# 2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by fourth-year head coach Darian DeVries. They 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 22–9, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals and Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship.
The Bulldogs accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational and earned the No. 1 overall seed. They defeated Purdue Fort Wayne in the first round before being upset by UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 26–5, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. The team set a school record by winning their first 18 games, representing the fourth-best start by an MVC school and equaling the sixth-longest winning streak in MVC history. They also earned a ranking in the AP Poll for the first time since 2008 at No. 25 prior to suffering their first loss of the season to Valparaiso on February 7, 2021.
In the MVC tournament, the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals via forfeit due to COVID-19 issues at Northern Iowa. They defeated Missouri State in the semifinals before falling to Loyola in the championship game. Drake received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region. They defeated Wichita State in the First Four, which was Drake's first tournament win in 50 years. They then lost to USC in the first round.
Prior to the NCAA tournament, DeVries signed an eight-year contract extension through the 2028–29 season.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Joseph Yesufu | 1 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Sophomore | Bolingbrook, IL | Transferred to Kansas |
| Noah Thomas | 14 | G | 6'2" | 163 | Senior | Sydney, Australia | Graduated |
| Andrew Barrett | 22 | G/F | 6'5" | 183 | Junior | Rock Island, IL | Walk-on; did not return to team |
| Connor Gholson | 25 | G | 6'3" | 192 | RS Junior | Newton, IA | In transfer portal |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Ayo Akinwole | 14 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Senior | Papillion, NE | Transferred from Omaha |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Conor Enright #55 G | Mundelein, IL | Mundelein High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 1, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Tucker DeVries #12 G/F | Waukee, IA | Waukee High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 12, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 30, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Drury | W 96–49 | | 16 – Djamgouz | 9 – Hemphill | 4 – Tied | Knapp Center (2,257) Des Moines, IA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Coe | W 87–61 | 1–0 | 14 – Tied | 8 – Murphy | 5 – Wilkins | Knapp Center (2,591) Des Moines, IA |
| November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | South Dakota | W 99–50 | 2–0 | 14 – Hemphill | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Knapp Center (2,827) Des Moines, IA |
| November 20, 2021* 12:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Richmond | W 73–70 | 3–0 | 18 – Murphy | 9 – Sturtz | 4 – Penn | Knapp Center (3,347) Des Moines, IA |
| November 25, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Belmont ESPN Events Invitational First Round | L 69–74 | 3–1 | 18 – Murphy | 11 – Sturtz | 5 – Penn | HP Field House (3,008) Kissimmee, FL |
| November 26, 2021* 3:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. No. 10 Alabama ESPN Events Invitational Consolation round | L 71–80 | 3–2 | 17 – Wilkins | 7 – Murphy | 6 – Penn | HP Field House (3,020) Kissimmee, FL |
| November 28, 2021* 9:30 a.m., ESPNU | | vs. North Texas ESPN Events Invitational 7th Place Game | L 54–57 | 3–3 | 13 – Murphy | 6 – Sturtz | 1 – Penn | HP Field House (3,252) Kissimmee, FL |
| December 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Valparaiso | W 73–66 | 4–3 (1–0) | 14 – Brodie | 7 – Hemphill | 5 – Penn | Knapp Center (2,560) Des Moines, IA |
| December 5, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | St. Thomas | W 74–64 | 5–3 | 21 – DeVries | 8 – DeVries | 2 – Tied | Knapp Center (2,674) Des Moines, IA |
| December 8, 2021* 8:00 pm | | at Omaha | W 78–70 | 6–3 | 24 – DeVries | 6 – Sturtz | 4 – Wilkins | Baxter Arena Omaha, NE |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, ACCN | | vs. Clemson Holiday Hoopsgiving | L 80–90 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | 19 – DeVries | 8 – Hemphill | 4 – Wilkins | State Farm Arena (8,557) Atlanta, GA |
| December 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Jackson State | W 70–65 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 | 17 – Hemphill | 12 – Hemphill | 5 – Wilkins | Knapp Center (2,660) Des Moines, IA |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN3 | | UT Martin | W 80–54 | 8–4 | 15 – Tied | 9 – Sturtz | 7 – DeVries | Knapp Center (2,673) Des Moines, IA |
