2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by fourth-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the regular season 22–9, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals and Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship.

2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	25–11 (13–5 MVC)
Head coach	Darian DeVries (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Marty Richter Matt Gatens Achoki Moikobu
Home arena	Knapp Center
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Iowa	14	–	4		.778			20	–	12		.625
Missouri State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	11		.676
Drake	13	–	5		.722			25	–	11		.694
Loyola Chicago †	13	–	5		.722			25	–	8		.758
Bradley	11	–	7		.611			17	–	14		.548
Southern Illinois	9	–	9		.500			16	–	14		.533
Valparaiso	6	–	12		.333			14	–	18		.438
Illinois State	5	–	13		.278			13	–	20		.394
Indiana State	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Evansville	2	–	16		.111			6	–	24		.200
† 2022 MVC tournament winner

The Bulldogs accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational and earned the No. 1 overall seed. They defeated Purdue Fort Wayne in the first round before being upset by UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 26–5, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. The team set a school record by winning their first 18 games, representing the fourth-best start by an MVC school and equaling the sixth-longest winning streak in MVC history.^[1] They also earned a ranking in the AP Poll for the first time since 2008 at No. 25 prior to suffering their first loss of the season to Valparaiso on February 7, 2021.^[2]

In the MVC tournament, the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals via forfeit due to COVID-19 issues at Northern Iowa. They defeated Missouri State in the semifinals before falling to Loyola in the championship game.^[3] Drake received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region.^[4] They defeated Wichita State in the First Four, which was Drake's first tournament win in 50 years.^[5] They then lost to USC in the first round.^[6]

Prior to the NCAA tournament, DeVries signed an eight-year contract extension through the 2028–29 season.^[7]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Joseph Yesufu	1	G	6'0"	180	Sophomore	Bolingbrook, IL	Transferred to Kansas
Noah Thomas	14	G	6'2"	163	Senior	Sydney, Australia	Graduated
Andrew Barrett	22	G/F	6'5"	183	Junior	Rock Island, IL	Walk-on; did not return to team
Connor Gholson	25	G	6'3"	192	RS Junior	Newton, IA	In transfer portal

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Ayo Akinwole	14	G	5'11"	180	Senior	Papillion, NE	Transferred from Omaha

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Conor Enright #55 G	Mundelein, IL	Mundelein High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 1, 2019
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Tucker DeVries #12 G/F	Waukee, IA	Waukee High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 12, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (78)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved October 30, 2021.

