THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball remains away from the Knapp Center for its final regular season road game, a trip to the Windy City to face UIC on Wednesday night trying to spoil Senior Night for the Flames.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday's game will stream live on ESPN+ with Jonathan Hood (play-by-play) and Kenny Williams (analyst). All Drake men's basketball games air live on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines with Michael Admire (play-by-play) and Paul Doerrfeld (analyst).
ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST
DeVries was one of 40 outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball student-athletes named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy and All-America Watch List.
In MVC play, DeVries leads the league in scoring with 22.3 points per game. He also ranks in the top-10 in rebounds (eighth, 6.6) and 3-point field goal percentage (10th, .382) during MVC games this season.
20-SOMETHING
Drake has had four players account for 27 20-point games during the 2023-24 season— Tucker DeVries (36 vs. Lipscomb, 21 vs. Southwest Minnesota State, 33 vs. Akron, 24 vs. Missouri State, 25 vs. Nevada, 22 vs. Illinois State, 29 vs. Indiana State, 34 at Southern Illinois, 25 at Illinois State, 29 vs. UNI, 26 at Indiana State, 27 vs. Southern Illinois, 22 at Bradley, 22 vs. Murray State, 21 vs. Belmont), Atin Wright (25 vs. Southwest Minnesota State, 22 vs. Oakland, 22 vs. Saint Louis, 24 vs. Alcorn State, 20 at UAB, 21 vs. Illinois State, 26 at Evansville, 21 vs. Belmont, 28 at UNI), Kevin Overton (22 vs. Oakland, 21 vs. Saint Louis, 23 vs. Murray State) and Darnell Brodie (21 at Valpo).
BOUNCING BACK
Drake is 5-0 this season in games following a loss and 36-12 under head coach Darian DeVries in games after a loss including a 22-8 mark in games following a conference loss.
SCOUTING UIC
UIC enters the week with an 11-18 overall record and 4-14 Missouri Valley Conference mark. Last week, the Flames bested Evansville in Chicago by a score of 88-79 before falling at Indiana State on Saturday, 88-73. Colorado State transfer guard Isaiah Rivera played 36 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points. Physical senior guard Toby Okani added 15 points and swatted away a pair of shots. Graduate student transfer guard from Loyola (Chicago) Marquise Kennedy delivered 12 points and four steals off the bench against the Sycamores last Saturday.
Rivera is also UIC's leading scorer on the season at 15.2 points per game followed by sophomore guard CJ Jones (11.5 PPG) and Okani (10.7 PPG) as Flames to average double digits scoring this season. Okani is the team leader in rebounds (6.9 per game) and total steals (40).
Wednesday will be the only matchup of the year between the Bulldogs and Flames. Last season, Drake coasted past the Flames 77-64 on Dec. 3, 2022. The last time Drake visited Credit Union 1 Arena was anything but easy. UIC pushed the Bulldogs to overtime on Jan. 10, 2023 tied at 61 points apiece. Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn each had 15 points in that game. Darnell Brodie scored 14 points and snagged five boards while current Drake graduate manager Garrett Sturtz compiled a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs escaped Chicago with an OT victory, 76-71.
Veteran assistant coach Luke Yaklich is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Flames with UIC in its second season as a member of the MVC. Yaklich's overall head coaching record is 46-67.
UIC was predicted to finish 10th in the MVC preseason poll.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UIC
Series Drake leads 9-2
Streak Drake, W4
Last Meeting Jan. 10, 2023 | Drake won 76-71
First Meeting Dec. 28, 1978 | UIC won 84-82
In Des Moines Drake leads 6-1
In Chicago UIC leads 3-1
A WIN WOULD...
- Give Drake a 6-2 record in the month of February.
- Mark Drake's third consecutive road win
- Improve Drake to 6-5 on the road this season
- Improve Darian DeVries' record against UIC to 3-0.
- Mark Drake's fifth straight win against UIC
- Improve Drake to 15-4 in MVC play this season
- Mark 15 conference wins in back-to-back seasons and in three of the last four seasons
UP NEXT
Drake men's basketball will host Senior Day on Sunday, March 3 at the Knapp Center as the Bulldogs welcome Bradley to town in the regular season finale.
