THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball sits in second place at the moment in the Missouri Valley Conference with a visit to third-place Bradley on Saturday. The tip-off time is set for 5 p.m. inside Carver Arena in Peoria, Ill.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst). All Drake men's basketball games can be heard live on 102.1/1350 ESPN Des Moines with Michael Admire (play-by-play) and Paul Doerrfeld (analyst).
LAST TIME OUT
It took overtime to get it done, but the Drake men's basketball team extended its home winning streak to 18 games with an exhaustive 92-88 victory over Southern Illinois at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night.
Drake was without guards Conor Enright (illness) and Colby Garland (knee issue) against the Salukis, who were the primary defenders of Xavier Johnson, who scored 35 points, but it wasn't enough. Tucker DeVries led the Bulldogs with 27 points (13-15 from the free throw line) while Darnell Brodie scored 18 points to pair with eight rebounds. Kyron Gibson not only stepped up defensively but added 12 points.
SCOUTING BRADLEY
Bradley dropped to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play after a narrow 73-70 loss at Evansville on Wednesday night. Guard Duke Deen swished three-point attempt at the very end of regulation, but he did not get the shot off in time as the Purple Aces prevailed. Deen led a balanced Braves attack with 15 points and seven rebounds. Malevy Leons snatched nine rebounds while contributing nine points.
Guard Connor Hickman has been a critical addition to Bradley after he missed four games earlier in the season. Over 20 games, Hickman averages a team-best 14.7 points per game. Leons (13.8), Deen (13.4) and forward Darius Hannah (11.8) also average double digit scoring for the Braves. Leons has ripped down a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game while Deen facilitates the Bradley offense averaging 4.3 assists.
Drake went 2-1 against the Braves last season with an 86-61 victory inside the Knapp Center on Jan. 14, 2023 before Bradley clinched the 2022-23 MVC regular season title with a 73-61 win over the Bulldogs in the regular season finale on Feb. 26, 2023. Drake got its revenge with a commanding 77-51 win at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on March 5 in the MVC Tournament title game.
The Braves are 10-2 at home this season and have five consecutive MVC matchups at home.
Former Marquette standout Brian Wardle enters his ninth season roaming the sidelines of Bradley with a 152-133 record.
Bradley was picked to finish third in the 2023-24 MVC preseason poll after losing All-MVC First Team forward Rienk Mast to Nebraska in the transfer portal.
SERIES HISTORY VS. BRADLEY
Series: Bradley leads 93-70
Streak: Drake, W1
Last 10: Bradley, 6-4
Last Meeting: March 5, 2023 | Drake won 77-51
First Meeting: Dec. 19, 1942 | Drake won 31-30
In Des Moines: Drake leads 43-30
In Peoria: Bradley leads 55-23
Neutral: Bradley leads 8-4
A WIN WOULD...
- Mark Drake's sixth consecutive season of 20 wins or more
- Mean Darian DeVries has guided Drake to a minimum of 20 wins in his first six seasons at the helm
- Snap Drake's two-game road losing skid
- Improve Drake to 4-4 on the road this season
- Be Drake's third win in the last four meetings against Bradley
- Be Drake's first win in Peoria since Feb. 26, 2021
- Improve Drake to 11-3 in MVC play this season
CAREER SCORING WATCH
Tucker DeVries has jumped to sixth all-time in career scoring at Drake and is only 15 points from surpassing legendary Willie McCarter for fifth all-time. Reed Timmer is Drake's all-time leading scorer with exactly 2,000 points scored. DeVries is also approaching the Top-5 at Drake for most 3-point baskets made.
FROM THE FIELD
Drake ranks 25th nationally in field goal percentage (48.13 percent) and 31st in effective field goal percentage (55.0 percent).
UP NEXT
Drake continues this quick road swing with a trip to Evansville. The Bulldogs will face the Purple Aces on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
