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GAME NOTES: Coming off a simply shocking victory, the Evansville Purple Aces now take aim at the Drake Bulldogs in this evening's Missouri Valley Conference tussle at the Knapp Center.

The Aces haven't had much success this season, but they have played better of late and that was evident in a 55-54 upset of nationally-ranked Northern Iowa on Tuesday. Evansville, who had been just 1-15 in conference play, somehow found a way to knock off the MVC regular-season champions to snap a three-game slide. The Aces, who will be seeded last in the upcoming MVC Tournament, picked up their only other league win over second-place Wichita State, so this club can obviously play the role of spoiler.

On the flip side, Drake enters the contest 7-10 within the conference and will be either the seventh or eighth seed in the upcoming league tourney. The Bulldogs most recently suffered a 75-59 loss at Missouri State on Wednesday, snapping a short two-game win streak.

In regard to the all-time series, Evansville holds a 17-15 edge over Drake, but the Bulldogs captured a 72-65 victory in the first meeting of the season.

The Aces held Northern Iowa to a dismal 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, as they knocked off their first ranked opponent since 2003. Evansville meanwhile, made 46.3 percent of its field goals en route to the 55-54 decision on Tuesday. James Haarsma went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field on his way to 12 points and eight rebounds, while Kavon Lacey and Colt Ryan chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ryan currently leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg and he also contributes 4.3 rpg and 3.0 apg. Haarsma adds 11.2 ppg and a team-high 7.3 rpg, while Denver Holmes turns in 10.6 ppg.

Drake went just 6-of-20 from long range compared to a 10-of-20 effort by Missouri State, as it suffered a 75-59 loss on Wednesday. Josh Young was the lone bright spot for the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Seth VanDeest chipped in with 10. For the season, Young averages a team-high 14.6 ppg for Drake and he also collects 4.0 rpg. Ryan Wedel, the team's best defender with 50 steals, checks in at 11.1 ppg, while Adam Templeton posts 10.1 ppg and a club-high 7.3 rpg.

The Bulldogs are clearly the better team from top-to-bottom and should prevail in the end this evening.