Men's Basketball 2/17/2012 1:05:00 PM Drake Athletics

GAME NOTES: Drake at New Mexico State, Feb. 18, 2012

Friday, Feb. 17, 2012

THE STORYLINE: The Drake Bulldogs (15-12, 8-8 in the MVC) step out of Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday to take part in a Sears BracketBusters X matchup at New Mexico State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M., for the 2,500th game in Drake's 106-year history of men's basketball. The Bulldogs take on their former MVC counterpart for the first time since 1982-83, the Aggies' last of an 11-year run as an MVC member. New Mexico State ranks No. 23 in the NCAA in scoring (77.7) and No. 7 in rebounding margin (+7.8). The Bulldogs, winners of two games in a row and tied for fourth place in the MVC, have two conference games left and seek their first winning conference record since 2007-08, and just their second since 1985-86.

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 game at New Mexico State will be televised by ESPNU with Dan Gutowsky (play-by-play and Paul Biancardi (analyst) on the call. It can also be viewed via ESPN3.com.

SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS X: Drake participates in the 10-year-old BracketBusters series for the ninth year in a row. The Bulldogs are 7-1 in BracketBusters games, including a 3-1 mark on the road. Drake has captured victories at Akron (82-78, OT) in 2004; Butler (74-71) in 2008 and Cal State Northridge (90-80) in 2010. The lone road defeat came at UC Irvine in 2006 (70-67). The Bulldogs are 4-0 in home BracketBusters games with victories over San Jose State (73-57) in 2005, Milwaukee (84-76) in 2007, Austin Peay (71-54) in 2009 and Detroit (84-69) in 2011.

TOP NOTES:

Saturday's game is the 2,500th in the 106-year history of Drake's men's basketball program. The Bulldogs have an all-time record of 1,146-1,353 (.459).
With 15 wins the Bulldogs have achieved the second-highest win total in head coach Mark Phelps' four years at Drake, with a chance to record the most wins in his tenure. Phelps' first team in 2008-09 finished 17-16.
Drake is 8-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference, assuring the Bulldogs of their best league record in Mark Phelps' four-year tenure as head coach, with two conference games remaining. His first three teams each finished 7-11 in the Valley. Only once in the past 25 seasons has Drake finished above .500 against conference foes (2007-08; 15-3).
Jordan Clarke's career-high 16 rebounds at Bradley (2/15) were the most by a Bulldog since Adam Templeton had 16 in a 96-81 win over South Dakota on Dec. 11, 2009.
Clarke has 28 rebounds in the last two games (14.0 rpg). He had his third double-double of the season last Sunday vs. Evansville with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Drake boasts two of the top four scorers in the Valley, with Rayvonte Rice third at 16.3 points per game and Ben Simons fourth at 16.1. No other school has two players in the conference's top 8.
With 59 career wins at this stage of Year Four, head coach Mark Phelps already has more wins than any Drake coach in his first four seasons (2nd: Maury John, 55, 1958-62). No Drake head coach since Maury John (.555 from 1958-62) has had a better winning percentage in his first four seasons than Phelps (.476).

NOTABLE THIS WEEK:

