2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 24–10, 12–6 to earn a share of the MVC regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Illinois State before losing to Northern Iowa in the semifinals. They received a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Southern Utah.

2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Missouri Valley regular season co-champions
Las Vegas Classic Orleans Bracket champions
CIT, First round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record24–10 (12–6 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Larry Blunt
  • Marty Richter
  • Matt Woodley
Home arenaKnapp Center
Seasons
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago 12 6   .667 20 14   .588
Drake 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
Southern Illinois 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
Missouri State 10 8   .556 16 16   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 20 15   .571
Northern Iowa 9 9   .500 16 18   .471
Illinois State 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
Indiana State 7 11   .389 15 16   .484
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Evansville 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2019 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Bulldogs finished the 2017–18 season 17–17, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament to Bradley. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Abilene Christian in the first round in a game referred to as the Lou Henson Classic. In the second round they were defeated by Northern Colorado.

On March 22, 2018, it was announced that head coach Niko Medved had accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State, where he had previously served as an assistant.[1][2] A week after Medved's departure, Drake hired Creighton assistant and Iowa native Darian DeVries for the head coaching job.[3]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
C. J. Rivers 0 G 6'2" 187 Senior Cahokia, IL Graduated
Jalen Gibbs 2 G 6'3" 180 Freshman Waldorf, MD Transferred to Mount St. Mary's
Graham Woodward 3 G 6'0" 182 RS Senior Edina, MN Graduated
De'Antae McMurray 4 G 6'2" 170 Senior Alton, IL Graduated
Reed Timmer 12 G 6'1" 185 Senior New Berlin, WI Graduated
Casey Schlatter 22 F 6'10" 207 RS Junior Iowa Falls, IA Graduate transferred to Grand View
Ore Arogundade 23 G 6'3" 185 Senior Arlington Heights, IL Graduated
Kory Kuenstling 32 F/C 6'11" 234 RS Junior Dunketon, IA Graduate transferred to Grand View

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
D. J. Wilkins 0 G 6'2" 170 RS Freshman Merrillville, IN Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College
Tremell Murphy 2 F 6'6" 205 Junior Griffith, IN Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College
Anthony Murphy 4 G 6'5" 185 Junior Griffith, IN Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College
Roman Penn 12 G 5'11" 180 Sophomore Calumet City, IL Transferred from Siena. Under NCAA transfer rules, Penn will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Nick Norton 20 G 5'10" 166 RS Senior Bloomington, IL Transferred from UAB. Was eligible to play immediately since he graduated from UAB.
Brady Ellingson 24 G 6'4" 193 RS Senior Menomonee Falls, WI Transferred from Iowa. Was eligible to play immediately since he graduated from Iowa.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Matthew Gray
PF
Orange, Australia Canobolas Rural Technology High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A Dec 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Liam Robbins
C
Davenport, IA Sunrise Christian Academy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Apr 17, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.

