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
1970–71 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 18 Drake95 .643218  .724
Louisville95 .643209  .690
Saint Louis95 .6431712  .586
Memphis State86 .571188  .692
Tulsa86 .571179  .654
Bradley68 .4291312  .520
North Texas410 .2861015  .400
Wichita State311 .2141016  .385
West Texas A&M 197  .731
New Mexico State 198  .704
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

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.

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

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

1970–71 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    Dec 1, 1969*
    No. 10 Wisconsin-Platteville W 107–73  1–0
    Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
    Des Moines, Iowa
    Dec 1, 1969*
    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.

    [4]

    Rankings

    [5]

    NBA draft

    [6]

    References

    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.
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