DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's basketball team plays its second home game of the season and its only contest at the Knapp Center in the next three weeks on Saturday, Nov. 23 when it welcomes Omaha for a 1:05 p.m. tipoff.
The game caps a landmark day for Drake athletics with the Bulldogs officially breaking ground on their new practice facility prior to the game with a ceremonial groundbreaking at 11 a.m. Click here for more information on the event.
“It's a great day when you have a chance to break ground on a new facility,” said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. “It's special and unique and I'm proud to be a part of it along with our staff and team. Hopefully we'll go out and give a great effort against Omaha at 1 p.m.”
Once on the hardwood, the Bulldogs aim to rebound from a tough, 67-63, loss at Saint Mary's last Saturday. In that game, Drake nearly erased an 18-point second half deficit to rally for a win on one of the toughest home courts in the nation. Richard Carter (Detroit, Mich.) led Drake with 18 points in the loss and the senior is currently ranks 26th nationally in scoring with 23.3 points per game.
“I was proud of our team to fight their way back after being down 18,” Giacoletti said of the Saint Mary's loss. “We have to do a better job earlier in the game understanding what we need to do. They kind of bullied us on making us catch the ball above the three-point line and we need to be able to go off ball screens shoulder-to-shoulder and we weren't able to do that earlier in the game.”
Defensively, the team has held its opponents to just 58.3 points per game on 37 percent shooting. However, the Bulldogs will be tested against an Omaha team that is averaging more than 80 points per game.
“They are very good and they have two 'jet' guards that really put the pressure on you,” Giacoletti said. “In transition you have to be able to shadow and get guys squared off and slowed down. When they have two guys that go as fast and quick as they do, it puts you under duress foul-wise.”
C.J. Carter leads the Mavericks with 15.8 points per game to help the team amass a 3-2 record with the losses coming at Iowa and UNLV by a combined 11 points.
Following Saturday's game, the Bulldogs will return to the road for the Fresno State Classic, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Fresno, Calif. There, the Bulldogs will face the host, Fresno State, Northern Arizona and CSU-Bakersfield.
