DES MOINES — The Drake men’s basketball didn’t have to suffer any drama. The Bulldogs knew they were already in.

The suspense surrounding Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party inside the Knapp Center revolved around what seed the Bulldogs would be, what region they’d be in and who their first-round opponent will be.

Dancing for the third-straight season, Drake (30-3) earned the No. 11 seed in the West Region and will face No. 6 seed Missouri (22-11) on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan.

Drake became just the 21st team in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, doing so under first-year head coach Ben McCollum and an almost entirely new roster.

McCollum was named the MVC’s Coach of the Year and junior guard Bennett Stirtz was named the winner of the Larry Bird Trophy, given to the conference’s Player of the Year.

Stirtz led the MVC in scoring (18.9), assists (5.9) and steals (2.2). He was also named the league’s Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first player to win both since 1993.

This will mark the first meeting between the two programs since Missouri edged Drake, 76-74, on Dec. 8, 1987, in Des Moines.

The No. 21 Tigers will have something of a home-court advantage, but not much of one. Des Moines is only a little more than than an hour farther away from Wichita than Columbia, Mo.

“They could have sent us to the moon, man, and we would have been excited on the site,” said Missouri head coach Dennis Gates. “They could have put any opponent out there. All the opponents in the NCAA Tournament are tough, and we respect that the platform is about historically — you’ve always had different teams showcased and we’ve gotta be prepared inside-out for in-game adjustments and I think our conference has prepared us for moments.”

Missouri is one of a record-setting 14 schools from the Southeastern Conference to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, advancing as an at-large after finishing seventh in the SEC standings. The Tigers fell to eventual tournament champion Florida in the SEC quarterfinals.

Mizzou has its highest seed since 2012 and is seeded in the top six for just the fourth time in the last 31 years.

“It’s a great location when you look at the drivability of it,” Gates said. “This year we’re fortunate enough to be in Wichita and I truly believe our fans will come out and show out and obviously support us, as will our opponent’s, so we gotta make sure that we just are not overanxious and stay in the moment and allow our experience to guide us.”