2011–12 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2011–12 Drake Bulldogs Drake Bulldogs "D" logo.svg 150 Missouri Valley Conference MVC 18–16 9–9 Mark Phelps Mike Gibson Stan Johnson Brett Nelson Knapp Center CIT Second Round vs. Rice L, 68–74 The 2011–12 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), was led by fourth-year head coach Mark Phelps and played their home games at the Knapp Center. Preseason and exhibition Ryan Wedel graduated, but returned as graduate assistant. The Bulldogs replaced two-thirds of their coaching staff.http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&KEY=&SPID=8121&SPSID=71127 Men's Basketball - Coaches - GoDrakeBulldogs.com—Official Web site of Drake University Athletics Godrakebulldogs.com 2012-10-14 https://archive.today/20120906212052/http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&KEY=&SPID=8121&SPSID=71127 2012-09-06 dead Frank Weisler left the team after suffering a career-ending pre-season injury. Brennen Newton is no longer with the team. The Bulldogs were picked to finish 7th in the pre-season MVC poll.http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/5553/creighton-picked-to-win-mvc-mens-basketball/ Creighton Picked to Win MVC Men's Basketball MVC-Sports.com 2011-10-25 2012-10-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20120508030646/http://www.mvc-sports.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/5553/creighton-picked-to-win-mvc-mens-basketball/ 2012-05-08 dead Several players suffered pre-season injuries. Seth VanDeest will redshirt the season along with Reece Uhlenhopp who only played one minute against Indiana State. In addition, Rice & Alexander were suspended for the Bulldog's exhibition and first regular season games due to an off-the-court shoplifting incident.Leung Diamond https://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/34892/drake-suspends-two-after-shoplifting-arrest Drake suspends two after shoplifting arrest - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN Espn.go.com 2012-10-14 As a result of injuries and suspensions, the Bulldogs played their exhibition game versus Quincy with just five scholarship players.http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=8121&DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=205328518 Bulldogs Drop Exhibition Contest to Quincy - GoDrakeBulldogs.com—Official Web site of Drake University Athletics Godrakebulldogs.com 2011-11-05 2012-10-14 Regular season After easily defeating Upper Iowa, Drake’s first real test resulted in an impressive win against in-state rival Iowa State. The win significantly raised expectations for the Paradise Jam where the Bulldogs would play Ole Miss, Winthrop, & Virginia. The Bulldogs would lose 2 out those 3 games to finish 6th. Upon returning to the Knapp Center over Thanksgiving Weekend, the Bulldogs resumed a streak that began at the end of 2010–11: Win at home, lose on the road. The Bulldogs 12-game home winning streak would be snapped on Jan. 7 against in-state rival Northern Iowa. Following the loss, the Bulldogs went on a 4-game winning streak, the longest in 3 seasons which included two road wins. The week of Jan. 22-Jan. 28 featured what many called the most challenging week of the season. After getting destroyed at Northern Iowa, Drake would put up a nice effort against #15 Creighton but would ultimately fall. The biggest win of the season to date would come Jan. 28 where the Bulldogs won a triple-overtime thriller against Wichita State in a game that lasted over 3 hours. Drake would drop their next contest at Indiana State as a result of poor shooting. On Feb. 2, team Captain Ben Simons was diagnosed with mononucleosis. With Simons out indefinitely, the Bulldogs would score the lowest points in a home game since 1949 in a 57–39 loss against Missouri State on Feb. 4.http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120204/SPORTS0204/120204028/Drake-men-score-season-low-in-loss-to-Missouri-StateSeptember 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes A loss at Illinois State would be the third consecutive loss for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs would capture their largest win since Phelps took over as head coach (2008–09 season) at home against Evansville.http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120212/SPORTS/302120099/Drake-men-unleash-shower-of-shots-to-beat-EvansvilleSeptember 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Drake would suffer only its second loss in the annual Bracketbuster contests with a loss against New Mexico State. After winning on senior night, the Bulldogs would fall at Wichita State to close regular season play. Drake finished the regular season as part of a 5 way tie for third place in the conference. Unfortuantly Drake's two losses against Missouri State would force Drake into playing a Thursday night game to open the 2012 MVC Tournament. Post-season After easily defeating Bradley, Drake would face Creighton in the MVC Tournament Semi-Finals. Despite an early 12–3 lead, Creighton would lead at halftime and go on a 15–4 run in the second half. Although the Bulldogs would close the gap to 3 late in the game, Creighton had better free throw shooting at the end of the game to defeat Drake by 7. Drake accepted a bid to play in the 2012 CollegeInsiders.com Post-Season Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated North Dakota in the first postseason game at the Knapp Center ever for their first non-MVC Tournament postseason win