 Adam Emmenecker pulls down a rebound in the victory over Indiana State. |
The Drake men’s basketball team, which stands 20-1, is ranked No. 15 in the
latest Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll and the USA
TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll. Drake moved up from No. 16 in last week’s AP
poll and No. 17 in the last USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll.
The team is attracting national media coverage, including a major story in Tuesday’s USA Today. Look for
stories in the next issue of ESPN Magazine and Sunday’s Washington Post (a column by John Feinstein).
It was announced Monday that the Bulldogs will be showcased in
ESPNU’s BracketBusters series on Feb. 23. Drake will visit No. 10 Butler
(19-2) and play in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, where scenes from
the movie “Hoosiers” were filmed.
The BracketBusters series, now in its
sixth year, features a total of 28 teams from 11 mid-major conferences
squaring off in televised games Feb. 22-24. Game times and television
programming are scheduled to be released Feb. 11.
 MVC Player of the Week Josh Young with Head Coach Keno Davis |
For the fourth straight week, a Drake basketball player has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.
Drake sophomore Josh Young was honored this week after averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 three-point
baskets, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists while helping lead
the Bulldogs to two victories.
He also shot 59.1 percent from floor (13-of-22), including a sizzling 58.8 percent from three-point range (10-of-17).
He
tied his career high with 24 points in the 75-65 win against Creighton,
making eight of 11 shots from the floor (including six of eight from
three-point range). He came back with 18 points, including 12 in the
second half, to fuel a 83-77 comeback win at Indiana State on Saturday,
handing the Sycamores their first home loss this year.
Drake senior forward Klayton Korver was named the MVC Player of the Week Jan. 28, while senior guard Adam Emmenecker was cited on Jan. 21 and junior forward Jonathan Cox recognized Jan. 14.
Young also was named the MVC Player of the Week Dec. 10.
The men’s team won its 19th straight victory with an 83-77 Missouri Valley Conference decision at Indiana State Saturday night.
Senior guard Adam Emmenecker played the full 40 minutes and scored a
career-high 20 points. Sophomore guard Josh Young added 18 points for
Drake, which kept alive the second longest active winning streak in the
nation. Senior guard Leonard Houston, appearing in his 100th career
game, netted 16 points and junior forward Jonathan Cox added 12 points.
The winning streak is the fourth longest winning streak by a team in
Missouri Valley Conference history.
Drake improved its record to 20-1, which is the best
start in school history and the most victories at the school since the
1970-71 team, under coach Maury John, went 21-8. The 20 wins under
coach Keno Davis are the most ever by a first-year head coach at Drake.
This also marked the first time ever that Drake opened
the MVC season with a 11-0 record. Drake swept the season series from
Indiana State for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The last MVC
team to enjoy an 11-0 league start was Southern Illinois, which went
17-0 to start the 2003-04 season.
This is the fifth team in Drake history to win at least
20 games in a season joining the 1970-71 (21-8), 1963-64 (21-7),
1969-70 (22-7) and 1968-69 (26-5) teams.
Drake travels to Illinois State on Tuesday, Feb. 5, for
its second of four tough road contests in the second half of the
season. There will be no television coverage of the game, but streaming video will be available on the MVC Web site.