Drake is 14-2 when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent, after shooting 41.8 percent to Bradley's 33.9 percent on Wednesday in Peoria.
Drake has not allowed an opponent to shoot higher than 50 percent from the field in any of its last 12 outings. Opponents in this stretch are shooting a combined 40.9 percent (267-653), including a figure of 35.2 percent over the last three games (58-of-165) by Illinois State, Evansville and Bradley. In addition, those three opponents have combined to shoot 21-of-105 (.200) from three-point range.
This 12-game stretch followed a period in which the Bulldogs allowed six opponents over an 11-game span to top 50-percent shooting before tightening up on the defensive end.
Junior Jordan Clarke ranks seventh in the MVC in rebounds with a team-leading average of 6.9.
Freshman Jeremy Jeffers is shooting 22-42 from the field (52.3%) in the last seven games. He made a career-high four three-pointers in six attempts vs. Evansville (2/12), topping his previous high of three vs. Central Arkansas (12/21/11), and added two more at Bradley (2/15). Jeffers is averaging 8.4 points per game over the last six contests to improve his season scoring average to 6.7.
Junior Aaron Hawley has made 12 three pointers in the last four games starting in place of the ill Ben Simons.
The Bulldogs are the last team to defeat first-place Wichita State (Jan. 28), which is No. 16 in the RPI rankings, and the Bulldogs own a win over Top 40 RPI Iowa State.
The Bulldogs rank second in the MVC in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.319) and third in steals (7.1).
The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 8 in the NCAA's latest RPI rankings, with two teams in the top 30 and a combined 13 Top 50 wins, third-most of any conference. Six of the Bulldogs' MVC losses have come at the hands of No. 28 Creighton (twice), No. 64 Northern Iowa (twice) and No. 88 Missouri State (twice), and the other two have come against No. 122 Indiana State and No. 126 Illinois State. Drake (No. 124) owns wins over No. 16 Wichita State and No. 39 Iowa State.
Sophomore Rayvonte Rice is No. 104 in the nation in scoring (16.3) and No. 26 in the nation in steals (2.2; No. 1 MVC). He is averaging 2.5 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's 16.3-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.
Kraidon Woods is tied for third in the MVC in blocked shots (1.3; 34) and third also in conference-only games (1.4; 23). His 59 career blocks tie for seventh 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' .649 career field-goal percentage ranks second among active players in the Missouri Valley Conference with at least 50 attempts (85-131).
Junior Ben Simons is out indefinitely after missing the first four games of his career over the past two weeks because of mononucleosis. He has topped the 20-point mark four times in his last eight games played and leads the MVC in three-point field goals (57), while ranking No. 72 in the nation in three-point field goals per game (2.5). Simons ranks sixth among active MVC players in career three-pointers (136).
Drake next week hosts Southern Illinois on Wednesday and looks to continue its recent home-court dominance that has seen it win 15 of its last 18 contests on Ron Pearson Court at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs won 11 games in a row at home, dating back to last season, before a Jan. 7 loss to UNI.
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.

LAST OUTING: Drake built an 18-point second-half lead and survived a late Bradley rally to win 62-55 on Wednesday night at Carver Arena in Peoria, Ill., in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup. Junior Jordan Clarke grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds and three players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, who moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the MVC with two conference games remaining. Drake assured itself of its best conference record in the four-year tenure of head coach Mark Phelps, and has its highest overall win total since Phelps' first season, 2008-09, when the Bulldogs won 17 games. Sophomore Rayvonte Rice and senior Kurt Alexander scored 15 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs, and junior Aaron Hawley added 12 points. Hawley's last two points came on a clutch 15-foot jumper from the right side with 47 seconds remaining, with his team clinging to a three-point lead after Bradley had scored 10 consecutive points.

ABOUT THE AGGIES: New Mexico State enters Saturday's game with a record of 19-8, 7-3 and in second place in the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggies average 77.7 (No. 23 NCAA DI) points and 39.6 rebounds (No. 12-Tie NCAA) per game The Aggies have three players who average double figures in points, led by Senior Wendell McKines at 18.1, and 10.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Hernst LaRoche averages 12.0 and senior center Hamidu Rahman is at 10.5. Head Coach Marvin Menzies is in his fifth season at the helm with a career record of 95-66. The Aggies are 5-1 in BracketBusters games.

BULLDOGS-AGGIES SERIES: Drake and New Mexico State have met 25 times, with the Aggies holding a 16-9 lead in the series. The teams last met in 1983, the final year of New Mexico State's 11-year run as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. New Mexico State holds an 11-2 advantage at home vs. Drake. The Bulldogs' two wins in Las Cruces came Jan. 11, 1973 (75-66) and Jan. 8, 1981 (80-72). The schools last met Feb. 28, 1983 at Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines, a game won by the Bulldogs, 75-73.

