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NCAA Basketball: Arkansas, SMU among best unbeaten teams that aren’t ranked

By Ryan Kay

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 28: Emmanuel Bandoumel #5 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs brings the ball up court during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on January 28, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 28: Emmanuel Bandoumel #5 of the Southern Methodist Mustangs brings the ball up court during the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on January 28, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Drake Garrett Sturtz
Drake Garrett Sturtz /

4. Drake Bulldogs

Team: Drake

Conference: MVC

Record: 11-0

Leading Scorer: ShanQuan Hemphill is averaging 14.1 points per game.

Victories: @ Indiana State (twice) North Dakota, Chicago State, @South Dakota, Air Force, @Kansas State, South Dakota (neutral court), Omaha, McKendree, and St. Ambrose.

KenPom ranking: 79

Why they are undefeated: Drake’s defense has been superb and arguably the best defense among all mid-major programs at this point of the season. The Bulldogs have held three teams’ offenses to 53 points and Drake’s defense has also had two other games where they have held those two teams to 57 or fewer points. The Bulldog’s defense has been impressive all season as witnessed when they held the Air Force offensive attack to only 53 points.

In nine of their eleven victories, they have stopped their opponents from scoring 66 or fewer points. The most points that they gave up this season was their season opener on the road against the Wildcats.  Drake has played very well away from their home court going 5-0 on the season. They also won on the road against a Power Five and Big 12 opponent in Kansas State to open their season.

Reasons to be Pessimistic:  Like a decent portion of other division one programs, Drake has two wins over non-division one opponents and those victories are not impressive on paper.

The Bulldog’s victory against winless and 0-9 Chicago State is not a very impressive non-conference win. Drake has not faced any ranked or high-quality competition this season as a whole. The victory at Kansas State is not that impressive in retrospect as the Wildcats have lost to non-division one opponent Fort Hays State.

The Bulldogs will have Southern Illinois to challenge them for the conference championship and they will face them this weekend but they do not any ranked opponents remaining on their schedule.

Next Opponent: Southern Illinois on 01/03

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