THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball will hit the road again for a Wednesday evening meeting at Missouri State before returning to the Knapp Center to host rival UNI on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday's game will stream live on ESPN+ while Saturday's game will be broadcasted across Iowa on Mediacom MC22 in addition to being simulcasted live on ESPN+.
 
Both games will air live on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines and on the Varsity Network App.
 
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
The Bears are trying to stay above .500 entering the game with a 10-9 overall record and a 2-6 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. Missouri State has dropped back-to-back contests after a 69-60 home loss to Illinois State on Saturday afternoon.
 
Preseason All-MVC selection Donovan Clay led the Bears on Saturday with 19 points (11-13 at the free throw line) and five blocks. Clay averages 13.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. Sophomore forward N.J. Benson was two points away from a double-double before fouling out on Saturday with eight points and 10 rebounds. Benson averages 7.9 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds. The Bears finished Saturday's game shooting 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field against the Redbirds including 23.1 percent (6-26) from beyond the arc.
 
Oklahoma transfer guard Alston Mason did not play against Drake back on Dec. 2 and is Missouri State's leading scorer (17.1 points per game) while dishing out a total of 63 assists. 
 
Drake defeated Missouri State, 74-57 in the Knapp Center on Dec. 2 when Tucker DeVries scored a game-high 24 points. Darnell Brodie added 12 points and ripped down a game-high nine rebounds while Conor Enright and Kyron Gibson each distributed five assists. 
 
Dana Ford is in his sixth season in charge of the men's basketball program at Missouri State and he carries a 99-75 record leading the Bears. Before Missouri State, Ford was the head coach for four seasons at Tennessee State from 2014-18. 
 
Missouri State was picked to finish sixth in the MVC preseason poll. 
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSOURI STATE
Series: Missouri State leads 48-23
Streak: Drake, W1
Last 10: Tied, 5-5
Last Meeting: Dec. 2, 2023 | Drake won 74-57
First Meeting: Nov. 28, 1986 | Drake won 74-62
In Des Moines: Missouri State leads 19-14
In Springfield: Missouri State leads 27-6
 
SCOUTING UNI
UNI enters the week 11-8 overall on a four-game winning streak after a 61-57 win over Southern Illinois at the McLeod Center to improve the Panthers' MVC record to 5-3. Once again, UNI took on a challenging non-conference schedule facing opponents such as North Texas, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Stanford, Richmond and Toledo. 
 
Junior guard Nate Heise has done a little bit of everything for the Panthers, averaging a team-best 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while distributing the most assists on the team (53). Norwalk native and MVC Preseason First Team guard Bowen Born averages 14.4 points and has been an impressive 91.7 percent (55-60) at the free throw line this season. 
 
Ben Jacobson is in his 18^th season leading UNI men's basketball and he recently broke the MVC wins record with his 188^th league victory. Overall as a head coach, Jacobson owns a 346-227 record. 
 
UNI was picked to finish second in the MVC preseason poll with 19 first place votes. 
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. UNI
Series: UNI leads 51-33
Streak: Drake, W2
Last 10: Drake, 6-4
Last Meeting: Feb. 15, 2023 | Drake won 82-74
First Meeting: March 2, 1908 | UNI won 53-27
In Des Moines: Drake leads 21-19
In Cedar Falls: UNI leads 29-9
 
GOING ALL IN
The Bulldogs are coming off an entertaining 97-48 victory over Evansville at the Knapp Center last Saturday during Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend.
 
Drake's 49-point victory over Evansville last Saturday is tied for its largest margin of victory in Missouri Valley Conference play (103-54 win vs. Creighton on Feb. 26, 1985). Six of Drake's largest conference victory margins have come under the leadership of head coach Darian DeVries.
 
Drake is currently at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings with Indiana State with a 7-1 league mark. As of Jan. 22, Drake University is just one of 11 schools currently with both its men's and women's basketball teams in first place in its respective conference.
 
BIG BRODIE
Drake center Darnell Brodie leads the MVC in both field goal percentage (.677) and rebounding (8.4 per game).
 
Brodie is on pace to set the MVC single-season field goal percentage record of .674 by Creighton's Vernon Moore in 1984-85.
 
For the second time in his career, Brodie tied the Drake single-game field goal percentage record by making all nine field goal attempts against Evansville Saturday. Brodie made 10 of 10 shots against Illinois State Jan. 31, 2021.
 
Brodie enters the week with 979 career points, 969 of which were scored since transferring to Drake from Seton Hall.
 
NOTHIN' BUT NET
The Bulldogs moved up to 42 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, the second highest in the Valley behind Indiana State (26). As a league, the Missouri Valley Conference sits ninth in the latest NET rankings.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Bulldogs were picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in its official preseason poll for the third straight year. 
 
Drake moved up to No. 1 in the Field of 68 Media Network Cinderella Top 25. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 4 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. 
 
STREAKING AT HOME
Drake's current 15-game home winning streak is tied for the sixth longest active streak in D-I men's basketball. Virginia owns the longest active home winning streak (20).
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs welcome Valparaiso to the Knapp Center for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Jan. 31.