BULLDOGS TOP FIVE IN MVC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Drake holds the following top-five rankings:

2nd in three-point field-goal defense (.319), 3rd in steals (7.1) and 4th in field-goal percentage (.448)
5th in scoring (67.6), blocks (3.1) and defensive rebounds (24.0)

In conference-only play Drake ranks:

1st in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.289) and 2nd in steals (7.0)
4th in scoring defense (67.3) and T-4th in blocked shots (2.9) and defensive rebounds (24.4)
5th in scoring (66.9), field-goal % defense (.437), three-point FG% (.370), turnover margin (+0.4), defensive rebound pct. (.732) and three-point FG made (6.5; 104)

SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Sophomore guard Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill.) is following his tremendous freshman season with a performance worthy of consideration for MVC Player of the Year and all-conference honors.

The 2010-11 all-freshman, all-newcomer and honorable mention All-MVC performer has raised his scoring average to 16.3, third-best in the MVC and No. 104 in the NCAA, and averages 5.6 rebounds per game, up from his team-leading 4.8 figure of a year ago.

Rice ranks No. 1 in the MVC and No. 26 in the NCAA in steals (2.2), and ranks third in minutes played (33.5).
He has scored a career-high 29 points in a game this season (12/21/11 vs. Central Arkansas), 27 (1/7/12 vs. UNI), and three times scored 23 (Winthrop, 11/19; at Iowa, 12/17; vs. Creighton, 1/25). Rice has seven games with 20 or more points (including three in a row in late December), 11 for his career.
Rice recorded the second and third double-doubles of his career in consecutive games in late January, going for 23 points and 11 rebounds in a loss to Creighton Jan 25, followed by 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a Jan. 28 win over Wichita State.
Rice is one of 10 MVC Players on the conference's Watch List for the 2012 Larry Bird Player of the Year Award, and was named in late December to collegehoops.net's Pre-League Play All-MVC team along with Creighton's Doug McDermott, Missouri State's Kyle Weems, Evansville's Colt Ryan and Bradley's Taylor Brown.
He was named National High-Major Player of the Week for Jan. 23-29 by CollegeSportsMadness.com.

SIMONS ELEVATES HIS GAME: Junior forward Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) has significantly raised his level of play this season over that of his first two seasons. He is out indefinitely after contracting mononucleosis. Simons missed the first game of his career on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri State after playing in 87 in a row, and has now missed four games with the illness.

Simons earned his first MVC Player of the Week honor Jan. 16 for his two 20-point games in 3 Drake wins.
Simons ranks second on the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game (4th MVC), with outputs of 29 (career high), 24 (tied then-career high) 22, 21, 21 and 20 points, and has led the team in scoring more times (11) than any other Bulldog. He has more than doubled his previous career average of 7.0 and last year's average of 8.1.
Simons, who has scored at least 11 points in all but two of his games this season, leads the Missouri Valley Conference in three-point field goals (2.5/gm.), while ranking second in minutes played (36.3), twice playing all 40 minutes in a game, in addition to 42 minutes in Drake's overtime win at Southern Illinois (1/18) and a career-high 53 minutes in the triple-overtime win vs. Wichita State (1/28).
He is shooting 47.8% from the field, and nearly as well from three-point range, at 41.0% (57-139).
Simons has 13 games this season with three or more three-pointers made, and six with at least four, including a season-high five (7 att.) vs. Winthrop at the Paradise Jam (Nov. 19).

CLARKE STANDS TALL IN PAINT: Junior forward Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) has carried the bulk of the inside load for the Bulldogs with C Seth VanDeest and F Reece Uhlenhopp sidelined because of injury all season.

Clarke ranks seventh in the MVC in rebounding (6.9) and 11th in steals (1.2).
Clarke produced his third double-double of the season vs. Evansville (2/12/12), re-emerging in a big way with a career-high 18 points and tying his career high with 12 rebounds. He topped that with 16 boards at Bradley (2/15). The first two double-doubles of his career came in back-to-back mid-December games (at Iowa, vs. Cent. Ark.), including then-career highs for points (16) and rebounds (11, tie) vs. Central Ark. (12/21). One game after that display he established a new career high with 12 boards vs. Indiana State (12/28).
Clarke received the prestigious Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of Dec. 19-25. The award honors MVC student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom. Clarke posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in Drake's win over Central Ark. (12/21), and carries a 3.35 cumulative GPA in management and finance.

