Drake Men Face Missouri State in Pivotal MVC Matchup

By Paul Kirk, Drake Athletics Communications Director

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Drake Bulldogs (13-10, 6-6 in the MVC) host Missouri State at the Knapp Center at 7:06 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, looking to gain some separation from the pack as the conference season enters the final one-third of the schedule. The Bulldogs and Bears are two of four teams tied for third place at 6-6 in the MVC, and are followed just one game back by Northern Iowa and Indiana State at 5-7. Just one game separates third through eighth place, making every game critical as teams enter the homestretch. Drake looks to continue its home-court magic when it takes the floor Saturday at Ron Pearson Court for the first time since last Saturday’s dramatic triple-overtime defeat of second-place Wichita State. The game will be televised by Mediacom on MC22. Missouri State won the first matchup this season, 72-61, in Springfield, Mo., on Dec. 31.

RADIO/TV: All games can be heard on AM 1350 KRNT in Des Moines, with Larry Cotlar on play-by-play and Dolph Pulliam as analyst. The Missouri State game will be televised across the state of Iowa by Mediacom on MC22 with play-by-play announcer Larry Morgan joined by a new analyst for 2011-12, former Drake star guard Adam Emmenecker. Emmenecker earned honorable mention AP All-America honors and was named the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2007-08 when he led Drake to the MVC title and a trip to the NCAA tournament..

QUICK NOTES:
· The Bulldogs have matched their win total from last year, when they went 13-18, and need just one more Missouri Valley Conference victory to equal the conference win total put forth by each of the past three Drake teams. (7-9). Drake has seven regular season games remaining, including six in the conference.
· Head Coach Mark Phelps picked up the first two overtime victories of his career in a span of 11 days in January after dropping the first three overtime games of his career from 2008-11. The first win came Jan. 18 at Southern Illinois, a 75-68 victory in a single overtime session. The second came Jan. 28 in triple overtime against Wichita State, 93-86.
· Drake has not allowed any of its last eight opponents to shoot higher than 50 percent from the field. Opponents in this stretch are shooting a combined 42.6 percent (188-441).
· The Bulldogs rank third in the MVC in steals (7.1) and fourth in scoring (69.2) and field-goal percentage (.454).
· Drake has won 14 of its last 16 home games on Ron Pearson Court at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs began their current stretch of home success last season and rattled off 11 consecutive home wins over the final seven games of 2010-11 and the first four home dates of 2011-12.
· The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 8 in the NCAA’s latest RPI rankings, with two teams in the top 30. Four of the Bulldogs’ MVC losses have come at the hands of No. 15 Creighton (twice) and No. 60 Northern Iowa (twice). Drake (No. 97) owns wins over No. 27 Wichita State and No. 50 Iowa State.
· Drake boasts two of the top six scorers in the Valley, with Rayvonte Rice third at 17.3 points per game and Ben Simons sixth at 16.1. No other school has two players in the conference’s top 9.
· Simons has topped the 20-point mark in four of the last eight games. He leads the MVC in three-point field goals (57) and ranks 38th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (41.0) and 68th in three-pointers per game (2.5). He ranks sixth among active MVC players in career three-pointers (136).
· Simons’ career-high of 29 points vs. Wichita State (1/28/12) topped his previous high of 24 vs. Iowa State on Nov. 15, 2011, and matched the best output by a Bulldog since Josh Young scored 34 points vs. Morehead State on Nov. 19, 2008. Rice scored 29 earlier this year vs. Central Arkansas (12/21/11) and Ryan Wedel scored 29 vs. Evansville Feb. 23, 2011.
· Simons’ 27-of-28 free-throw shooting in the past 11 games has propelled him to No. 1 in the MVC free-throw shooting rankings, with a season percentage of .887 (47-53). He has made 21 consecutive free throws (last miss w/4:24 to play vs. Bradley, 1/10) and ranks No. 1 among active MVC players in career free-throw percentage (.887), of those with at least 40 career attempts.
· Rice ranks 69th in the nation in scoring (17.3) and No. 16 in the nation in steals (2.4; No. 1 MVC). He is averaging 2.9 steals per game in MVC-only games and tied his career high with five at Southern Illinois (1/18). He also had five at Creighton (1/3).
· Rice recorded his third career double-double, and second in a row, in last Saturday’s defeat of Wichita State. He had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, while adding a career-high 8 assists, one game after exploding for 23 points and 11 rebounds vs. Creighton Jan. 25.
· Rice’s 17.3-point scoring average is on pace to be the best by a Bulldog in 10 seasons (Luke McDonald, 17.9, 2000-01). The next highest averages in recent history are 18.1 by Lynnrick Rogers in 1994-95 and 21.1 by Curt Smith in 1992-93.
· Rice is one of 10 Missouri Valley Conference players on the Watch List for the 2012 Larry Bird Player of the Year Trophy. He was named National High-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness for games of Jan. 23-29.
· Kurt Alexander has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games, averaging 12.1 points per game off the bench in this stretch, and 15.8 in the last four home games. He has recorded a career high for points twice in the last eight games, first with 17 points in a win over Bradley on Jan. 10, and again with 21 points at Northern Iowa on Jan. 22.
· Alexander was averaging 4.9 points per game after Drake’s MVC opener vs. Indiana State Dec. 28, a game in which he went scoreless in just 6 minutes of play. His season average has now elevated to 8.1.
· Kraidon Woods ranks fourth in the MVC in blocked shots (1.3; 29) and third in conference-only games (1.5; 18). His 54 career blocks rank eighth among active Valley players. Woods tied his career high with four blocks and set a career high with four steals vs. Wichita State (1/28/12).
· Woods’ .640 career field-goal percentage ranks third among active players in the Missouri Valley Conference with at least 50 attempts (80-125).
· Jordan Clarke ranks ninth in the MVC in rebounding with a team-leading average of 6.6 per game.
· Junior center Seth VanDeest (shoulder) and junior forward Reece Uhlenhopp (foot) will be unable to play this season and will seek redshirts, it was announced by head coach Mark Phelps on Jan. 10. VanDeest has not played this season, while Uhlenhopp played just one minute versus Indiana State on Dec. 28.

