Men's Basketball 2/13/2012 6:20:00 PM Drake Athletics

GAME NOTES: Drake MBB at Bradley, Feb. 15, 2012

Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

THIS WEEK: The Drake Bulldogs (14-12, 7-8 in the MVC) enter the week locked in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference with three league games remaining. As teams jockey for seeding in Arch Madness, Drake takes to the road to face Bradley Wednesday before a non-conference BracketBusters tilt at New Mexico State Saturday. The Bulldogs' final two MVC games come Feb. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Feb. 25 at Wichita State. Drake has exceeded last year's win total of 13 and tied the second-best mark in Mark Phelps' four years as head coach. The Bulldogs also sit 7-8 in the MVC, looking for at least one more win in their final three league games to post the best conference record in Phelps' tenure. A win over Bradley would give Drake its first season sweep of the Braves since 2004-05, adding to the sweep it just executed over Evansville with Sunday's win.

RADIO/TV: All games can be heard on AM 1350 KRNT in Des Moines, with Larry Cotlar on play-by-play and Dolph Pulliam as analyst. The Bradley game will be televised by the MVC TV Network with John Rooney (play-by-play) and Mark Adams (color) calling the action. It will air locally on FOX Sports Midwest, as well as FOX Sports Indiana Plus, FOX Sports K.C., Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and nationally on FOX College Sports, DirecTV (Ch. 671), DISH (418), AT&T U-Verse (748) and ESPN3.com (outside the MVC's six-state footprint). The game at New Mexico State will be televised by ESPNU.

QUICK NOTES:

The Bulldogs shot 53.6 percent from the field (30-of-56) vs. Evansville to improve to 8-0 this season when shooting higher than 50 percent. It was the first time the Bulldogs topped 50 percent since shooting 61.3 percent in a win over Illinois State on Jan. 15, 2012. In addition, Drake is 13-2 when shooting a higher percentage than its opponents.
Drake has not allowed an opponent to shoot higher than 50 percent from the field in any of its last 11 outings. Opponents in this stretch are shooting a combined 41.6 percent (246-591), including a figure of 35.9 percent over the last two games (37-of-103) by Illinois State and Evansville. This 11-game stretch followed a period in which the Bulldogs allowed six opponents over an 11-game span to top 50-percent shooting before tightening up on the defensive end.
The Bulldogs' 14 wins exceed last year's 13, and match their 2009-10 total (14-19) with at least five games remaining. The Bulldogs need just one more Missouri Valley Conference victory to top the best conference win total (7) of Mark Phelps' tenure as head coach (2008-present). Drake has four regular season games remaining, including three in the conference.
With 58 career wins at this stage of Year Four, head coach Mark Phelps already has more wins than any Drake coach in his first four seasons (2nd: Maury John, 55, 1958-62). No Drake head coach since Maury John (.555 from 1958-62) has had a better winning percentage in his first four seasons than Phelps (.472).
The Bulldogs rank second in the MVC in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.337) and third in steals (7.2).
Junior Jordan Clarke scored a career-high 18 points vs. Evansville, exceeding his previous high of 16 against Central Arkansas (12/21/11). His 12 rebounds matched his previous career best set vs. Indiana State (12/28/11). Clarke also tied career highs for field goals (7) and field-goal attempts (11) set vs. Central Arkansas. It was Clarke's team-leading third double-double of the season and his first since Dec. 21 (Central Ark.).
Redshirt-freshman Jeremy Jeffers scored in double figures for the second consecutive game when he tallied 12 points vs. Evansville on Sunday. He is 20-35 from the field (57.1%) in the last six games. Jeffers made a career-high four three-pointers in six attempts vs. Evansville, topping his previous high of three vs. Central Arkansas (12/21/11). Jeffers is averaging 10.6 points per game over the last five contests to improve his season scoring average to 6.7.
Junior Aaron Hawley has made 10 three pointers in the last three games starting in place of the ill Ben Simons.
The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 8 in the NCAA's latest RPI rankings, with two teams in the top 30. Six of the Bulldogs' MVC losses have come at the hands of No. 27 Creighton (twice), No. 52 Northern Iowa (twice) and No. 87 Missouri State (twice), and the other two have come against No. 119 Illinois State and No. 129 Indiana State. Drake (No. 133) owns wins over No. 17 Wichita State and No. 39 Iowa State.
Drake boasts two of the top four scorers in the Valley, with Rayvonte Rice third at 16.4 points per game and Ben Simons fourth at 16.1. No other school has two players in the conference's top 8.
Rice ranks 102nd in the nation in scoring (16.4) and No. 20 in the nation in steals (2.3; No. 1 MVC). He is averaging 2.7 steals per game in MVC-only games and tied his career high with five at Southern Illinois (1/18). He also had five at Creighton (1/3).
Rice's 16.4-point scoring average is on pace to be the best by a Bulldog in 10 seasons (Luke McDonald, 17.9, 2000-01). The next highest averages in recent history are 18.1 by Lynnrick Rogers in 1994-95 and 21.1 by Curt Smith in 1992-93.
Rice is one of 10 Missouri Valley Conference players on the Watch List for the 2012 Larry Bird Player of the Year Trophy. He was named National High-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness for games of Jan. 23-29.
Senior Kraidon Woods ranks third in the MVC in blocked shots (1.3; 33) and third also in conference-only games (1.5; 21). His 58 career blocks tied for seventh among active Valley players. Woods tied his career high with four blocks and set a career high with four steals vs. Wichita State (1/28/12).
Woods' .643 career field-goal percentage ranks second among active players in the Missouri Valley Conference with at least 50 attempts (83-129).
Junior Jordan Clarke ranks ninth in the MVC in rebounding with a team-leading average of 6.5 per game.
Simons is out indefinitely after missing the first three games of his career over the past two weeks because of mononucleosis. He has topped the 20-point mark four times in his last eight games played and leads the MVC in three-point field goals (57), while ranking No. 67 in the nation in three-point field goals per game (2.5). Simons ranks sixth among active MVC players in career three-pointers (136).
Drake has won 15 of its last 18 games on Ron Pearson Court at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs had won 11 in a row, dating back to last season, before a Jan. 7, 2012 loss to UNI.
Head Coach Mark Phelps picked up the first two overtime victories of his career in a span of 11 days in January after dropping the first three overtime games of his career from 2008-11. The first win came Jan. 18 at Southern Illinois, a 75-68 victory in a single overtime session. The second came Jan. 28 in triple overtime against Wichita State, 93-86.

