Game 1 • vs. Bowling Green • #DUvsBG

November 15, 2014 • 2:05 p.m. CST
Des Moines, Iowa • Knapp Center

Television: None
Radio: KRNT 1350-AM

Promotions
• Buy a general admission ticket to the men's game vs. Bowling Green or the women's game vs. South Dakota and receive a general admission ticket to a future game of your choice. Call the Drake Athletics Ticket Office (515-271-3647) and mention special offer code SPIKE.
• All fans are welcomed to stay following the game and tour the Bulldog' state-of-the-art Shivers Basketball Practice Facility.

The Game
• The Drake men's basketball team is set to begin its second season under head coach Ray Giacoletti with a roster that features eight returning players and eight newcomers.
• A week after defeating Coe, 78-53, in its lone exhibition, the Bulldogs open the season in earnest Saturday against Bowling Green.
• Saturday is also the official grand opening of the Bulldogs' Shivers Basketball Practice Facility. The 44,000-square foot, $8 million facility provides the men's and women's programs with practice courts, locker rooms, lounges and a film room. Following the game, all fans are invited to tour the facility.
• Of the Bulldogs' eight newcomers, two will sit out the 2014-15 season per NCAA transfer rules. Kale Abrahamson joined the Bulldogs from Northwestern while Graham Woodward joins the team from Penn State.
• Drake led the MVC in three-point shooting in 2013-14 at 39.6 percent and returns three shooters that converted at 39 percent or higher.
• The Bulldogs' coaching staff returns with the promotion of Dave Buchanan to assistant coach and JR Blount assuming Buchanan's previous role as director of operations.
• Saturday's opponent, Bowling Green, is guided by first-year head coach Chris Jans. However he is no stranger to the Knapp Center as he previously served as an assistant coach at Wichita State.
• Last season, the Falcons assembled a 12-20 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the Mid-American Conference.
• Richaun Holmes is BGSU's top returning scorer after posting 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season.

A Win Would ...
• Make Drake 1-0 this season and 1-0 to start a season for the 70th time in program history.
• Be Drake's fourth straight season opening win.
• Be head coach Ray Giacoletti's 187th career win.
• Be the 1,180th win in program history.
• Make Drake 2-0 all-time against Bowling Green.

A Loss Would ...
• Mark the 40th time Drake has opened a season with a loss.
• Make Drake 1-1 against Bowling Green.

Against the MAC
• Drake has played eight current Mid-American Conference programs and is 12-9 in those games.
• Bowling Green is one of two MAC programs the Bulldogs face as Drake travels to Western Michigan in a week to face the Broncos.
• Drake faced WMU last season and posted a 71-68 win on Dec. 18, 2013.
• Prior to that, Drake's last game against a MAC team was a 66-53 win over Eastern Michigan on Dec. 8, 2011 in the Knapp Center.

Taking Aim
• The Bulldogs led the MVC and ranked 11th nationally in three-point accuracy at 39.6 percent in 2013-14.
• Drake sank a season-high 14 three-pointers in its win against Missouri State to tie for the eighth most in school history.
• The Bulldogs have re-written the three-point record book in recent seasons.
• Last season, the squad's 239 three-pointers were the fifth-most in program history.
• Below is the program's records for three-pointers in a season.
1. 310 2007-08 (840 att.)
2. 284 2009-10 (746 att.)
3. 279 2012-13 (703 att.)
4. 266 2008-09 (765 att.)
5. 239 2013-14 (603 att.)
6. 232 2001-02 (595 att.)
7. 212 2011-12 (585 att.)
8. 203 2010-11 (573 att.)

• Below is a summary of each team's three-point shooting over the past six seasons.

Season 3pt./G 3pt. pct. NCAA Rank
2013-14 7.7 .396 (239-603) 11th
2012-13 8.7 .388 (279-720) 15th
2011-12 6.2 .362 (212-585) 83rd
2010-11 6.5 .354 (203-573) 115th
2009-10 8.6 .381 (284-746) 31st
2008-09 8.1 .348 (266-765) 135th

Get to 70
• Drake scored 70 or more points in its last three wins of 2013-14 and the team was 12-1 when scoring 70 or more points.
• Conversely, the squad was just 3-10 when allowing 70 or more points.

Rebounding Key To Wins
• One of Drake's program goals under Giacoletti is to win the battle of the glass.
• In the program's first seven games the team did that to the tune of a 6-1 record.
• On the season, Drake outrebounded its opponent in all 15 of its wins.
• However the team was outrebounded in 15 of its 16 losses.
• In the win over Missouri State, Drake allowed just two offensive rebounds and hauled in a staggering 92.3 percent of the available defensive rebounds.

Enevold Leads Denmark
• Over the summer months, Drake sophomore Jacob Enevold returned to his native Denmark where he helped lead the Danish national U-20 team to the Nordic Basketball Championship.
• Enevold finished his freshman season as one of the top freshmen in the MVC.
• Below is where he ranked among Valley newcomers in rebounding.

Name Cl. G RPG
1. O'Brien, Sean-SIU Fr. 33 5.2
2. Enevold, Jacob-DU Fr. 31 4.9
3. Olaniyan, Bola - SIU Fr. 30 4.9

Drake Adds Four For Next Season
• Drake University men's basketball has signed four student-athletes for the 2015-16 season. Set to join the Bulldogs' program are Billy Wampler (Eau Claire, Wis.), Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.), Dominik Olejniczak (Torun, Poland) and Johannes Dolven (Oslo, Norway).
• All four measure 6-6 or taller with both Wampler and McGlynn rated as three-star prospects by 247sports.com and Wampler ranked as the sixth-best player in the class of 2015 in Wisconsin by wissports.net. Olejniczak and Dolven add to the Bulldogs' pool of northern European talent and bring international experience combined with tremendous upside to the Bulldogs' roster.
• Wampler is a 6-6, 200-pound wing from Eau Claire Regis High School in Eau Claire, Wis. During his junior season with the Ramblers under head coach Bill Uelmen, he averaged 25.5 points per game and was a unanimous Division 4 first-team all-state selection while earning honorable mention all-state honors from the Associated Press.
• Fellow Wisconsinite Nick McGlynn is a 6-8, 215-pound forward from Stoughton High School in Stoughton, Wis. As a junior for head coach Matt Hockett, he averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds to earn honorable mention all-state honors and first-team all-conference accolades. He also played in the AAU ranks for head coach Ritchie Davis and the Wisconsin Playground Warriors.
• Dominik Olejniczak is an agile, 7-0, 230-pound center who averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game in his current Polish league and averaged 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game during the U-18 Division A European Championships this past summer.
• Johannes Dolven is a 6-8, 225-pound forward from Oslo, Norway, who competes for Baerum Basket, a club team he helped lead to a third-place finish in the U-18 Eurobasket.com All-European Division B Championships. During that tournament, he averaged 16.5 points, 12.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game over eight games against international competition. During the 2012-13 season, he played in the second division of the Norwegian league with Bygdoy.