2007–08 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team


The 2007–08 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University in the 2007–08 college basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Keno Davis. In 2006–07, the Bulldogs finished 17–15. Drake improved upon their first winning season since the 1986–1987 season, making their first NCAA tournament appearance since their run to the Elite Eight in 1971 and their first postseason appearance since their National Invitational Tournament appearance in 1986.

Preseason

The preseason Missouri Valley Conference Coaches' Poll picked the Bulldogs to finish ninth. No Drake players were voted to the preseason first or second teams. It is also noteworthy that Drake only returned one starter from the 2006–07 team that won 17 games, namely shooting guard Josh Young.
Drake's starters were so lightly regarded on paper that ESPN.com reporter Adam Rittenberg remarked just before the 2008 NCAA tournament that they "not long ago looked better suited for the scout team than the starting lineup":
On November 9 and 10, Drake competed in the Saint Mary's Tip-Off Classic. They defeated UC San Diego and lost to Saint Mary's College in the championship game. On December 1, 2007, Drake won the Iowa Realty Invitational with victories over North Carolina Central and Duquesne. On December 8, 2007, Drake won the Drake Regency Classic with victories over Chicago State and Texas-Pan American. On December 14, 2007, Drake broke a 20-year winless streak at Iowa with a 56–51 victory. With the victory Drake improved to 9–1 for the first time since the 1979–80 season. On December 17, 2007, Drake received 6 points in the AP Top 25 poll. That had them ranked T-37th in the nation. The last time Drake was ranked was March 16, 1971. On December 24, 2007, Drake received 3 points in the AP Top 25 poll. That had them ranked T-40th. On December 30, 2007, Drake's RPI rating was 19th in the nation. On December 31, 2007, Drake received 8 points in the AP Top 25 poll. That had them ranked T-35th.
On January 2, 2007, Drake won its first game against Southern Illinois since February 17, 1999. Their 11–1 record tied the best start in school history set by the 1969–70 team. It was the first 2–0 start by the Bulldogs in the MVC since the 1995–96 season. With the Bulldogs' 71–68 win over Evansville on January 6, 2008, they set a new Drake record for the best start in school history with a 12–1 mark. They were 3–0 in the MVC for the first time since the 1982–83 season. On January 7, 2008, Drake received its first vote of the year in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll. They also received a season-high 22 points in the AP Top 25 poll with a ranking of T-31.
With Drake's victory over Indiana State on January 9, 2008, Drake started 4–0 in the MVC for the first time since 1970. On January 10, 2008, Drake's RPI rating was 15th in the nation. On January 12, 2008, Drake won their first game against Missouri State after losing the last 10 games. They also set a school record with a 14–1 mark for the best start in school history. As of before the day's game, Drake's RPI was 11th in the nation. On January 14, 2008, Drake received 17 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 30th. They also were ranked 26th in the AP Top 25 poll with 75 points.
On January 19, 2008, Drake improved their record to 16–1 with a victory over Illinois State in what was the first meeting between two teams with 6–0 conference records in Missouri Valley Conference play. On January 21, 2008, Drake received 92 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 23rd. They also were ranked 22nd in the AP Top 25 poll with 313 points. It was the first time Drake had been ranked since they were ranked 16th in the AP Top 20 poll in March 1975. On January 25, 2008, Drake was ranked 9th in RPI ratings. On January 28, 2008, Drake received 220 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll, which had them ranked 17th. They also were ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll with 616 points.
On January 30, 2008, with the Drake win over Creighton and Kansas' loss to Kansas State, Drake held the 2nd longest winning streak in the nation at 18 wins in a row. They were second only to Memphis' 20 consecutive wins. On February 2, 2008, Drake won 20 games in a season for the first time since the 1970–71 season. On February 4, 2008, Drake received 334 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll, which had them ranked 15th. They also were ranked 15th in the AP Top 25 poll with 817 points. On February 9, 2008, Drake extended their winning streak to 21 games. On February 11, 2008, Drake received 361 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 15th. They also were ranked 14th in the AP Top 25 poll with 863 points.
On February 16, 2008, Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship for the first time since the 1970–71 season. Also with the win they now held the second most wins in Drake history with 23, with the school record being 26 by the 1968–69 team. On February 18, 2008, Drake received 243 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 18th. They also were ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll with 612 points. On February 23, 2008, with Drake's 71–64 win over No. 8 Butler, they claimed their first win over a top-10 team since a 56–55 home victory over No. 7 Tulsa on February 15, 1982. On February 25, 2008, Drake received 259 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 20th. They also were ranked 20th in the AP Top 25 poll with 621 points.
On March 1, 2008, with Drake's win over Wichita State, Drake won its most games ever in the Missouri Valley Conference with 15. On March 3, 2008 Drake received 116 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 21st. They also were ranked 20th in the AP Top 25 poll with 346 points. The ranking marked the 7th consecutive week Drake was ranked in the AP and Coaches polls. This tied the Drake record set by the 1969–1970 team set from January 27, 1970, through March 10, 1970. This was also the first time a Missouri Valley Conference team had been ranked for seven consecutive weeks since Creighton was ranked during the 2002–2003 season.
On March 10, 2008, Drake received 235 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 18th. They also were ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll with 672 points. On March 18, 2008, Drake received 310 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 14th. They also were ranked 14th in the AP Top 25 poll with 794 points. On April 7, 2008, Drake received 117 points in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches poll which had them ranked 23rd.

