THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball (21-5, 12-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play) will take on Murray State (11-15, 8-7) inside the Knapp Center for a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m.
SUIT UP AGAINST PEDIATRIC CANCER
The Drake men's basketball team welcomes children and families affected by pediatric cancer for a day filled with activities and basketball. The Bulldogs will wear special warmup shirts and the first 1,000 fans will receive a Blank Children's Hospital #DSMHometownTeam wristband. On Valentine's Day, Drake men's basketball student-athletes and coaches spent the afternoon with patients at Blank Children's Hospital.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday's game will be televised live on the MVC TV Network consisting of Bally Sports Midwest, NBC Sports Chicago and ESPN+ with Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Adam Emmenecker (analyst). All Drake men's basketball games air live on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines and the Varsity Network App with Michael Admire (play-by-play) and Paul Doerrfeld (analyst).
EVERY LITTLE THING IS GONNA BE ALWRIGHT
Atin Wright scored a season-high 26 points as his last second, one legged halfcourt heave banked in for a dramatic buzzer beating 78-75 win at Evansville on Tuesday night. Wright's heroic shot was No. 8 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays on Wednesday morning.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE
Murray State enters Sunday on a two-game winning streak after defeating Missouri State at home, 82-72. Junior forward Nick Ellington led the Racers with a game-high 23 points and two blocks. Junior guard JaCobi Wood recorded a game-high 10 assists and eight rebounds.
The Racers also beat Evansville on a buzzer beater in a 73-70 decision on Feb. 10 when Wood drilled a deep trifecta before the final horn.
Senior guard and forward Stetson Hatter Rob Perry paces Murray State in scoring averaging 12.7 points. Wood averages 4.5 assists while putting up 12.2 points a night. Senior guard Quincy Anderson (12.1) and Ellington (11.8) are the other two Racers currently averaging double figures scoring.
Sunday's game will be the only matchup between the Bulldogs and Racers during the 2023-24 regular season.
Drake went 3-0 against Murray State last season, including a 74-62 win in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament.
Steve Prohm will make another trip to Central Iowa after he was the head coach 40 minutes north of Des Moines at Iowa State in Ames from 2015-2021. Prohm was 97-95 in charge of the Cyclones and 132-59 in six seasons at Murray State after starting his second stint in Murray ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Murray State was predicted to finish seventh in the MVC preseason poll. The Racers are currently in a four-way tie for fourth place in the MVC standings with Southern Illinois, Belmont and UNI with five games remaining.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MURRAY STATE
Series: Drake leads 4-2
Streak: Drake, W4
Last Meeting: March 3, 2023 | Drake won 74-62
First Meeting: March 8, 1938 | Murray won 47-40
In Des Moines: Drake leads 1-0
In Murray: Tied 1-1
Neutral: Drake leads 2-1
A WIN WOULD...
- Mark Drake's fourth straight win
- Extend Drake's home winning streak to 19 games
- Improve Drake to 14-0 at home this season
- Be Drake's fifth consecutive win over Murray State
- Improve Darian DeVries' record as a head coach against Murray State to 5-0
- Improve Drake to 13-3 in MVC play this season
STREAKING AT HOME
Drake's 18-game home winning streak is currently tied for the longest active streak in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
CONSISTENCY
Drake has secured its sixth consecutive season of 20 or more wins. Six of Drake's 11 all-time 20-plus win seasons have come under the direction of head coach Darian DeVries. This season, Drake reached 20 victories at the earliest date in the DeVries coaching era.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will be looking for revenge against Belmont at home on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
