Men's Basketball Continues Road Trip At Northwestern On Monday Night
12/14/2008 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will return to action on Monday night in Evanston, Ill., against Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern. The Kangaroos and Wildcats will square off at Welsh-Ryan Arena beginning at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
On The Tube
Monday's game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Mel Proctor will call the play-by-play and Greg Kelser will serve as the color commentator.
On The Air
Monday's game will be aired on 810 AM WHB with the “Voice of the Kangaroos” Steven Davis calling the play-by-play and Nick McCabe handling the color commentator. Davis is the son of long-time Kansas and Royals play-by-play announcer Bob Davis, while McCabe is the Director of Operations at Union Broadcasting.
Last Game
The Kangaroos came up on the short end of a 52-47 decision on Saturday afternoon at Loyola (Ill.). UMKC and LUC were tied at 40 with five minutes to go in the contest before the Ramblers scored eight unanswered points to build a 48-40 lead. The Kangaroos pulled to within three points with less than a minute to play, but they could get no closer in the five-point loss.
Game Notes
- Loyola made 17-of-27 free throws in the game, while UMKC made just 2-of-3. LUC was whistled for 11 fouls to 20 in the contest for the Kangaroos.
- The Kangaroos limited the Ramblers to a .321 (17-53) field goal percentage, one three-point field goal and 52 points. Each figure is a low for a UMKC opponent this season.
- Three players - Spencer Johnson, Dane Brumagin and Reggie Hamilton - accounted for 44 of UMKC's 47 points in the contest. Latreze Mushatt was the only other Kangaroo player to score, as he finished with three points.
Scouting Northwestern
The Wildcats enter Monday's game with a 6-1 overall record after defeating DePaul, 63-36, on Dec. 6 in Evanston. The Wildcats got a 25-point outburst by Kevin Coble in the victory, and they limited the Blue Demons to just 24.1 percent shooting in the game.
NU has a pair of players averaging in double figures on the year. Guard Craig Moore is leading the team with a 15.3 scoring average on .547 (35-64) shooting from the floor and .521 (25-48) from long range. Coble, meanwhile, is averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are averaging 66.9 points with a .476 field goal percentage and a .415 three-point clip. The squad also is out rebounding its opposition, 32.6-29.3, and it has 112 assists to 80 turnovers on the season.
NU Game Notes
- Defense has been the name of the game for Northwestern, as the squad is limiting its opponents to just 49.4 points per game. The opposition is shooting .367 from the field and .283 from long range on the year.
- NU's lone loss on the year was a 57-53 defeat at Butler on Nov. 26. The Wildcats' biggest win was a 73-59 victory over Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The win over the Seminoles was Bill Carmody's 200th career victory.
UMKC vs. Big Ten
Monday's game will be just the third meeting all-time between UMKC and a Big Ten Conference opponent. The last meeting came during the 2005-06 season, when the Kangaroos dropped a 75-71 decision at Penn State. UMKC is also 0-1 against Minnesota, as they played them in the Preseason NIT during the 2003-04 season.
Returning To The Land Of Lincoln
UMKC sophomores Reggie Hamilton and Spencer Johnson will have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family next week when the two Illinois natives return to their home state to face off against Loyola and Northwestern. Hamilton grew up in Harvey, Ill., where he attended Thornwood High School, while Johnson played high school ball at Champaign Central in Champaign, Ill.
Spencer “Double-Double” Johnson
After finishing with zero double-doubles in his first 38 collegiate games, sophomore Spencer Johnson has posted double-doubles in each of the past three contests for the Kangaroos.
The Champaign, Ill., native tallied his first career double-double when he finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds against Oakland on Dec. 4. The 20 points are a career-best for the sophomore. The forward then followed it up with a 12-point, 10-rebound output in the win over IPFW, before finishing with 14 points and a career-best 14 rebounds at Loyola (Ill.).
Over the past three games, Johnson has been averaging 15.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in 33.3 minutes of court time per game. It is the first time since the 2004-05 season for a UMKC player to record three straight double-doubles. Former ?Roo Carlton Aaron tallied four straight from Jan. 3 to Jan. 10 during UMKC's school record 11-game winning streak.
On the year, the Illinois native is third on the team with a 10.4 scoring average to go along with a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game, and he has reached double digits in scoring in a total of five games.
Hi... My Name Is Bakari
Sophomore Bakari Lewis made UMKC debut on Saturday at Loyola, where he played nine minutes off the bench. The guard sat out the team's first 10 games due to NCAA Division I transfer regulations. Last season, Lewis played in seven games at Nicholls State, where he appeared in just seven games.
Double-Double Duo
The Kangaroos recorded their first two double-doubles of the season on Dec. 4 against Oakland. Senior Dane Brumagin finished with a game-high 29 points to go along with 10 boards to tally his second career double-double. Sophomore Spencer Johnson, meanwhile, finished with a career-high 20 points and 13 rebounds to record his first career double-double.
