RADIO: Saturday's game will be broadcast on KRNT Radio (1350 AM), starting at 6:30 p.m. with the pregame show. Larry Cotlar and Dolph Pulliam will describe the action.

THE SETTING: Drake closes out a four-game road trek hoping to get back on the winning track when the Bulldogs visit Austin Peay in the return game of the ESPNU BracketBusters series. This will be Drake’s first basketball game played in the state of Tennessee since the Bulldogs visited East Tennessee State Feb. 21, 1990.
   
Senior guard Josh Young will be appearing in his 100th game for Drake.
   
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Austin Peay has three starters back from a team that went 19-14 in 2008-09 while playing in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Governors were picked to finish third in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference coaches and media poll. Senior guard Wesley Channels was named to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team. He averaged 16.5 points last year, while making 79 three-point baskets.

THE SERIES: Drake has won the two previous encounters against Austin Peay with both games being played in Des Moines. The Bulldogs beat Austin Peay, 60-54, Dec. 10, 1983, in the opening round of the AAA-Drake Classic in Des Moines.

THE LAST TIME: Drake 71, Austin Peay 54 (Feb. 21, 2009, Des Moines, Iowa) —  Guard Josh Parker came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, while senior forward Jonathan Cox enjoyed his Missouri Valley Conference leading seventh double-double of the season.
   
The Bulldogs also became the first team in the MVC in the last decade to win at least 10 nonconference games in three consecutive years. Drake went 10-3 in nonconference games this season after posting 10-2 nonconference marks in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
   
It was a festive night in which the members of the 1968-69 Drake Final Four basketball team were honored with the unveiling of new banners and the retirement of the jerseys of Dolph Pulliam, Willie McCarter and Willie Wise.
   
After making just four three-point baskets in its last home game against Illinois State, Drake nailed 12 beyond the arc against Austin Peay for its second highest single game total of the season.
   
The Bulldogs also controlled the boards, outrebounding Austin Peay 45-25, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive glass which resulted in 15 second-chance points. Drake’s matchup zone defense held Austin Peay to just 36.2 percent shooting, while the Governors matched a season low in scoring.
   
Parker, who had started the previous nine straight games, hit five of eight shots beyond the three-point arc. Cox added 14 points, while tying a career high with 14 rebounds. Junior guards Josh Young and Craig Stanley tallied 11 and 10  points, respectively.
   
Parker, who was held scoreless in his last game at Northern Iowa, scored 12 points in the first half, coming on four three-point baskets.
   
Trailing 19-18 with six minutes 22 seconds left, Parker ignited an 18-3 run by Drake to close out the first half by hitting a three-point basket to give the Bulldogs a 21-19 lead it never relinquished. Parker made three three-point baskets in the surge, while Cox added seven points. Cox finished the first half with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
   
Drake enjoyed a 36-22 halftime lead marking the first time it had owned a double-digit lead at halftime since a 32-18 intermission advantage in a Dec. 20 game against Iowa.
   
Drake had nine three-point baskets in the first half which were the fourth highest in one half in school history.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Both Austin Peay and Drake competed in the recent Glenn Wilkes Classic, playing two common opponents. Drake opened the season dropping an 88-82 home setback to IUPUI which also beat Austin Peay, 77-63, in Daytona Beach, Fla.
   
Austin Peay earned an 80-77 victory at Akron Nov. 15, while Akron held off Drake, 63-59, Nov. 21, in Daytona Beach, Fla.   

THE COACH: Mark Phelps was named Drake’s 25th head basketball coach, April 21, 2008. He owns an 18-20 record in two years with the Bulldogs. Phelps served as associate head coach at Arizona State for two seasons. The Virginia Beach, Va., native  had served on the coaching staff at North Carolina State under head coach Herb Sendek from 1996-2006 before joining Sendek at Arizona State in 2006.
   
He was part of Sendek’s staff that led North Carolina State to a 53-39 record (.576) in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament play in the final five seasons in Raleigh, N.C. The Wolfpack tied for the second most wins in the ACC from 2001-2002 through the 2005-06 season. He joined the North Carolina State staff in 1996, serving as director of basketball operations before becoming assistant coach in 2000. He was promoted to recruiting coordinator, director of scouting and assistant coach with the Wolfpack in 2005.
   
