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When star guard Bennett Stirtz checked out of the game with 27 seconds to play in Sunday’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament title game, Drake coach Ben McCollum removed his tie and finally cracked a smile as he embraced Stirtz.

McCollum, who was still intently directing his players in the final minutes as Drake’s lead over Bradley ballooned to 18 points, relaxed just a bit as his team recorded its 30th win and locked up an NCAA Tournament berth.

The coach’s demeanor mirrored that of his team, who began an on-court celebration that was somewhat muted in comparison to most Arch Madness champions.

Drake, led by four Division II transfers from McCollum’s former team, was picked to finish fifth. The Bulldogs returned almost nobody from last season’s NCAA tourney team. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ won the regular-season title by two games, the school’s third-ever outright title.

What would be a dream season for many is just another year for McCollum, in his first year at Drake after 15 seasons and four national titles at Northwest Missouri State.

In his past nine seasons at the two schools, the 43-year-old Iowa native is averaging 31 wins and three losses per year. He hasn’t won fewer than 27 games in any of those campaigns.

For McCollum, the secret to his success is in finding toughness and mastering the smallest of details.

Stirtz, the team’s leader and MVC player of the year, had no Division I offers out of high school when he joined the coach at Northwest Missouri State. Now he’s getting NBA looks.

“I don't care what anybody says about talent, and I think we got plenty of talent, but tough kids win championships,� McCollum said. “That's what they do.�

The level of success McCollum has had is almost unbelievable. On paper, the Bulldogs don’t look like a 30-win team. They’re not that big. They’re not that fast. They don’t have all that much athleticism.

On Sunday, Drake grabbed 13 more rebounds than the bigger, more athletic Braves. Drake’s slow pace and relentless rebounding frustrated the Braves, coach Brian Wardle admitted after the game.

But that’s common feeling for Bulldogs opponents.

Mitch Mascari, the sharp-shooting guard who transferred from Northwest and turned down a job in finance to use his final year of eligibility at Drake, described how the Bulldogs win with what looks like less.

“Just being resilient. Not taking any plays off. And just trying to do what other teams won't, We don't have the most athletic guys, other than me,� Mascari said, prompting laughter from his teammates and coach. “But we're willing to fight for it, and I think that's kind of what separates us.�

McCollum’s flexibility, playing at an exceptionally slow pace this year due to the team’s lack of shooting, allows him to win big. But he takes little credit.

“It's the people that you surround yourself with, really. I'd be lying if I said it had much to do with me outside of picking the right people.�

Drake players, joking around after every Arch Madness game over the weekend, repeatedly responded to questions about milestone achievements by saying it “feels normal.�

And it has become normal for McCollum-led teams. That’s why Mascari decided to give basketball another year.

“Everyone talks about the fact that I had a job,� Mascari said. “When I was making the decision, this is what I thought about, and I knew that when we had Ben McCollum on our sidelines that this was possible for us, and he was going to put us in the right position.

“It's just another conference tournament, nothing totally special about it. We got more to do, but it feels really good right now.�

That 30th win Sunday and NCAA berth allows McCollum to do at Drake what he dreamed about less than a year ago.

“When I go to work every day, I'm essentially just working with my friends,� McCollum said. “I've got my staff and then my players, who I try to get close with. I get paid to do that.

“It's a heck of a deal, and obviously the NCAA Tournament was probably the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to taking this job. It was about 3 a.m. one morning, and I'm pretty close to taking it, woke up, and I'm like, man, I want to make the NCAA Tournament. I want to do that.