Year: | 1968–69 |
Team: | Drake Bulldogs |
Sport: | Basketball |
Conference: | Missouri Valley Conference |
Short Conf: | MVC |
Coachrank: | 11 |
Aprank: | 11 |
Record: | 26–5 |
Conf Record: | 13–3 |
Hc Year: | 11th |
Asst Coach1: | Dan Callahan |
Asst Coach2: | Gus Guydon |
Champion: | Missouri Valley Conference Co-Champions |
Tourney Result: | W, 104–84 |
The 1968–69 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University in the 1968–69 college basketball season. The team was led by eleventh-year head coach Maury John. In 1967–68, the Bulldogs finished 18–8 (9–7 in the Missouri Valley Conference). They were also trying to make their first NCAA tournament appearance since as well as their first postseason appearance since their National Invitation Tournament appearance in 1964.
The Bulldogs were 12–1 at home as well as 8–3 on the road and 6–1 at neutral locations. With their third-place finish in the NCAA Tournament Drake had their best NCAA finish up to that point, and as of the start of the 2022–2023 season. On December 27–28, 1968 Drake played in the Dallas Classic in Dallas, Texas against Minnesota and Southern Methodist. Drake was ranked in the AP Top 20 Poll on several occasions during the season. Drake was ranked 18th during the week of January 7, 1969. Drake was once again ranked 11th on March 4, 1969. On March 8, 1969, Drake won a MVC playoff game 77–73 in Wichita, Kansas to determine the conference champion.A documentary on the 1968–69 Drake Basketball team was made in 2004 by filmmaker Jacob Adams of Impossible Productions and is available from his website. Most of the UCLA—Drake game was recreated with an old coach's film and radio play by play. Intercut are commentaries by Drake players and coaches.
Team | Conference | Pct. | Overall | Pct. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Drake | 13–3 | .813 | 26–5 | .839 |
2 | Louisville | 13–3 | .813 | 21–6 | .778 |
3 | Tulsa | 11–5 | .688 | 19–8 | .704 |
4 | Cincinnati | 8–8 | .500 | 17–9 | .654 |
5 | North Texas State | 8–8 | .500 | 15–10 | .600 |
6 | Bradley | 7–9 | .438 | 14–12 | .539 |
7 | Wichita State | 7–9 | .438 | 11–15 | .423 |
8 | Saint Louis | 5–11 | .313 | 6–19 | .240 |
9 | Memphis State | 0–16 | .000 | 6–19 | .240 |
Note: GP= Games played; RPG = Rebounds per Game; PPG = Points per Game[1]
Player | GP | RPG | PPG | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Willie McCarter | 31 | 3.7 | 20.4 | |
Willie Wise | 30 | 11.4 | 14.6 | |
Dolph Pulliam | 31 | 7.7 | 13.2 | |
Don Draper | 31 | 2.4 | 12.2 | |
Al Williams | 31 | 7.2 | 8.8 | |
Gary Zeller | 31 | 1.6 | 6.3 | |
Rick Wanamaker | 28 | 3.3 | 4.3 | |
Gary Odom | 30 | 4.4 | 3.7 | |
Ron Gwin | 25 | 1.3 | 2.6 | |
Al Sakys | 7 | 0.2 | 1.8 | |
Larry Sharp | 17 | 1.1 | 1.5 | |
Others | 31 | 0.6 | 2.7 |
MVC Standing: 1st | ||||||||
Date | Opponent* | Rank* | Location | Time# | Result | Overall | Conference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Season Games | ||||||||
December 2, 1968 | W 118–79 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |||||
December 7, 1968 | Des Moines, IA | W 92–52 | 2–0 | 0–0 | ||||
December 9, 1968 | Des Moines, IA | W 68–63 | 3–0 | 0–0 | ||||
December 14, 1968 | Des Moines, IA | W 89–74 | 4–0 | 0–0 | ||||
December 19, 1968 | W 81–71 | 4–0 | 0–0 | |||||
December 21, 1968 | W 90–76 | 6–0 | 0–0 | |||||
December 23, 1968 | L 75–77 | 6–1 | 0–0 | |||||
December 27, 1968 | W 71–48 | 7–1 | 0–0 | |||||
December 28, 1968 | Moody Coliseum, University Park, TX | W 86–81 | 8–1 | 0–0 | ||||
January 2, 1969 | Memphis State | W 73–71 | 9–1 | 1–0 | ||||
January 4, 1969 | Saint Louis | Des Moines, IA | W 104–65 | 10–1 | 2–0 | |||
January 9, 1969 | Wichita State |
| Des Moines, IA | W 86–81 | 11–1 | 3–0 | ||
January 11, 1969 | Tulsa |
| Des Moines, IA | L 78–86 | 11–2 | 3–1 | ||
January 14, 1969 |
| W 69–64 | 12–2 | 4–1 | ||||
January 23, 1969 | Bradley | Des Moines, IA | W 93–76 | 13–2 | 5–1 | |||
January 25, 1969 | Louisville | L 70–84 | 13–3 | 5–2 | ||||
January 30, 1969 | North Texas State | L 99–118 | 13–4 | 5–3 | ||||
February 1, 1969 | Memphis State | Des Moines, IA | W 85–72 | 14–4 | 6–3 | |||
February 5, 1969 | Des Moines, IA | W 94–71 | 15–4 | 6–3 | ||||
February 11, 1969 | North Texas State | Des Moines, IA | W 91–76 | 16–4 | 7–3 | |||
February 13, 1969 | Bradley | W 91–76 | 17–4 | 8–3 | ||||
February 20, 1969 | Wichita State | W 120–94 | 18–4 | 9–3 | ||||
February 22, 1969 |
| W 87–78 | 19–4 | 10–3 | ||||
February 23, 1969 | Cincinnati | Des Moines, IA | W 85–68 | 20–4 | 11–3 | |||
March 1, 1969 |
| Des Moines, IA | W 101–67 | 21–4 | 12–3 | |||
March 6, 1969 | Saint Louis |
| W 93–78 | 22–4 | 13–3 | |||
March 8, 1969 |
|
| Wichita, KS | W 77–73 | 23–4 | 13–3 | ||
NCAA tournament | ||||||||
March 13, 1969 | Texas A&M | W 81–63 | 24–4 | 13–3 | ||||
March 15, 1969 | Colorado State | Ahearn Field House, Manhattan, KS | W 84–77 | 25–4 | 13–3 | |||
March 20, 1969 | UCLA | Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY | L 82–85 | 25–5 | 13–3 | |||
March 22, 1969 | North Carolina | Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY | W 104–84 | 26–5 | 13–3 | |||
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See main article: 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings.
See main article: 1969 NBA draft.
1 | 12 | Los Angeles Lakers | ||
5 | 64 | San Francisco Warriors |