Phelps posted a 148-53 record (.736 winning percentage) in six years as a high school head coach in Virginia. He was head coach at Atlantic Shores Christian High School in Chesapeake, Va.,  where he compiled a 44-12 record. The 1996 Old Dominion graduate also coached four years at Rock Church Academy, constructing a 104-41 record while leading teams to three straight Metro Conference championships.

LOOS VS. DRAKE: Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos was a starting guard on the Memphis team which played the 1968-69 Drake team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Dolph Pulliam, a starting forward for that Bulldog team, serves as color analyst for Drake radio broadcasts.
   
YOUNG TEAM, EARLY CURFEW?: Drake entered the 2009-10 campaign with 10 players on its roster having never played a college game. So was it a coincidence that three of Drake’s first four games this season were played in the afternoon? In addition to the season opener against IUPUI , Drake had afternoon affairs against Georgia State, Akron and Central Florida in Daytona Beach, Fla.

HARD TO FIGURE: Guard Josh Young entered his senior season on the verge of becoming the school’s career three-point basket leader, needing only 38 treys. But he has struggled getting out of the gates by shooting just 11.8 percent from the three-point arc (2-17).  Newcomers Ryan Wedel and Ben Simons have picked up the slack. Wedel is shooting 54.2 percent from three-point range (13-24), while Simons is shooting 44.8 percent (13-29).

CHARITY TOSSES: Drake is shooting 79.5 percent from the free throw line with three starters having yet to miss a free throw.  Freshman forward Ben Simons has made all eight free throws, while junior transfer guard Ryan Wedel is 7-for-7 and senior forward Adam Templeton 2-for-2. Senior guard Josh Young is shooting 85.7 percent, making 12 of 14 charity tosses.

STERLING IN-STATE RIVALRY DEBUT: Freshman forward Ben Simons got his first taste of Iowa’s Big Four rivalry and responded in flying colors. Simons scored a career-high 24 points against Iowa State which was the ninth most points scored by a Drake yearling in a game. He made 8 of 11 shots, including four of six from three-point range.

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES: Drake junior transfer guard Ryan Wedel had a conspicuous debut for Drake by opening his first game on fire, making his first five shots including four from three-point range in the opening 3 minutes 29 seconds of the game against IUPUI. The four consecutive three-point baskets made rank third on the Drake single-game list.
   
Wedel’s 15 points in the opening minutes of the game weren’t really any surprise. As a high school senior in Minneapolis, Kan., Wedel was featured on ESPN SportsCenter after scoring 25 of his school-record 46 points during a 2:02 span against Southeast-Salin, knocking down six straight three-point baskets. The video is on www.youtube.com.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Drake is fielding one of its better perimeter shooting teams in recent years, averaging 8.8 three-point baskets in its first five games. However, opponents are shooting 50.4 percent from the floor against Drake, including 45.7 percent (43-94) from beyond the three-point arc.

YOUNG GUNS: One game doesn’t make a season but if the season opener is any indication, Drake has improved its perimeter shooting. The Bulldogs knocked down 13 three-point baskets against IUPUI with newcomers Ryan Wedel and Ben Simons each making four three-point baskets. Senior forward Adam Templeton and sophomore guard Frank Wiseler added two three-point baskets apiece.  Last year Drake reached double figures in three-point shooting in only seven games.

MR. BASKETBALL: Drake has two players on its roster who have been named Mr. Basketball in their respective states as well as a freshman who earned runner-up honors last year. Junior guard Ryan Wedel was named Mr. Basketball in Kansas as a high school senior in 2006. Redshirt freshman forward Cory Parker was named the 2008 Colorado Class 3A Mr. Basketball as a senior at Aspen High School.
   
Drake freshman Ben Simons was runner-up for Mr Basketball in Michigan last season. Simons made four three-point baskets in his college debut last Saturday - which ranks fourth best on the Drake single-game freshman records.

SIZING UP THE BULLDOGS:    One word can easily describe the fortunes of the 2009-10 Drake basketball team. CHEMISTRY.

How quickly a trio of returning veterans can mesh with a highly touted incoming recruiting class will determine the success the Bulldogs enjoy on the basketball court this winter.   
   
Drake will rely on one of the strongest backcourts in the Missouri Valley Conference to aid in the development of one of the youngest teams in recent program history which features the top recruiting class in the MVC according to three different publications.
   
Drake returns three starters from last year’s squad which posted a 17-16 record, highlighted by an appearance in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Tournament, marking the first time the Bulldogs had played in back-to-back post-season tournaments since making the NCAA Tournament from 1969-71.

