Drake @ Wichita State

[DUBulldog]

Please, o please Drake...don't throw a zone defense at the Shockers.

Coach Marshall said on his radio show last night that Drake is currenlty running 95% man to man these days.

I'm guessing that number might be closer to 100%. Either way, Shockers too physical and quick for the Bulldogs. Unless DU shoots great, it could get very ugly.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I don't think they are bad at all. I do think they are inconsistent and poorly coached, but I believe they are a dangerous team that could get hot and beat just about anyone (in the Valley). They have talent to beat you, unlike Evansville where you have to ignore your own preparation and just not play hard to get beat by them.

I think WSU wins, but I won't be surprised if it's a battle to the end. I am very much looking forward to watching Mr. Rice in person.

You should be a lot more confident. Having just seen them in person, I'd say WSU should easily win by 20 points or more. Cover their 3 point shooters and they don't have a lot of other options. I think it will get real ugly for Drake fans.

You should also absolutely destroy them on the boards. I believe Creighton had around a +21 rebounding advantage! And that was with Echenique playing very limited minutes.

By the way, I agree with Little Eddie that Rice is a physical specimen. Guy looks like he should have been on the Saluki teams of about 6 years ago. Pure muscle, but played a bit out of control against the Jays.

I don't remember Drake paying any zone defense against the Jays either.

[Drakey]

This will most likely be a blowout. Drake is a rudderless ship. You will not see a zone, particularly if that would be the best defense to play. You will see a lot of lazy man to man and man defense played by guys who are two steps slower than the man they are guarding. You will see no attempt to rebound. This is the worst rebounding team I have ever seen. Phelps no longer has any Davis recruits to screw up his no rebound and no turnover philosophy. Creighton outrebouned Drake by 21!

If the Shockers just go through the motions, I suppose it could be a 15 point game.

[shockem]

Shox win by 19, 82-63. It was an ugly hard fought 19 point win which was much closer than the score would indicate.

[DUBulldog]

Bulldogs hung in there a lot longer than I expected. The game was closer than the final score, although Drake was never closer than 7-8 in the last 12 minutes.

In the end, I think WSU just wore Drake down.

[WSUbballer]

Shooting 20% throughout much of the first half won't win you many ball games. Amazingly, WSU managed a 4 point halftime lead despite the horrid shooting. Now, I will credit Drake's defense to a certain extent for the WSU shooting woes. However, WSU was missing easy, close looks, lots of them, and some wide open jump shots. They finally woke up in the second half and imposed their well. Our bench is a very nice luxury. Didn't play too well and still made the spread.

Rice is gonna be a stud. I was very impressed with his abilities. He got taken out late in the game with foul trouble but I thought he was out during weird times in the second half and after his third foul he never was the same. I couldn't believe the Bulldogs weren't utilizing him more down the stretch.

I kinda understand why Phelps is a poor coach. Now granted, the officiating crew was subpar for the game tonight. However, during every Drake timeout, Phelps did not mutter one single word to his players. He spend the entire duration of the timeouts talking to the refs, pleading cases to the refs, and having tea with the refs. Not one timeout. Not two. EVERY one.

[iSASO]

WSU's bench outscored Drake's bench 42-20.

[Aargh]

Drake looked much better than their record and some of their scores would indicate.

[DUBulldog]

Rice is gonna be a stud. I was very impressed with his abilities. He got taken out late in the game with foul trouble but I thought he was out during weird times in the second half and after his third foul he never was the same. I couldn't believe the Bulldogs weren't utilizing him more down the stretch.

Drake fans have always been confused by Phelps' substitution patterns. It's assumed by folks on Drakenation that anybody who scores a couple of buckets in a row can count on being taken out.

[Drakey]

You don't want those guys to start getting a big head when they score too much. Usually if they score they have broken Phelps rule of "passing up the good shot for the great shot."