1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

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.

1969–70 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball
Missouri Valley Conference Champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 14
Record22–7 (14–2 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Dan Callahan
  • Gus Guydon
Home arenaVeterans Memorial Auditorium
Seasons
1969–70 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 14 Drake142 .875227 .759
Cincinnati124 .750216 .778
North Texas State115 .688188 .692
Louisville115 .688189 .667
Tulsa98 .5291511 .577
Bradley79 .4381412 .538
Saint Louis511 .313917 .346
Wichita State313 .188818 .308
Memphis State116 .059620 .231
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
F5Dale Gordon6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg)SoCreston, Iowa
G22Gary Zeller6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)SrHouston, Texas
F41Al Williams6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg)SrPeoria, Illinois
G/F42Jeff Halliburton6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg)JrRockville Centre, New York
C43Rick Wanamaker6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg)SrMarengo, Iowa
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#ResultRecordSite
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 1, 1969*
No. 19 Wisconsin-PlattevilleW 106–80 1–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 6, 1969*
No. 19 Iowa StateW 86–62 2–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 8, 1969*
PacificW 78–76 3–0
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 11, 1969*
at No. 12 MarquetteL 70–72 3–1
Milwaukee Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 13, 1969*
Los Angeles StateW 115–109 4–1
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 16, 1969*
NevadaW 101–75 5–1
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 20, 1969*
at MinnesotaL 76–79 5–2
Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 22, 1969*
at IowaL 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 LouisW 80–78 7–4
(1–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 5, 1970
Memphis StateW 72–62 8–4
(2–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 8, 1970
Wichita StateW 98–85 9–4
(3–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 10, 1970
at TulsaW 77–73 10–4
(4–0)
Expo Square Pavilion 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 14, 1970
at BradleyW 65–55 11–4
(5–0)
Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Jan 17, 1970
CincinnatiW 63–57 12–4
(6–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 24, 1970
No. 18 LouisvilleW 86–75 13–4
(7–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 29, 1970
No. 16 North Texas StateW 95–84 14–4
(8–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 31, 1970
No. 16 at Memphis StateW 82–76 15–4
(9–0)
Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 6, 1970*
No. 13 at TulaneW 98–92 16–4
Avron B. Fogelman Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 10, 1970
No. 11 at North Texas StateL 81–93 16–5
(9–1)
North Texas Men's Gym 
Denton, Texas
Feb 12, 1970
No. 11 BradleyW 68–65 17–5
(10–1)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 19, 1970
No. 17 at Wichita StateW 90–83 18–5
(11–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 21, 1970
No. 17 TulsaW 80–74 19–5
(12–1)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 24, 1970
No. 16 at CincinnatiL 72–88 19–6
(12–2)
Armory Fieldhouse 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 28, 1970
No. 16 at LouisvilleW 79–73 20–6
(13–2)
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 5, 1970
No. 14 at Saint LouisW 85–80 21–6
(14–2)
St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1970*
No. 14 vs. No. 12 HoustonW 92–87 22–6
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 14, 1970*
No. 14 vs. No. 5 New Mexico StateL 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