LAST OUTING: Junior Jordan Clarke scored a career-high 18 points and tied his career high with 12 rebounds to lead Drake to a 78-54 victory over Evansville Sunday night at the Knapp Center. It was his third career double-double, and came on a night when the Bulldogs made a season-high 11 three-pointers to halt a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs, who never trailed in the game, had five players reach double-figures in scoring. Redshirt-freshman Jeremy Jeffers (Wilson, N.C.) made a career-best four three-pointers to account for 12 points, while senior Kurt Alexander (Toronto, Ontario) had 16 and junior Aaron Hawley (Rogers, Ark.) added 10. Sophomore Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.) hit three-pointers to begin both halves on his way to 13 points. Rice, who ranks third in scoring in the MVC (16.4), also had a career-best 3 blocked shots. Drake held the MVC's second-leading scorer, Colt Ryan, in check throughout the game. Ryan, who ranks 13th nationally averaging 20.5 points per contest, could only muster seven points, on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs, who held Ryan to six points in the teams' first matchup, at Evansville, on Jan. 13, have forced Ryan into his two lowest scoring outputs of the season.

ABOUT THE BRAVES: Bradley enters Wednesday's game with a record of 7-20, 2-13 in the MVC with home victories over UNI (Jan. 15) and Indiana State (Feb. 8). The Braves are led in scoring by senior forward Taylor Brown (15.3), who ranks sixth in the Valley, and in rebounding sophomore center Jordan Prosser (6.7), who figures seventh in the conference. Brown is eighth in the league in rebounds (6.6). Bradley ranks fourth in blocked shots (3.1) and fifth in rebounding (33.0) and steals (6.2). Head Coach Geno Ford, in his first year at Bradley, has a career record of 126-89 in his seventh year.

BULLDOGS-BRAVES SERIES: Bradley leads the all-time series 79-54, including a 46-17 adavantage in games played in Peoria. Drake won the first meeting of the schools this year and seeks its first season sweep of the Braves since 2004-05 when it swept the series for the second year in a row. The Bulldogs' last win in Peoria came Jan. 22, 2008 (69-68). Bradley has won five of the last six vs. Drake on its home floor and nine of the last 13 overall.

