The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team has arrived in the tropical landscape of the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam from Nov. 18-Nov. 21. The Bulldogs will take on Buffalo to open up the tourney in the quarterfinal round on Friday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m. (CT) inside the Sports and Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
 
Broadcast Information
All games of the Paradise Jam will be broadcasted worldwide on ESPN3.
 
1350/102.1 ESPN Des Moines is back as the radio home of Drake Bulldog men's basketball. Michael Admire is back to describe the play-by-play action with analyst Paul Doerrfeld.
 
Wofford Recap
Veteran guard Roman Penn made a timely return to help the Drake men's basketball team pull away late for an 80-72 victory over Wofford at the Knapp Center on Monday night.

The Bulldogs (2-0) did not shake its opponent from the Southern Conference until a 17-4 run finally put it out of reach with 2 and a half minutes left, sending them to their 34^th straight non-conference victory at home.

Penn, who sat out the season-opening victory over IUPUI while recovering from a foot injury, was a major contributor in that burst and ended up scoring seven of Drake's final 12 points.
Senior transfer Sardaar Calhoun led the Bulldogs with 17 points – 11 in the second half -- on 7-for-14 shooting. Garrett Sturtz went 7-for-9 from the field in scoring 16 points, while Tucker DeVries had 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds, a career-high.

Penn played just under 18 minutes and finished with nine points, a team-high five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Darnell Brodie helped out with six points and seven rebounds.

In The Polls
Drake currently ranks No. 1 in Sean Paul's (The Field of 68) Mid-Major Top 25 poll and No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
 
The Bulldogs are in the receiving votes category (2) of the latest USA Today coaches poll.
 
Trifecta
Drake is seeking to start off the season with a 3-0 record for the third straight year under coach Darian DeVries.
 
Carribean Cruisin'
This will be Drake's third appearance in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, owning a 3-3 record after participating in the 2011 and 2017 tournaments.
 
The Bulldogs finished third in the 2017 tournament which was relocated to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drake upset Wake Forest, 77-74, before falling to eventual tournament champion Colorado, 86-81, in the semifinal round. The Bulldogs rebounded to beat Drexel, 90-88, in double overtime.
 
Drake was sixth in the 2011 tournament, losing to Ole Miss (63-59) in the first round before beating Winthrop (66-62) in the consolation round and then falling to Virginia (60-52).
 
Drake vs. Paradise Jam Field
Besides playing Buffalo for the first time ever, Drake has the potential to meet three other opponents in the tournament for the first time in George Mason, Howard and Tarleton State.

Wyoming leads the series against Drake, 4-1,but this would be the first meeting between the schools since the Cowboys claimed a 96-89 victory in Laramie, Wyo., Dec. 2, 2017.

Meanwhile, Drake has an opportunity to face new Missouri Valley Conference member Belmont for the second straight year after playing the Bruins in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Fla. last year suffering a 74-69 setback.

Boston College beat Drake, 87-84, in the lone encounter between the schools during the semifinal round of the 2005 Las Vegas Invitational.
 
Last Preseason Tourney Title
The last preseason tournament title Drake won occurred during Darian DeVries' first season as head coach when the Bulldogs captured the 2018 Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic beating SIU Edwardsville (79-66), Rider (76-58), New Mexico State (66-63) before stopping San Diego, 110-103, in two overtimes to capture the championship.
 
Current Drake players Roman Penn, D.J. Wilkins and Garrett Sturtz played in that tournament.
 
Up Next
Following Thanksgiving, the Bulldogs will play host to Louisiana inside the Knapp Center on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m.