The Drake Bulldogs now have 28 wins on the season but none more impressive then Sunday’s victory over Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game.
The Bulldogs closed the first half with a 22-2 run and rolled past the Rebirds 79-49 in the most lopsided Valley championship game in history.
Drake coach Keno Davis on his post game show on KRNT says there’s no question they had their best game of the season and they’re excited. After running away with the regular season crown the Bulldogs became the first number one seed to win the tournament since 1998. Davis says to it is exciting to go on and play in the "Big Dance," and he says they will play as hard as they can and if it is good enough to advance O.K., if not they’ve had a good season.
The Bulldogs are 28-4 and figure to get a high seed when the pairings are announced next Sunday.
Bulldog senior Leonard Houston says he’s excited to watch on selection Sunday to see where they go. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent in the opening half and raced out to a 40-19 lead and the outcome was never in doubt after that.
Forward Brent Heemskerk says to come from where they’ve come from, is a special thing and to win three games in a row in the tournament is "pretty special." Heemskerk says he was shocked by the margin of victory. He says he wouldn’t have believed it before the game as Illinois State is too good. Btu he says, "Today was just our day."
After winning a string of close games during the regular season the Bulldogs won their three tournament games by an average margin of 20 points.