The Drake University men's basketball team returns to the Knapp Center this weekend as one of five undefeated teams in the nation to host Illinois State for a two-game series. The series begins Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. and concludes Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast by Mediacom MC22 and on ESPN3.
 
A limited number of tickets remain for both games. Information on how to purchase tickets and attendance policies and procedures can be found at DrakeTix.com

Illinois State travels to the Knapp Center at 5-10 on the season and 2-7 in the league standings.
 
The Bulldogs are coming off thrilling back-to-back wins at Missouri State in their first action since Jan. 4 to improve to 15-0 and 6-0 in the Valley. The Bulldogs' 15-0 record is the best start in program history and second-longest overall win streak in Drake history. The 6-0 start to league play is tied for the second best in team history.
 
In the wins at Missouri State, Drake faced its largest deficit of the season in the first game at 17 points, then held off the largest rally by an opponent this season at 15-straight points in the second game. Despite those two close contests, Drake has won by double-figures in 12 of its 15 games and has outscored opponents by an average of 21.6 points per game, the fourth-highest average in the nation.
 
Drake's defense has held all but two opponents below 70 points this season and is 13th in the national in scoring defense, allowing just 60.9 points per game this season. Offensively, the Bulldogs are fourth nationally in field goal percentage at 53.5 percent and fifth in three-point accuracy at 41.4 percent.
 
Following this weekend's series, the Bulldogs return to the road for a two-game series at Valparaiso.