The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team continues its road trip with a 7 p.m. tipoff in the Banterra Center at Southern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 4. The Bulldogs (11-4, 2-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play) look to rebound after a narrow 52-49 road loss at Missouri State on New Year's Day.
Broadcast Information
Wednesday night's game at Southern Illinois will be streamed live on ESPN+ with play-by-play broadcaster Tom Ackerman and analyst Dan Muller.
102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines is the radio home of Drake men's basketball with Michael Admire back to describe the play-by-play with Paul Doerrfeld providing analysis.
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis are 11-4 overall and take a six-game winning streak into Wednesday night following a 63-45 win over Belmont on Sunday, Jan. 1 after limiting the Bruins to just 17 second half points. Senior guard Lance Jones led SIU with 16 points, three assists and three steals in the victory over the Bruins while senior forward Marcus Domask contributed 14 points, 4 rebounds and swiped two steals.
SIU is off to a 3-1 start in Missouri Valley Conference play with its only MVC loss coming against Indiana State (74-71) on Dec. 7.
Domask is a Preseason All-MVC First Team honoree leading the Salukis with 17.4 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game. Jones also averages double-digit scoring (13.9 points per game) while poking loose a team-best 27 steals.
Southern Illinois was picked to finish third in the MVC Preseason Poll.
Bryan Mullins is in his fourth season as the head men's basketball coach of his alma mater with a 55-49 overall record.
Series vs. Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 60-41, but Drake has won the last five meetings.
Drake has swept SIU during the past two seasons including a 65-52 win in the 2022 MVC Tournament quarterfinals.
Darian DeVries owns a 7-2 record against Southern Illinois
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 (1,393 points),
Roman Penn (1,356 points) and
Garrett Sturtz (1,199 points).
Scrappy Sturtz
Standing a 6-foot-3,
Garrett Sturtz recently moved to third all-time on the Drake career rebounding chart.
Name Rebs Years
1. Melvin Mathis 854 1982-86
2. Jonathon Cox 817 2002-06
3. Garrett Sturtz 797 2018-
4. Sam Roark 792 1986-90
Up Next
Drake will return to the Knapp Center for Des Moines' Hometown Weekend, when the Bulldogs welcome Murray State on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m.