2019 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Joe Yesufu
#49 PG
Bolingbrook, IL Bolingbrook High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Aug 26, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 76
Nate Ferguson
PF
Lemont, IL Lemont High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Issa Samake
PF
Mali Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jun 24, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 D. J. Wilkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 179 lb (81 kg) RS Fr Florida Southwestern State
Merrillville
Merrillville, IN
G 1 Samm Jones (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) RS So Northwestern
De La Salle
Minneapolis, MN
F 2 Tremell Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jr Florida Southwestern State
Griffith
Griffith, IN
G 3 Garrett Sturtz (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Newton Newton, IA
F 4 Anthony Murphy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Jr Florida Southwestern State
Griffith
Griffith, IN
G 10 Luke Vaske (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Norwalk Norwalk, IA
F 11 Antonio Pilipovic 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So RheinStars Köln Cologne, Germany
G 12 Roman Penn   5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Siena
Bishop Noll
Calumet City, IL
F 13 Matt Gray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Fr Canbolas Rural Tech Orange, Australia
G 14 Noah Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 163 lb (74 kg) So 22 Ft Academy Sydney, Australia
G 20 Nick Norton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Sr UAB
Central Catholic
Bloomington, IL
F 21 Liam Robbins 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Assumption Davenport, IA
G 22 Brady Ellingson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) RS Sr Iowa
Sussex Hamilton
Menomonee Falls, WI
G 25 Connor Gholson (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) RS Fr Newton Newton, IA
F 35 Nick McGlynn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Sr Stoughton Stoughton, WI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2018*
2:00 pm
Coe W 99–58 
Knapp Center (2,343)
Des Moines, IA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 8, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Buena Vista W 98–52  1–0
Knapp Center (3,561)
Des Moines, IA
Nov 13, 2018*
7:00 pm, P12N
at Colorado L 71–100  1–1
CU Events Center (5,695)
Boulder, CO
Nov 17, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Texas State W 75–69  2–1
Knapp Center (2,968)
Des Moines, IA
Nov 21, 2018*
6:00 pm, WAC DN
at UMKC W 66–63  3–1
Municipal Auditorium (2,186)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 27, 2018*
7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+
Boise State
MW–MVC Challenge
W 83–74  4–1
Knapp Center (2,543)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 1, 2018*
5:30 pm, ESPN+
vs. North Dakota State
U.S. Bank Stadium Classic
W 95–88  5–1
U.S. Bank Stadium (2,186)
Minneapolis, MN
Dec 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, FS WI/ESPN+
at Milwaukee W 75–61  6–1
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,395)
Milwaukee, WI
Dec 15, 2018*
3:30 pm, MC22
vs. Iowa State
Hy-Vee Classic
L 68–77  6–2
Wells Fargo Arena (12,236)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 17, 2018*
7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+
SIU Edwardsville
Las Vegas Classic
W 79–66  7–2
Knapp Center (2,375)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 19, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Rider
Las Vegas Classic
W 76–58  8–2
Knapp Center (2,358)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 22, 2018*
6:30 pm, FS2
vs. New Mexico State
Las Vegas Classic semifinals
W 66–63  9–2
Orleans Arena (2,232)
Paradise, NV
Dec 23, 2018*
6:30 pm, FS1
vs. San Diego
Las Vegas Classic championship
W 110–103 2OT 10–2
Orleans Arena (2,152)
Paradise, NV
Dec 29, 2018*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
McKendree W 98–70  11–2
Knapp Center (3,008)
Des Moines, IA
MVC regular season
Jan 2, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Evansville L 77–82 2OT 11–3
(0–1)
Ford Center (5,503)
Evansville, IN
Jan 5, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Loyola–Chicago L 74–85  11–4
(0–2)
Knapp Center (4,279)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 8, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Illinois W 82–70  12–4
(1–2)
Knapp Center (2,638)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 13, 2019
3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
at Northern Iowa L 54–57  12–5
(1–3)
McLeod Center (4,141)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 16, 2019
7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
at Bradley W 69–52  13–5
(2–3)
Carver Arena (4,654)
Peoria, IL
Jan 20, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPN3
Missouri State W 74–63  14–5
(3–3)
Knapp Center (3,124)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 23, 2019
7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+
Evansville W 78–66  15–5
(4–3)
Knapp Center (2,709)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 26, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Valparaiso W 70–59  16–5
(5–3)
Athletics–Recreation Center (4,160)
Valparaiso, IN
Jan 30, 2019
7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+
Illinois State L 55–69  16–6
(5–4)
Knapp Center (3,511)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 2, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State W 68–62  17–6
(6–4)
Hulman Center (3,529)
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 5, 2019
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at Loyola–Chicago L 64–86  17–7
(6–5)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,611)
Chicago, IL
Feb 9, 2019
5:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
Northern Iowa W 83–77  18–7
(7–5)
Knapp Center (5,632)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 12, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois W 72–69  19–7
(8–5)
SIU Arena (4,075)
Carbondale, IL
Feb 16, 2019
2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN3
Valparaiso W 84–79  20–7
(9–5)
Knapp Center (4,035)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 19, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley W 77–68  21–7
(10–5)
Knapp Center (3,061)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 24, 2019
3:00 pm, CBSSN
at Illinois State L 60–67  21–8
(10–6)
Redbird Arena (4,985)
Normal, IL
Feb 27, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Indiana State W 80–68  22–8
(11–6)
Knapp Center (4,023)
Des Moines, IA
Mar 2, 2019
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Missouri State W 73–62  23–8
(12–6)
JQH Arena (7,984)
Springfield, MO
MVC tournament
Mar 8, 2019
6:05 pm, MVC TV [ESPN+]
(2) vs. (7) Illinois State
Quarterfinals
W 78–62  24–8
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
Mar 9, 2019
5:05 pm, CBSSN
(2) vs. (6) Northern Iowa
Semifinals
L 58–60  24–9
Enterprise Center (7,884)
St. Louis, MO
CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament
Mar 22, 2019*
7:30 pm, watchcit.com
at Southern Utah
First round
L 73–80 OT 24–10
America First Events Center (2,714)
Cedar City, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[4]

References

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