Men's Basketball 2/7/2012 9:30:00 AM Drake Athletics

GAME NOTES: Drake at Illinois State, Wed., Feb. 8, 2012

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012

THIS WEEK: The Drake Bulldogs (13-11, 6-7 in the MVC) embark on a crucial stretch of the season this week, facing four road contests among their final six regular season games. The journey begins Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Illinois State (15-9, 7-6), followed by a home battle Sunday, Feb. 12, with Evansville (11-12, 6-7). The Bulldogs, Redbirds and Purple Aces are part of a five-team logjam situated between third and seventh places in the Missouri Valley Conference with records of 7-6 or 6-7. Drake defeated Illinois State 77-60 in Des Moines on Jan. 15 and seeks its first season sweep of the Redbirds since 2007-08 when it won its last game in Normal, Ill., 73-70, on Feb. 5, 2008. The Bulldogs have swept the season series with the Redbirds just four times since the series began in 1973 (1988-89, 2000-01, '02-'03, '07-'08).

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 Illinois State will not be televised. The Evansville game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Mitch Holthus (play-by-play) and David Kaplan (color) on the call.

QUICK NOTES:

Drake's game at Wichita State Feb. 25 was chosen for telecast by MVC-TV and will tipoff at 12:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Midwest as part of MVC Wildcard Weekend.
Drake has not allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field in any of its last nine outings. Opponents in this stretch are shooting a combined 42.8 percent (209-488).
The Bulldogs are 7-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, and 0-7 when opponents shoot 50 percent or better. The last time Drake did so was in back-to-back games at Evansville Jan. 13 (61%) and vs. Illinois State Jan. 15 (56%). The Bulldogs are 12-1 when shooting a better percentage than their opponents.
The Bulldogs have faced the hottest teams in the MVC during the recent five-game stretch in which they have dropped four games, following a four-game mid-January winning streak. The one win in this span came against MVC co-leader Wichita State. The combined record of the four teams to beat Drake in this period (Northern Iowa, Creighton, Indiana State and Missouri State) is 13-7 over their last five games. Five of the seven losses that quartet has suffered of late have come at the hands of teams in the top three of the conference standings, making this the toughest stretch on the schedule that Drake will face all season.
Drake has matched its win total from last year, when it went 13-18, and needs just one more Missouri Valley Conference victory to match the best conference win total in Mark Phelps tenure as head coach (2008-present). Drake has six regular season games remaining, including five in the conference.
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.
The Bulldogs rank third in the MVC in steals (7.1) and fourth in field-goal percentage (.448).
The Missouri Valley Conference is No. 8 in the NCAA's latest RPI rankings, with two teams in the top 30. Six of the Bulldogs' MVC losses have come at the hands of No. 16 Creighton (twice), No. 51 Northern Iowa (twice) and No. 81 Missouri State (twice). Drake (No. 120) owns wins over No. 27 Wichita State and No. 35 Iowa State.
Drake boasts two of the top six scorers in the Valley, with Rayvonte Rice third at 16.8 points per game and Ben Simons sixth at 16.1. No other school has two players in the conference's top 9.
Simons, who is out indefinitely after missing his first career game last Saturday due to mononucleosis, has topped the 20-point mark four times in his last eight games. He leads the MVC in three-point field goals (57) and ranks No. 70 in the nation in three-point field goals per game (2.5). Simons 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 has made 21 consecutive free throws and 27 of his last 28 from the stripe over his last 11 games to rank No. 1 in the MVC free-throw shooting (.887; 47-53). His last miss came with 4:24 to play vs. Bradley (1/10). Simons ranks No. 1 among active MVC players in career free-throw percentage (.881), of those with at least 40 career attempts.
Rice ranks 88th in the nation in scoring (16.8) and No. 18 in the nation in steals (2.3; No. 1 MVC). He is averaging 2.8 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 16.8-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.
Jeremy Jeffers is 11-of-16 from the field (68.8%) in the last four games, including 5-of-9 (55.6%) from three-point range. He is averaging 9.3 points per game in the last three games to improve his season average to 6.3.
Aaron Hawley started in Simons' place Saturday vs. Missouri State and made a career-high four three-pointers to notch a team-high 12 points.
Kraidon Woods ranks fourth in the MVC in blocked shots (1.2; 29) and fourth also in conference-only games (1.4; 18). His 54 career blocks tie for 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).

LAST OUTING: Hampered by their lowest shooting percentage of the season and the absence of second-leading scorer Ben Simons, the Bulldogs suffered a 57-39 setback to Missouri State Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Knapp Center. Simons, diagnosed two days before the game with mononucleosis, missed the first game of his career after appearing in 87 straight games in his three seasons. Without Simons, the Missouri Valley Conference's leading three-point shooter and a 48-percent shooter from the field, the Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game and converted just 27.3 percent of their field-goal attempts (12-of-44). Aaron Hawley replaced Simons in the starting lineup and did his best to fill the void. Hawley led Drake with 12 points, knocking down a career-high four three pointers. Redshirt-freshman Jeremy Jeffers added nine points in a row to close out the game and register as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer. The team's leading scorer, Rayvonte Rice, struggled all night against the Bears' suffocating defense, only converting one field goal, but managing a team-high six rebounds. It was Drake's lowest point total since scoring 39 points vs. St. John's Nov. 26, 2010 at the Great Alaska Shootout.

