Drake, Evansville meet in conference play

Published Jan. 4, 2021 3:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Drake (12-0, 3-0) vs. Evansville (5-5, 3-1)

Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana; Wednesday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: MVC foes meet as Drake battles Evansville. Both teams are coming off of home victories this past Sunday. Evansville earned a 70-64 win over Northern Iowa, while Drake won 73-55 over Southern Illinois.

SUPER SENIORS: Drake has relied heavily on its seniors. Shanquan Hemphill, Roman Penn, D.J. Wilkins and Tremell Murphy have collectively accounted for 55 percent of the team's scoring this year and 64 percent of all Bulldogs points over the team's last five games.

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Purple Aces have given up only 65 points per game to conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 72.7 per game they allowed in non-conference play.SHAMAR CAN SHOOT: Shamar Givance has connected on 37.9 percent of the 29 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 6 of 11 over the last three games. He's also made 80.8 percent of his free throws this season.

THREAT BEHIND THE ARC: Drake's Wilkins has attempted 63 3-pointers and connected on 52.4 percent of them, and is 10 for 18 over his past three games.

STREAK STATS: Drake has won its last four road games, scoring 77.3 points, while allowing 64 per game.

DID YOU KNOW: The Drake defense has allowed only 60.3 points per game to opponents, which is the 18th-lowest figure in the country. The Evansville offense has averaged just 66.5 points through 10 games (ranked 225th among Division I teams).

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