The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season as it is set to participate in the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic from Charleston, S.C. The Bulldogs will play three games in four days starting with a matchup against the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday, Nov. 21.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake comes to Charleston having won its first three contests of the season. In their last time out, the Bulldogs survived a tough test versus FGCU with a thrilling 63-61 victory.
Daniel Abreu drilled the game-winning three-pointer with :23 seconds remaining keeping Drake's home winning streak against non-conference opponents alive at 46 games.
Drake may be defined more by its defense this season. Through games on Sunday, Nov. 17, the Bulldogs enter the Charleston Classic ranked fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 51.0 points per game and 12th in three-point field goal percentage defense with opponents shooting just 23.3 percent beyond the arc.
Drake Leaders
Bennett Stirtz l 18.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.0 apg
Daniel Abreu l 17.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .550 3pt%
Mitch Mascari l 10.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Scouting Miami
The Hurricanes moved to 3-0 when they defeated the Coppin State Eagles, 93-63, in their last time out. Miami was led in scoring by Matthew Cleveland who totaled 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Hurricanes knocked down 14 threes in the game, marking the second straight game Miami has connected on 10-plus shots from beyond the arc.
Miami's offense has been one of the best in the country to start the 2024-25 season, averaging 98.0 points per game. The Hurricanes currently rank fifth in the nation in scoring offense.
The Miami roster has some depth to it as the bench is accounting for 37.0 points per game. Freshman Divine Ugochukwu leads the Miami bench in scoring at 11.3 points per game, followed closely by freshman Jalil Bethea at 9.7 points per contest.
Thursday will mark just the second all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Hurricanes. It will be a rematch of the two school's NCAA Tournament first-round game in 2023 in Albany, N.Y. when the Hurricane rallied to post a 63-56 victory in the inaugural meeting between the schools.
Miami Leaders
Nijel Pack l 14.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 6.7 apg
Jalen Blackmon l 14.0 ppg, .577 FG%, .571 3pt%
Lynn Kidd l 14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .783 FG%
Drake vs. The Field
Drake has the potential to meet two opponents in the tournament for the first time in Seton Hall or VCU.
Oklahoma State owns a 40-11 series advantage over Drake with the schools last playing Dec. 22, 1962 in Long Beach, Calif., when the Cowboys escaped with a 61-59 victory in the championship of the Long Beach Invitational.
The series with Florida Atlantic is tied 1-1 with the Bulldogs claiming a 74-62 victory in the last game between the schools Nov. 29, 2002 in Des Moines. The series with Vanderbilt is also tied at 1-1 with Commodores winning the last meeting between the teams, 72-57 in the championship of the 2008 Cancun Challenge. Drake earned a 47-46 victory in the inaugural meeting between the schools Dec. 29, 1948 in the Drake Fieldhouse.
Meanwhile, Drake has an opportunity to face Nevada for the second straight year. The Bulldogs own a 5-1 series record against the Wolfpack (2-0 Des Moines, 2-1 Reno, 1-0 neutral court) after toppling Nevada, 72-53, in Henderson, Nev., Dec. 9, 2023.
Up Next
Drake returns to Des Moines to host Georgia Southern on Saturday, Nov. 30
