Drake Men's Basketball Weekly Update – Nov. 25
Upcoming Events This Week
Competition
Friday, Nov. 30 – at Nevada (Mountain West/MVC Challenge) – Reno, Nev. – 9 p.m. CST
Coaches Shows/Luncheons
Monday, Nov. 26 – Drake Basketball Coaches’ Show – Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (West Des Moines) – 7 p.m. CST
The Drake Basketball Coaches’ show returns to the
air on KRNT 1350-AM and originating live from Rock Bottom Restaurant
& Brewery (4508 University Avenue, West Des Moines) at 7 p.m.
Women’s head coach Jennie Baranczyk leads off the program.
Representatives of the men’s program may attend depending on Monday’s
travel back to Des Moines from Anaheim, Calif.
This Week’s Opponents
Nevada – Nov. 30
Drake’s opponent for the annual Mountain West/MVC
Challenge is a Nevada team that is 3-2 on the season with three wins at
home as part of the World Vision Classic. The Wolf Pack averages 75.2
points per game thanks to Deonte Burton’s 17.6
points per game and Malik Story’s 16.2 per game. Last season the squad
finished 28-7 and 13-1 in the Mountain West and went 2-1 in the NIT.
The Series vs. Nevada
The two programs have met three times, but not
since 1969. Drake has won all three previous meetings by an average of
22.7 points. In the lone meeting in Reno, Drake won 90-76 on Dec. 21,
1968.
Last Week
Nov. 23 – vs. California, L 73-70
Drake University fell in final minute to
California, 73-70, in the opening round of the DIRECTV Classic Thursday
evening in Anaheim, Calif. Senior Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) notched
his second straight double-double, scoring 11 points
and grabbing 10 rebounds while Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.), Seth
VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa), Richard Carter (Detroit, Mich.), and Gary
Ricks, Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.) each scored 13 points, but their
scoring could not hold off the Golden Bears’ late charge.
Justin Cobbs recorded 21 points followed by 15 from Allen Crabbe,
almost all of which came down the stretch, to lead Cal past Drake in the
closing minutes of the game.
Nov. 24 – vs. Rice, W 77-66
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures for the
second consecutive night, as the Drake University men’s basketball team
pulled away from Rice, 77-66, in second round of the DIRECTV Classic.
Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) stole the show for
the Bulldogs with his third double-double in a row for Drake (2-2),
notching 15 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds. His 18
rebounds also set a tournament record, previously held by Diamon Simpson
of St. Mary’s in 2008, who had 17 against Cal State
Fullerton. The senior also had four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) scored a team-high 18 points to lead the
Blue and White past the Owls (1-4). Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa) had
a strong showing in the post to complement
Clarke with 12 points and eight boards of his own. In his encore
performance in front of his hometown crowd, Gary Ricks (Los Angeles,
Calif.) scored 10 points and had three assists. Chris Hines (Houston,
Texas) added 11 points. As a team, Drake shot 46 percent
from the field and 44 percent from the three-point arc.
Nov. 25 – vs. Xavier, L 74-70
The Drake University men’s basketball team got a
pair of 20-point performances from Ben Simons and Joey King, but it
wasn’t enough to overcome a talented Xavier team as the Bulldogs fell,
74-70, in their final game at the DIRECTV Classic.
Senior Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) became the 23rd player in Drake
basketball history to pass the 1,000-point mark, with 20 points to give
him 1,009 career points. Joey King (Eagan, Minn.) was the leading scorer
for the Bulldogs (2-3), setting a career high
with 21 points, and was largely responsible for keeping Drake on
Xavier’s heels when the Bulldogs faced an early deficit. Senior Jordan
Clarke (Rockville, Md.) recorded his fourth consecutive double-double,
adding 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue and
White. Clarke became the fifth player in tournament history to have
double-doubles in all three games, in addition to setting the
tournament’s rebounding record with 39 boards in three games.
Team Notes
- Drake went 1-2 at the DirecTV Classic with the
losses to Xavier and Cal coming by a combined seven points. Cal went on
to win the tournament title after rallying to defeat Drake in the
opener.
- The Bulldogs shot 39.2 percent from three-point range on the week and averaged just 10 turnovers per game.
- In the win over Rice, Drake scored a season-high 1.24 points per possession.
- Jordan Clarke was named to the DirecTV
All-Tournament team after recording three straight double-doubles and
setting the tournament record for most total rebounds (39) and most
rebounds in a game (18).
- Ben Simons became the 23rd Bulldog to score 1,000 career points. He now has 1,009 points after scoring 20 in the loss to Xavier.
MVC Player of the Week Nominee
Jordan Clarke
F – 6-8 – 256
Sr. – Rockville, Md.
The Rockville, Md., native recorded three
double-doubles against California, Rice and Xavier to help the Bulldogs
to a 1-2 record … he averaged 12.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists
per game while shooting 55 percent from the field
… he also set the tournament record for rebounds with 39 in three games
and became just the fifth player in the six years of the tournament to
record a double-double in every game … he opened the tournament with 11
points and 10 rebounds against Cal and followed
that up with 15 points and a tournament single-game record and
career-high 18 rebounds against Rice … in the Bulldogs final game in
Anaheim, he posted 12 points and 11 rebounds.
MVC Newcomer of the Week Nominee
Joey King
F – 6-9 – 219
Fr. – Eagan, Minn.
Averaged 8.7 points per game at the DirecTV Classic
and shot 54.5 percent from the three-point arc (6-of-11) and 56.3
percent from the field (9-of-16) … scored a career-high 21 points in the
loss to Xavier with five three-pointers on seven
attempts.
Player Notes
0 – Kori Babineux – Scored two points in 10.7 minutes per game at the DirecTV Classic.
1 – Jordan Clarke – Has recorded four
straight double-doubles and has had double-digit rebounds in seven of
his last eight games … averaged 12.7 and 13.0 rebounds at the DirecTV
Classic to earn all-tournament honors and set tournament
records for total rebounds (39) and rebounds in a game (8).
2 – Gary Ricks, Jr. – Opened the DirecTV
Classic with a 10 and 13-point game … averaged 7.7 points per game and
shot 44.4 percent from the three-point arc.
3 – Richard Carter – Averaged 7.7 points per game in Anaheim and 3.7 assists per game.
4 – Chris Hines – Started all three games and averaged 7.3 points per game.
10 – Jeremy Jeffers – Played 10 total minutes and was scoreless on two shots.
11 – Karl Madison - DNP – Injury (Knee)
21 – Robert Puleikis – DNP – Coach’s decision
22 – Micah Mason – Played 10 minutes at point guard in the loss to Xavier … had two assists and no turnovers.
23 – Mitch McLaughlin – DNP – Injury (Hand)
24 – Joey King – Scored a career-high 21
points on 5-of-7 shooting from the three-point arc in the loss to Xavier
… averaged 8.7 points per game in Anaheim.
25 – Matt Bowie – DNP – Coach’s decision
34 – Ben Simons – Reach the 1,000 career
point plateau with 20 points in the loss to Xavier … averaged a
team-high 17 points per game in Anaheim and was 10-of-11 from the
free-throw line.
40 - Daddy Ugbede – Played six solid minutes in the loss to California.
45 – Seth VanDeest – Scored 13 and 12 points
in the Bulldogs’ first two games … averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds
per game … played a season-high 32 minutes against Rice.
[This story was written for Ron Maly by Ty Patton, Drake's assistant athletic director for communications].
