Drake basketball beats Chicago State, 87-50, in dominant win
Drake men’s basketball opened its game against Chicago State in uncharacteristic fashion. D.J. Wilkins missed a 3-point shot. Tucker DeVries pulled down the rebound but missed the second-chance jumper.
The Cougars missed their first chance, too. But Chicago State followed that up with a block on ShanQuan Hemphill’s layup attempt. After a few more missed shots – but lots of rebounds to maintain possession – Jahsean Corbett sunk a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a very early lead.
The Bulldogs’ shooting continued to struggle, and Drake’s first points came off three free throws from DeVries. A minute-and-a-half later, Wilkins made up for his first missed shot with a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs the lead.
And Drake never looked back. Chicago State faced a double-digit deficit at the half, and the Bulldogs finished the game with a dominant 87-50 victory.
Improvement from beyond the arc
Drake shot 38% from beyond the arc through its Dec. 11 game against Clemson. The Bulldogs made only 19% of their 3-point shots in an ugly overtime win over Jackson State and bumped that number back up to 38.1% Sunday against UT Martin.
That percentage was even better against Chicago State. Drake shot 46.9% from 3-point range, and six Bulldogs scored from outside. Ayo Akinwole led the way with four 3-pointers, shooting 66.7% from that range.
DeVries and Okay Djamgouz both netted three 3-pointers. Wilkins and Tremell Murphy added two apiece, and Deven Dahlke scored one 3-pointer for his first points of the season.
Bench play vs. bench support
Drake’s bench has proven all season that they can come in the game and make a difference. But, ask any coach: Vocal support matters, too. Especially when games hit their natural lulls and crowds lose their voltage.
The Bulldogs are consistently animated and vocal on the sidelines. That hasn’t changed, whether Drake is up by 20 points at the half or staging a comeback. Just how supportive the Bulldogs’ bench is was evident on Wednesday.
Cougars guard Brandon Betson sunk a 3-pointer with one second left on the shot clock. Chicago State’s sideline was quiet, save for a smattering of soft claps. The Cougars were probably tired, and maybe over-the-top celebrations aren’t the Cougars style.
Every team is different. One thing is certain, though. Drake’s bench might be the most exciting part of Bulldogs games. Just watch them the next time the Bulldogs play in the Knapp Center.
Hand it to Chicago State
There are very few teams that would want to play the No. 9 team in the country, Iowa State, on Tuesday and then turn around and play Drake at home on Wednesday, with the Bulldogs undefeated this season in the Knapp Center.
But that’s exactly what happened to Chicago State. Sure, back-to-back games would not have happened had the Cougars not postponed their pair of Iowa games due to COVID-19 issues in the program, but scheduling across most sports is unpredictable right now.
Regardless, Chicago State fought an uphill battle from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer. Credit to the Cougars. They played a full 40 minutes. There just wasn’t enough gas in the tank for Chicago State to play two tough opponents in less than 24 hours.
Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at [email protected] or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
