1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season . The team was led by 12th-year head coach Maury John and played their home games at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa . The Bulldogs were 14–2 in Missouri Valley Conference play to capture the league title.
Drake received a bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Houston in the regional semifinal. The Bulldogs would fall short of their second straight Final Four, losing to New Mexico State in the regional final, 87–78.[2]
Previous season
The Bulldogs reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament and, with their third-place finish, Drake had their best-ever NCAA finish as of the start of the 2023–2024 season . The Bulldogs completed the season with a 26–5 record and were ranked number 11 in both major polls.
Roster
1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
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. 19
Wisconsin-Platteville
W 106–80
1–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 6, 1969 *
No. 19
Iowa State
W 86–62
2–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 8, 1969 *
Pacific
W 78–76
3–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 11, 1969 *
at No. 12 Marquette
L 70–72
3–1
Milwaukee Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 13, 1969 *
Los Angeles State
W 115–109
4–1
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 16, 1969 *
Nevada
W 101–75
5–1
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 20, 1969 *
at Minnesota
L 76–79
5–2
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 22, 1969 *
at Iowa
L 78–101[4]
5–3
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Dec 28, 1969 *
vs. San Francisco Rainbow Classic
L 67–69
5–4
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 29, 1969 *
vs. Hawaii Rainbow Classic
W 102–76
6–4
Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Jan 3, 1970
Saint Louis
W 80–78
7–4 (1–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 5, 1970
Memphis State
W 72–62
8–4 (2–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 8, 1970
Wichita State
W 98–85
9–4 (3–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 10, 1970
at Tulsa
W 77–73
10–4 (4–0)
Expo Square Pavilion Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 14, 1970
at Bradley
W 65–55
11–4 (5–0)
Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, Illinois
Jan 17, 1970
Cincinnati
W 63–57
12–4 (6–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 24, 1970
No. 18 Louisville
W 86–75
13–4 (7–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 29, 1970
No. 16
North Texas State
W 95–84
14–4 (8–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 31, 1970
No. 16
at Memphis State
W 82–76
15–4 (9–0)
Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 6, 1970 *
No. 13
at Tulane
W 98–92
16–4
Avron B. Fogelman Arena New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 10, 1970
No. 11
at North Texas State
L 81–93
16–5 (9–1)
North Texas Men's Gym Denton, Texas
Feb 12, 1970
No. 11
Bradley
W 68–65
17–5 (10–1)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 19, 1970
No. 17
at Wichita State
W 90–83
18–5 (11–1)
Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas
Feb 21, 1970
No. 17
Tulsa
W 80–74
19–5 (12–1)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 24, 1970
No. 16
at Cincinnati
L 72–88
19–6 (12–2)
Armory Fieldhouse Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 28, 1970
No. 16
at Louisville
W 79–73
20–6 (13–2)
Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 5, 1970
No. 14
at Saint Louis
W 85–80
21–6 (14–2)
St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1970 *
No. 14
vs. No. 12 Houston
W 92–87
22–6
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 14, 1970 *
No. 14
vs. No. 5 New Mexico State
L 78–87
22–7
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
[5]
Rankings
[6]
NBA draft
[7]
References
^ "1969-70 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary" . Sports Reference . Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
^ "N. Mexico State Tops Drake, 87-78" . The New York Times . March 15, 1970. Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
^ "1969-70 Men's Basketball Roster" . Drake University Athletics . Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
^ "Hawks Blast Rival Drake, 101-78" (PDF) . The Daily Iowan . December 23, 1969. p. 3. Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
^ "1969-70 Men's Basketball Schedule" . Drake University Athletics . Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game . Random House . 2009. pp. 769–770. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2 .
^ "1970 NBA Draft" . Basketball-reference.com . Retrieved August 3, 2023 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics