The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team is down to four games remaining in its regular season and the Bulldogs look to hold on to their first-place position in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. Drake begins the week with a home contest against the UIC Flames on Wednesday, Feb. 19, and then will take a short road trip over to Cedar Falls for the second round of the in-state rival with UNI on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Coming off a rare home loss to Bradley, the Bulldogs own an overall record of 23-3 on the year and are 13-3 in MVC play. Drake's 23-3 record is tied for second-best mark in school history after 26 games with the 2007-08 team which also started off with a 23-3 record. Those only trail the 24-2 record by the 2020-21 Drake team at the same juncture. Drake is ranked No. 59 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, owning a 2-0 record against Quad 1 teams and its winning percentage (.885) is the second best in the nation behind Auburn. Drake's 23 victories are tied for the most by a NCAA Division I team this season.
Drake is the only school in the MVC which has won seven league games on the road this season, marking the fourth time in program history the Bulldogs have achieved that feat. The 2007-08, 2020-21 and 2021-22 teams all posted 7-2 MVC road records. Drake also improved to 20-1 when leading at halftime after owning a 40-32 intermission lead at Illinois State last Wednesday. Drake shot 52.2 percent (12-23) in the first half against Bradley Sunday, marking the 17th game this season the Bulldogs shot 50 percent or better in the first half. Drake has scored 40 or more points in the first half of six games this season, including five at home.
Bennett Stirtz enjoyed his 13th 20-plus scoring game of the season after scoring a team-high 25 points at Illinois State last Wednesday including 14 in the second half. Stirtz also had a game-high seven rebounds along with a game-high six assists. He has scored in double figures in 24 of 26 games this season, scoring 20-plus points in five of the last six games. Stirtz is bidding to become the first player in Drake school history to collect 500 points and 150 assists in the same season. He has 480 points and 159 assists entering the UIC game. He also could become the ninth player in MVC history to achieve 500 points and 160 assists in the same since dating back to Indiana State's Larry Bird accomplishing the feat during the 1978-79 season (973 pts, 187 assists).
Drake Leaders
Bennett Stirtz l 18.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 6.1 apg
Mitch Mascari l 11.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .455 3pt%
Daniel Abreu l 11.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .458 FG%
Scouting UIC
The Flames come to Des Moines posting an overall record of 15-11 and are in fifth place in the MVC standings with a league mark of 8-8. UIC recently snapped a four-game skid by picking up a win at home over Missouri State this past Sunday. The Flames, after being picked 12th in the preseason poll, have fared well on the road this season going 7-4 in games away from Chicago.
Rob Ehsan is in his first season as the head coach of the Flames and has led UIC to its most wins in a season since the 2019-20 campaign (18-17). Prior to coming to the Windy City, Ehsan spent four seasons at UAB and amassed a record of 76-57.
The Bulldogs and the Flames have faced off a total of 13 times coming into Wednesday's game with Drake leading the all-time series, 10-3. In games that have taken place from Des Moines, the Bulldogs are 6-1 against the Flames. UIC snapped a five-game losing streak to Drake earlier this season and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season back on Jan. 1. UIC's defeat over Drake earlier this season also marked the first win for the Flames over the Bulldogs since Dec. 4, 2000.
UIC Leaders
Javon Jackson l 12.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 1.7 spg
Ahmad Henderson II l 11.4 ppg, 2.8 apg, .906 FT%
Jordan Mason l 10.7 ppg, 3.4rpg, 3.3 apg
Scouting UNI
The Panthers will be playing their third game of the week by the time they host the Bulldogs on Sunday. UNI had its game against Murray State postponed to Monday evening and came out with the win. The Panthers are slated to face off against Belmont from Nashville on Wednesday. UNI is currently on a five-game win streak and owns an overall record of 18-9 while being tied for second in the MVC standings at 12-4.
Ben Jacobson, the head coach of the Panthers, has spent his entire career in Cedar Falls and boasts an overall record of 372-242 during his tenure.
Sunday marks the 88th meeting between the in-state rivals of Drake and UNI. The Panthers lead the all-time series, 52-35, but the Bulldogs are 8-2 in their last 10 matchups. In games that have been played from Cedar Falls, Drake has gone 9-30 against UNI. The Bulldogs took round one over the Panthers back on Jan. 29 with a 66-52 victory from the Knapp Center in Des Moines.
UNI Leaders
Tytan Anderson l 14.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .576 FG%
Jacob Hutson l 11.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, .491 FG%
Trey Campbell l 11.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg
Up Next
The Bulldogs will close out their regular season with a road contest against Evansville on Wednesday, Feb. 26 followed by the regular season finale from the Knapp Center on Sunday, March 2 versus Missouri State.
