The Basics
Drake men's basketball will close out its regular season this week with a pair of games against Valparaiso and in-state rival UNI. The Bulldogs first make the trip out to Valpo on Wednesday, Feb. 25 and then return home for the regular season finale against the Panthers on Sunday, March 1.
 
Sunday's regular season finale against UNI will be a Blue Out for Drake fans who are encouraged to pack the Knapp Center donning their best blue colored Bulldog gear. Sunday will also be Senior Day for the Bulldogs and there will be a pregame ceremony honoring Isaiah Carr, Jaehshon Thomas, and Jalen Quinn.
 
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs have lost seven games in-a-row and are 12-17 overall with a league record of 6-12. Drake currently is the No. 9 seed for the upcoming conference tournament and can move no lower on the seed line but can only move as high as the No. 8 seed.

The Bulldogs this year are moving up the program record books on both the offensive and defensive ends. Drake has made 267 three-pointers this season, which ranks ninth in school history. The Bulldogs have also attempted 767 shots from behind the arc which ranks sixth in program history. On the defensive side, Drake has recorded 91 blocks, which is tied for the seventh most in a single season.

Drake Leaders
Jalen Quinn l 19.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg
Jaehshon Thomas l 9.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
Okku Federiko l 9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .521 FG%

Scouting Valparaiso
The Beacons have been playing well during the final stretch of the regular season and have improved their record to 16-13 overall following a three-game winning streak. Valpo has gone 10-8 in league play entering Wednesday's matchup with Drake and is currently tied for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wednesday's matchup is sure to be a close battle between the Bulldogs and the Beacons as nine of Valpo's last 10 games have been decided by single figures.

Roger Powell, the head coach of Valparaiso, is in his third season leading the program and tallies a career record of 38-57. Before becoming the head coach at Valpo, he spent four seasons at Gonzaga as an assistant under head coach Mark Few.

Wednesday will be just the 24th all-time meeting between Drake and Valpo as Drake leads the series, 14-9. Drake had a prior eight-game winning streak over the Beacons until this year when Valpo won the first meeting of the season, 81-76, from Des Moines just a couple weeks ago on Feb. 9. It was just the second win ever for the Beacons in Des Moines. Drake is 8-2 in its last 10 games against the Beacons and holds a winning record of 7-6 in games played from Valparaiso.

Valparaiso Leaders
Owen Dease l 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .407 3pt%
JT Pettigrew l 11.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 apg
Rakim Chaney l 10.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg
 
Scouting UNI
The Panthers are battling for their seeding position in the MVC standings as they come into the week with an overall record of 18-11 and a record of 10-8 in MVC play. UNI is one of three teams (Illinois State and Valpo) tied for fifth in the current standings. The Panthers will play host to Illinois State on Wednesday night before making the short trip to Des Moines on Sunday. UNI leads all of Division I men's basketball in scoring defense with 61.1 points allowed per game, giving up 70+ points just four times this season. The Panthers are 13-3 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points this year.

Ben Jacobson, in his 20th season as the head coach of the Panthers, has spent his entire career at UNI and owns a record of 392-257.

Sunday marks the 90th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Panthers. UNI leads the in-state rivalry, 53-36. The Panthers got the better of the Bulldogs a couple of weeks ago from Cedar Falls in the first meeting of the season, 86-62, on Feb. 15. Drake, however, is 23-19 all-time in home contests against UNI.

UNI Leaders
Trey Campbell l 13.3 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.6 rpg
Leon Bond III l 11.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .393 3pt%
Will Hornseth l 11.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, .620 FG%
 
Up Next
Drake will head to St. Louis for Arch Madness which will take place from March 5-8. The Bulldogs are locked into the 8/9 game with their opponent to be determined. Drake will tip-off of the conference tournament with the first game on Thursday, March 5 slated for 3:30 p.m. CT. If the Bulldogs were to win their first round matchup, they will face No. 1 seed Belmont on Friday, March 6 at noon CT.