Roster

2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 D. J. Wilkins 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) RS Sr Florida Southwestern State Merrillville Merrillville, IN G 1 Roman Penn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Siena Bishop Noll Calumet City, IL F 2 Tremell Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Florida Southwestern State Griffith Griffith, IN G 3 Garrett Sturtz (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Newton Newton, IA F 4 ShanQuan Hemphill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Green Bay Michigan City Gary, IN G 10 Okay Djamgouz 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So London Basketball Academy Toronto, Canada G/F 11 Bryceson Burns 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Westfield Houston, TX G/F 12 Tucker DeVries 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Waukee Waukee, IA F 13 Issa Samake  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Grand View Christian Des Moines, IA G 14 Ayo Akinwole 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Omaha Papillion-La Vista Senior Papillion, NE G 20 Jonah Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr John A. Logan College Merrillville Merrillville, IN F 21 Jordan Kwiecinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Loyola Academy Chicago, IL F 24 Nate Ferguson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Lemont Lemont, IL G 41 Deven Dahlke (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So St. Mary's Phoenix, AZ F 51 Darnell Brodie 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Sr Seton Hall Newark East Side Newark, NJ G 55 Conor Enright 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Mundelein Mundelein, IL	Head coach Darian DeVries (Northern Iowa) Assistant coach(es) Marty Richter (Simpson) Matt Gatens (Iowa) Achoki Moikobu (Fort Hays State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2021* 7:00 pm		Drury	W 96–49		16 – Djamgouz	9 – Hemphill	4 – Tied	Knapp Center (2,257) Des Moines, IA
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Coe	W 87–61	1–0	14 – Tied	8 – Murphy	5 – Wilkins	Knapp Center (2,591) Des Moines, IA
November 14, 2021* 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+		South Dakota	W 99–50	2–0	14 – Hemphill	8 – Tied	4 – Tied	Knapp Center (2,827) Des Moines, IA
November 20, 2021* 12:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+		Richmond	W 73–70	3–0	18 – Murphy	9 – Sturtz	4 – Penn	Knapp Center (3,347) Des Moines, IA
November 25, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Belmont ESPN Events Invitational First Round	L 69–74	3–1	18 – Murphy	11 – Sturtz	5 – Penn	HP Field House (3,008) Kissimmee, FL
November 26, 2021* 3:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. No. 10 Alabama ESPN Events Invitational Consolation round	L 71–80	3–2	17 – Wilkins	7 – Murphy	6 – Penn	HP Field House (3,020) Kissimmee, FL
November 28, 2021* 9:30 a.m., ESPNU		vs. North Texas ESPN Events Invitational 7th Place Game	L 54–57	3–3	13 – Murphy	6 – Sturtz	1 – Penn	HP Field House (3,252) Kissimmee, FL
December 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Valparaiso	W 73–66	4–3 (1–0)	14 – Brodie	7 – Hemphill	5 – Penn	Knapp Center (2,560) Des Moines, IA
December 5, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		St. Thomas	W 74–64	5–3	21 – DeVries	8 – DeVries	2 – Tied	Knapp Center (2,674) Des Moines, IA
December 8, 2021* 8:00 pm		at Omaha	W 78–70	6–3	24 – DeVries	6 – Sturtz	4 – Wilkins	Baxter Arena  Omaha, NE
December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, ACCN		vs. Clemson Holiday Hoopsgiving	L 80–90 OT	6–4	19 – DeVries	8 – Hemphill	4 – Wilkins	State Farm Arena (8,557) Atlanta, GA
December 16, 2021* 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+		Jackson State	W 70–65 OT	7–4	17 – Hemphill	12 – Hemphill	5 – Wilkins	Knapp Center (2,660) Des Moines, IA
December 19, 2021* 2:00 pm, MC22/ESPN3		UT Martin	W 80–54	8–4	15 – Tied	9 – Sturtz	7 – DeVries	Knapp Center (2,673) Des Moines, IA
December 22, 2021* 2:00 pm		vs. Saint Louis Las Vegas Showcase	Canceled due to COVID-19[8]					South Point Arena  Enterprise, NV
December 22, 2021* 5:00 pm		Chicago State Rescheduled from December 19, originally canceled	W 87–50	9–4	14 – Tied	8 – DeVries	4 – Akinwole	Knapp Center (1,943) Des Moines, IA
December 28, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Mount Marty	W 82–53	10–4	16 – Wilkins	7 – Murphy	3 – Tied	Knapp Center (3,146) Des Moines, IA
January 2, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV		at Missouri State	L 56–61	10–5 (1–1)	16 – Sturtz	11 – Sturtz	3 – Brodie	JQH Arena (3,242) Springfield, MO
January 8, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 60–59	11–5 (2–1)	15 – DeVries	9 – Sturtz	5 – Penn	Ford Center (3,134) Evansville, IN
January 12, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV		Illinois State	W 86–75	12–5 (3–1)	16 – Tied	6 – Brodie	6 – Penn	Knapp Center (2,702) Des Moines, IA
January 17, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Illinois Rescheduled from January 5	W 60–59	13–5 (4–1)	16 – Sturtz	8 – Sturtz	4 – DeVries	Banterra Center (4,112) Carbondale, IL
January 19, 2022 7:00 pm, MC22/ESPN+		Bradley	L 71–83	13–6 (4–2)	17 – DeVries	8 – Sturtz	3 – Penn	Knapp Center (2,724) Des Moines, IA
January 22, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPNU		at Northern Iowa	W 82–74 OT	14–6 (5–2)	18 – Penn	11 – DeVries	4 – Sturtz	McLeod Center (4,361) Cedar Falls, IA
January 26, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State	W 89–88 OT	15–6 (6–2)	18 – Tied	11 – Sturtz	6 – DeVries	Redbird Arena (3,515) Normal, IL
January 30, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN2		Loyola–Chicago	W 77–68	16–6 (7–2)	20 – Wilkins	10 – Brodie	3 – DeVries	Knapp Center (3,994) Des Moines, IA
February 2, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	W 85–67	17–6 (8–2)	15 – Tied	9 – Sturtz	6 – Penn	Hulman Center (2,811) Terre Haute, IN
February 5, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPNU		Northern Iowa	L 69–74 OT	17–7 (8–3)	15 – DeVries	11 – Sturtz	3 – Penn	Knapp Center (5,984) Des Moines, IA
February 9, 2022 7:00 pm, MVC TV		Missouri State	L 62–66	17–8 (8–4)	12 – Tied	8 – Sturtz	6 – Penn	Knapp Center (3,305) Des Moines, IA
February 12, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bradley	L 59–68	17–9 (8–5)	20 – DeVries	8 – Murphy	3 – Murphy	Carver Arena (5,109) Peoria, IL
February 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 73–51	18–9 (9–5)	16 – DeVries	7 – Hemphill	6 – Penn	Knapp Center (3,569) Des Moines, IA
February 19, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN2		at Loyola–Chicago	W 83–76	19–9 (10–5)	24 – DeVries	7 – Sturtz	4 – Sturtz	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,557) Chicago, IL
February 21, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 74–58	20–9 (11–5)	15 – Tied	7 – Murphy	5 – Penn	Knapp Center (3,352) Des Moines, IA
February 23, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	W 71–65	21–9 (12–5)	17 – Wilkins	9 – Murphy	9 – Penn	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,530) Valparaiso, IN
February 26, 2022 3:00 pm, CBSSN		Southern Illinois	W 62–60	22–9 (13–5)	14 – Murphy	10 – Sturtz	3 – Tied	Knapp Center (4,417) Des Moines, IA
MVC tournament
March 4, 2022 8:30 pm, MVC TV	(3)	vs. (6) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals	W 65–52	23–9	19 – Hemphill	10 – Hemphill	3 – Penn	Enterprise Center (5,503) St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2022 5:00 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Missouri State Semifinals	W 79–78 OT	24–9	23 – DeVries	8 – Sturtz	6 – Penn	Enterprise Center (6,371) St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2022 1:00 pm, CBS	(3)	vs. (4) Loyola–Chicago Championship	L 58–64	24–10	18 – Penn	10 – Hemphill	4 – Penn	Enterprise Center (5,164) St. Louis, MO
CBI
March 19, 2022 11:00 am, FloHoops	(1)	vs. (16) Purdue Fort Wayne First Round	W 87–65	25–10	20 – Djamgouz	7 – Brodie	6 – DeVries	Ocean Center (367) Daytona Beach, FL
March 21, 2022 12:00 pm, FloHoops	(1)	vs. (9) UNC Wilmington Quarterfinals	L 75–76	25–11	15 – Hemphill	7 – Hemphill	3 – Penn	Ocean Center (706) Daytona Beach, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[9]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	RV	RV^	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.