Sports Analysis

Drake University’s men’s basketball continued its impressive season when the team flew to Charleston, S.C., Nov. 21-24 for the Charleston Children’s Classic tournament. There, the Bulldogs swept the court with some high-profile opponents, including the University of Miami Hurricanes, the Florida Atlantic University Owls and the Vanderbilt Commodores. 

The Hurricanes beat Drake in the 2023 March Madness tournament, where the Bulldogs fell in the first round and the Hurricanes advanced all the way to the Final Four. FAU’s Owls also made it to the Final Four in 2024, meaning two highly acclaimed teams entered the tournament wanting early non-conference wins. The tournament also included teams like University of Nevada, Oklahoma State University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Seton Hall University that have all been ranked within the Top 20 in the nation for offensive and defensive statistics. 

This year’s tournament was also important for the Bulldogs because four of the team’s starting players are DII transfers, along with Ben McCollum replacing Darian DeVries as head coach. 

With the fact that that the team had not gone up against any conference teams yet nor bigger name programs, early season tournaments such as this are a way for Drake’s team to practice before entering conference play. Made for teams of any skill level, the tournaments can add a few difficult wins to the team’s schedule. In Drake’s case, the Bulldogs took three wins on the road, showcasing a polished and energetic team. 

Drake took on the Hurricanes first on Nov. 21 and managed to outscore the team in both halves in what was considered a rematch dating back to 2023. The team went 36-27 in the first half and 44-42 in the second to finish with a final score of 80-69. 

Bennett Stirtz dropped 21 points for the game, and Daniel Abreu laid up 18 points. Abreu added a double-double with his 10 rebounds to  his 18 points, a move that helped the team secure the needed extra points off of Hurricane misses and achieve a ten-point victory. With this victory, Drake also scored its first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference team in seven years.

The 2024 Final Four Owls won the first round game and played Drake on Nov. 22 in the semifinals, both teas seeking a a spot in the trophy-winning game just two days later. Drake yet again outscored its competitor 32-28 in the first half and 43-35 in the second. 

The Bulldogs took the win 75-63 over the Owls with the help of Mitch Mascari, who laid up 22 points, and Stirtz, who followed with 17 points. Isaiah Jackson almost dropped a double-double himself, falling short by one point with 10 rebounds and nine points for the game. The Bulldogs would then stick around until Nov. 24 to compete in the finals against the Vanderbilt Commodores. 

Vanderbilt turned out to be a tough opponent, with the Bulldogs barely outshooting the Commodores 34-31 in the first half before pulling away and out-scoring Vanderbilt by 47-39 in the second, ultimately leading to a 81-70 Drake win. 

Four Bulldogs had over 15 points for the game, with Cam Manyawu running a double-double with 11 rebounds and 18 points, Mascari with 17 points, Stirtz with 16 points and Abreu with 15 points. The team’s evenly spread talent showing led them to a tournament win and to earning a trophy to bring back to Des Moines. 

The team then hosted Georgia Southern University on Nov. 30 at the Knapp for what would turn out to be another strong Bulldog win. Abreu sank 15 points for the game, and Manyawu, Stirtz, Mascari and Banks all dropped over 10 points each. The team outshot the Eagles 29-23 in the first half and 32-24 in the second to land with a final score of 61-47, which advanced the Bulldogs to a 7-0 record. 

This record and team will aim for a few accomplishments going forward as the Bulldogs work towards conference play and beyond. The Bulldogs’ best season start of 18-0 came just a few years ago in 2020-21, and so far, the team is working through its 30 games to that advance its record. 

The team has many other achievements under its belt going into December’s playing schedule. So far this season, Drake is ranked No. 1 in the nation, tied with the No. 1 overall team in the nation: the University of Kansas, along with Tennessee, Kentucky, Marquette and 12 other teams. The Bulldogs also rank No. 6 in the nation for scoring offense with only allowing only 57.4% of opponents’ points only coming out to 402 points blocked for the season throughout seven games. 

The team was ranked 47th in the nation after its 2023-24 season and will continue to move up in the national rankings for the 2024-25 season as long as they keep playing quality games. With 29 votes so far for the season overall, according to the AP Top 25 — ranking higher than University of California Los Angeles, Arizona State University, Michigan State and others — the Bulldogs may see a Top 25 ranking within the next few wins. 

Head coach Ben McCollum is also up for the Top 25 in coaches polls, according to ESPN, with 23 votes right now — topping the vote counts of Michigan State, the University of Illinois and Rutgers University. 

The team will attempt to keep hold of its winning streak on Dec. 5 against the 4-1 Valparaiso Beacons at the Athletic-Recreation Center in Indiana.