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.

1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference Champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 14
Record22–7 (14–2 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dan Callahan
  • Gus Guydon
Home arenaVeterans Memorial Auditorium
1969–70 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 14 Drake142 .875227  .759
Cincinnati124 .750216  .778
North Texas State115 .688188  .692
Louisville115 .688189  .667
Tulsa98 .5291511  .577
Bradley79 .4381412  .538
Saint Louis511 .313917  .346
Wichita State313 .188818  .308
Memphis State116 .059620  .231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

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.[2]

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.

Roster

1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
F 5 Dale Gordon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) So Creston, Iowa
G 22 Gary Zeller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) Sr Houston, Texas
F 41 Al Williams 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) Sr Peoria, Illinois
G/F 42 Jeff Halliburton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) Jr Rockville Centre, New York
C 43 Rick Wanamaker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) Sr Marengo, Iowa
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    [3]

    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[4]  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 Pavillion 
    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.

    [5]

    Rankings

    [6]

    NBA draft

    [7]

    References

    1. "1969-70 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
    2. "N. Mexico State Tops Drake, 87-78". The New York Times. March 15, 1970. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
    3. "1969-70 Men's Basketball Roster". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
    4. "Hawks Blast Rival Drake, 101-78" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. December 23, 1969. p. 3. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
    5. "1969-70 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
    6. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 769–770. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
    7. "1970 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
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