Drake (19-1, 10-1) vs. Northern Iowa (6-13, 4-9)
McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Drake goes for the season sweep over Northern Iowa after winning the previous matchup in Des Moines. The teams last met on Feb. 10, when the Bulldogs shot 47.6 percent from the field while limiting Northern Iowa’s shooters to just 41.1 percent en route to the 80-59 victory.
VARYING EXPERIENCE: Drake has depended on senior leadership this year while Northern Iowa has been fueled heavily by freshmen. For the Bulldogs, seniors Shanquan Hemphill, Roman Penn, Tremell Murphy and Darnell Brodie have combined to account for 53 percent of the team’s scoring, including 55 percent of all points over its last five. In the other locker room, freshmen Austin Phyfe, Bowen Born and Nate Heise have combined to score 43 percent of Northern Iowa’s points this season.SOLID SHANQUAN: Across 20 appearances this season, Drake’s Hemphill has shot 58.7 percent.
WINLESS WHEN: Northern Iowa is 0-10 this year when it scores 68 points or fewer and 6-3 when it scores at least 69.
BEHIND THE ARC: Drake’s D.J. Wilkins has attempted 101 3-pointers and connected on 44.6 percent of them, and is 7 for 26 over his past five games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Drake offense has scored 81.4 points per game this season, ranking the Bulldogs 20th among Division I teams. The Northern Iowa defense has allowed 72.1 points per game to opponents (ranked 207th overall).
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