THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball (22-5, 13-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play) readies for a mid-week clash with Belmont (16-11, 9-7) on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. inside the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs are currently tied for first place in the MVC with Indiana State.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday'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).
RACING PAST THE RACERS
Kevin Overton led the way with a career-high 23 points on 8-11 shooting from the field as Drake cruised past Murray State, 95-72 on Sunday afternoon in its Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer game. Drake made a season-high 17 3-point baskets, which is tied for second most in program history for a single game. The Bulldogs finished 34-56 (60.7 percent) from the field as a team.
The Bulldogs dished out 22 assists on Sunday to match their season-high (22 vs. Evansville on Jan. 20) to help score the most points that Murray State has allowed all season.
SCOUTING BELMONT
Belmont has been clicking again of late, taking a four-game winning streak of its own into Wednesday's matchup. A strong first half helped boost the Bruins to a 75-60 road win at UIC on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Belmont's victory at UIC was aided by sophomore Cade Tyson's 18 points while Malik Dia and Ja'Kobi Gillespie each chipped in 17 points. Senior guard Keishawn Davidson just missed a double-double with a balanced performance of 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Bruins enter the game 16-11 overall and 9-7 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play to position themselves in a three-way tie for fourth place.
The Vanderbilt transfer Dia paces Belmont in scoring with 17.4 points per game while snagging 5.7 rebounds a night. Tyson has continued to impress for the Bruins averaging 16.6 points and 5.7 rebounds. Gillespie (82 assists in 19 games) and Davidson (103 assists in 27 games) are the primary facilitators for the Bruins.
In the last meeting between these two teams, Belmont bested Drake, 87-65 in the Music City.
Dia put up a game-high 32 points as the Bruins kept their foot on the gas in the second half. Atin Wright led Drake with 14 points.
Drake defeated the Bruins, 70-56 last season on Feb. 19, 2023 in the last meeting inside the Knapp Center.
Belmont brings a 5-8 road record into Des Moines on Wednesday.
Belmont alumnus Casey Alexander is in his fifth season leading the Bruins with a record of 114-41 after previous head coaching stops at Lipscomb and Stetson. Alexander spent 16 years on the staff of legendary Belmont head coach Rick Byrd.
The Bruins were predicted to finish fifth in the MVC preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY VS. BELMONT
Series: Tied, 2-2
Streak: Belmont, W1
Last Meeting: Jan. 7, 2024 | Belmont won 87-65
First Meeting: Nov. 25, 2021 | Belmont won 74-69
In Des Moines: Drake leads 1-0
In Nashville: Tied 1-1
Neutral: Belmont leads 1-0
A WIN WOULD...
- Mark Drake's fifth straight win
- Extend Drake's home winning streak to 20 games
- Improve Drake to 15-0 at home this season
- Improve Darian DeVries' record against Belmont to 3-2
- Move Drake to 2-0 against Belmont in Des Moines
- Improve Drake to 14-3 in MVC play this season
WHO'S IN FIRST?
Drake is one of six schools in Division I college basketball that currently has both its men's and women's basketball programs in first place in conference play. Of those six schools, Drake is the only one with both teams undefeated at home.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Kevin Overton earned MVC Freshman of the Week status on Feb. 19 for the fourth time this season after averaging 19.0 points and 2.0 steals over two victories last week.
IN THE POLLS
Drake received one vote in the latest AP Top 25 poll and checked in at No. 9 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs with a NET ranking of 44 own the second-highest NET in the MVC (as of Feb. 20), only trailing Indiana State (31).
WINNERS WIN
The Drake men's basketball program has 100 wins since 2020 - which trails only Houston, Gonzaga and Kansas during that time span.
STREAKING AT HOME
The Bulldogs will put its 19-game home winning streak on the line. The 19 game streak is the longest home win streak in program history since Drake men's basketball started playing in the Knapp Center in 1992 and is currently tied for the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I men's basketball with San Diego State.
GAME OF RUNS
Drake has embarked on 20 double-figure scoring runs this season including a 14-0 run in the first half against Murray State last Sunday.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs head north to face rival UNI on the road on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m.
