2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs are led by third-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center on campus in Des Moines, Iowa, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the season 26–5, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament, they advanced to the semifinals after Northern Iowa was forced to forfeit due to COVID-19 issues. They defeated Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the First Four. They defeated Wichita State to advance to the First Round where they were eliminated by USC.

2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record26–5 (15–3 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Larry Blunt
  • Marty Richter
  • Matt Gatens
Home arenaKnapp Center
2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 17 Loyola Chicago162 .889265  .839
Drake153 .833265  .839
Missouri State126 .667177  .708
Indiana State117 .6111510  .600
Evansville711 .389916  .360
Valparaiso711 .3891018  .357
Northern Iowa711 .3891015  .400
Bradley612 .3331216  .429
Southern Illinois513 .2781214  .462
Illinois State414 .222718  .280
2021 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 20–14, 8–10 in MVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Illinois State and Northern Iowa to advance to the semifinals of the MVC tournament where they lost to Bradley. All postseason tournaments were thereafter canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Brady Ernst31F6'10"230RS SeniorClinton, IAGraduated.
Samm Jones1G5'11"196JuniorMinneapolis, MNTransferred to Davenport University.
Liam Robbins21C7'0"235SophomoreDavenport, IATransferred to Minnesota.

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
ShanQuan Hemphill4F6'6"195SeniorGary, INTransferred from Green Bay. Missed almost all of 2019–20 season with lower body injury; petitioned for and was granted a medical waiver that gave him a sixth season of eligibility.
Darnell Brodie51F6'10"275JuniorNewark, NJTransferred from Seton Hall. Played just 3 games during 2019–20 season due to injuries and illnesses. Granted hardship waiver that gave him immediate eligibility for 2020–21 season.

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Bryceson Burns
#11 G/F
Houston, TX Westfield High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 8, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jordan Kwiecinski
#21 PF
Chicago, IL Loyola Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jul 27, 2019 
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:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

Roster

2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 D. J. Wilkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)182 lb (83 kg) RS JrFlorida Southwestern State
Merrillville
Merrillville, IN
G 1 Joseph Yesufu 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoBolingbrook Bolingbrook, IL
F 2 Tremell Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrFlorida Southwestern State
Griffith
Griffith, IN
G 3 Garrett Sturtz (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrNewton Newton, IA
F 4 ShanQuan Hemphill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrGreen Bay
Michigan City
Gary, IN
G 10 Okay Djamgouz 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)182 lb (83 kg) RS FrLondon Basketball Academy Toronto, Canada
G/F 11 Bryceson Burns 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrWestfield Houston, TX
G 12 Roman Penn Injured 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS JrSiena
Bishop Noll
Calumet City, IL
F 13 Issa Samake 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS FrGrand View Christian Des Moines, IA
G 14 Noah Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)163 lb (74 kg) Sr22 Ft Academy Sydney, Australia
G 20 Jonah Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrJohn A. Logan College
Merrillville
Merrillville, IN
F 21 Jordan Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrLoyola Academy Chicago, IL
G/F 22 Andrew Barrett (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)183 lb (83 kg) JrAlleman Rock Island, IL
F 24 Nate Ferguson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrLemont Lemont, IL
G 25 Connor Gholson (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)192 lb (87 kg) RS JrNewton Newton, IA
G 41 Deven Dahlke (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrSt. Mary's Phoenix, AZ
F 51 Darnell Brodie 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)275 lb (125 kg) JrSeton Hall
Newark East Side
Newark, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 25, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPNU
at Kansas State
Little Apple Classic
W 80–70  1–0
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
Nov 27, 2020*
1:00 pm
vs. South Dakota
Little Apple Classic
W 69–53  2–0
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
Dec 3, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Omaha W 87–66  3–0
Knapp Center (89)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 6, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
St. Ambrose W 97–53  4–0
Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
Dec 9, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
McKendree W 90–66  5–0
Knapp Center (83)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 13, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Air Force W 81–53  6–0
Knapp Center (141)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 18, 2020*
5:00 pm
at South Dakota W 75–57  7–0
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (382)
Vermillion, SD
Dec 20, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Chicago State W 111–67  8–0
Knapp Center (331)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 22, 2020*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
North Dakota W 88–55  9–0
Knapp Center (325)
Des Moines, IA
MVC regular season
Dec 27, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Indiana State W 81–63  10–0
(1–0)
Hulman Center (200)
Terre Haute, IN
Dec 28, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Indiana State W 73–66  11–0
(2–0)
Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, IN
Jan 3, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPNU
Southern Illinois W 73–55  12–0
(3–0)
Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
Jan 4, 2021
6:00 pm, CBSSN
Southern Illinois W 86–55  13–0
(4–0)
Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA
Jan 26, 2021
7:00 pm, MVC TV
at Missouri State W 68–61  14–0
(5–0)
JQH Arena (1,989)
Springfield, MO
Jan 27, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Missouri State W 78–73  15–0
(6–0)
JQH Arena (1,744)
Springfield, MO
Jan 31, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Illinois State W 78–76 OT 16–0
(7–0)
Knapp Center (947)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 1, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 25 Illinois State W 95–60  17–0
(8–0)
Knapp Center (737)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 6, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 25 at Valparaiso W 80–77  18–0
(9–0)
Athletics–Recreation Center 
Valparaiso, IN
Feb 7, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 25 at Valparaiso L 57–74  18–1
(9–1)
Athletics–Recreation Center 
Valparaiso, IN
Feb 10, 2021
6:00 pm, CBSSN
Northern Iowa W 80–59  19–1
(10–1)
Knapp Center (971)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 13, 2021
11:00 am, ESPN2
No. 22 Loyola–Chicago L 54–81  19–2
(10–2)
Knapp Center (864)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 14, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 Loyola–Chicago W 51–50 OT 20–2
(11–2)
Knapp Center (921)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 17, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Iowa W 77–69  21–2
(12–2)
McLeod Center (914)
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 21, 2021
3:00 pm, MVC TV
Evansville W 85–71  22–2
(13–2)
Knapp Center (753)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 22, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Evansville W 74–63  23–2
(14–2)
Knapp Center (675)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 26, 2021
6:00 pm, MVC TV
at Bradley W 80–71  24–2
(15–2)
Carver Arena 
Peoria, IL
Feb 27, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley L 61–67  24–3
(15–3)
Carver Arena 
Peoria, IL
MVC tournament
March 5, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
(2) vs. (7) Northern Iowa
Quarterfinals
Won by forfeit due to COVID-19 issues at UNI[lower-alpha 1] Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2021
3:00 pm, CBSSN
(2) vs. (3) Missouri State
Semifinals
W 71–69  25–3
Enterprise Center (1,178)
St. Louis, MO
March 7, 2021
1:00 pm, CBS
(2) vs. (1) No. 20 Loyola–Chicago
Championship
L 65–75  25–4
Enterprise Center (1,265)
St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2021
5:27 pm, TBS
(11 W) vs. (11 W) Wichita State
First Four
W 53–52  26–4
Mackey Arena (2,825)
West Lafayette, IN
March 20, 2021
3:30 pm, TNT
(11 W) vs. (6 W) No. 23 USC
First Round
L 56–72  26–5
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[4]

  1. Prior to the game, the MVC announced that due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Northern Iowa program and subsequent contact tracing, the Panthers would not have enough available players to compete. Therefore, in accordance with policies that had been in place all season, the contest was canceled and the MVC ruled that Drake would advance to the semifinals.[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
APRVRVRVRVRV25RVRVRVRVRVNot released
Coaches—^RVRVRVRVRVRV25RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

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