It is the first time that UMKC has had a pair of players post double-doubles in the same game since the 2005-06 season when Kalu Guasco (19-10) and Dee Ayuba (21-10) accomplished the feat in an 82-81 overtime win over Chicago State on Feb. 6, 2006.
Closing Out On The 3's
UMKC has been contesting the three-point shots through the early portion of the schedule. The Kangaroos are second in the league in allowing its opposition to shoot 28.5 percent (55-193) from three-point range. UMKC has held its opponents under 30 percent from three-point land in a total of seven games on the year.
Brumagin Leads Team In Scoring
Senior Dane Brumagin scored in double figures for the seventh straight game and for the 10th time this season when he finished with 16 points on a 7-of-14 night from the floor at Loyola (Ill.). The forward narrowly missed his second double-double of the season, as he finished with nine boards.
Leading up the to game against the Ramblers, Brumagin hit the 20-point mark in back-to-back league games. He had a season-high 29 points, the fifth highest scoring game of his career, against Oakland before finishing with 28 points in the win over IPFW. They were the 18th and 19th games of Brumagin's career with 20 or more points.
The Montgomery City, Mo., native is leading the team with a 17.5 scoring average on .430 shooting from the floor. He has reached double figures in 10-of-11 games. 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.
Etching Their Name In The Record Books
Sophomores Reggie Hamilton and James Humphrey have both etched their names in the single game record books this season. Hamilton finished with five steals against Florida on Nov. 30, which are tied for the third most in a single game in school history. Humphrey, meanwhile, swatted five shots in the win over IPFW. The five blocks are also tied for the third most in a single game in school history.
Getting Others Involved
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton dished out a career-high nine assists on Dec. 4 against Oakland. The guard, who is tied for second in The Summit League with 4.7 assists per game, has had five or more assists in five of the last eight games.
Hamilton Shines In Florida
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton had a superb five-game stretch during UMKC's trip to the state of Florida from Nov. 22-30. The guard hit the 20-point mark in four of the team's five games, and he averaged 19.4 points on .493 (34-69) shooting from the floor and .483 (14-29) from long range. Hamilton also averaged 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals for the Kangaroos.
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.
On the year, Hamilton is second on the team and eighth in The Summit League with a 16.5 scoring average. The guard also is tied for second in the league in assists (4.7), third in three-point field goal percentage (.435) and fourth in the league in steals (1.5).
The Harvey, Ill., native has reached double figures in 10 of 11 games this season. In five of those contests, the guard finished with at least 20 points.
Brumagin Moves In To Seventh On Career Scoring Charts
Senior Dane Brumagin moved into seventh place on the UMKC career scoring charts with his 29 point performance against Oakland on Dec. 4. The forward now has 1,139 career points, which is 71 points behind David Robinson (1,211) for sixth place all-time.
Brumagin became just the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone on Nov. 24 against Bradley. The forward hit the mark on a fast break dunk at the 1:46 mark of the first half.
Reggie Halfway To Milestone
Sophomore Reggie Hamilton scored his 500th career point when he finished with 10 points in the game against nationally-ranked Florida on Nov. 30. The guard now has 543 points in Blue and Gold, which puts him in 29th place in the record books.
Crashing The Boards
The Kangaroos finished with a season-high 22 offensive rebounds on Dec. 4 against Oakland. This season, the Kangaroos rank third in the league in offensive rebounds with 12.3 per game. Sophomore Spencer Johnson grabbed nearly half of the boards, as he finished with 10 offensive rebounds on the night.
Mushatt Hitting The Glass
Freshman Latreze Mushatt has been one of UMKC's top rebounders this season. The Michigan native is second on the team with 6.3 boards per game, and he has grabbed at least eight rebounds in a total of five games. In his second career game at nationally-ranked Kansas, Mushatt finished with a career-best 10 rebounds.
Offensively, the forward is fourth on the team with a 9.1 per game scoring average, and he's scored in double figures in five games this season.
Switch-A-Roo
Head Coach Matt Brown has used seven different starting line-ups over the first 11 games this season. Last season, UMKC used a total of 17 different starting line-ups on the year.
Returners Carry The Load
Through 11 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 73 percent of the team's scoring. The four players have scored 524 of the team's 717 points on the season. In the season opener against North Dakota, the group scored 50 of the squad's 56 points, and in the Dec. 13 game at Loyola (Ill.), the foursome scored 44 of the team's 47 points.
Raining Threes
UMKC has made at least one three-point basket in 256 consecutive regular season or tournament games dating back to January 22, 2000.
Brumagin In The Career Record Books
Free Throw Percentage - 1st - .867 (196-226)
40-point scoring games - t3rd - 1
30-point scoring games - t4th - 3
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 4th - 195
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts - 4th - 497
Field Goals Attempted - 6th - 908
20-point scoring games - 7th - 19
Points - 7th - 1139
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - t7th - .392 (195-497)
Field Goals Made - 7th - 374
Double Figure Scoring Games - 8th - 48
Free Throws Made - 10th - 196
Games Played - t10th - 101
Rebounds - 13th - 350
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.
