No. 25 Drake routs Illinois State 95-60 after return to poll

DES MOINES, Iowa - Tremell Murphy scored a career-high 30 points and No. 25 Drake rolled past Illinois State 95-60 on Monday night in the Bulldogs’ first game as a ranked team in nearly 13 years.

ShanQuan Hemphill had 18 points for the Bulldogs (17-0, 8-0 Missouri Valley Conference), who improved to 37-4 in the Knapp Center under coach Darian DeVries.

"It feels good, but you’re never satisfied," Murphy said. "You have to keep getting better."

Antonio Reeves led Illinois State (5-12, 2-9) with 20 points.

The Bulldogs had little trouble with the Redbirds after struggling to a 78-76 overtime win in Sunday’s series opener. Reeves had 27 points in the first meeting.

"Obviously, we got the ball moving a lot more," Drake guard Roman Penn said. "Just getting moving and getting out in transition."

Murphy finished 6 of 10 from 3-point range as Drake easily exceeded its average of 82.2 points per game.