Who’s Playing
Murray State Racers @ Drake Bulldogs
Current Records: Murray State 7-7, Drake 12-1
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, January 5, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET
- Where: Knapp Center — Des Moines, Iowa
- TV: ESPN2
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Drake is 5-0 against Murray State since November of 2019, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Sunday. Both will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 3:00 p.m. ET at Knapp Center. The Bulldogs will be looking to keep their 23-game home win streak dating back to last season alive.
Drake is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering UIC just ended the team’s 12-game winning streak on Wednesday. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 74-70 loss to the Flames. The loss put an end to the Bulldogs’ undefeated start to the season.
Drake might have lost, but man, Bennett Stirtz was a machine: he dropped a double-double on 30 points and 12 assists. With that strong performance, Stirtz is now averaging an impressive 20.4 points per game. Another player making a difference was Cam Manyawu, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Murray State on Thursday, but the final result did not. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 74-68 defeat to Illinois State. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Racers in their matchups with the Redbirds: they’ve now lost three in a row.
Murray State’s defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of Kylen Milton, who earned 18 points along with eight rebounds, and JaCobi Wood, who posted 21 points. Milton’s performance made up for a slower contest against Loyola Chi. last Wednesday.
Having lost for the first time this season, Drake fell to 12-1. As for Murray State, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Drake took their victory against Murray State when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 95-72. In that matchup, Drake amassed a halftime lead of 48-29, an impressive feat they’ll look to repeat on Sunday.
Series History
Drake has won all of the games they’ve played against Murray State in the last 6 years.
- Feb 18, 2024 – Drake 95 vs. Murray State 72
- Mar 03, 2023 – Drake 74 vs. Murray State 62
- Feb 07, 2023 – Drake 92 vs. Murray State 68
- Jan 07, 2023 – Drake 82 vs. Murray State 64
- Nov 27, 2019 – Drake 63 vs. Murray State 53