ABOUT THE REDBIRDS: Illinois State has won four of its last six games since a Jan. 15 loss at Drake to climb into a tie for third place in the MVC. In their last three outings the Redbirds have won by 20 and 30 points, and lost by 38. Illinois State has not played a game with a final margin narrower than seven points since a 65-62 loss at Wichita State on Jan. 10. The Redbirds are led in scoring and rebounding by junior forward Jackie Carmichael (13.1 & 8.5). Head coach Tim Jankovich is in his fifth year at Illinois State with a record of 98-59, and an eight-year career record of 151-116.

BULLDOGS-REDBIRDS SERIES: Illinois State leads the all-time series 47-28, including a 28-7 advantage in games played in Normal, Ill. The Bulldogs' last win at Redbird Arena came Feb. 5, 2008 (73-70), and the Redbirds have won seven of the last eight on their home floor against the Bulldogs. Drake won the most recent game in the series, 77-60, in Des Moines on Jan. 15, 2012

THE LAST TIME (1/15/12: at Drake 77, Illinois State 60): Ben Simons scored a game-high 21 points and Kraidon Woods recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds to lead Drake to its third consecutive victory, 77-60 over visiting Illinois State. Woods' career night saw him hit all three shots he took from the field, and he added a career-high five free throws as well as four blocked shots. Simons topped the 20-point plateau for the second time in the last three games, and converted four three-point field goals while Kurt Alexander added 13 points in a reserve role. The Bulldogs opened the game with a 15-4 advantage, much to the delight of the 3,400-plus Knapp Center crowd. Illinois State was able to quell the storm, but could only cut the lead to eight by half, at 41-33. Drake came out strong again to open the second half, scoring three baskets in a row after a Redbirds three-pointer. The Bulldogs controlled the game and tempo for the majority of the half and held Illinois State to just 35% shooting from the field (20-57) on the night, much in part to Woods dominating effort down low. The Bulldogs shot 56% from the field (27-48) and 42% (9-21) from 3-point range, and outrebounded Illinois State 37-28.

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

3rd in steals (7.1)
4th in field-goal percentage (.448) and three-point field-goal defense (.344)
5th in scoring (68.0), three-point FG percentage (.356) and turnover margin (+0.7)

In conference-only play Drake ranks:

1st in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.327)
2nd in steals (7.0)
3rd in defensive rebound pct. (.732)
4th in turnover margin (+0.8) and three-point FG made (6.2; 80)
5th in scoring (68.0) , blocked shots (2.5) and defensive rebounds (24.0)

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 16.8, third-best in the MVC and No. 88 in the NCAA, and averages 5.9 rebounds per game, up from his team-leading 4.8 figure of a year ago.
Rice ranks No. 1 in the MVC and No. 18 in the NCAA in steals (2.3), and ranks third in minutes played (33.8).
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 missed the first game of his career last Saturday vs. Missouri State (2/4/12), because of mononucleosis, after playing in 87 in a row.

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 (6th 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 (57), 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 ninth in the MVC in rebounding (6.5) and eighth in steals (1.3).
Clarke produced the first two double-doubles of his career in back-to-back mid-December performances, including career highs for points (16) and rebounds (11, tie) vs. Central Arkansas (12/21). One game after that display the Rockville, Md., native 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.

24-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 three-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 (1st 24 gms)         '10-'11 (season)
Record                    13-11                             10-14                           13-18
Points                      68.0                               63.9                             64.4
Opp. Points                67.8                               66.8                             67.7
Rebounds                   32.4                               29.8                             30.0
Opp. Reb.                  33.5                               36.0                              35.6
Rebound diff.               -1.1                               -6.2                              -5.6
FG%                         .448                               .428                              .427
Opp.FG%                  .440                               .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 24 games. Forward Ben Simons (23), guard Rayvonte Rice (22), forwards Jeremy Jeffers (16), Aaron Hawley (7), Kraidon Woods (3) and guard David Smith (1) have filled the other spots. The lineup of Madison, Rice, Jeffers, Simons and Clarke has started all but three games since the Air Force game (12/3/11).

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 87th nationally for strength of schedule. Two opponents are ranked in this week's AP Top 25: Creighton (No. 17) and Virginia (19). The MVC schedule includes 12 games against six teams (Missouri St., Indiana St., Wichita St., Creighton, Northern Iowa and Evansville) that advanced to the postseason, while the non-conference schedule included 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 Arizona State. 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 57 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 (.475). Here is a look at the top five coaches ranked by wins in their first three and four years at the helm:

Most Wins By A Head Coach, First Four Years at Drake
1) 57 Mark Phelps (2008-12)*
2) 55 Maury John (1958-62)
3) 54 Tom Davis (2003-06)
4) 51 Jack McCelland (1948-52)
5) 45 Gary Garner (1981-85)
*with minimum 7 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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