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OPENING TIP: Chicago State men's basketball continues its four-game road swing tomorrow afternoon with its third trip to Iowa this season as it takes on Drake at the Knapp Center in Des Moines with a start time of 2 p.m. The contest will be shown live on ESPN 3 and the Chicago State Radio Network is broadcasting live with Julio Rausseo calling the action.
SCOUTING CSU: Chicago State brings a 2-6 record to the Knapp Center after falling to UMBC (73-84) and Presbyterian (73-75) at the Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland Tournament in Baltimore on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The Green and White are paced offensively by junior guard Fred Sims, Jr. as he is averaging 14.1 points a game and has connected on 86 percent of his attempts from the free throw line. Senior forward/center Deionte Simmons ranks second on the team with 10.1 points per game while tying for first in rebounding with redshirt senior forward Jelani Pruitt at 4.6 boards a game. The team's assist leader is senior guard Glen Burns with 3.9 assists a game and junior guard/forward Anthony Harris has recorded a team-leading 1.8 steals per game.
SCOUTING DU: Playing its first game in a week, Drake has posted a 3-1 season record after taking third place at the Paradise Jam Tournament with wins over Wake Forest (77-74) and Drexel (90-88 - 2OT) coupled with a close 86-81 loss to Colorado. Four players currently average double figure for the Bulldogs, led by senior guard Reed Timmer's 21.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. Timmer is shooting 87 percent from the free throw line, 58 percent from three-point range and 49 percent from the field. Junior forward Nick McGlynn leads DU with seven rebounds per game and senior guard De'Antae McMurray has tallied a team-best seven steals.
SERIES HISTORY: Drake currently holds a 7-0 record all-time against Chicago State, but Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2010. The Bulldogs claimed a 102-51 at the Knapp Center on Dec. 23, 2010.
SIMS JOINS CSU'S 1,000-POINT CLUB: Sims, Jr. joined CSU's prestigious 1,000-point club as the 18th member in last Tuesday's East-West contest after scoring 15 points to hike his career scoring total to 1,001 points. He sits in ninth place on CSU's Division I career scoring list with 1,035 points.
TOP-10 THREE-POINT SHOOTER IN THE WAC: Senior guard Montana Byrd ranks seventh in the Western Athletic Conference's three-point field goal percentage leaders by connecting on 46 percent (10-of-22) of his shots.
CSU'S PUBLIC CONNECTION – Chicago State has three players on its roster that has played prep ball in the famed Chicago Public League. Representing the Public League this season is Sims (North Lawndale), Bell (Mather), junior forward John Joyce (Taft), freshman forward Cameron Bowles (Kenwood) and freshman guard Nathan Townsen, Jr. (Bogan).
UP NEXT: CSU concludes its four-game road swing in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Marquette in a live broadcast on Fox Sports Two with the opening tip set for 8 p.m.