THE LAST TIME (1/10/12: at Drake 82, Bradley 74): The Drake Bulldogs scored 49 second-half points to erase a one-point halftime deficit en route to an 82-74 victory over visiting Bradley at the Knapp Center. Junior Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Bulldogs' surge. Senior Kraidon Woods (Henryville, Pa.) played a career-high 32 minutes off the bench in place of the injured Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Simons tallied 16 points in the game's final seven-and-a-half minutes, as he caught fire and shot 4-for-4 from the field, including two three-pointers that helped seal the win down the stretch.

BULLDOGS TOP FIVE IN MVC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Drake holds the following top-five rankings:

2nd in three-point field-goal defense (.337), 3rd in steals (7.2) and 4th in field-goal percentage (.446)
5th in scoring (67.4), blocks (3.1) and defensive rebounds (23.7)

In conference-only play Drake ranks:

1st in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.313) and 2nd in steals (7.1)
3rd in turnover margin (+0.9) and 4th in defensive rebound pct. (.730)
5th in scoring (67.2), field-goal percentage (.442) and three-point FG made (6.5; 97)

SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Sophomore guard Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.) is following his tremendous freshman season with a performance worthy of consideration for MVC Player of the Year and all-conference honors.

The 2010-11 all-freshman, all-newcomer and honorable mention All-MVC performer has raised his scoring average to 16.4, third-best in the MVC and No. 102 in the NCAA, and averages 5.7 rebounds per game, up from his team-leading 4.8 figure of a year ago.
Rice ranks No. 1 in the MVC and No. 20 in the NCAA in steals (2.3), and ranks third in minutes played (33.5).
He has scored a career-high 29 points in a game this season (12/21/11 vs. Central Arkansas), 27 (1/7/12 vs. UNI), and three times scored 23 (Winthrop, 11/19; at Iowa, 12/17; vs. Creighton, 1/25). Rice has seven games with 20 or more points (including three in a row in late December), 11 for his career.
Rice recorded the second and third double-doubles of his career in consecutive games in late January, going for 23 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to Creighton Jan 25, followed by 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a Jan. 28 win over Wichita State.
Rice is one of 10 MVC Players on the conference's Watch List for the 2012 Larry Bird Player of the Year Award, and was named in late December to collegehoops.net's Pre-League Play All-MVC team along with Creighton's Doug McDermott, Missouri State's Kyle Weems, Evansville's Colt Ryan and Bradley's Taylor Brown.
He was named National High-Major Player of the Week for Jan. 23-29 by CollegeSportsMadness.com.

SIMONS ELEVATES HIS GAME: Junior forward Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) has significantly raised his level of play this season over that of his first two seasons. He is out indefinitely after contracting mononucleosis. Simons missed the first game of his career on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri State after playing in 87 in a row, and has now missed three games with the illness.

Simons earned his first MVC Player of the Week honor Jan. 16 for his two 20-point games in 3 Drake wins.
Simons ranks second on the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game (4th MVC), with outputs of 29 (career high), 24 (tied then-career high) 22, 21, 21 and 20 points, and has led the team in scoring more times (11) than any other Bulldog. He has more than doubled his previous career average of 7.0 and last year's average of 8.1.
Simons, who has scored at least 11 points in all but two of his games this season, leads the Missouri Valley Conference in three-point field goals (57), while ranking second in minutes played (36.3), twice playing all 40 minutes in a game, in addition to 42 minutes in Drake's overtime win at Southern Illinois (1/18) and a career-high 53 minutes in the triple-overtime win vs. Wichita State (1/28).
He is shooting 47.8% from the field, and nearly as well from three-point range, at 41.0% (57-139).
Simons has 13 games this season with three or more three-pointers made, and six with at least four, including a season-high five (7 att.) vs. Winthrop at the Paradise Jam (Nov. 19).

CLARKE STANDS TALL IN PAINT: Junior forward Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) has carried the bulk of the inside load for the Bulldogs with C Seth VanDeest and F Reece Uhlenhopp sidelined because of injury all season.