LAST OUTING: The Bulldogs rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to take the lead in the second half at Indiana State on Feb. 1, but ultimately fell, 61-54, to the red-hot Sycamores, who won their third game in a row. Sophomore Rayvonte Rice scored a game-high 17 points and junior Ben Simons added 13 for the Bulldogs, who suffered through their lowest shooting percentage of the season. Drake managed to convert just 18-of-54 field goal attempts for a 33-percent shooting mark. Indiana State shot 44.5 percent from the field, the eighth consecutive Drake opponent held to a shooting percentage of .500 or lower. The Bulldogs trailed 32-26 at halftime after climbing out of an early 6-0 hole and then a 26-15 Indiana State lead with 4:41 to play in the half. The game was tied at 35-35 and again at 47-47, but Drake endured a period of 8 minutes and 17 seconds without a field goal in the second half, and missed several free throws in that stretch, to fall behind by as many as seven points. The Bulldogs drew to within 3, at 57-54, after back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute, the Sycamores converted 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

ABOUT THE BEARS: Missouri State is 13-11 overall (6-6 MVC) and coming off a 74-67 home loss to Wichita State on Wednesday. While the Bears have lost five of their last seven, two losses came in overtime and two others were by one point. Missouri State is led in scoring and rebounding by 2011 MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weems, at 16.3 and 7.4, respectively. Four players average double figures in scoring, with Caleb Patterson (12.7), Anthony Downing (11.0) and Jamar Gulley (11.0) complementing Weems. The Bears are coached by Paul Lusk, in his first season. Lusk has a career record of 15-34.

BULLDOGS-BEARS SERIES: Missouri State leads 34-10 all-time in a series that began in 1986. The Bears have claimed the last four matchups after Drake won 3-of-5 between Jan. 12, 2008 and Jan. 12, 2010. The Bears lead 13-8 in game played in Des Moines, with Drake’s last win in the series coming at home, 88-77, on Jan. 12, 2010.

THE LAST TIME (12/31/11: at Missouri State 72, Drake 61): Sophomore guard Rayvonte Rice scored 16 points to lead three Bulldogs in double-figures in a 72-61 setback at Missouri State. The red-hot Bears improved to 2-0 in MVC play and 9-5 overall, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-1, 8-5 overall. Junior Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) scored 14 points, including 12 in the second half, and junior Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) added 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Drake trailed just 47-46 with 10:53 to play, but the Bears, who shot better than 70 percent from the field for much of the second half, put together a 10-0 run to take control of the game. For the game the Bears shot 60 percent while the Bulldogs shot 46 percent. MSU ranked No. 1 in the MVC, 15th NCAA, in field-goal percentage defense (38%).