Drake (13-6, 4-3) AT Missouri State (8-10, 1-6)

After a game like Saturday, Missouri State is just what the doctor ordered. They are 1-6 in the Valley and have lost seven of their last eight. If there's one game we can use to put it back together, this is it. Still, this is a dangerous team with the spot we're in now.

While they're not guard heavy (which is needed to excel in the MVC, but that's another story), they do have a lot of interior pieces that can potentially give us fits. This list is headed by Chris Cooks, a quick 6-4 F that leads the Bears in scoring with 13.4 PPG. Other guys that can cause problems are two forwards -- Wade Knapp (9.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and Kyle Weems (9.1 PPG 3.9 RPG) who can get us on the boards and on easy second chance points. Finally, they also have a 6-9 big man, Will Creekmore, that chips in 9.7 PPG.

A few things scare me about this game:

1. MSU is dangerously close to having five guys who average double figures. Given that a lot of them are big men -- I have the concern that they could potentially just eat us up inside and on the boards.
2. Three point shooting has been a problem for us recently. CBSSportsline pointed out a great tidbit that I saw (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/teams/report/DRA) that we have allowed 32/71 shooting over the past three games. That's a ridiculous 45.1% -- which is absolutely killer. For a while, it seemed like we had the three-point problem figured out on defense, but that has really surfaced over the past few weeks. While only Cooks and Spencer Laurie look to be formidable three point threats, we CANNOT allow them to both drop 5 threes on us. That's going to absolutely open up the interior, which will expose us even more.
3. Looking back to the one game they were recently successful on -- how exactly did MSU beat Wichita State? Turnovers and Rebounding. MSU won the turnover battle 19-7 and won the rebounding battle 30-24 (including 13-5 on the offensive glass). While Drake has taken reasonable care of the basketball lately, their rebounding has been nothing short of a disaster. We cannot sleepwalk through rebounding in this game, or we're going to give up waaaayyyy too many second chance points -- which is exactly how MSU can beat us.

Altogether, I think we're due a shakeup in the lineup. Saturday was so awful that I think it's fair to say that changes are due. The effort was bad and the execution was worse. Until we own the boards again and get some action going on on the offensive side, we're not going to be a strong team. Ken Pomeroy agrees, as he's projecting a 62-61 win by Drake. Altogether, I'm not happy about a Drake -1 line, but that's just the way it goes with our recent performances.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I expect to see either Instant Offense (i.e. Josh Parker) or the Incredible Hulk (i.e. Alex White) in the starting lineup tomorrow night. Parker's been the key spark off the bench all year and I think it's time that we lead off with him. White has been an unsung hero on the boards -- considering our poor rebounding -- maybe its time to get him some more minutes and tell Bucky and Brent that they've got to get more boards to keep their level of minutes.

Altogether, I just can't see us losing tomorrow, despite the closeness of the projections. I think it's about time they show some pride, Josh Young pimp slaps some Bears, and Alex White tears down at least one back board on a two handed thunder dunk.

GO DRAKE!!! dutl 1/20/09