The Basics
Drake men's basketball is set for its next pair of games this week as it begins the second half of its conference slate. The upcoming contests for the Bulldogs include a home game on Wednesday, Jan. 29 against in-state rival UNI and trip to Carbondale, Illinois, on Saturday, Feb. 1 to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake is currently riding a six-game win streak after defeating Valparaiso and getting past Missouri State in overtime last week. The Bulldogs are currently in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a league mark of 8-2 and are one game behind the first place Bradley Braves. Overall, the Bulldogs post a record of 18-2 and are off to the third best start in program history only trailing a 24-1 start by the 2007-08 team and an 18-0 start by the 2020-21 squad.
Earlier this week, junior guard
Bennett Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after averaging 21.0 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals in Drake's two wins over Valparaiso and Missouri State last week. It marked the second MVC Player of the Week honor for Stirtz this season. Stirtz is bidding to become just the third player in Missouri Valley Conference history to lead the league in scoring, assists and steals and the first in more than 30 years. He currently leads the MVC with a 17.7 scoring average, while also leading the league in assists (129-6.5 avg.) and steals (51-2.6 avg.).
Solid production from the bench has been a key factor during Drake's current six-game winning streak. Drake's reserves are averaging 24 points per game in the streak which started when the Bulldogs' bench scored a season-high 44 points in a 64-57 victory at Bradley Jan. 8. Drake's reserves outscored Evansville, 27-6, in a 63-40 win Jan. 11, while outscoring Missouri State's bench, 21-7, in its most recent 69-62 overtime victory Saturday. Junior transfer
Tavion Banks has been the leader off the bench averaging 13.0 points during the winning streak, matching a season high with 19 points in that victory past Bradley.
Drake Leaders
Bennett Stirtz l 17.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.5 apg
Mitch Mascari l 11.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .464 3pt%
Daniel Abreu l 11.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .444 FG%
Scouting UNI
The Panthers are currently tied for third in the MVC standings with Belmont as they have a league record of 7-3. UNI comes into the week having won its past two games over Missouri State and Indiana to improve its overall record to 13-8 this season. The Panthers have proven to be one of the best shooting teams in the country, tallying a team field goal percentage of 50.1, which ranks fifth in Division I.
Ben Jacobson is in his 19th season at the helm of the Panthers program and has spent his entire head coaching career in Cedar Falls. During his tenure, Jacobson has led UNI to a record of 367-240.
Wednesday marks the 87th all-time meeting between Drake and UNI and the Panthers lead the series, 52-34. Over the last 10 contests, Drake has gone 7-3 against UNI. Last season, the two teams split their contests with each side winning on its respective home floor. In the matchups that have been played from Des Moines, Drake owns an all-time record of 22-19 over the Panthers.
UNI Leaders
Tytan Anderson l 14.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .565 FG%
Jacob Hutson l 12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .513 FG%
Trey Campbell l 10.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.0 apg
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis come into this week with an overall record of 9-12 and have gone 5-4 through the first half of league play. SIU has been playing well as of late, winning four of its last five contest most recently taking down UIC in Chicago. The Salukis will face Valpo on the road on Tuesday night before their contest with the Bulldogs.
SIU's head coach is Scott Nagy, who is in his first year leading the program. Nagy has been a head coach for 30 years with previous stops at South Dakota State (21 seasons) and Wright State (8 seasons) and holds an overall record of 586-344. Nagy is 17th among active head coaches at the Division I with his 586 victories.
When it comes to the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Salukis, SIU leads, 61-45. Drake has fared well in the recent matchups with Southern Illinois winning four of the last five and nine of the last 10, however. In games that have been played in Carbondale, Drake posts a record of 14-35.
Southern Illinois Leaders
Ali Dibba l 16.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .489 FG%
Kennard Davis Jr. l 15.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg
Jarrett Hensley l 11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .444 FG%
Up Next
The Bulldogs will remain on the road following their game against Southern Illinois as they travel to Murray State on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Drake's next home game will be on Saturday, Feb. 8 against Indiana State as part of Des Moines Hometown Team weekend.