Clarke ranks ninth in the MVC in rebounding (6.5) and 10th in steals (1.2).
Clarke produced his third double-double of the season vs. Evansville (2/12/12), re-emerging in a big way with a career-high 18 points tying his career high with 12 rebounds. The first two double-doubles of his career came in back-to-back mid-December performances (at Iowa, vs. Cent. Ark.), including then-career highs for points (16) and rebounds (11, tie) vs. Central Arkansas (12/21). One game after that display the Rockville, Md., native established a new career high with 12 boards vs. Indiana State (12/28).
Clarke received the prestigious Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of Dec. 19-25. The award honors MVC student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom. Clarke posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Drake's win over Central Ark. (12/21), and carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA in management and finance.

26-GAME "TALE-OF-THE-TAPE" SHOWS PROGRESS: Playing a more challenging schedule, the Bulldogs have improved statistically in many categories from last year, and their record represents a three-win improvement. Here's a look at some major categories compared to the the same point of 2010-11 and the full season:

Category              2011-12                '10-'11 (1st 26 gms)         '10-'11 (season)
Record                     14-12                               11-15                          13-18
Points                        67.8                                 64.0                           64.4
Opp. Points                67.2                                 67.0                           67.7
Rebounds                  32.3                                  29.8                           30.0
Opp. Reb.                  33.7                                  35.9                           35.6
Rebound diff.               -1.4                                  -6.1                            -5.6
FG%                         .449                                  .427                           .427
Opp. FG%                 .433                                  .443                           .450

STARTING LINEUPS: Drake has used six different starting lineups with guards Karl Madison and forward Jordan Clarke the only players to start all 26 games. Forward Ben Simons (23), guard Rayvonte Rice (24), forwards Jeremy Jeffers (18), Aaron Hawley (9), Kraidon Woods (3) and guard David Smith (1) have filled the other spots.

MEET THE CAPTAINS: Ben Simons and Jordan Clarke have been chosen captains by their teammates for 2011-12. Simons, a junior, and Clarke, a redshirt junior, have continued to grow as leaders both on and off the court in each of their third seasons with the Drake program.

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE: Drake's 2011-12 schedule features 15 games against teams that qualified for postseason play last year, and is presently ranked 94th nationally for strength of schedule. One opponent is ranked in this week's AP Top 25: Virginia (22). The MVC schedule includes 12 games against six teams (Missouri St., Indiana St., Wichita St., Creighton, Northern Iowa and Evansville) that advanced to the postseason, while the non-conference schedule included NIT participant Mississippi and CBI invitees Air Force and Boise State.

PHELPS IN GOOD COMPANY ON SENDEK COACHING TREE: Drake head coach Mark Phelps comes from the largest "coaching tree" in Division I college basketball, having been an assistant coach under Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek. Phelps was on Sendek's staff at both North Carolina State and Arizona State. Nine former Sendek full-time assistants are head coaches: Phelps; Jim Christian, TCU; Charlie Coles, Miami of Ohio; John Groce, Ohio; Larry Hunter, Western Carolina; Ron Hunter, Georgia State; Thad Matta, Ohio State; Archie Miller, Dayton; Sean Miller, Arizona.

PHELPS LAYS FOUNDATION WITH BULLDOGS: Head coach Mark Phelps' 44 wins in his first three seasons as head coach were the most by a head coach in his eqiuvalent period in program history. With 58 career wins at this stage of Year 4, Phelps already has more wins than any Drake coach in his first four seasons. No Drake head coach since Maury John (.555 from 1958-62) has had a better winning percentage in his first four seasons than Phelps (.472). Here is a look at the top five coaches ranked by wins in their first four years at the helm:

Most Wins By A Head Coach, First Four Years at Drake
1) 58 Mark Phelps (2008-12)*
2) 55 Maury John (1958-62)
3) 54 Tom Davis (2003-06)
4) 51 Jack McClelland (1948-52)
5) 45 Gary Garner (1981-85)
*with minimum 5 games remaining this season

2012 "ARCH MADNESS": Tickets are on sale now for the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, to be held March 1-4 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. To order please call Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) or go to www.mvc.org for more information.

SEARS BracketBusters X: The Bulldogs will travel to New Mexico State on Sat., Feb. 18, for a 2 p.m. game to be televised by ESPNU as part of the 10th annual BracketBusters series. Drake is participating for the ninth time and is 7-1, including a 3-1 mark on the road.

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