# 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by sixth-year head coach Darian DeVries, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the regular season 25–6, 16–4 in MVC play to finish in second place. They entered the MVC tournament as a No. 2 seed, where they defeated Evansville, Bradley, and Indiana State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by Washington State in the first round. Just three days after the loss, Darian DeVries accepted the head coaching position at West Virginia. Subsequently, most of the roster entered the transfer portal, including star Tucker DeVries.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the regular season 27–7, 15–5 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by Miami (FL) in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| D. J. Wilkins | 0 | G | 6'2" | 188 | GS | Merrillville, IN | Graduated |
| Roman Penn | 1 | G | 6'0" | 185 | GS | Calumet City, IL | Graduated |
| Garrett Sturtz | 3 | G | 6'3" | 180 | GS | Newton, IA | Graduated |
| Okay Djamgouz | 10 | G | 6'6" | 200 | RS Jr | Toronto, Canada | Transferred to Maine |
| Bryceson Burns | 11 | G/F | 6'5" | 195 | RS Fr | Houston, TX | Transferred to Midland |
| Issa Samake | 13 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Soph | Des Moines, IA | Graduated/Transferred |
| Sardaar Calhoun | 14 | G/F | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Tappahannock, VA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Kyron Gibson | 0 | G | 6'1" | 198 | Senior | Alexandria, LA | Transferred from UT Arlington |
| Atin Wright | 10 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Junior | Hawthorne, CA | Transferred from Cal State Northridge |
| Carlos Rosario | 13 | F | 6'7" | 180 | RS Sophomore | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Transferred from Washington State |
| Ethan Roberts | 23 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Sophomore | Arlington Heights, IL | Transferred from Army |

## Preseason

The Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the conference's preseason poll for the third consecutive year. Forward Tucker DeVries was named MVC Preseason Player of the Year and selected to the preseason All-MVC first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2023* 7:00 pm | | Truman State | W 95–50 | – | 19 – DeVries | 8 – Brodie | 5 – Garland | Knapp Center (2,712) Des Moines, IA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2023* 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Lipscomb | W 85–70 | 1–0 | 36 – DeVries | 7 – Brodie | 6 – DeVries | Knapp Center (3,021) Des Moines, IA |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Southwest Minnesota State | W 87–67 | 2–0 | 25 – Wright | 8 – DeVries | 4 – DeVries | Knapp Center (2,430) Des Moines, IA |
| November 19, 2023* 10:00 am, FloSports | | vs. Oakland Cayman Islands Classic First Round | W 85–77 | 3–0 | 22 – 2 Tied | 11 – DeVries | 5 – Enright | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 20, 2023* 12:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. Stephen F. Austin Cayman Islands Classic Semifinals | L 68–92 | 3–1 | 19 – Overton | 6 – Brodie | 4 – DeVries | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 21, 2023* 4:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Akron Cayman Islands Classic 3rd Place Game | W 79–59 | 4–1 | 33 – DeVries | 9 – DeVries | 5 – Garland | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 25, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas Southern | W 77–71 | 5–1 | 18 – Brodie | 7 – DeVries | 4 – Garland | Knapp Center (2,886) Des Moines, IA |
| November 29, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 83–65 | 6–1 (1–0) | 21 – Brodie | 9 – Brodie | 3 – 3 Tied | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,474) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 2, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 74–57 | 7–1 (2–0) | 24 – DeVries | 9 – Brodie | 5 – 2 Tied | Knapp Center (3,562) Des Moines, IA |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Saint Louis | W 75–69 | 8–1 | 22 – Wright | 10 – DeVries | 5 – DeVries | Knapp Center (3,124) Des Moines, IA |
| December 9, 2023* 6:30 pm, BallerTV | | vs. Nevada Jack Jones Classic | W 72–53 | 9–1 | 25 – DeVries | 8 – Brodie | 5 – DeVries | Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV |
