The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team opens the month of December with a pair of home non-conference contests. First the Bulldogs play host to Western Illinois on Tuesday, Dec. 2 followed by a matchup with UAB on Friday, Dec. 5.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake is coming off a 1-1 weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic down in Destin, Florida, where the Bulldogs lost to LSU (71-62) and took down Georgia Tech (84-74). The Bulldogs have now won their last two games against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Drake defeated Miami (FL) in the Charleston Classic last season, 80-69.
The Bulldogs have won six of their last 10 games against Power Conference teams. The Bulldogs went 4-1 against teams from the Power Conferences last season with wins over Miami (FL) - ACC, Vanderbilt - SEC, Kansas State - Big 12, and Missouri - SEC. The lone loss came against the No. 3 seed Texas Tech - Big 12 in the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament.
Jalen Quinn was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the week, the league announced on Monday afternoon. Quinn had a spectacular showing at the Emerald Coast Classic where he averaged 25.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in Drake's two contests. In the victory over Georgia Tech, Quinn poured in a career-best 31 points and tied a career-high with seven assists.
Drake Leaders
Jalen Quinn l 17.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.9 apg
Okku Federiko l 13.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.5 blks
Jaehshon Thomas l 10.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 stl
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks carry an overall record of 2-6 into Tuesday's matchup. WIU has yet to win a game against a Division I opponent this year as their victories have come against Division III Coe College and NAIA institution St. Ambrose. WIU returns just one player from its squad last season and features 14 new faces in 2025-26. The Leathernecks were picked 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll.
Chad Boudreau is the head coach of WIU and is in his third season leading the Leathernecks. Bourdreau has a career record of 35-37 during his tenure in Macomb.
The Bulldogs and Leathernecks have a brief history against one another, but Drake leads the all-time series, 4-1. Drake has won three consecutive meetings over Western Illinois with the last meeting taking place from Des Moines over 20 years ago on Dec. 11, 2004. Drake is a perfect 3-0 at home against the Leathernecks.
Western Illinois Leaders
Lucas Lorenzen l 13.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 apg
Isaiah Griffin l 11.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .533 3pt%
Francis Okwuosah l 10.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .472 3pt%
Scouting UAB
The Blazers will be finishing up a four-game road trip when they make their way to Des Moines on Friday. Currently UAB holds an overall record of 6-2. The Blazers will take on Middle Tennessee on Monday night prior to their meeting with the Bulldogs. UAB is on a five-game win streak, with its last loss coming on Nov. 11 against Alabama State.
The Blazers head coach is Andy Kennedy, who is in his sixth season leading the program. Kennedy has produced a record of 131-52 during his time in Birmingham and has produced at least 22 wins in every season while at UAB. He has an overall coaching record of 397-221 over 19 seasons with prior stops at Cincinnati and Ole Miss.
The Bulldogs and Blazers have met one time previously a couple years ago in Birmingham on Dec. 12, 2023. UAB came away with the win in a one-point overtime thriller, 79-78. Tucker DeVries nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to force OT and totaled 19 points in the contest, while Atin Wright led the Bulldogs with 20 points.
UAB Leaders
Jacob Meyer l 16.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .477 FG%
Chance Westry l 16.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.5 apg
Ahmad Robinson l 11.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.6 apg
Up Next
Drake will have a bit of a break before its next game on Saturday, Dec. 13 versus North Dakota State from the Knapp Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. CT with the game available to stream on ESPN+.
