South Dakota (5-3) @ Drake (3-5)
Knapp Center
Des Moines, Iowa 7:00 PM CST – Mediacom Iowa
Drake Invitational
For what seems like the 15th preseason tournament at the Knapp Center, Drake has a busy weekend hosting teams. First it was an opening game in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, then the Hy-Vee Classic, and now the Drake Invitational. This round-robin tournament includes South Dakota and Binghampton.
Drake faces South Dakota in the opener. Last week in the Hy-Vee Classic the Bulldogs went 1-1 against SIU-Edwardsville and North Dakota. In the North Dakota Josh Young had a season-high 17 points. Wasn’t that his season average a few years ago? Looks like he is still recovering from a hip pointer from earlier in the season. Young as well as freshman Seth VanDeest were named to the all-tournament team last weekend.
The Coyotes come in riding a 3 game winning streak. After falling in their first two games they have been able to win five of their last six. The only loss in that streak was on the road to Marquette. We all saw how they did in the Old Spice Classic. The Coyotes have a former Jay on their roster. Steve Smith redshirted for the Jays two seasons before transferring closer to home in South Dakota. This season the 24-year old senior is averaging 7 points and 3 rebounds a game. Now he gets the chance to show the Bulldogs what they missed out on facing while he was in a white and blue jersey.
– Panon