Postseason

On March 7, 2008 Drake tied the school record for most wins in a season, set by the 1968–1969 team, with their 26th win over Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. On March 8, 2008 Drake set a new school record for wins in a season with its semifinal victory over 4th seeded Creighton. The victory also earned them their first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament appearance. On March 9, 2008 Drake won their first ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 79–49 victory over Illinois State. With the win they also clinched their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 1970–1971 season.
The Bulldogs were well represented on the MVC postseason honors list:
In the 2008 NCAA Tournament 5th-seeded Drake took on the 12th-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. After overcoming a 16-point deficit in the last 8 minutes of the game to send the game into overtime, the Bulldogs lost 101–99 on Ty Rogers' desperation 26-foot 3-pointer as time expired.

Roster

Missouri Valley Conference standings

#TeamConferencePct.OverallPct.
1Drake
15–3
.833
28–5
.848
2Illinois State
13–5
.722
25–10
.714
3Southern Illinois
11–7
.611
18–15
.545
4Creighton
10–8
.556
23–11
.676
5Bradley
9–9
.500
20–17
.541
6Northern Iowa
9–9
.500
18–14
.563
7Missouri State
8–10
.444
17–16
.515
8Indiana State
8–10
.444
15–16
.484
9Wichita State
4–14
.222
11–20
.355
10Evansville
3–15
.167
9–21
.300

Leaders

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; SPG= Steals per Game; RPG = Rebounds per Game; APG. = Assists per Game; BPG = Blocks per Game; PPG = Points per Game
PlayerGPMPGSPGRPGAPGBPGPPG
Kit Avery81.60.00.50.30.00.0
Jacob Baryenbruch3310.40.10.60.80.02.2
Jonathan Cox3331.00.88.50.71.012.3
Tyson Dirks81.30.00.10.00.00.0
Bill Eaddy142.80.10.60.10.11.6
Adam Emmenecker3333.11.64.66.50.18.6
John Michael Hall339.90.51.10.60.03.5
Brent Heemskerk3318.10.83.30.60.84.7
Leonard Houston3331.61.44.51.80.214.1
Klayton Korver3327.00.73.91.20.110.4
Josh Parker317.00.21.00.90.02.1
Alex White109.80.72.90.30.33.7
Josh Young3031.91.42.51.80.115.9

Schedule

!colspan=12| Exhibition
!colspan=12| Regular Season
!colspan=12| Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
!colspan=12| NCAA Tournament