Drake Basketball: 2023-24 season preview and outlook for the Bulldogs

2023-24 schedule outlook

Drake basketball’s non-conference schedule has some highlights. Missouri Valley Conference teams struggle to land ‘power 5’ conference foes, so they load up on other ‘mid-major’ programs. Six of Drake’s out-of-conference opponents will fall in KenPom.com’s top 200 and at least two are top-100 teams.

While Nevada and UAB are the highlights of the Drake schedule, the other four top-200 teams have quality resumes. Nevada was an NCAA Tournament team last season and UAB won four National Invitation Tournament games. Andy Kennedy’s team is the second highest rated team on Drake’s schedule (90).

Drake faces Nevada (67) in what is being called a ‘neutral site’ game. The Bulldogs will play the Wolfpack in Henderson, Nevada. Former MVC coach Steve Alford (Missouri State) leads a Nevada team that has finished in the top-100 in four of the past five years. Alford is closing in on 700 career wins (665) and some have rated the Wolfpack the Mountain West’s fifth best team.

Coach DeVries is taking his team to the Cayman Island Classic. The Braves open ‘The Classic’ with Oakland, but will then have a quality opponent whether it is Loyola-Marymount or Stephen F. Austin in the tournament’s second round. Four other sub-200 teams are on the other side of the bracket, including a Utah State team that played in last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Though Texas Southern doesn’t fit that ‘top-200’ category, the Tigers were an NCAA Tournament team in 2023. Saint Louis (115) is a quality Atlantic Ten opponent.

If Drake wants the chance to make an ‘at-large berth’ case, the Bulldogs need to win nine or ten of their non-conference games  and one of those victories needs be against Nevada or UAB. Anything less than that Drake has to win the conference tournament to go dancing in March.