# 2014–15 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by second year head coach Ray Giacoletti, played their home games at the Knapp Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley tournament to Bradley.
Guard Reed Timmer was named to the conference's all-freshmen team.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 15–16, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley tournament to Evansville.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Richard Carter | 3 | G | 5'11" | 177 | Senior | Detroit, MI | Graduated |
| Robert Puleikis | 21 | C | 6'10" | 221 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Walsh |
| Mitch McLaughlin | 23 | G | 6'0" | 181 | Sophomore | Cedar Rapids, IA | Transferred to Elmhurst College |
| Aaron Hawley | 31 | G/F | 6'8" | 197 | Senior | Rogers, AR | Graduated |
| Daddy Ugbede | 40 | F | 6'6" | 216 | Sophomore | Gardena, CA | Transferred to Indiana (PA) |
| Seth VanDeest | 45 | C | 6'11" | 269 | Senior | Bettendorf, IA | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Graham Woodward | 13 | G | 6'0" | 178 | Sophomore | Edina, MN | Transferred from Penn State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Woodward will have to redshirt for the 2014–15 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Kale Abrahamson | 31 | F | 6'8" | 221 | Junior | West Des Moines, IA | Transferred from Northwestern. Under NCAA transfer rules, Abrahamson will have to redshirt for the 2014–15 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

## Incoming recruits
### Class of 2014 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Casey Schlatter SF | Iowa Falls, IA | Iowa Falls Alden High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | May 11, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 71 ||||||
| Ore Arogundade SG | Arlington Heights, IL | Saint Viator High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 69 ||||||
| Kory Kuenstling C | Dunkerton, IA | Dunkerton Community School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | Jul 2, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 67 ||||||
| Reed Timmer PG | New Berlin, WI | Eisenhower High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 11, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| C.J. Rivers SG | Cahokia, IL | Cahokia High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Aug 15, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 16, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/08/2014* 2:05 pm | Coe | W 78–53 | | Knapp Center (3,134) Des Moines, IA |
| Non-Conference Regular season |||||
| 11/15/2014* 2:05 pm | Bowling Green | L 58–77 | 0–1 | Knapp Center (3,362) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/18/2014* 8:00 pm, FS1 | at DePaul | L 62–80 | 0–2 | Allstate Arena (5,340) Rosemont, IL |
| 11/22/2014* 1:00 pm | at Western Michigan | L 75–91 | 0–3 | University Arena (2,328) Kalamazoo, MI |
| 11/25/2014* 7:05 pm | IUPUI | W 73–60 | 1–3 | Knapp Center (3,108) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/28/2014* 5:00 pm | vs. Valparaiso Challenge in Music City | L 46–66 | 1–4 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (N/A) Nashville, TN |
| 11/29/2014* 5:00 pm | vs. Portland Challenge in Music City | L 59–71 | 1–5 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (N/A) Nashville, TN |
| 11/30/2014* 3:30 pm | vs. Murray State Challenge in Music City | L 59–68 | 1–6 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (N/A) Nashville, TN |
| 12/06/2014* 2:05 pm | North Dakota | L 62–63 | 1–7 | Knapp Center (3,162) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/13/2014* 4:00 pm | at Green Bay | L 48–64 | 1–8 | Resch Center (3,399) Green Bay, WI |
| 12/15/2014* 7:05 pm | Jackson State | W 76–66 | 2–8 | Knapp Center (2,555) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/20/2014* 4:00 pm | vs. No. 13 Iowa State Big Four Classic | L 54–83 | 2–9 | Wells Fargo Arena (15,142) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/22/2014* 7:05 pm | Simpson | W 84–62 | 3–9 | Knapp Center (3,239) Des Moines, IA |
| Missouri Valley Conference Regular season |||||
| 12/31/2014 5:05 pm | No. 16 Wichita State | L 58–66 | 3–10 (0–1) | Knapp Center (4,170) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/03/2015 3:00 pm, FSMW | at Missouri State | L 37–62 | 3–11 (0–2) | JQH Arena (5,821) Springfield, MO |
| 01/07/2015 7:00 pm | at Illinois State | L 45–81 | 3–12 (0–3) | Redbird Arena (3,809) Normal, IL |
| 01/10/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Northern Iowa | L 40–64 | 3–13 (0–4) | Knapp Center (4,780) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/14/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Loyola–Chicago | L 47–50 | 3–14 (0–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,572) Chicago, IL |
| 01/17/2015 2:05 pm | Indiana State | W 84–78 | 4–14 (1–5) | Knapp Center (3,283) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/20/2015 7:05 pm | Illinois State | L 56–64 | 4–15 (1–6) | Knapp Center (2,886) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/25/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | at No. 14 Wichita State | L 40–74 | 4–16 (1–7) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/28/2015 2:05 pm, ESPN3 | at Bradley | W 69–57 | 5–16 (2–7) | Carver Arena (5,431) Peoria, IL |
| 01/31/2015 2:05 pm | Evansville | W 70–65 | 6–16 (3–7) | Knapp Center (4,120) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/04/2015 7:05 pm | Southern Illinois | W 63–61 | 7–16 (4–7) | Knapp Center (3,180) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/07/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at No. 14 Northern Iowa | L 53–69 | 7–17 (4–8) | McLeod Center (6,650) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/11/2015 7:05 pm | Bradley | W 60–54 | 8–17 (5–8) | Knapp Center (3,146) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/14/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Indiana State | L 54–75 | 8–18 (5–9) | Hulman Center (4,250) Terre Haute, IN |
| 02/17/2015 7:00 pm | at Evansville | L 52–61 | 8–19 (5–10) | Ford Center (3,418) Evansville, IN |
| 02/22/2015 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | Missouri State | W 78–43 | 9–19 (6–10) | Knapp Center (3,656) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/25/2015 7:05 pm | Loyola–Chicago | L 75–80 $^{OT}$ | 9–20 (6–11) | Knapp Center (3,271) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/28/2015 2:00 pm | at Southern Illinois | L 57–63 | 9–21 (6–12) | SIU Arena (5,512) Carbondale, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||
| 03/05/2015 8:35 pm, MVC TV | vs. Bradley First round | L 50–52 $^{OT}$ | 9–22 | Scottrade Center (5,608) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||