Drake University men fall, 74-57

Now there are two, only two Division I college basketball teams, both men’s, in the country.

Dropped from the unblemished list was No. 25 Drake as it dropped the second of back-to-back games at Missouri Valley Conference opponent Valparaiso Sunday, 74-57. The previous day, the Bulldogs advanced to 18-0 in a 80-77 tight test at the  Crusaders in Indiana. For Valparaiso, it ended a 3-game losing streak and was only its second victory in 44 tries versus ranked teams. The home team pulled away to a commanding 36-24 halftime lead and maintained it with a 38-33 advantage in the second half.

Drake remained in first place at 15-1 and two games ahead of Loyola of Chicago, which is 16-3 overall. The two were schedule to play in Des Moines, Iowa, at Drake, on January 10th and 11th, but both games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and were rescheduled for February 13th and 14th at Drake. The last time the Bulldogs were in the top 25 rankings was on March 17th, 2008, at No. 14.

It left only No. 1 Gonzaga (18-0), which plays at unranked Brigham Young tonight at 8, and No. 2 Baylor (17-0), which is idle today.

But the women have zero undefeated teams after 4th-ranked North Carolina State last week turned back top-ranked Louisville on the road. Tonight, it’s No. 1 South Carolina (15-1) and No. 2 Connecticut (14-1) playing at UConn on FSI with a starting time of 5 o’clock in the non-conference match-up.

Coached by Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks had won the national championship in 2018, but last year’s was scratched by the COPID-19 threat. The Huskies have won a record 11 NCAA titles under head coach Geno Auriemma.