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Dick Vitale Correctly Predicts Huge Upset in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 10:22 PM ET

Dick Vitale has been one of the more popular college basketball commentators since beginning his career in 1988. The Seton Hall alum has seen many championship runs and upsets in the NCAA Tournament.

This year, he correctly predicted one of the bigger upsets in the first round of March Madness.

On Thursday, the No. 11 seed Drake Bulldogs defeated the No. 6 seed Missouri Tigers 67-57. Drake entered the game as a 6.5-point underdog ( ESPN BET) but proceeded to beat the spread and then some.

Vitale released his full bracket predictions on ESPN prior to the tournament starting. Although his bracket can no longer be perfect, like most other brackets, he did correctly predict Drake to win.

"The Bulldogs bark the loudest, pulling off the upset," Vitale wrote.

Even though Vitale predicted a few upsets in the first round, he was not as bold for his Final Four predictions, putting No. 1 seeds Duke, Florida and Houston and No. 2 seed Michigan State in San Antonio. Vitale also had Duke defeating Florida for the national championship.

Drake was able to pull off the upset win over Missouri thanks to the play of junior guard Bennett Stirtz. In his first NCAA Tournament game, Stirtz, a former Division II player, tallied a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Another junior guard, Tavion Banks, added 15 points off the bench.

Bennett Stirtz.

ONE-LEGGED THREE.

You cannot be serious. pic.twitter.com/H70PawjbMB
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) March 21, 2025

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Stirtz and Drake will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 3 seed Texas Tech and No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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