Bullish on the Bulldogs

(St. Louis, MO) – Two Missouri Valley Conference teams remain in the top 100 in the latest ‘NCAA Evaluation Tool’ rankings. Southern Illinois and Drake are holding strong and some MVC watchers are truly bullish on the Bulldogs.

Drake (8-2) heads into this weekend’s Las Vegas Classic with a NET ranking of 98 and an RPI of  74. Heady stuff for a team picked to finish near the bottom of the Valley race.

“The NCAA Evaluation Tool, which will be known as the NET, relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.” (NCAA.org)

So Drake’s nine-point loss Iowa State was a loss, but a quality loss. Road wins at Milwaukee and UMKC help, as does a neutral site win against North Dakota State. Of course all Division 1 wins help and first-year coach Darian DeVries has his team six games over .500, and off to the program’s best start since 2007-08.

Both Ends of the Floor

DeVries is bullish on the Bulldogs because they are performing at both ends of the floor. His team leads the league in scoring (78.6) and yet is holding the opposition to a league-best .408 field goal percentage and a microscopic .284 rate from long range. The Bulldogs score and make it hard for their opponents to keep up.

Led by point guard Nick Norton’s 6.5 assists per game, Drake is the Valley’s best at assists and sparked by center Nick McGlynn’s twelve blocks the Bulldogs lead the MVC with 4.5 rejections per contest. DeVries told godrakebulldogs.com he loves the way his team competes.

“They love to compete and they love to improve,” said DeVries. “They love to play together. We want to play the same way every night. We have to come with a certain amount of grit and toughness and strength.”

Twin Nicks

The Twin Nicks (Norton and McGlynn) are leading the way. The two seniors lead the team in most statistical categories and in the team’s approach.

McGlynn is a holdover from the previous coaching staffs and is something of an ‘all-out-effort’ guy. He never stops playing, hustling and talking to teammates. He leads the squad in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 per game).

UAB grad transfer Norton is the ‘all-seeing quarterback’ who has seen it all and done it all. He leads the Bulldogs in minutes, assists, three-pointers, free-throw percentage. If McGlynn is the gas pedal, Norton is the steering wheel.

After their loss to Iowa State Norton said a close loss to a Big 12 team was not satisfying.

“What you ask is to be at that last media (time out) and have a shot,” said Norton. “We’re growing and not satisfied by any means. We want to get better each day.”

Depth and Interchangeable Parts

The rest of DeVries’ rotation is filled with interchangeable parts. Athletic wings surround the big man McGlynn and follow the lead of the point guard Norton.

Twin transfers Tremell and Anthony Murphy are both athletic 6’5 wings that combine to score over 14 points and grab nearly nine rebounds per game. Their former Southwestern State College teammate D.J. Wilkins is the team’s third leading scorer (10.6 points per game) and hands out 2.7 assists nightly. He is the only Bulldog to start each with ‘the Twin Nicks’.

Transfer Brady Ellingson and holdover Noah Thomas both make threes and get plenty of playing time.

The outlier is 7’ freshman Liam Robbins who actually leads the team with 14 blocks in just twelve minutes per game.

Every Bulldog will jack it from deep. They lead the Valley by making 9.4 triples per game and McGlynn says the players trust one another.

“Going into every game knowing we have a shot with the pieces we have,” said McGlynn. “We trust every person we’ve got.”

DeVries says they’ll keep improving.

“What I know about this group is that they will work hard and continue to improve,” said DeVries. “Anthony (Murphy) continues to get better and better. He’s kind of our garbage guy. Whatever we need him to do, he can do.”

Las Vegas Classic

The trip to ‘Sin City’ won’t be an easy one. New Mexico State (8-2) is the Saturday opponent while either Washington State (7-3) or San Diego (8-3) await on Sunday. However, great opportunities are in store. New Mexico State and San Diego each hold NET rankings in the 60s.

A victory in either or both games in Vegas will help more people become bullish on the Bulldogs.

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