(1) Murray State vs. (4) Drake preview
The winner advances to Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference championship game
Murray State will try to earn a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game for the first time, as they challenge Drake this afternoon in the semifinals. Here’s what you need to know:
#1-seed Murray State (23-7 overall) vs. #4-seed Drake (22-10 overall) — 1:30pm at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
NCAA NET Rankings: Murray State #56; Drake #68
Series history: 7th meeting (Drake leads 5-1)
You can stream the game on ESPN+
Jeremy Rose will have the radio call on WBZB, with the pregame show starting at 1:00pm
Murray State Scouting Report
The Racers come in having won eight games in a row, fresh off their 86-50 drubbing of Bradley in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday. The last time Murray State dropped a game was February 13th — a 92-86 loss to Drake.
The #1 scoring offense in the country knocked down a dozen three-pointers against Bradley. This was the 18th time this season the Racers have made 10+ triples in a game. Murray State is averaging 10.1 made three-pointers per contest this year, which is good for #4 nationally.
Murray State’s interior of duo of Katelyn Young and Ava Learn combined for 23 points on 10-of-25 shooting against Bradley. That was the second-fewest points those two have scored together this season — they scored 21 against Valparaiso on February 9th.
After scoring just nine points on January 16th in Murray State’s 95-89 win at Northern Iowa, Young has taken her offensive game to an entirely new level. In the 15 games since that UNI game, Young is averaging 25.5 points, scoring at least 20 points 12 times, and scoring at least 30 points on four different occasions. Coming off that nine-point performance against UNI, in Murray State’s win at Drake on January 18th, Young bounced back with 26 points, five rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
In her three years in the Missouri Valley Conference, Young has been held to 13 points or fewer nine times by conference opponents. In the next conference game, she’s averaging 22.8 points a game. She rarely strings together multiple sub-par offensive performances. Today is the type of game where you need your best players to play their best, and you should have every reason to believe Young will step up today.
Drake Scouting Report
The Bulldogs come in after closing yesterday’s quarterfinal game with Illinois State on a 13-2 run in the final 3:00 to pull out a 75-69 win over the Redbirds. Drake has won the last two Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships, and the Bulldogs are hoping to become the first Valley team since Wichita State, from 2013-15, to win back-to-back-to-back tournament titles.
Drake is led by Katie Dinnebier, the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year award winner — which is given to the Missouri Valley’s top player. The senior guard scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists against Illinois State. The national leader in assists per game played all 40 minutes in yesterday’s win over the Redbirds, so we’ll see if Murray State’s tempo wears her down at all as the game wears on.
Anna Miller, Drake’s 6’3 senior forward, was the 2023 and 2024 Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year. While she didn’t win the award this season, Miller blocked 65 shots this year, which was good for #2 in the Valley and #21 nationally. Despite her shot blocking skills, Miller has shown she can step outside and make shots from beyond the arc. On Friday against Illinois State, Miller made 4-of-7 threes, including the go-ahead triple with 0:28 left. She’s shooting a career-best 31.3% from outside, so the Racers will have to respect her ability to knock down the outside shot.
Drake has been really good in close games this year. The Bulldogs are 7-3 in conference play in games decided by six points or fewer, with two of those losses coming in overtime against co-regular season champion Missouri State. As the two-time defending tournament champions, they have proven they know how to wiggle out of tight spots, so the Racers can not afford to leave the door open if this game comes down to the final minutes.
These two teams split the regular season series, with the road team winning each time. Today, it’s a neutral site matchup with a trip to the championship game at stake.
I’ll have a ‘Ride Home’ podcast posted after the game.