The Drake University men's basketball team closes out the 2018-19 regular season by playing for a Missouri Valley Conference title Saturday afternoon at Missouri State. Drake enters the game in a tie for first place with Loyola in the Valley standings while Missouri State lurks one game back in the title race.
 
Saturday's game marks the first time since 2008 that the Bulldogs have played for a title in the final week of the season and the team's 22 wins are already the third most in program history.
 
The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games to sit at 11-6 in the MVC heading into the season finale and the 11 league wins are the most in 11 seasons by the Bulldogs.
 
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs used a 7-of-8 performance from the three-point arc by Brady Ellingson to defeat the Bears, 74-63, for the Bulldogs' third-straight win over the Bears.
 
Ellingson leads the Valley and ranks fourth nationally in three-point accuracy at 47.9 percent. In MVC games he has been an even more accurate 535 percent from the arc. Meanwhile, potential MVC Player of the Year candidate Nick McGlynn continues to lead the league in rebounding in league games at 9.1 rebounds per game and ninth in scoring at 15.0 points per game. He is on pace to become just the fourth Bulldog, and the first since 2003, to lead the league in rebounding.
 
Saturday's result will ultimately determine Drake's seeding in next week's MVC Tournament as the Bulldogs have already secured one of the top three seeds.