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Dogged determination
Drake is turning into the MVC’s “What might have been” team. The Bulldogs entered Wednesday’s games tied for third in the conference, even after absorbing the biggest injury hits. Drake is fighting to stay in the top half even with starting center Seth VanDeest (shoulder) and reserve forward Reece Uhlenhopp (stress fracture) out for the season.
VanDeest, a 6-foot-11 junior, did not play this season. Uhlenhopp, a 6-8 junior, played one minute. The Bulldogs looked as if they felt those losses when they lost three straight in MVC play. They bounced back to beat Bradley, Evansville and Illinois State before Wednesday’s game at Southern Illinois.
The schedule eased, which helped the Bulldogs recover from losses to Creighton, Missouri State and Northern Iowa. Coach Mark Phelps also pointed to defense. Drake held Evansville and Illinois State to 60 points. Evansville shot 42.6 percent and 16.7 from three-point range. Illinois State bricked its way to 35.1-percent shooting.
“You have to defend in this league to have any shot,” he said. “We got better. That’s the one thing you can really control.”
With Drake, however, it usually is about offense and last week’s surge is no different. Junior forward Ben Simons averaged 19.7 points and made 10 of 22 three-pointers in three games. Phelps put him on Evansville star Colt Ryan, the Valley’s second-leading scorer, and Ryan scored six points on six shots.
“He has just really responded in a big way, stepping up his game,” Phelps said. “He’s been challenged to be more aggressive. He’s been challenged to continue to give us a great effort on defense.”
Guard Rayvonte Rice, a sophomore, is concentrating more on driving and scoring in the lane and letting others take outside shots. He averages 17.3 points and is improving as a defender. Forwards Jordan Clarke, Kraidon Woods and Aaron Hawley are covering up the absence of VanDeest as best they can.
Woods and guard Kurt Alexander are the only seniors on the roster. Add Drake to a long list of MVC teams who will use this season’s successes to build for next season.
Fast breaks
• Creighton sophomore Doug McDermott is on the midseason top 25 list for the Wooden Award. He passed the 1,000-point mark last week. His father, Creighton coach Greg McDermott, scored 1,033 points in four seasons at Northern Iowa from 1984-88.
• Wichita State and Creighton thrived during last week’s Tuesday-Friday-Sunday grind. Both went 3-0. No other team finished better than 1-2.
• Missouri State freshman Christian Kirk didn’t play high school basketball as a senior because of a transfer restrictions in Missouri. He is shaking off the rust in MSU’s starting lineup. Kirk, a 6-foot-7 forward, led MSU in rebounding twice in the past three games, including 10 against Southern Illinois.
• Teams are in the final push to set up favorable BracketBusters matchups. The field will be announced Jan. 30.
What to watch
Indiana State at Creighton, 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2, Ch. 33) — We don’t know if the Sycamores can make this competitive. Regardless, it’s a chance to watch McDermott and see if you rate him a worthy national Player of the Year candidate.
Keep an eye on
Illinois State guard Bryant Allen might be the MVC’s top walk-on in many years. He scored 29 points, making 5 of 9 three-pointers, in last week’s loss to Creighton. Allen is a transfer from Minnesota who went to Illinois State to play football and basketball. Football didn’t work out. Redbirds basketball coach Tim Jankovich doesn’t mind. Allen plays with a football edge on defense in addition to his scoring punch.
In their words
“Obviously, we weren’t prepared well enough for it. It totally changed the flow of the game. It’s been a couple of games since we’ve seen some zone. I did a poor job of having us ready for the zone.”
Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson, in the Peoria Journal-Star, after Sunday’s 78-67 loss to Bradley
