THE BASICS
Drake men's basketball will honor its seniors after the Bulldogs take on Bradley at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Kyron Gibson and Darnell Brodie will be recognized in the postgame ceremony on Sunday along with managers Andrew Jankowski and Claire Abbott.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday's game will be broadcasted live on ESPN2 with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehmman (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).
MVC FIREWORKS
Drake's 107-105 triple overtime victory at Illinois-Chicago Wednesday ranked as the eighth highest combined points (212) by two teams in the history of a Missouri Valley Conference league game. The conference record is 228 points when Tulsa beat Indiana State 1260-102, March 1, 1984.
Tucker DeVries delivered a career-high 39 points to mark the sixth time in his career that he has eclipsed 30 points in a game. He also picked up a career-high 13 rebounds and matched his career-high in assists with seven.
SCOUTING BRADLEY
Bradley enters Sunday with an 21-9 overall record and 13-6 Missouri Valley Conference record.
The Braves takes a three-game winning streak and 6-5 road record into Des Moines. Bradley is coming off of a 86-67 win at Southern Illinois on Wednesday. Darius Hannah led the Braves with 22 points after going 8-10 from the field and grabbing seven rebounds. Connor Hickman put up 17 points with eight rebounds while Malevy Leons added 16 points to help Bradley take down SIU.
Duke Deen runs the show for the Braves averaging 4.0 assists to pair with 14.3 points per game. Hickman has proven to be a valuable piece for Bradley averaging 14.3 points and 3.2 assists. Leons paces the Braves in rebounds (6.8 per game) while putting up 14.0 points a night. Leons has always been a defensive leader, totaling 50 steals and 41 blocks so far this season. Hannah rounds out the double digit scorers for Bradley (11.8 points per game).
Drake held off a late charge from Bradley to win in Peoria on Feb. 10, 74-67. Tucker DeVries contributed a team-high 22 points while Conor Enright put up a career-high 10 rebounds and eight assists. Darnell Brodie and Nate Ferguson were both presences in the paint combining for 29 points of production.
Former Marquette star and Green Bay head coach, Brian Wardle, the 2022-23 MVC Coach of the Year owns a 156-135 record at the helm of the Bradley men's basketball program.
SERIES HISTORY VS. BRADLEY
Series: Bradley leads 93-71
Streak: Drake, W2
Last Meeting: Feb. 10, 2024 | Drake won 74-67
First Meeting: Dec. 19, 1942 | Drake won 31-30
In Des Moines: Drake leads 43-30
In Peoria: Bradley leads 55-24
Neutral: Bradley leads 8-4
A WIN WOULD...
- Mark Drake's 21st consecutive win at home
- Conclude the regular season with a 16-0 record at home
- Improve Darian DeVries' record against Bradley to 8-6
- Mark Drake's third straight win against Bradley
- Be Drake's fourth consecutive season of 25 wins or more
- Mark Drake's fourth win in the last five meetings against Bradley
- Finalize Drake's MVC record this season at 16-4
ELITE COMPANY
Tucker DeVries has become just the second player in Drake history to score more than 600 points in a season twice during their career. He joins former Drake All-America Lewis Lloyd who owns the school single season scoring record of 815 points in 1979-80. Lloyd tallied 762 points the following season in 1980-91 which ranks No. 2 on the school single-season charts..
DeVries scored 631 points in 2022-23 and has followed that up with 628 points this season with those totals ranking Nos. 5 and six, respectively, in Drake history.
DeVries enters Sunday's game with Bradley tied for No. 40 on the MVC career scoring list (1761 points) with Andy Elkins, Evansville (1991-95) and Darren Brooks, Southern Illinois (2001-05).
ONLY GETTING BETTER
Tucker DeVries, the 2022-23 MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year has produced better stats in 2023-24 compared to last season in almost every category.
Overall last season DeVries averaged 18.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.1 SPG. Currently in 23-24, he averages 21.7 PPG, 6.9 PPG, 3.6 APG and 1.6 SPG.
This season DeVries averages 23.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.5 SPG in MVC play compared 19.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.8 APG and 0.9 SPG in league play during 2022-23.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will play a yet to be determined opponent in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Friday, March 8.
