UMKC To Face Nationally-Ranked Florida On Sunday In Orlando
11/29/2008 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will round out its season-long seven game road trip with a Sunday afternoon showdown against No. 18/17 Florida in Orlando. The Kangaroos and Gators will square off at Amway Arena - the home of the NBA's Orlando Magic - beginning at 12 p.m. (CST).
On The Tube
Sunday's game will be broadcast on Sun Sports/FSN Florida with Larry Vettel serving as the play-by-play and Bill Koss as the color commentator. The game will also be available via ESPN360 at ESPN360.com.
On The Air
Sunday's game will be aired on 810 AM WHB with the “Voice of the Kangaroos” Steven Davis calling the play-by-play. Davis is the son of long-time Kansas and Royals play-by-play announcer Bob Davis.
Last Game
The Kangaroos rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to win at Florida Gulf Coast, 73-69, on Wednesday night in Fort Myers. The Eagles opened the game with a 12-0 run, and they led 39-28 at the break. UMKC battled back to take its first lead with around 12 minutes to play, and it executed down the stretch in pulling out the four-point road victory. The squad had three players finish the contest in double figures with Reggie Hamilton leading the way with 22 points.
Game Notes
- UMKC finished with a season-high 10 three pointers in the win over FGCU. The squad also had a season-best 10 steals.
- The Kangaroos made 5-of-7 free throws in the final three minutes against the Eagles. The squad is now 7-of-9 in pressure free throw situations this season.
Scouting Florida
The Gators bring a No. 17 ranking in the AP poll and a No. 18 ranking in the ESPN/USA Coaches Poll into Sunday's game against UMKC. UF currently has a 4-1 overall record after topping Washington (86-84) in the consolation game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. The Gators opened the season with three straight wins over Toledo, Bradley and fellow Summit League foe Southern Utah before dropping an 89-83 decision to Syracuse at the CBE.
Three Gator players are averaging in double digits on the season with guard Nick Calathes leading the way with 17.4 points per contest. Calathes is shooting .417 from the floor and a staggering .700 (21-30) from three-point land. Forwards Dan Werner and Alex Tyus are also in double figures with 13.2 and 11.2 scoring averages respectively. Chandler Parsons, meanwhile, is leading the squad with 5.8 rebounds per game.
Florida is out scoring its opposition by 11 points (78.8-67.8) on the year, while shooting .480 from the floor and .357 from long range. The squad is averaging 32.4 rebounds, and it has 89 assists to 64 turnovers.
UF Game Notes
- Florida returns home to the Sunshine State after playing its last two games at the Sprint Center in Kansas City in the CBE Classic.
- The Gators have seven newcomers on the 2008-09 squad, six of which are true freshman.
- UF had five players finish in double figures in the two-point win over Washington. Guard Nick Calathes led the team with 21 points and eight assists in the game.
UMKC vs. The SEC
Sunday's game will the the fifth meeting for UMKC against the Southeastern Conference in school history. The Kangaroos last faced an SEC squad during the 2006-07 season, when it dropped a 71-61 decision at Arkansas. UMKC has faced Mississippi State on three occasions, and it defeated the Bulldogs, 89-87 in overtime, at Municipal Auditorium on Feb. 23, 1993.
Brown/Kohtala To Meet Former Boss
Head Coach Matt Brown and assistant coach Ed Kohtala will meet one of their former bosses in Florida head coach Billy Donovan on Sunday in Orlando. Brown served on Donovan's staff as an administrative assistant at Marshall from 1994-96 and at Florida from 1996-97. Kohtala, meanwhile, served as a graduate assistant under Donovan in 1996-97.
UMKC Matches 2007-08 Road Win Total
With the four-point win at Florida Gulf Coast, the Kangaroos matched their 2007-08 road win total. Last season, the squad finished with a 2-13 record in games away from Kansas City.
The Kangaroos picked up their first road victory at Wichita State on Nov. 19. The win was the program's first win in Wichita and the first road victory against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. The win over WSU was also the largest crowd (10,282) that UMKC has won in front of since the squad topped Oral Roberts in from of 10,331 fans at the Mabee Center during the 2004-05 season.
Two Straight Over The MVC
The Kangaroos picked up their second straight win over a Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Nov. 24, when it topped Bradley in Fort Myers, Fla. It was just the third time in school history that the Kangaroos have defeated more than one MVC school in the same season. UMKC topped Creighton and Wichita State during the 1993-94 season to accomplish the feat for the first time, and in 2001-02, the squad beat Missouri State and Northern Iowa in back-to-back games.
Hamilton Gets 20 For Fourth Straight Game
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton hit the 20-point mark for the fourth straight game and for the fifth time this season on Wednesday night at Florida Gulf Coast. The guard connected on 5-of-10 shot attempts (3-of-6 from long range) and 9-of-11 free throws in the game.
Hamilton is the first Kangaroo player since Michael Watson to score 20 or more points in four straight games. Watson had two different six-game streaks during the 2003-04 season where he finished with 20 or more points.
During his four-game stretch in the Sunshine State, Hamilton has averaged 21.8 points per game. He is shooting .508 (30-59) from the floor, .500 (12-24) from long range and .789 (15-19) from the charity stripe. He also has 24 assists (6.0 p/game) and eight steals (2.0 p/game).
