Thursday, March 5th, 7:05 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Scottrade Center (22,612) -- St. Louis, Missouri. Television: MVC_TV. Home Record: ISU 5-9, Drake 12-7. Away Record: ISU 4-10, Drake 4-6. Neutral Record: ISU 1-1, Drake 1-1. Conference Record: ISU 7-11, Drake 7-11. Series Record: Tied, 34-34.

GAME NOTES: The eighth-seeded Drake Bulldogs begin defense of their Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title tonight, as they take on the Indiana State Sycamores in the opening round at the Scottrade Center. The Bulldogs were the darling of the MVC last season, sweeping both the regular season and tourney titles. Drake though, was unable to build on that success this season, plummeting to an eighth place finish at 7-11. ISU also ended the regular season 7-11 within the conference, but it came on strong down the stretch. After winning just four of their first 23 games, the Sycamores came alive and closed out the regular season with victories six of their last seven outings. ISU has won two titles in this event, the last coming in 2001, and is 17-26 all-time in the tourney. The Sycamores and Bulldogs split a pair of meetings during the season, leaving the all-time series locked at 34-34. The winner of this game will move on to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Northern Iowa on Friday.

The Sycamores are managing only 62.9 ppg on the season, but over the last seven games, they are averaging a much higher 72.2 ppg. Harry Marshall tops the squad in the scoring department with 14.4 ppg and he is also handing out a team-high 4.2 apg. Jay Tunnell follows with 12.2 ppg and he is the team's leading rebounder at 6.1 rpg. Tunnell has also shown off his range by shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. Rashad Reed rounds out the double-digit scorers for ISU at 10.6 ppg and he is one of the better defenders on the roster, registering 36 steals.

The Bulldogs have made the most of their free-throw chances this season, converting 75.3 percent of the time. Drake has also done well on defense, limiting challengers to 62.3 ppg. Josh Young has been a factor at both ends of the court and he leads the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) as well as steals (33). Jonathan Cox is another effective player for Drake and he puts forth 11.9 ppg and a team-high 8.4 rpg. He is also dangerous from the outside, hitting on 40.3 percent of his three-point tries. Josh Parker adds 11.0 ppg to the rotation and he is even deadlier from three-point distance, knock down 42.9 percent of his opportunities.

ISU excelled at the end of the season and it should be able to use that momentum to send last year's champion to a quick exit.

Predicted Outcome

Indiana State 67, Drake 63