| December 22, 2021* 2:00 pm | | vs. Saint Louis Las Vegas Showcase | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| December 22, 2021* 5:00 pm | | Chicago State Rescheduled from December 19, originally canceled | W 87–50 | 9–4 | 14 – Tied | 8 – DeVries | 4 – Akinwole | Knapp Center (1,943) Des Moines, IA |
| December 28, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mount Marty | W 82–53 | 10–4 | 16 – Wilkins | 7 – Murphy | 3 – Tied | Knapp Center (3,146) Des Moines, IA |
| January 2, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | at Missouri State | L 56–61 | 10–5 (1–1) | 16 – Sturtz | 11 – Sturtz | 3 – Brodie | JQH Arena (3,242) Springfield, MO |
| January 8, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 60–59 | 11–5 (2–1) | 15 – DeVries | 9 – Sturtz | 5 – Penn | Ford Center (3,134) Evansville, IN |
| January 12, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | Illinois State | W 86–75 | 12–5 (3–1) | 16 – Tied | 6 – Brodie | 6 – Penn | Knapp Center (2,702) Des Moines, IA |
| January 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois Rescheduled from January 5 | W 60–59 | 13–5 (4–1) | 16 – Sturtz | 8 – Sturtz | 4 – DeVries | Banterra Center (4,112) Carbondale, IL |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 71–83 | 13–6 (4–2) | 17 – DeVries | 8 – Sturtz | 3 – Penn | Knapp Center (2,724) Des Moines, IA |
| January 22, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Northern Iowa | W 82–74 $^{OT}$ | 14–6 (5–2) | 18 – Penn | 11 – DeVries | 4 – Sturtz | McLeod Center (4,361) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | W 89–88 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (6–2) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Sturtz | 6 – DeVries | Redbird Arena (3,515) Normal, IL |
| January 30, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 77–68 | 16–6 (7–2) | 20 – Wilkins | 10 – Brodie | 3 – DeVries | Knapp Center (3,994) Des Moines, IA |
| February 2, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 85–67 | 17–6 (8–2) | 15 – Tied | 9 – Sturtz | 6 – Penn | Hulman Center (2,811) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 5, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Northern Iowa | L 69–74 $^{OT}$ | 17–7 (8–3) | 15 – DeVries | 11 – Sturtz | 3 – Penn | Knapp Center (5,984) Des Moines, IA |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | Missouri State | L 62–66 | 17–8 (8–4) | 12 – Tied | 8 – Sturtz | 6 – Penn | Knapp Center (3,305) Des Moines, IA |
| February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 59–68 | 17–9 (8–5) | 20 – DeVries | 8 – Murphy | 3 – Murphy | Carver Arena (5,109) Peoria, IL |
| February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 73–51 | 18–9 (9–5) | 16 – DeVries | 7 – Hemphill | 6 – Penn | Knapp Center (3,569) Des Moines, IA |
| February 19, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 83–76 | 19–9 (10–5) | 24 – DeVries | 7 – Sturtz | 4 – Sturtz | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,557) Chicago, IL |
| February 21, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 74–58 | 20–9 (11–5) | 15 – Tied | 7 – Murphy | 5 – Penn | Knapp Center (3,352) Des Moines, IA |
| February 23, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 71–65 | 21–9 (12–5) | 17 – Wilkins | 9 – Murphy | 9 – Penn | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,530) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 26, 2022 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Southern Illinois | W 62–60 | 22–9 (13–5) | 14 – Murphy | 10 – Sturtz | 3 – Tied | Knapp Center (4,417) Des Moines, IA |
| MVC tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2022 8:30 pm, MVC TV | (3) | vs. (6) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals | W 65–52 | 23–9 | 19 – Hemphill | 10 – Hemphill | 3 – Penn | Enterprise Center (5,503) St. Louis, MO |
| March 5, 2022 5:00 pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Missouri State Semifinals | W 79–78 $^{OT}$ | 24–9 | 23 – DeVries | 8 – Sturtz | 6 – Penn | Enterprise Center (6,371) St. Louis, MO |
| March 6, 2022 1:00 pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (4) Loyola–Chicago Championship | L 58–64 | 24–10 | 18 – Penn | 10 – Hemphill | 4 – Penn | Enterprise Center (5,164) St. Louis, MO |
| CBI |||||||||
| March 19, 2022 11:00 am, FloHoops | (1) | vs. (16) Purdue Fort Wayne First Round | W 87–65 | 25–10 | 20 – Djamgouz | 7 – Brodie | 6 – DeVries | Ocean Center (367) Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 21, 2022 12:00 pm, FloHoops | (1) | vs. (9) UNC Wilmington Quarterfinals | L 75–76 | 25–11 | 15 – Hemphill | 7 – Hemphill | 3 – Penn | Ocean Center (706) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.