DES MOINES, Iowa –
The Drake University men's basketball team takes to its home court at the Knapp
Center Saturday afternoon to host Missouri State. Tipoff for the Missouri
Valley Conference matchup is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and will be broadcast
regionally on Mediacom MC22.
Missouri State makes its annual visit to Des Moines with a
3-11 overall record and a 1-1 mark in MVC play after a 62-59 overtime loss at
Evansville on Wednesday evening. The Bears opened up MVC play with a win over
Southern Illinois. Missouri State's offense is averaging just 58.4 points per
game, the fewest in the MVC. Anthony Downing leads the Bears with 13.3 points
per game.
“They're a very, very scrappy team,” Drake head coach Mark
Phelps said of Saturday's opponent. “They're playing extremely hard and I think
they're a much better team than their record indicates. It's going to be a
typical Missouri Valley Conference game.”
The Bulldogs wrap up their two-game MVC homestand with a 6-7
record coming into Saturday and an 0-2 showing in MVC action. On Wednesday, the
squad fell to Wichita State, 75-63, despite 35 points from the team's freshmen.
Protecting the ball has been a point of emphasis for Drake
in practices this week and turnovers have significantly hampered the Bulldogs'
offense in its two MVC games to date.
“We can't turn the ball over and give them breakaway layups,”
senior Ben Simons said. “That's something we've been working on in practice and
I think we'll be better at on Saturday. Missouri State's an aggressive team that forces
15 turnovers a game, so it's something we're going to be conscious of.”
Simons was held to just eight points against Wichita State,
his first game below 10 points this season as the Bulldogs have gone through a
small drought behind the three-point arc. Despite two subpar games shooting,
the squad remains one of the most accurate in the nation by converting on 39.9
percent of its three-pointers, the 16th highest percentage in the
nation.
Following Saturday's game, the squad returns to road to face
No. 16 Creighton on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:05 p.m.
