset loss, social media came alive with reactions to Belmont being eliminated from the conference tournament after only one game.
Drake woke up today with a 13-19 record and a 9th-place finish in the MVC.
It just beat #1 seed Belmont by 21 in the quarters of Arch Madness.
The first time EVER that a 9 seed has beaten a 1 seed in the history of the MVC Tournament.
Anarchy?
Nope. Just College Basketball.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 6, 2026
The stunning final: Drake 100, Belmont 79
Drake, as the No. 9 seed, blows out an awesome Belmont team and advances to semifinal Saturday in St. Louis.
Drake entered the weekend not having won since January 28. What a sport.
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) March 6, 2026
Feel bad for teams like Belmont man
Best team in the league all year and it literally does not matter based off one off game https://t.co/wcksWWdHVj
— Detroit Sports Fan (@DetSports5) March 6, 2026
Prior to the loss to Drake, Belmont’s previous largest margin of defeat this season was 11 points, back on Feb. 9 in a loss to Bradley.
Belmont, one of the most enticing Cinderellas for March Madness, just got crushed by 21 by 9-seed Drake in the Valley quarters.
Losing to Drake, a team outside the top 200, is by far Belmont's worst game of the season Their largest margin of defeat this season was 11 points.
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) March 6, 2026
Drake, which has been the signature program lately in @MVCsports but was the No. 9 seed this time around, blew out regular season champion Belmont in the quarterfinals of Arch Madness. A reminder that March is the best month of the year!
— Phil Kasiecki (@PhilKasiecki) March 6, 2026
🚨 Upset at Arch Madness
Down goes #1 Belmont!
Drake puts up 100 on the top seed & wins their 11th straight game at Arch Madness.
Madness. pic.twitter.com/7EdZ9exdNe
— Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) March 6, 2026
Took Belmont university 25-6 number 1 seed in their tournament 40 minutes to get buried by 9th seed 13-16 Drake and to say goodbye to the NCAA tournament and a hello we re coming to the NIT tournament
— Seth Roleins (@THENATUREBOY1) March 6, 2026
With the loss, that likely ends Belmont’s chances at making the NCAA Tournament. For a small conference like the MVC who only gets one bid to the Big Dance, that spot is reserved for the conference tournament winner. It’s going to take an awful lot of sympathy from the selection committee to put the Bruins into March Madness.
Belmont finished the season at 22-4 overall, and 12-3 in MVC play. They had been the clear-cut best team in the conference all season long. This was Casey Alexander’s seventh season at the helm as Belmont head coach. He’s managed a winning record in each season he’s been there, and led the program to an NIT appearance in 2021-22.
After the loss to Drake, it appears as if another NIT appearance might be in the cards.