27-GAME "TALE-OF-THE-TAPE" SHOWS PROGRESS: Playing a more challenging schedule, the Bulldogs have improved statistically in many categories from last year, and their record represents a four-win improvement. Here's a look at some major categories compared to the the same point of 2010-11 and the full season:

Category              2011-12                '10-'11 (thru 27 gms)      '10-'11 (season)
Record                   15-12                            11-16                          13-18
Points                      67.6                             63.5                            64.4
Opp. Points              66.7                             66.7                            67.7
Rebounds                 32.7                             29.9                          30.0
Opp. Reb.               33.8                            35.9                            35.6
Rebound diff.              -1.1                             -6.0                            -5.6
FG%                        .448                             .424                           .427
Opp. FG%                .429                             .442                           .450

STARTING LINEUPS: Drake has used six different starting lineups with guards Karl Madison and forward Jordan Clarke the only players to start all 27 games. Forward Ben Simons (23), guard Rayvonte Rice (25), forwards Jeremy Jeffers (19), Aaron Hawley (10), Kraidon Woods (3) and guard David Smith (1) have filled the other spots.

MEET THE CAPTAINS: Ben Simons and Jordan Clarke have been chosen captains by their teammates for 2011-12. Simons, a junior, and Clarke, a redshirt junior, have continued to grow as leaders both on and off the court in each of their third seasons with the Drake program.

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE: Drake's 2011-12 schedule features 15 games against teams that qualified for postseason play last year, and is presently ranked 110th nationally for strength of schedule. Two opponents are ranked in this week's AP Top 25: Virginia (22) and Wichita State (24). The MVC schedule includes 12 games against six teams (Missouri St., Indiana St., Wichita St., Creighton, UNI and Evansville) that advanced to the postseason, while the non-conference schedule included '10-'11 NIT participant Mississippi and CBI invitees Air Force and Boise State.

PHELPS IN GOOD COMPANY ON SENDEK COACHING TREE: Drake head coach Mark Phelps comes from the largest "coaching tree" in Division I college basketball, having been an assistant coach under Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek. Phelps was on Sendek's staff at both North Carolina State and ASU. Nine former Sendek full-time assistants are head coaches: Phelps; Jim Christian, TCU; Charlie Coles, Miami of Ohio; John Groce, Ohio; Larry Hunter, Western Carolina; Ron Hunter, Georgia State; Thad Matta, Ohio State; Archie Miller, Dayton; Sean Miller, Arizona.

PHELPS LAYS FOUNDATION WITH BULLDOGS: Head coach Mark Phelps' 44 wins in his first three seasons as head coach were the most by a head coach in his eqiuvalent period in program history. With 59 career wins at this stage of Year 4, Phelps already has more wins than any Drake coach in his first four seasons. No Drake head coach since Maury John (.555 from 1958-62) has had a better winning percentage in his first four seasons than Phelps (.476). Here is a look at the top five coaches ranked by wins in their first four years at the helm:

Most Wins By A Head Coach, First Four Years at Drake

1) 59 Mark Phelps (2008-12)*
2) 55 Maury John (1958-62)
3) 54 Tom Davis (2003-06)
4) 51 Jack McClelland (1948-52)
5) 45 Gary Garner (1981-85)
*with minimum 4 games remaining this season

2012 "ARCH MADNESS": Tickets are on sale now for the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, to be held March 1-4 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. To order please call Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) or go to www.mvc.org for more information.

SEARS BracketBusters X: The Bulldogs will travel to New Mexico State on Sat., Feb. 18, for a 2 p.m. game to be televised by ESPNU as part of the 10th annual BracketBusters series. Drake is participating for the ninth time and is 7-1, including a 3-1 mark on the road.

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