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.

2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record25–11 (13–5 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Marty Richter
  • Matt Gatens
  • Achoki Moikobu
Home arenaKnapp Center
Seasons
2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern Iowa 14 4   .778 20 12   .625
Missouri State 13 5   .722 23 11   .676
Drake 13 5   .722 25 11   .694
Loyola Chicago 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
Bradley 11 7   .611 17 14   .548
Southern Illinois 9 9   .500 16 14   .533
Valparaiso 6 12   .333 14 18   .438
Illinois State 5 13   .278 13 20   .394
Indiana State 4 14   .222 11 20   .355
Evansville 2 16   .111 6 24   .200
2022 MVC tournament winner

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

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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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] Drake received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region.[4] They defeated Wichita State in the First Four, which was Drake's first tournament win in 50 years.[5] They then lost to USC in the first round.[6]

Prior to the NCAA tournament, DeVries signed an eight-year contract extension through the 2028–29 season.[7]

Offseason

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Departures

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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

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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

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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: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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.

Roster

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2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 D. J. Wilkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) RS Sr Florida Southwestern State
Merrillville
Merrillville, IN
G 1 Roman Penn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Siena
Bishop Noll
Calumet City, IL
F 2 Tremell Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Florida Southwestern State
Griffith
Griffith, IN
G 3 Garrett Sturtz (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Newton Newton, IA
F 4 ShanQuan Hemphill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Green Bay
Michigan City
Gary, IN
G 10 Okay Djamgouz 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So London Basketball Academy Toronto, Canada
G/F 11 Bryceson Burns 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Westfield Houston, TX
G/F 12 Tucker DeVries 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Waukee Waukee, IA
F 13 Issa Samake   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Grand View Christian Des Moines, IA
G 14 Ayo Akinwole 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Omaha
Papillion-La Vista Senior
Papillion, NE
G 20 Jonah Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr John A. Logan College
Merrillville
Merrillville, IN
F 21 Jordan Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Loyola Academy Chicago, IL
F 24 Nate Ferguson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Lemont Lemont, IL
G 41 Deven Dahlke (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So St. Mary's Phoenix, AZ
F 51 Darnell Brodie 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Sr Seton Hall
Newark East Side
Newark, NJ
G 55 Conor Enright 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Mundelein Mundelein, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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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[8] 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[10]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
APRVRVRVNot released
CoachesRVRV^RV

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

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  1. ^ Marrow, Blake (February 21, 2021). "Valparaiso hands Drake Men's Basketball first loss of the season". The Times-Delphic. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  2. ^ Bain, Matthew (February 1, 2021). "Drake men's basketball ranked in the top 25 for first time since 2008". Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  3. ^ "Drake falls to No. 20 Loyola in MVC Championship". Radio Iowa. March 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Bain, Matthew (March 14, 2021). "Drake basketball makes first men's NCAA Tournament since 2008, will play Wichita State". Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (March 18, 2021). "Drake edges Wichita State for first NCAA tournament win in 50 years". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  6. ^ Emmert, Mark (March 20, 2021). "NCAA Tournament: Drake basketball falters in second half, USC gradually pulls away for victory". Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Drake Announces Contract Extension For Head Men's Basketball Coach Darian DeVries". godrakebulldogs.com. March 17, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "Men's Basketball Game Versus Saint Louis in Las Vegas Canceled". December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Men's Basketball to Play UT Martin on Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. in Knapp Center". godrakebulldogs.com. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics.