FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPT. 4, 2008

DES MOINES, IOWA -- For the third straight year, the Drake men's basketball team will play in a school record tying three regular-season tournaments to highlight a 32-game schedule for the upcoming 2008-09 season.

The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Mark Phelps, will play 10 games against teams which advanced to 2008 post-season play.

Drake will play a school-record 21 home games, including 19 regular-season contests. The Bulldogs will host Truman State in a Nov. 1 exhibition game, followed by a Nov. 9 home exhibition game with Arkansas Tech.

Drake opens its 103rd season of intercollegiate basketball at home, playing host to Butler which advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

The Butler Bulldogs posted a 30-4 record last year, while being ranked No. 11 in the final Associated Press poll.

Drake will then play four straight games, including two home contests in the inaugural 10-team Cancun Challenge. The Bulldogs will play host to Morehead State Nov. 19 and South Dakota State Nov. 23 before venturing to Cancun, Mexico for the final two games.

Drake will meet Vanderbilt on Nov. 29 and then either Virginia Commonwealth or New Mexico on Nov. 30.

Vanderbilt, New Mexico and Virginia Commonwealth collected at least 24 victories in 2007-08, with Vanderbilt competing in the NCAA Tournament, while New Mexico and Virginia Commonwealth played in the NIT.

Vanderbilt is coming off the winningest season in school history, posting a 26-8 record, while being ranked No. 19 in the final Associated Press poll. New Mexico has four starters back from last year's team which went 24-8, while Virginia Commonwealth welcomes three starters back from a 24-8 team that won the Colonial Athletic Conference regular-season title.

"The schedule is very difficult right off the bat," said Phelps. "But I think our guys are ready to meet the challenge."

Drake also have nonconference home tests against Lincoln (Mo.) Dec. 3 and Iowa Dec. 20.

The Bulldogs will host the second annual Iowa Realty Invitational, meeting North Carolina Central in the first round on Dec. 5. The tournament field also includes Furman and Texas-Pan American.

After renewing the oldest college basketball rivalry in the state of Iowa by playing Iowa State for the 167th time Dec. 9 in Ames, Iowa, the Bulldogs host the Drake Invitational Dec. 12 and 13.

Drake will play Georgia Southern in the first round, while North Dakota State faces Stephen F. Austin in the other matchup.

Drake opens the Missouri Valley Conference season on the road for the fourth straight year by playing at Evansville Dec. 28. The Bulldogs will face Missouri State in its MVC home opener on New Years Eve, Dec. 31.

The MVC schedule features eight games against Bradley, Creighton, Illinois State and Southern Illinois which competed in either the 2008 NIT or College Basketball Invitational.

Drake will play a home game in the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBuster series Feb. 20-21. The Bracket Buster pairings will be announced in early February.

The four-day 10-team State Farm MVC Tournament will begin on Thursday, March 5 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., and conclude with a March 8 Sunday afternoon championship.

Drake won three tournaments in 2007-08, capturing the Drake Regency Challenge, the Drake Iowa Realty Invitational and the State Farm MVC Tournament, while finishing runner-up in the Saint Mary's Tip-Off Classic in Morago, Calif.

Drake has seven returning letterwinners, including two starters back from last year's team which posted a school-record 28-5 mark en route to winning the MVC regular season championship for the first time since 1971, while also advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

Junior guard Josh Young (Lawton, Okla.) and senior forward Jonathan Cox (Barrington, Ill.) head the returning veterans.

Young led the MVC in scoring with a 15.9 average, while earning all-league honors. Cox earned second team all-conference recognition after averaging 12.3 points, while ranking second in the MVC in rebounding (8.6) and three-point field goal percentage (.440).

For the complete 2008-09 schedule go to the schedule link on the Drake men's basketball page.