Hamilton opened the trip with a 22-point performance at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 22 before scoring 21 points in the win over Bradley, where he had a career-best nine field goals. The Illinois native then matched a career-high with 23 points against Richmond, where he made a career-best five three-pointers.
Hamilton, who is averaging a team-best 19.0 points per game, has scored in double figures in every game for the Kangaroos this season and in 28-of-38 career games. He has eight games with 20 or more points in his UMKC career.
Two ?Roos Return To Florida
Freshman Femi Akinpetide and sophomore Bakari Lewis will return to their old stomping grounds in the state of Florida this week. Akinpetide prepped at the Monteverde Academy, in Monteverde, Fla., which is located in a suburb of Orlando. Lewis, meanwhile, played prep ball at the IMG Prep Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Brumagin Joins The 1,000-Point Club
Senior Dane Brumagin became just the ninth player in UMKC history to join the 1,000-point club on Nov. 24 against Bradley. The forward hit the mark on a fast break dunk at the 1:46 mark of the first half.
The Montgomery City, Mo., native now has 1,050 career points in UMKC Blue and Gold, which is 21 points behind his former teammate Tim Blackwell (1,071) for eighth place on the all-time list.
Distributing The Basketball
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton has finished with five or more assists in each of the last four games for the Kangaroos. During the four games, the guard has a total of 24 assists or 6.0 per game. The Harvey, Ill., native had a season-high seven assists in the win over FGCU. He also finished with 22 points and six rebounds.
Brumagin Scores UMKC Season-High
Senior Dane Brumagin, who was tabbed as a Preseason First Team all-Summit League selection, scored a UMKC season-high 26 points in the loss to Richmond on Nov. 25. The forward connected on 8-of-16 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws in the game.
Brumagin, who is second on the team with a 14.7 scoring average, has reached double figures in 6-of-7 games this season. The only game where the forward missed double digits was at Florida Atlantic, when he sat out the second half of the contest due to injury.
Brumagin has scored in double digits in 44 games in his Kangaroo career, which includes 17 games with 20 or more points.
20x2
The Kangaroos had a pair of players hit the 20-point mark in the loss to Richmond on Nov. 25. Dane Brumagin finished with 26 points and Reggie Hamilton had 23 points in the contest. The last time UMKC had two players finish with 20 points was on Feb. 16, 2008 against South Dakota State. Former ?Roo Tim Blackwell scored 23 points, while Brumagin added 22 in the five-point win.
Mushatt Moves Into Starting Line-up
Freshman Latreze Mushatt made his first career start against Bradley on Nov. 24, and he made it count as he finished with a career-best 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The forward then matched his career-high two days later against FGCU, as he made 5-of-8 shot attempts (3-of-4 three-pointers), while also grabbing eight rebounds.
Since joining the starting five, Mushatt is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting .560 (14-25) from the floor and .500 (3-6) from three-point range.
Mushatt has scored in double digits in a total of four games for the Kangaroos this season. He is third on the team with a 10.7 scoring average, and he's also leading the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
Mushatt Grabs 10 Boards In Second Career Game
Freshman Latreze Mushatt grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in his second career game at No. 24/23 Kansas on Nov. 16. The 10 rebounds are a season-high for UMKC, and it is just the third time in the Matt Brown era for a player to finish in double digits on the glass. Last season it took 17 games before the team had a 10-rebound player, and the squad had just two 10-board games on the year (Dane Brumagin - 10 vs. SUU, James Humphrey - 10 at Centenary).
Trey Pulls Down Eight Boards
Freshman Trey McKinney-Jones pulled down eight rebounds - all defensive - in the 12-point win over Bradley on Nov. 24. The figure was the second highest rebounding total for the Kangaroos this season. The guard also contributed seven points in the contest after making all three of his field goal attempts.
Switch-A-Roo
Head Coach Matt Brown has used four different starting line-ups over the first seven games this season. Last season, UMKC used a total of 17 different starting line-ups on the year.
Returners Carry The Load
Through three games, the four returning players on the UMKC roster have been carrying the scoring load. Dane Brumagin, Reggie Hamilton, Spencer Johnson and James Humphrey have accounted for 71.3 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 326 of the team's 457 points on the season. In the season opener against North Dakota, the group scored 50 of the squad's 56 points.
The Youth Movement
UMKC has a total of 10 underclassmen on its 2008-09 roster, which includes five freshmen and five sophomores. The five freshmen are tied for the most on a roster in school history, while the 10 underclassmen are also tied for the most all-time. This year's squad also has the second most true freshmen on its roster in school history.
The 2005-06 squad also had five freshmen (all true freshmen), while the 1999-00 squad also had a total of 10 freshmen and sophomores. One of the members of the 05-06 class was none other than current senior Dane Brumagin.
Freshmen Starters
The Kangaroo have had more than one freshman considered as a starter in the end of the year statistics just once in school history. In 2000-01, Javin Tindall and Michael Watson both started 29-of-30 games for UMKC.
Raining Threes
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 252 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .861 (179-208)
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - t4th - 3
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - 5th - .396 (183-462)
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 5th - 183
Field Goals Attempted - 6th - 842
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 7th - 462
20-point scoring games - 7th - 17
Points - 9th - 1050
Field Goals Made - 10th - 344
Double Figure Scoring Games - 10th - 44
