Drake basketball’s March Madness opponent is Washington St. to open 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket
Drake men's basketball will face No. 7 seed Washington State at 9:05 p.m. CT Thursday (TruTV) in Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs enter the tournament as the No. 10 seed in the East Region.
This is the seventh NCAA Tournament appearance for Drake, with the Bulldogs last making it to March Madness in 2023. Drake was a No. 12 seed in that appearance, losing to Miami in the first round.
Drake finished third in 1969, beating North Carolina, 104-84 in the consolation game. The Bulldogs made Elite Eight appearances in 1970 and 1971. Drake made it to the tournament in 2008 but lost in overtime to Western Kentucky in the first round.
The Bulldogs also made it to the tournament in 2021, beating Wichita State in the play-in and losing to USC in the first round.
Drake enters the tournament with a 28-6 record and a 16-4 record in conference play. The Bulldogs have won their last five games – including the Missouri Valley Conference championship over Indiana State to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs have a 17-4 record since the beginning of the new year.
Washington State enters the tournament with a 24-9 overall record and a 14-6 record in the Pac-12.
The winner of the Drake-Washington State game will play the winner of the Iowa State-South Dakota State contest in Omaha's second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake’s March Madness opponent is Washington State in 2024 NCAA Tournament
