The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team will take on No. 15 Mississippi State in the Battle in the Vault at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. before welcoming St. Ambrose to the Knapp Center in a game scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m.
 
Battle in the Vault Broadcast Information
The game against Mississippi State will be streamed live on BallerTV.com for $9.99.
 
Michael Admire and Paul Doerrfeld will describe the action Thursday on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines and The Varsity Network App beginning with the 3:30 p.m. pregame show.

Scouting No. 15 Mississippi State
Mississippi State is one of five remaining un- beaten teams in NCAA Division-I men's basketball and checked in at No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll.
 
The Bulldogs held off Nicholls, 68-66 this past Saturday as the Colonels were the first team this season to score over 60 points against Mississippi State. Mississippi State ranks third in the nation in scoring defense (52.1 points per game).

MSU defeated Marquette (58-55 on Nov. 21) and Utah (52-49 on Nov. 23) at the Fort Myers Tipoff.
 
Forward Tolu Smith (Western Kentucky transfer) leads the bulldogs with 16.2 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. Forward and Memphis transfer D.J. Jeffries is MSU's main three-point threat averaging 10.2 points per game while dishing out a total of 26 assists.

Mississippi State is coming off an 18-16 overall record during the 2021-22 campaign in Ben Howland's last season as the head coach.

After five ultra-successful seasons as the head coach at New Mexico State, Fairbank, Iowa native and Loras graduate Chris Jans was brought on to take over the Mississippi State men's basketball program.
 
Series vs. Mississippi State
The two programs have not met since Dec. 10, 1991.

Mississippi State leads the all-time series, 2-0.
 
Darian DeVries is 1-0 in his coaching career against Chris Jans-coached teams as the Bulldogs beat New Mexico State, 66-63, in the semifinal round of the 2018 Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic.
 
Drake vs. Power Five Competition
Drake has lost its last three games against schools from Power Five Conferences (Clemson 90-80 OT, 2021; Alabama, 80-71, 2021; Southern Cal, 72-56, 2021 NCAA Tournament).
 
The Bulldogs' last victory against a school from a Power Five Conference occurred in their 2020-21 season opener at Kansas State, 80-70, Nov. 25, 2020.
 
Drake vs. SEC Opponents
Drake has dropped its last seven meetings against schools from the SEC (Alabama, 80-71, 2021 ESPN Events Invitational; Ole Miss, 63-59, 2011 Paradise Jam; Vanderbilt, 72-58, 2008 Cancun Challenge; at LSU, 94-86, 1993; at Mississippi State, 79-50, 1991; Mississippi State, 82-80, 1990 and Georgia, 93-59, 1983).
 
The Bulldogs' last victory against an SEC school occurred Dec. 22, 1973 when Drake clipped Georgia, 66-60, in the third--place game of the Dayton Classic in Dayton, Ohio.
 
Drake vs. Non-Conference Top 25 Opponents
Drake has a 12-38 all-time record against ranked non-conference teams.
 
Scouting St. Ambrose
Located in Davenport, Iowa, St. Ambrose is an NAIA institution that competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Fighting Bees are off to a 2-7 start to the season with wins over Mount Mercy and Calumet. St. Ambrose is coming off a 72-62 loss at Governors State on Saturday.
 
Senior center Andrew Morrissey averages a team-best 11.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Amarey Wills averages 10.6 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting from the field.
 
Ray Shovlain is in his 40^th season as the head coach of the Fighting Bees.
 
Series vs. St. Ambrose
Drake leads the all-time series, 3-2 including a 97-53 victory on Dec. 6, 2020.
 
1,000 Point Club
The Bulldogs are one of 13 NCAA Division I schools with three or more players in the 1,000 point club.
Drake has three current players in the 1,000 point club in D.J. Wilkins (1,369 points), Roman Penn (1,319 points) and Garrett Sturtz (1,171 points).
 
3J
D.J. Wilkins has tied Josh Young's Drake career 3-pointers record of 255.
 
Name                                  3 Ptrs           Yrs 
1. Josh Young                     255            2006-10 
2. D.J. Wilkins                    255            2018- 
3. Luke McDonald               241            1981-85 
3. Klayton Korver                241            2003-08 
 
Up Next
Drake will pick Missouri Valley Conference play back up at the Knapp Center against Valparaiso on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m.