Drake @ Valparaiso preview
Athletics-Recreation Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2020 ) Valparaiso 75, Drake 77
For No. 25 Drake, this week has been one of firsts.
The Bulldogs earned their first Top 25 ranking since 2008, posted their first 8-0 start in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2008 and produced the first 17-0 start by an MVC team since Wichita State did it in 2013-14.
Now Drake faces its first road game as a ranked team Saturday, when it starts a two-game series at Valparaiso. The Valley went to this format this season, feeling that reducing travel might give its teams a better chance to complete a season despite the continued presence of COVID-19.
The pandemic has been about the only thing to slow Drake down. The Bulldogs paused the season for 22 days after an 86-55 rout of Southern Illinois on Jan. 4, forced to reschedule five conference games. But Drake is 4-0 since the extended break, looking the part of a Top 25 team on Monday night in a 95-60 rout of Illinois State.
Drake exploded after a slow start, canning a total of 13 3-pointers. That included six from Tremell Murphy, who scored a career-high 30 points, the first 30-point game in regulation for a Drake player since 2018.
"Tremell Murphy had an incredible game for us," Bulldogs coach Darian DeVries said. "He has been solid all year, he just hasn't had that breakout game for us yet and tonight was certainly that. It's hopefully something that can springboard him as we move forward."
Green Bay transfer ShanQuan Hemphill leads Drake's balanced attack with an average of 14.4 points per game, connecting on 58.5 percent of his field goals. Roman Penn chips in 12.5 points and 5.5 assists per game, and D.J. Wilkins scores 10.1 ppg, sinking 46.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Meanwhile, Valparaiso (6-11, 3-5) is coming off one of its toughest losses of the season. The Crusaders opened up a 16-point lead Monday night in the finale of their two-game series at Evansville, but they blew the lead and lost the game 58-51.
Valparaiso led 28-12 with 5:35 left in the first half and still owned a 14-point cushion late in the half, but they managed just 18 second-half points. The Purple Aces broke a 49-49 tie late in the game with seven straight points to decide the outcome.
"In the second half, it just looked like we got fatigued," Crusaders coach Matt Lottich said, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana. "We were tired, the possessions seemed slower for us on the offensive end and they were getting deeper penetration on the defensive end. They made plays late and we didn't."
Ben Krikke is Valparaiso's leading scorer at 12.4 ppg, connecting on 54.3 percent of his field-goal attempts. Donovan Clay, who scores 11.2 ppg, was the team's top scorer at Evansville on Monday with 14 points. The Crusaders have sputtered at times on offense, making only 41.5 percent of their attempts, and they have been outrebounded by five per game.
The series concludes with a day game on Super Bowl Sunday.
--Field Level Media