in 37 years.http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120314/SPORTS/303140089/1097/SPORTS0204/Drake-men-end-37-year-postseason-dry-spellSeptember 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Drake would fall in the second round to Rice, ending their season. Roster http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&KEY=&SPID=8121&SPSID=71123 Men's Basketball - Roster - GoDrakeBulldogs.com—Official Web site of Drake University Athletics Godrakebulldogs.com 2012-09-24 2012-10-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20130819005819/http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&KEY=&SPID=8121&SPSID=71123 2013-08-19 dead 1 United States F Jr Jordan Clarke 2 United States F Jr Aaron Hawley 3 Canada G Sr Kurt Alexander 4 United States G Fr Judd Welfringer 10 United States F Fr Jeremy Jeffers 11 United States G Fr Karl Madison 14 United States F Fr Lincoln Vobra 21 United States F Jr Corey Parker 22 United States F Sr Kraidon Woods 23 United States G Fr Mitch McLaughlin 24 United States G So Rayvonte Rice 25 United States G So David Smith 32 United States F Jr Greg Whitaker 34 United States F Jr Ben Simons 40 United States F Jr Reece Uhlenhopp 45 United States C Jr Seth VanDeest Schedule 2007–08 yes yes |- !colspan=9| Exhibition 11/05/2011 11:00 a.m. yes Quincy Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 74–84 2,297 – |- !colspan=9| Regular season 11/12/2011 7:05 p.m. yes Upper Iowa Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 83–58 3,367 1–0 11/15/2011 8:00 p.m. yes Iowa State Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 74–65 5,665 2–0 11/18/2011 2:30 p.m. yes yes Ole Miss Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI Paradise Jam First Round 59–63 1,285 2–1 11/19/2011 5:00 p.m. yes yes Winthrop Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI Paradise Jam Consolation round 66–62 1,677 3–1 11/21/2011 2:30 p.m. yes yes Virginia Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, USVI Paradise Jam 5th place Game 52–60 2,322 3–2 11/26/2011 7:05 p.m. yes Cal State Northridge Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 73–49 2,931 4–2 11/30/2011 8:00 p.m. yes yes Boise State Taco Bell Arena Boise, ID 64–108 3,235 4–3 12/03/2011 7:05 p.m. yes Air Force Knapp Center Des Moines, IA MWC–MVC Challenge Mediacom 62–60 3,538 5–3 12/08/2011 8:00 p.m. yes Eastern Michigan Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 66–53 2,898 6–3 12/17/2011 8:00 p.m. yes yes Iowa Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA BTN 68–82 10,479 6–4 12/21/2011 7:05 p.m. yes Central Arkansas Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 87–64 3,751 7–4 12/28/2011 7:05 p.m. no Indiana State Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 79–64 4,035 8–4 (1–0) 12/31/2011 2:05 p.m. no yes Missouri State JQH Arena Springfield, MO 61–72 6,801 8–5 (1–1) 01/03/2012 7:05 p.m. no yes Creighton 23 CenturyLink Center Omaha Omaha, NE ESPN3 59–76 15,390 8–6 (1–2) 01/07/12 7:05 p.m. no Northern Iowa Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 68–83 5,876 8–7 (1–3) 01/10/2012 7:05 p.m. no Bradley Knapp Center Des Moines, IA 82–74 3,807 9–7 (2–3) 01/13/2012 7:05 p.m. no yes Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN 69–60 4,027 10–7 (3–3) 01/15/2012 7:05 p.m. no Illinois State Knapp Center Des Moines, IA ESPN3 77–60 3,807 11–7 (4–3) 01/18/2012 7:05 p.m. no yes Southern Illinois SIU Arena Carbondale, IL 75–68 OT 3,410 12–7 (5–3) 01/22/2012 7:00 p.m. no yes Northern Iowa McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA ESPNU 52–66 3,975 12–8 (5–4) 01/25/2012 7:05 p.m. no Creighton 15 Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 69–77 6,110 12–9 (5–5) 01/28/2012 8:00 p.m. no Wichita State Knapp Center Des Moines, IA MVC-TV 92–86 3OT 6,027 13–9 (6–5) 02/01/2012 7:00 p.m. no yes Indiana State Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN MVC-TV 54–61 5,445 13–10 (6–6) 02/04/2012 7:05 p.m. no Missouri State Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 39–57 4,276 13–11 (6–7) 02/08/2012 7:00 p.m. no yes Illinois State Redbird Arena Normal, IL 53–64 4,196 13 12 (6–8) 02/12/2012 7:00 p.m. no Evansville Knapp Center Des Moines, IA ESPNU 78–54 3,477 14–12 (7–8) 02/15/2012 7:05 p.m. no yes Bradley Carver Arena Peoria, IL MVC-TV 62–55 7,822 15–12 (8–8) 02/18/2012 2:00 p.m. yes yes New Mexico State Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM Sears Bracketbusters ESPNU 55–71  5,119 15–13 02/22/2012 7:05 p.m. no Southern Illinois Knapp Center Des Moines, IA Mediacom 78–63 3,577 16–13 (9–8) 02/25/2012 12:30 p.m. no yes Wichita State 19 Charles Koch Arena Wichita, KS MVC-TV 58–81 10,375 16–14 (9–9) |- !colspan=9 | 2012 State Farm MVC Tournament 03/01/2012 8:35 p.m. yes Bradley Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO First Round MVC-TV 65–49 7,872 17–14 03/02/2012 6:00 p.m. yes Creighton 25 Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO Quarterfinals MVC-TV 61–68 14,412 17–15 |- !colspan=9| 2012 CIT 03/14/2012 7:00 p.m. yes North Dakota Knapp Center Des Moines, IA First Round 1,829 70–64 18–15 03/17/2012 7:00 p.m. yes yes Rice Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX Second Round 731 68–74 18–16 AP Poll Central Standard Time Games listed as MVC-TV broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City, Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, ESPN3, and AT&T U-Verse among other local providers. References Drake Category:Drake Bulldogs men's basketball seasons Drake Drake Drake