1970–71 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 1970–71 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team was led by 13th-year head coach Maury John and played their home games at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs were 9–5 in Missouri Valley Conference play, finishing in a 3-way tie for the league title.

1970–71 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference Champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 18
Record21–8 (9–5 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dan Callahan
  • Gus Guydon
Home arenaVeterans Memorial Auditorium
Seasons
1971–72 →
1970–71 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Drake 9 5   .643 21 8   .724
Louisville 9 5   .643 20 9   .690
Saint Louis 9 5   .643 17 12   .586
Memphis State 8 6   .571 18 8   .692
Tulsa 8 6   .571 17 9   .654
Bradley 6 8   .429 13 12   .520
North Texas State 4 10   .286 10 15   .400
Wichita State 3 11   .214 10 16   .385
West Texas State   19 7   .731
New Mexico State   19 8   .704
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Drake received a bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Notre Dame in the regional semifinal. The Bulldogs would fall one game short of the Final Four in back-to-back seasons, losing to Kansas in the regional final, 73–71.[2]

This season marked the end of a streak – the only time in program history the Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament in three consecutive seasons (reaching the Elite Eight all three times) – and the end of an era, as head coach Maury John left to become head coach at Iowa State.

Previous season

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The Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament for the second straight season, advancing to the Elite Eight a season after making the program's only Final Four appearance in 1969. Drake completed the season with a 22–7 record (14–2 Missouri Valley) and were ranked number 9 in the final AP poll.

Roster

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1970–71 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 5 Dale Gordon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Creston, Iowa
C 23 Tom Bush 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Chicago, Illinois
G/F 42 Jeff Halliburton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Rockville Centre, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[3]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 1, 1970*
No. 10 Wisconsin-Platteville W 107–73  1–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 1, 1970*
No. 10 Cal State Fullerton W 101–57  2–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 8, 1970*
No. 7 at Iowa State
Iowa Big Four
W 87–63  3–0
Iowa State Armory 
Ames, Iowa
Dec 12, 1970*
No. 7 Iowa
Iowa Big Four
W 72–70  4–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 18, 1970*
No. 9 vs. Texas–Arlington
Texas Classic
W 102–83  5–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 19, 1970*
No. 9 at TCU
Texas Classic
W 79–78  6–0
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Dec 22, 1970*
No. 9 Minnesota W 83–66  7–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 26, 1970*
No. 9 at Canisius
Queen City Classic
W 87–74  8–0
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 
Buffalo, New York
Dec 28, 1970*
No. 7 vs. Niagara
Queen City Classic
L 77–87  8–1
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 
Buffalo, New York
Jan 2, 1971*
No. 7 at Cincinnati L 59–60  8–2
Armory Fieldhouse 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Jan 7, 1971
No. 16 at Wichita State W 78–74  9–2
(1–0)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 9, 1971*
No. 16 Tulsa L 60–66  9–3
(1–1)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 13, 1971
at Bradley L 85–88  9–4
(1–2)
Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Jan 20, 1971*
UMKC W 130–73  10–4
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 23, 1971
Louisville W 81–78  11–4
(2–2)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 28, 1971
North Texas W 90–66  12–4
(3–2)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 30, 1971*
Memphis State W 93–70  13–4
(4–2)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 2, 1971*
DePaul W 93–80  14–4
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 4, 1971
at Memphis State L 72–73  14–5
(4–3)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 11, 1971
Bradley W 113–78  15–5
(5–3)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 13, 1971
at Saint Louis L 62–64  15–6
(5–4)
St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 17, 1971
at No. 19 Louisville L 52–94  15–7
(5–5)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 20, 1971
at Tulsa W 87–84  16–7
(6–5)
Expo Square Pavilion 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 23, 1971
Wichita State W 83–76  17–7
(7–5)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 27, 1971
Saint Louis W 89–85  18–7
(8–5)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Mar 2, 1971
at North Texas W 65–60  19–7
(9–5)
North Texas Men's Gym 
Denton, Texas
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 1971*
No. 18 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame
Midwest Regional Semifinal
W 79–72 OT 21–7
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 20, 1971*
No. 18 vs. No. 4 Kansas
Midwest Regional Final
L 71–73  21–8
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Central Time.

[4]

Rankings

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[5]

NBA draft

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[6]

References

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  1. ^ "1970-71 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "21st in Row for Kansas". The New York Times. March 21, 1971. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "1970-71 Men's Basketball Roster". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "1970-71 Men's Basketball Schedule". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 778–779. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  6. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2023.