Off to their best start in school history the Drake basketball team can set its sights on the Missouri Valley Conference race. The Bulldogs take a 9-1 record into their league opener at Wichita State on Saturday.

Drake coach Keno Davis says the nonconference schedule was put in place to get as much experience as they could knowing how tough the MVC is overall. Davis says they’ve gotten the experience and are better, and they will soon find out if they’ve improved enough.

The Bulldogs opened the MVC by dropping eight of their first nine games last season but Davis feels this is a better and more confident team. One of Drake’s strengths this year is perimeter shooting.

Davis says confidence is a big key, as they have to be able to shoot with confidence when they’re open, even on the nights when the shots are not falling. Davis says their defense and rebounding has improved and that will hopefully help on nights when the shooting isn’t as good.

Wichita State is 8-5.