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Drake Basketball: Bulldogs destined for 2023 Missouri Valley crown

By Shea Irish

Beau, of Urbandale, is crowded the 40th Beautiful Bulldog during Drake University's annual contest marking the start of Drake Relays week on Monday, April 22, 2019, at the Knapp Center on the Drake campus in Des Moines. The bulldog is owned by T.J. and Angela McKenzie.0422 Beautifulbulldog 002 Cr2
Beau, of Urbandale, is crowded the 40th Beautiful Bulldog during Drake University's annual contest marking the start of Drake Relays week on Monday, April 22, 2019, at the Knapp Center on the Drake campus in Des Moines. The bulldog is owned by T.J. and Angela McKenzie.0422 Beautifulbulldog 002 Cr2 /
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Drake senior forward Tremell Murphy Drakevsnimbb 20220226 Bh
Drake senior forward Tremell Murphy Drakevsnimbb 20220226 Bh /

2021-22 Drake Bulldogs regular season:

Drake finished last year at 25-11 overall and 13-5 in Missouri Valley play. 2021-22 was another milestone year for the Bulldogs, marking just the 4th time in school history that they won at least 25 games in a single season.

They started November off with a bang by defeating a solid South Dakota team, who finished in the top 5 of the Summit League, by a whopping 49 points at home. They then followed that up with an impressive hard-fought win over the Richmond Spiders, an eventual 2022 NCAA Tournament team.

Next was a trip to Orlando at the end of November, where they had the opportunity to play three big-time opponents at the ESPN Events Invitational. Although they returned to Des Moines with an 0-3 record in that neutral site tournament, they proved they could match up with some of the best competition in the country.

They held a lead in the final five minutes of all three games against impressive programs in Belmont, Alabama, and North Texas. For reference, the Bruins ended up winning 25 games and finishing 2nd in the OVC, the Crimson Tide made the NCAA Tournament as a 6 seed, and the Mean Green won the C-USA Regular Season Championship.

The experience from that early-season tournament turned out to be valuable, helping the Bulldogs hit their stride by winning 7 of the next 8 games. The only loss during that stretch was an OT defeat at the hands of an ACC opponent, the Clemson Tigers. Drake used that momentum to start off Missouri Valley play on a tear at 8-2, including impressive wins on the road at Northern Iowa in OT and against the class of the league in Loyola Chicago at the Knapp Center.

After stumbling into a mid-season slump by losing three consecutive games, the Bulldogs bounced right back to win the last five games of the regular season. The most notable win of the season came during that span by defeating Loyola Chicago on the road, pulling off a sweep of the Ramblers for the first time ever.

Finishing the regular season at 22-9 overall and 13-5 in conference play, the Bulldogs’ next journey was the five-and-a-half-hour trip to Saint Louis for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.