THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball (5-1) will start its Missouri Valley Conference slate on the road at Valparaiso on Wednesday, Nov. 29 before welcoming Missouri State to the Knapp Center on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday's game will stream live on ESPN+ with Telly Hughes (play-by-play) and Adam Emmenecker (analyst) while the former Bulldog Emmenecker will also be on the call for Saturday's game on ESPN+ with Larry Morgan (play-by-play). Both games this week will air live on 1350/102.1 ESPN Des Moines and the Varsity Network App with Michael Admire and Paul Doerrfeld describing the action.
SCOUTING VALPARAISO
The Beacons are off to a 4-2 start with wins over Trinity Christian, Green Bay, Western Illinois and Southern.
Junior guard and Southern Indiana transfer Isaiah Stafford leads the Beacons with 17.5 points per game while putting up a high volume of shots. Freshman forward Cooper Schwieger has been balanced averaging 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in addition to swatting nine shots. Junior guard Darius DeAveiro has been the main facilitator for Valpo, dishing out a team-best 28 assists so far this season.
Valpo's overhauled 2023-24 roster is comprised of 10 players of sophomore standing or below including five true freshmen.
Former Valparaiso assistant Roger Powell Jr. is back for his first season as a head coach. A former standout at Illinois, Powell began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Bryce Drew at Valpo (2011-16) and Vanderbilt (2016-19) before helping Gonzaga reach new heights from 2019-23. Powell helped Valparaiso win two Horizon League regular season titles in 2012 and 2013.
The Beacons were predicted to finish 12th in the 2023-24 MVC Preseason Poll.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VALPARAISO
Drake leads the all-time series against Valpo, 10-8. The Bulldogs defeated Valpo in Des Moines on Dec. 29, 2022 by a score of 68-63 before needing double OT and 32 points from Tucker DeVries to edge the Beacons, 85-82 on Feb. 4, 2023.
Drake has won four consecutive games in the series. These two teams first met on Dec. 22, 1944, when Valparaiso won 62-42. Drake's first win against Valpo didn't happen until March 1, 1966 (78-74).
The Bulldogs are 5-6 all-time against the Beacons in Valparaiso.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
The Bears are 5-1 and enter the week on a five-game winning streak after losing their season opener at West Virginia, 67-59. Missouri State won the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam with victories over FGCU, Kent State and Abilene Christian to mark the second year in a row that a Missouri Valley Conference team has won the event.
Missouri State is coming off a high-powered 92-74 win against South Carolina State on Saturday and will play Evansville on Wednesday at home before heading to the Knapp Center. Junior guard Alston Mason has scored in bunches for the Bears averaging 15.8 points while shooting 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Mason has scored over 20 points on three occasions already this season. Preseason All-MVC First Team selection Donovan Clay averages 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds a game.
Dana Ford is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Bears with a record of 94-67.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State leads the all-time series 48-22, having won four of the last five meetings against Drake.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulldogs are off to a 3-0 start at home this season and have gone 72-9 at home since the start of the 2018-19 season.
THE REGION
From 2018-2022, the Drake men's basketball team had five players on its roster from 'The Region' (Northwest Indiana) and last season, the Bulldogs had two players left from that group (D.J. Wilkins, Roman Penn). For the first time in Darian DeVries' tenure, Drake does not have a player from 'The Region' on its roster.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will play host to Saint Louis on Wednesday, Dec. 6 in non-conference play at 7 p.m.
