SIU had absolutely owned Drake before last season and have won 18 of the last 20 games against the Bulldogs. Wednesday night in Des Moines, Drake will try to turn the tables, and if they pull it off they'll have won 3 of the last 4 against the Salukis.
It'll be Senior night for the home team (televised on Fox Sports Midwest), and they've got 5 seniors that have seen the Drake basketball program do a 180, winning an MVC title during their run.
This is a down year for both teams. Drake is 7-9 in a 3-way tie for 5th in the conference. SIU is one game back at 6-10 and can create a complete logjam in the middle of the conference if they're able to win.
Can the Salukis get up off the canvas and pull out a road win against Drake?
The Bulldogs are on a 2 game winning streak that included a win at UNI and an impressive 3 point barrage in their bracketbuster game. Jonathon Cox will look to go from former walk-on to senior night star and I doubt he goes for anything less than a double double against SIU. Cox leads the MVC in double double's with 7.
Drake leads the MVC in free throw shooting and they've actually made more foul shots (436) than their opponets have attempted (415). They are also 2nd in the MVC in defense, only allowing 62ppg.
My prediction- Drake pulls out a close game on Senior night and wins 67-63
