The 2022–23 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fifth-year head coach Darian DeVries, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the regular season 27–7, 15–5 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by Miami (FL) in the first round.
Previous season The Bulldogs finished the 2021–22 season 22–9, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals and Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship. The Bulldogs accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational and earned the No. 1 overall seed. They defeated Purdue Fort Wayne in the first round before losing to UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Tremell Murphy 2 F 6'6" 210 RS Senior Griffith, IN Graduated ShanQuan Hemphill 4 F 6'6" 200 Senior Gary, IN Graduated Ayo Akinwole 14 G 5'11" 180 Senior Papillion, NE Graduated Jonah Jackson 20 G 6'3" 205 Senior Merrillville, IN Graduated Jordan Kwiecinski 21 F 6'9" 205 Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred to Eckerd College Deven Dahlke 41 F 6'2" 188 Sophomore Phoenix, AZ Transferred to San Diego
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Brashon Hall 2 G 6'1" 185 Sophomore Roswell, GA Transferred from Voorhees Sardaar Calhoun 14 G/F 6'6" 210 Senior Tappahannock, VA Transferred from Texas Tech Eric Northweather 35 F 6'10" 225 Sophomore Jefferson City, MO Transferred from Truman State
Preseason The Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the conference's preseason poll. Forward Tucker DeVries was named MVC Preseason Player of the Year and selected to the preseason All-MVC first team.
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=| Regular season
!colspan=12 style=| MVC Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA Tournament
Source
Rankings
References