# 2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 24–10, 12–6 to earn a share of the MVC regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Illinois State before losing to Northern Iowa in the semifinals. They received a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Southern Utah.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2017–18 season 17–17, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament to Bradley. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Abilene Christian in the first round in a game referred to as the Lou Henson Classic. In the second round they were defeated by Northern Colorado.
On March 22, 2018, it was announced that head coach Niko Medved had accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State, where he had previously served as an assistant. A week after Medved's departure, Drake hired Creighton assistant and Iowa native Darian DeVries for the head coaching job.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| C. J. Rivers | 0 | G | 6'2" | 187 | Senior | Cahokia, IL | Graduated |
| Jalen Gibbs | 2 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Waldorf, MD | Transferred to Mount St. Mary's |
| Graham Woodward | 3 | G | 6'0" | 182 | RS Senior | Edina, MN | Graduated |
| De'Antae McMurray | 4 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Alton, IL | Graduated |
| Reed Timmer | 12 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | New Berlin, WI | Graduated |
| Casey Schlatter | 22 | F | 6'10" | 207 | RS Junior | Iowa Falls, IA | Graduate transferred to Grand View |
| Ore Arogundade | 23 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Arlington Heights, IL | Graduated |
| Kory Kuenstling | 32 | F/C | 6'11" | 234 | RS Junior | Dunketon, IA | Graduate transferred to Grand View |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| D. J. Wilkins | 0 | G | 6'2" | 170 | RS Freshman | Merrillville, IN | Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College |
| Tremell Murphy | 2 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Griffith, IN | Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College |
| Anthony Murphy | 4 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Griffith, IN | Junior college transferred from Florida SouthWestern State College |
| Roman Penn | 12 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Sophomore | Calumet City, IL | Transferred from Siena. Under NCAA transfer rules, Penn will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Nick Norton | 20 | G | 5'10" | 166 | RS Senior | Bloomington, IL | Transferred from UAB. Was eligible to play immediately since he graduated from UAB. |
| Brady Ellingson | 24 | G | 6'4" | 193 | RS Senior | Menomonee Falls, WI | Transferred from Iowa. Was eligible to play immediately since he graduated from Iowa. |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Matthew Gray PF | Orange, Australia | Canobolas Rural Technology High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Liam Robbins C | Davenport, IA | Sunrise Christian Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Apr 17, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joe Yesufu #49 PG | Bolingbrook, IL | Bolingbrook High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Aug 26, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Nate Ferguson PF | Lemont, IL | Lemont High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Issa Samake PF | Mali | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2017. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 4, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Coe | W 99–58 | – | Knapp Center (2,343) Des Moines, IA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Buena Vista | W 98–52 | 1–0 | Knapp Center (3,561) Des Moines, IA |
| Nov 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, P12N | | at Colorado | L 71–100 | 1–1 | CU Events Center (5,695) Boulder, CO |
| Nov 17, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas State | W 75–69 | 2–1 | Knapp Center (2,968) Des Moines, IA |
| Nov 21, 2018* 6:00 pm, WAC DN | | at UMKC | W 66–63 | 3–1 | Municipal Auditorium (2,186) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Boise State MW–MVC Challenge | W 83–74 | 4–1 | Knapp Center (2,543) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 1, 2018* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. North Dakota State U.S. Bank Stadium Classic | W 95–88 | 5–1 | U.S. Bank Stadium (2,186) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, FS WI/ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | W 75–61 | 6–1 | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,395) Milwaukee, WI |
| Dec 15, 2018* 3:30 pm, MC22 | | vs. Iowa State Hy-Vee Classic | L 68–77 | 6–2 | Wells Fargo Arena (12,236) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 17, 2018* 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville Las Vegas Classic | W 79–66 | 7–2 | Knapp Center (2,375) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Rider Las Vegas Classic | W 76–58 | 8–2 | Knapp Center (2,358) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 22, 2018* 6:30 pm, FS2 | | vs. New Mexico State Las Vegas Classic semifinals | W 66–63 | 9–2 | Orleans Arena (2,232) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 23, 2018* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. San Diego Las Vegas Classic championship | W 110–103 $^{2OT}$ | 10–2 | Orleans Arena (2,152) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | McKendree | W 98–70 | 11–2 | Knapp Center (3,008) Des Moines, IA |
| MVC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | L 77–82 $^{2OT}$ | 11–3 (0–1) | Ford Center (5,503) Evansville, IN |
| Jan 5, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 74–85 | 11–4 (0–2) | Knapp Center (4,279) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 82–70 | 12–4 (1–2) | Knapp Center (2,638) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 13, 2019 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Northern Iowa | L 54–57 | 12–5 (1–3) | McLeod Center (4,141) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Bradley | W 69–52 | 13–5 (2–3) | Carver Arena (4,654) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 20, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 74–63 | 14–5 (3–3) | Knapp Center (3,124) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 78–66 | 15–5 (4–3) | Knapp Center (2,709) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | W 70–59 | 16–5 (5–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,160) Valparaiso, IN |
| Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Illinois State | L 55–69 | 16–6 (5–4) | Knapp Center (3,511) Des Moines, IA |
| Feb 2, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 68–62 | 17–6 (6–4) | Hulman Center (3,529) Terre Haute, IN |
| Feb 5, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 64–86 | 17–7 (6–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,611) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 9, 2019 5:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | Northern Iowa | W 83–77 | 18–7 (7–5) | Knapp Center (5,632) Des Moines, IA |
| Feb 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 72–69 | 19–7 (8–5) | SIU Arena (4,075) Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 84–79 | 20–7 (9–5) | Knapp Center (4,035) Des Moines, IA |
| Feb 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 77–68 | 21–7 (10–5) | Knapp Center (3,061) Des Moines, IA |
| Feb 24, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Illinois State | L 60–67 | 21–8 (10–6) | Redbird Arena (4,985) Normal, IL |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 80–68 | 22–8 (11–6) | Knapp Center (4,023) Des Moines, IA |
| Mar 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | W 73–62 | 23–8 (12–6) | JQH Arena (7,984) Springfield, MO |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2019 6:05 pm, MVC TV [ESPN+] | (2) | vs. (7) Illinois State Quarterfinals | W 78–62 | 24–8 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 9, 2019 5:05 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) Northern Iowa Semifinals | L 58–60 | 24–9 | Enterprise Center (7,884) St. Louis, MO |
| CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament ||||||
| Mar 22, 2019* 7:30 pm, watchcit.com | | at Southern Utah First round | L 73–80 $^{OT}$ | 24–10 | America First Events Center (2,714) Cedar City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source