| December 14, 2023* 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Grambling State | W 68–56 | 10–1 | 18 – Enright | 7 – Brodie | 4 – Overton | Knapp Center (2,864) Des Moines, IA |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Alcorn State | W 92–55 | 11–1 | 24 – Wright | 12 – Brodie | 4 – 2 Tied | Knapp Center (2,715) Des Moines, IA |
| December 22, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UAB | L 78–79 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 | 20 – Wright | 15 – Brodie | 5 – 2 Tied | Bartow Arena (3,496) Birmingham, AL |
| January 2, 2024 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Illinois State | W 88–71 | 12–2 (3–0) | 22 – DeVries | 5 – 2 Tied | 6 – DeVries | Knapp Center (2,931) Des Moines, IA |
| January 7, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Belmont | L 65–87 | 12–3 (3–1) | 14 – Wright | 9 – Brodie | 6 – DeVries | Curb Event Center (2,186) Nashville, TN |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | Indiana State | W 89–78 | 13–3 (4–1) | 29 – DeVries | 6 – 3 Tied | 4 – DeVries | Knapp Center (4,069) Des Moines, IA |
| January 13, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Southern Illinois | W 76–58 | 14–3 (5–1) | 34 – DeVries | 12 – Brodie | 4 – 2 Tied | Banterra Center (6,013) Carbondale, IL |
| January 17, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | W 77–56 | 15–3 (6–1) | 25 – DeVries | 12 – Brodie | 5 – Brodie | CEFCU Arena (3,681) Bloomington, IL |
| January 20, 2024 5:00 pm, MC22 | | Evansville | W 97–48 | 16–3 (7–1) | 18 – 2 Tied | 10 – Brodie | 6 – Wright | Knapp Center (3,717) Des Moines, IA |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 80–83 $^{2OT}$ | 16–4 (7–2) | 18 – 2 Tied | 10 – DeVries | 6 – Enright | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,461) Springfield, MO |
| January 27, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 77–63 | 17–4 (8–2) | 29 – DeVries | 8 – Brodie | 6 – DeVries | Knapp Center (6,424) Des Moines, IA |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Valparaiso | W 81–70 | 18–4 (9–2) | 19 – Brodie | 18 – Brodie | 4 – 3 Tied | Knapp Center (3,323) Des Moines, IA |
| February 3, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Indiana State | L 67–75 | 18–5 (9–3) | 26 – DeVries | 10 – DeVries | 3 – Wright | Hulman Center (8,332) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, MC22 | | Southern Illinois | W 92–88 $^{OT}$ | 19–5 (10–3) | 27 – DeVries | 8 – Brodie | 3 – Wright | Knapp Center (3,611) Des Moines, IA |
| February 10, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Bradley | W 74–67 | 20–5 (11–3) | 22 – DeVries | 10 – Enright | 8 – Enright | Peoria Civic Center (8,023) Peoria, IL |
| February 13, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 78–75 | 21–5 (12–3) | 26 – Wright | 10 – DeVries | 4 – DeVries | Ford Center (3,568) Evansville, IN |
| February 18, 2024 1:00 pm, MVC TV | | Murray State | W 95–72 | 22–5 (13–3) | 23 – Overton | 8 – Brodie | 6 – Enright | Knapp Center (4,329) Des Moines, IA |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | Belmont | W 84–69 | 23–5 (14–3) | 21 – DeVries | 6 – DeVries | 7 – Enright | Knapp Center (3,612) Des Moines, IA |
| February 24, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 77–91 | 23–6 (14–4) | 28 – DeVries | 9 – DeVries | 3 – Brodie | McLeod Center (4,674) Cedar Falls |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 107–105 $^{3OT}$ | 24–6 (15–4) | 39 – DeVries | 13 – DeVries | 7 – DeVries | Credit Union 1 Arena (2,126) Chicago, IL |
| March 3, 2024 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | Bradley | W 74–66 | 25–6 (16–4) | 29 – DeVries | 6 – 2 Tied | 5 – Enright | Knapp Center (6,051) Des Moines, IA |
| MVC Tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2024 6:00 pm, MVC TV | (2) | vs. (10) Evansville Quarterfinals | W 79–58 | 26–6 | 19 – DeVries | 6 – 2 Tied | 6 – DeVries | Enterprise Center (5,813) St. Louis, MO |
| March 9, 2024 5:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Bradley Semifinals | W 72–67 | 27–6 | 20 – Wright | 6 – 3 Tied | 4 – 2 Tied | Enterprise Center (8,745) St. Louis, MO |
| March 10, 2024 1:00 pm, CBS | (2) | vs. (1) Indiana State Championship | W 84–80 | 28–6 | 27 – DeVries | 8 – Brodie | 5 – DeVries | Enterprise Center (6,837) St. Louis, MO |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2024 9:05 p.m., TruTV | (10 E) | vs. (7 E) No. 25 Washington State First Round | L 61–66 | 28–7 | 20 – Wright | 9 – Brodie | 6 – DeVries | CHI Health Center (17,391) Omaha, NE |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — |