Although they were big underdogs on Wednesday, January 23rd, Drake earned an upset win over No. 17 Creighton 74-69 in conference action. It looked like it was going to be all Drake after they took a 44-28 halftime lead, but Creighton got back in the game and made it close in the second half. The Bulldogs move to 1-1 versus AP-Ranked teams this season with the win. Richard Carter played well for the Bulldogs and put up a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Daddy Ugbede also had a good game, scoring a season-high 12 points and adding five rebounds. For the Bluejays, Grant Gibbs got a career-high 18 points and eight assists (5 Reb 4 Stl). Drake (9-10, 3-5 The Valley) gets Missouri State (5-15, 3-5 The Valley) on the road on Sunday, January 27th.

Drake Game Notes

  • Drake started 9-10 during the 2003 and 2000 seasons (since 1996).
  • Drake beat the spread by 15.5 points. That makes the 8th time this season the Bulldogs have beaten the spread.
  • The Bulldogs have won 3 close games this season (a win by 5 or fewer points). Since 2007, Drake has won 25 close games.
  • Prior to this game, Drake played 6 Top 25 opponents in the last 5 seasons with a record of 1-5.
  • Drake has won 82% of the time this season (9-2) when its field goal percentage has been 44.4% or better.
  • The Bulldogs have won 80% of the time this season (8-2) after recording 74 or more total points.
  • Drake has won 100% of the time this season (5-0) when opponents record 31 or fewer rebounds.
  • The Bulldogs set a season high for blocks.
  • Drake has been outshot by their opponents in free throw percentage for the past 4 games.
  • This is the 9th game at home this season--Drake has a 4.6 average scoring margin against opponents at home.
  • The top two scorers (Richard Carter and Ben Simons) accounted for 44.5% of the points.
  • The bench recorded more points (43) than the starters (31).
  • Richard Carter has led the team in scoring in 4 out of 19 games this season.
  • Jordan Clarke has led the team in rebounding in 12 out of 19 games this season.
  • This marks the 1st 20-point game of Richard Carter's career.
  • Richard Carter has 3 straight double-digit point games.

Creighton Game Notes

  • Creighton lost and did not cover the spread.
  • The Bluejays have lost 2 times this season in games decided by 5 or fewer points. Since 2007, Creighton has lost 22 close games.
  • Grant Gibbs recorded a team season high in steals with 4.
  • The top two scorers (Doug McDermott and Grant Gibbs) accounted for 53.6% of the points.
  • Doug McDermott has led the team in scoring 16 times in 20 games this season.
  • Gregory Echenique has led the team in rebounding 12 times in 20 games this season.
  • Doug McDermott has 18 straight double-digit point games.
  • Grant Gibbs has 3 straight double-digit point games.
  • Grant Gibbs set career highs with a 100% three-point percentage and 4 steals.