The Basics
The Drake men's basketball team is back in action as the Missouri Valley Conference season rolls along. The Bulldogs will host the Belmont Bruins on Saturday, Jan. 10 and then hit the road for a contest against Southern Illinois on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
 
Saturday's home game against Belmont will serve as a white out with Drake fans encouraged to wear their best white colored Drake apparel. Saturday will also serve as the Pediatric Cancer Awareness Game for Drake men's basketball. Players will be wearing specialty warmup shirts that were designed by patients at Blank Children's Hospital and Gryffin Sellers, a local child battling cancer, will serve as the honorary Sixth Man.
 
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs currently carry an overall record of 8-8 and are 2-3 in MVC play after defeating Indiana State and falling to Bradley in their last two outings. Five games into the conference slate, Drake finds itself in sixth place in the MVC standings.
 
Redshirt Junior Andrew Alia has been a sharpshooter for the Bulldogs this season and currently leads the league in three-point shooting percentage at .563 (27-48). The Kenosha, Wisconsin native has been a consistent threat from beyond the arc all season long and has been scorching hot over his last nine games shooting at a clip of .625 (15-24). Through the first five conference games of the season, Alia is 8-for-12 (.667) from long range.
 
Drake Leaders
Jalen Quinn l 16.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.4 apg
Jaehshon Thomas l 12.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .450 3pt%
Okku Federiko l 12.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .563 FG%

Scouting Belmont
The Bruins make the trip to Des Moines with a current record of 14-3 and have gone 4-2 in conference play up to this point. Belmont is coming off a recent victory over UNI and has been one of the best road teams in the country this season. The Bruins have a record of 6-1 in road contests and tally a margin of +163 in games away from Nashville.

Casey Alexander is the head coach of the Bruins and is in his seventh season leading the program. During his time at Belmont, Alexander has posted a record of 154-57. His career record, which spans 15 seasons, is 291-177.

The all-time series between Drake and Belmont has been brief, but the Bulldogs have the advantage, 5-2. Drake went 2-0 last year against the Bruins with the wins coming in Des Moines and in St. Louis in the MVC Tournament semifinals. Drake currently has a three-game winning streak over Belmont and has a record of 4-1 against the Bruins since they joined the MVC. Drake is also undefeated at 3-0 in home games against Belmont.

Belmont Leaders
Tyler Lundblade l 16.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .430 3pt%
Sam Orme l 13.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .531 FG%
Drew Scharnowski l 11.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .700 FG%
 
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis are right behind Drake in the MVC standings with a mark of 2-4 in league play. Overall, SIU has gone 8-9. The Salukis will be coming off a bye when they host Drake and have had three of their last four league games decided by five points or less.

SIU is led by head coach Scott Nagy, who is in his second season in Carbondale. Nagy is 22-28 during his tenure with Southern Illinois and is in his 31st season as a Division I head coach. Nagy will be looking for his 600th career victory when the Bulldogs come to town with his current record of 599-360.

Drake trails in the all-time series with SIU, 47-61, but the Bulldogs have won six-straight against the Salukis. Last season the Bulldogs won both contests over SIU from Carbondale and at the MVC Tournament. Drake is just 15-35 all-time in games played from Carbondale, however.

Southern Illinois Leaders
Quel'ron House l 13.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.9 apg
Drew Steffe l 9.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.6 apg
Rolyns Aligbe l 8.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, .527 FG%
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will remain on the road for their next game following the contest with SIU. Drake will challenge UIC from the Windy City on Saturday, Jan. 17 with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. CT.