# 1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team was led by 12th-year head coach Maury John and played their home games at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs were 14–2 in Missouri Valley Conference play to capture the league title.
Drake received a bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Houston in the regional semifinal. The Bulldogs would fall short of their second straight Final Four, losing to New Mexico State in the regional final, 87–78.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament and, with their third-place finish, Drake had their best-ever NCAA finish as of the start of the 2023–2024 season. The Bulldogs completed the season with a 26–5 record and were ranked number 11 in both major polls.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1969* | No. 19 | Wisconsin-Platteville | W 106–80 | 1–0 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 6, 1969* | No. 19 | Iowa State | W 86–62 | 2–0 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 8, 1969* | | Pacific | W 78–76 | 3–0 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 11, 1969* | | at No. 12 Marquette | L 70–72 | 3–1 | Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Dec 13, 1969* | | Los Angeles State | W 115–109 | 4–1 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 16, 1969* | | Nevada | W 101–75 | 5–1 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 20, 1969* | | at Minnesota | L 76–79 | 5–2 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Dec 22, 1969* | | at Iowa | L 78–101 | 5–3 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Dec 28, 1969* | | vs. San Francisco Rainbow Classic | L 67–69 | 5–4 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 29, 1969* | | vs. Hawaii Rainbow Classic | W 102–76 | 6–4 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 1970 | | Saint Louis | W 80–78 | 7–4 (1–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 5, 1970 | | Memphis State | W 72–62 | 8–4 (2–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 8, 1970 | | Wichita State | W 98–85 | 9–4 (3–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 10, 1970 | | at Tulsa | W 77–73 | 10–4 (4–0) | Expo Square Pavilion Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Jan 14, 1970 | | at Bradley | W 65–55 | 11–4 (5–0) | Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, Illinois |
| Jan 17, 1970 | | Cincinnati | W 63–57 | 12–4 (6–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 24, 1970 | | No. 18 Louisville | W 86–75 | 13–4 (7–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 29, 1970 | No. 16 | North Texas State | W 95–84 | 14–4 (8–0) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 31, 1970 | No. 16 | at Memphis State | W 82–76 | 15–4 (9–0) | Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 6, 1970* | No. 13 | at Tulane | W 98–92 | 16–4 | Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Feb 10, 1970 | No. 11 | at North Texas State | L 81–93 | 16–5 (9–1) | North Texas Men's Gym Denton, Texas |
| Feb 12, 1970 | No. 11 | Bradley | W 68–65 | 17–5 (10–1) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Feb 19, 1970 | No. 17 | at Wichita State | W 90–83 | 18–5 (11–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 21, 1970 | No. 17 | Tulsa | W 80–74 | 19–5 (12–1) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Feb 24, 1970 | No. 16 | at Cincinnati | L 72–88 | 19–6 (12–2) | Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 28, 1970 | No. 16 | at Louisville | W 79–73 | 20–6 (13–2) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Mar 5, 1970 | No. 14 | at Saint Louis | W 85–80 | 21–6 (14–2) | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1970* | No. 14 | vs. No. 12 Houston | W 92–87 | 22–6 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Mar 14, 1970* | No. 14 | vs. No. 5 New Mexico State | L 78–87 | 22–7 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||