 Two-time All-MVC guard Josh Young enters his senior campaign on the verge of becoming the school’s career scoring and three-point basket leader.  Young, who led the MVC in scoring as a sophomore, hopes to bounce back from an injury riddled junior campaign. He ranks seventh on the school career scoring list at 1,328 points, needing 330 points to becoming Drake’s scoring king.
   
Young averaged 15.4 points last year, while leading the league in free throws made at 168. Despite his 6-foot 1-inch frame, Young also enjoyed one of the best rebounding averages of any MVC guard at 3.8, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds in a home victory against Indiana State.
   
“Josh is fully embracing his role as the leader on our team,” said Drake head coach Mark Phelps. “We’ve seen some terrific things out of Josh in the preseason. He has made significant improvement in his explosiveness and I feel like he is back to where he was as a sophomore before he suffered an ankle injury.”
   
Senior point guard Craig Stanley looks for continued improvement after ranking fourth in the MVC in assists (3.8 avg.) last year, while averaging 7.9 points.
   
Six-foot 6-inch senior Adam Templeton is the lone returning starter on a young frontline. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds last year. Senior two-year letterwinner Bill Eaddy also returns at forward.
   
Phelps is counting on the senior leadership provided by Eaddy, Stanley, Templeton and Young to aid in the development of a young team.
   
“We will rely heavily on our seniors because they have an understanding of what it takes to win in the MVC,” said Phelps. “The returning veterans are going to be motivated about the chance to improve on last year.   
   
Graduation claimed forward Jonathan Cox who departed ranking second on Drake’s career rebounding charts, while leading the MVC in rebounding (8.5 avg.). Phelps admits there are big shoes to fill in the void left by Cox.
   
“It will be a challenge,” Phelps added. “We will have to rebound by committee. Everyone in the frontcourt will certainly have to have a major focus in rebounding.”

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK:    Drake fans have to go back to the 1990-91 campaign to find a Bulldog team as young as the 2009-10 edition.
   
During that 1990-91 season then first-year coach Rudy Washington had the youngest team in the NCAA with eight freshmen on the roster.
   
This year the Bulldogs have 10 new faces eligible on their roster. In its lone exhibition game against Upper Iowa Drake played at least two freshmen on the floor at the same time.
   
Junior guard Ryan Wedel is eligible after transferring from Arkansas State where he was a two-year starter, leading the Sun Belt Conference in three-point baskets (90) in 2007-08. Wedel, who is versatile enough to play both point and off guard, averaged 15.1 points, earning All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2007-08.
   
If that’s not enough sophomore point guard Frank Wiseler, who was a member of the Luxembourg National Team the last two years, becomes eligible. Freshman guard David Smith, who was one of the top prep guards in Chicago, Ill., also is expected to see action.
   
“Certainly we know that we will be an extremely young team with six freshmen, along with three redshirt freshmen and two transfers becoming eligible,” Drake head coach Mark Phelps said. “It is important for them to have some early success and for us to keep things simple.”
   
Several freshmen are expected to play key roles in the frontline, headed by 6-8 Ben Simons, who was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. Six-foot 8-inch Aaron Hawley, named the most valuable player of the Arkansas All-Star Game, along with 6-8 Reece Uhlenhopp and 6-10 Seth VanDeest, are expected to contribute right away.
 
 “I foresee our freshmen getting lots of playing time,” said Phelps. “They will have to be ready to hit the ground running. They have a lot of self pride and have been high achievers across the board.”
   
Simons averaged 29.4 points and 8.1 rebounds as a senior at Cadillac (Mich.) High School and should aid a Drake perimeter attack.Hawley averaged 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds at Rogers (Ark.) High School, while Uhlenhopp and VanDeest were first team Iowa Class 4A all-state choices.

YOUNG NEARS RECORDS: Two-time All-MVC guard Josh Young is on the verge of becoming the school’s career scoring and three-point basket leader. He ranks seventh on the school career scoring list at 1,362 points, needing 296 points to becoming Drake’s scoring king. Young also needs 38 three-point baskets to become Drake’s career three-point leader, surpassing current co-record holders Luke McDonald (2001-03) and Klayton Korver (2003-08) who both made 241 treys.

YOUNG HONORED: Drake senior guard Josh Young is one of 30 NCAA men’s basketball student-athletes, who excel both on and off the court, who are candidates for the 2009-10 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
    
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
This year’s candidate class includes 25 players on the preseason watch lists for the men’s and women’s John R. Wooden Award, eight men’s players who are candidates for the AT&T Naismith Trophy, 11 women’s players who are preseason favorites for the State Farm Wade Trophy and three men’s and women’s players who finished their junior seasons as All-Americans. Of the 60 candidates, 13 have cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher and three have maintained perfect 4.0 GPAs during their collegiate academic careers.
 
Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner for men’s basketball at the 2010 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, Ind., in April.
 
The list of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists each midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.

THREE PREPS JOIN PROGRAM: High school basketball standouts Karl Madison, a 5-foot 10-inch guard from Springfield, Ill.; Rayvonte Rice, a 6-3 guard from Champaign, Ill., and Jeremy Jeffers, a 6-6 guard from Wilson, N.C., signed early fall national letters of intent at Drake, indicating they will join the Drake men’s basketball program.

A point guard, Madison earned first-team all-league honors after averaging 21.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals as a junior at Lamphier High School. He shot 42.7 percent from the floor, including 30.6 percent from three-point range. He collected season highs of 32 points and six rebounds against Chatham Glenwood Jan. 9, 2009, and Jacksonville Feb. 27, 2009.

Madison became his high school’s first Division I player since Richard McBride signed with Illinois in 2003. Madison played for the St. Louis Eagles AAU team.
   
Rice was named most valuable player of the 2009 Illinois Class 3A State Tournament after leading Centennial High School to the 2009 Illinois Class 3A state championship. He earned third team all-state honors as a junior by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association after leading the team to a 32-1 record in 2008-09, including the Big 12 Conference title with a 13-0 record.
   
He was a two-time first team Champaign News-Gazette All-Area selection as well as a two-time All-Big 12 Conference performer. Rice averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.4 assists in 2008-09, while shooting 53 percent from floor. He also started as sophomore, averaging 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals. During the summer he played for the Illinois Stars AAU team.
   
Jeffers averaged 16.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals while leading Greenfield High School to a 31-6 record in 2008-09, en route to advancing to the semifinal round of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A Tournament. He scored a career-high 25 points against Cresset Christian in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 state tournament. He earned first team all-area honors by the Wilson Times and also was a first-team all-conference choice.
   
Jeffers played for the North Carolina Flight AAU team which finished eighth out of 184 teams at the 2009 AAU National Tournament. He also was named to the all-tournament team at the Big Shots AAU Tournament this past July in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE: Sixteen games against teams which advanced to 2009 post-season play highlight a 31-game schedule for Drake.
   
The Bulldogs already played Akron, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it dropped a first-round game to Gonzaga, in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. Drake has a Dec. 12 home game against Binghamton which played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and a Dec. 22 home date against San Diego State that advanced to the semifinal round of the 2009 NIT.
   
The MVC schedule features 12 games against Bradley, Creighton, Evansville, Illinois State, Northern Iowa and Wichita State which competed in either the 2009 NCAA, NIT, College Basketball Invitational or CollegeInsider.com Tournaments.

TOURNAMENT TESTS: For the fourth straight year, Drake will play in a school-record tying three regular-season tournaments. The Bulldogs will play in the third annual Glenn Wilkes Classic with three games in the 10-team field scheduled in Daytona Beach, Fla., Nov. 20-22. The second annual Drake Hy-Vee Classic will be held Dec. 4-5 in the Drake Knapp Center with the Bulldogs facing SIU-Edwardsville in the opening round before meeting either North Dakota or Texas-Arlington the following night. The second annual Drake Invitational is scheduled for Dec. 11-13 at the Drake Knapp Center, featuring Binghamton and South Dakota. Binghamton has two starters back from last year’s squad which posted a 23-9 record while falling to Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

CHALLENGE SERIES: The Dec. 22 home game against San Diego State is part of the inaugural Challenge Series between the MVC and the Mountain West Conference. The agreement between the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences is for a four-year term.

DRAKE IN KNAPP CENTER: The Bulldogs have posted a 37-14 home record in the Drake Knapp Center during the past three seasons, including a 14-1 mark in 2007-08. Drake has won eight of its last 10 nonconference home games.  A 16-game home winning streak from 2007-09 was the longest in the 16-year history of the Knapp Center. Drake owns a 139-102 home record in the Drake Knapp Center. Drake is the only private school in the Missouri Valley Conference which plays its home games at an on-campus site.