Kangaroos Set To Face IUPUI In Opening Round Of The Summit League Championship On Saturday Night
3/6/2008 6:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Setting
The UMKC men's basketball team will open play at the 2008 Summit League Championship as the No. 7 seed against No. 2 seed IUPUI on Saturday night in Tulsa, Okla. The Kangaroos and Jaguars will square off at the John Q. Hammons Arena at the UMAC beginning at 8:30 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast live on Metro Sports.
On The Tube
Saturday's opening round game will be broadcast live on Metro Sports. Neil Harwell will call the play-by-play, while Doug Elstun will serve as the color commentator.
On The Air
All UMKC men's basketball games can be heard on Sports Radio 810 WHB AM. Fans can also hear the games online at www.810whb.com. “The Voice of the Kangaroos” Danny Clinkscale will call the play-by-play action for UMKC for the seventh straight season.
On The Web
Fans can watch the 2008 Summit League Championship on SummitTV. Fans can access SummitTV through www.umkckangaroos.com or www.thesummitleague.org.
Live Stats
Fans can follow the action as it happens via live stats at www.thesummitleague.org.
A Look At IUPUI
The Jaguars enter the Championship having won three straight and 11-of-12 games to close out the regular season to push their overall record to 24-6 and 15-3 in The Summit League. The 24 victories are a new school record.
Four IUPUI players are averaging in double digits on the year with first team all-league selection George Hill leading the way with 21.2 points and 6.6 rebounds. Fellow guards Austin Montgomery (13.7), an honorable mention all-league selection, and Gary Patterson (13.1), a second team all-league honoree, are second and third on the team, respectively, while reserve Jon Avery adds 10.9 points per game.
IUPUI is third in the league in scoring with a 76.6 per game average, while giving up the second fewest points per contest at 64.4. The squad is also pacing the league in field goal percentage (.507), three-point field goal percentage (.423) and free throw percentage (.779) on the year.
IUPUI Game Facts
- All everything guard and Summit League Player of the Year George Hill ranks among the top-five in virtually every major statistical category in the league. He is first in the conference in scoring (21.2), tied for second in three-point percentage (.458), third in steals (1.79), third in field goal percentage (.556), fifth in rebounding (6.6) and fifth in assists (4.3).
- The Jaguars have posted two separate eight-game winning streaks this season. The only time the team lost back-to-back games was at Oral Roberts (64-63) and at Centenary (64-58) on Jan. 17 and Jan. 19.
- IUPUI finished with a 1-1 record on a neutral court this season, and the team was 8-5 on the road.
UMKC vs. IUPUI - The Series
Saturday's meeting will be the 22nd meeting in the all-time series with IUPUI holding the 12-9 advantage. The contest will be just the second all-time in tournament play, as the Jags defeated the Kangaroos, 54-52, in 2001 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Season Series Recap
The Jaguars won both of the regular season meetings over the Kangaroos, winning 78-73 in Kansas City on Jan. 3 and 90-70 on Feb. 2 in Indianapolis. In the first meeting, UMKC led 72-69 with 1:22 remaining, but IUPUI scored the final seven points en route to the four-point victory. In February at the Jungle, UMKC trailed by just three (37-34) points at the half, but the Jags made 16-of-19 shots to start the second half to cruise to the 20-point win.
In the two games, IUPUI is shooting a staggering .547 from the floor and .541 from long range en route to 83.5 points a game. The Kangaroos, meanwhile, are averaging 71.0 points on .415 shooting from the field and .364 from three-point land.
Last Contest
The Kangaroos dropped a 85-75 decision to Oakland last Saturday on Senior night at Municipal Auditorium. UMKC started the game strong, as it built a nine-point lead with two minutes remaining in the first half. OU, however, scored the final seven points of the first half and the first eight points of the second half to build a 36-30 lead. The Kangaroos pulled to within three on a pair of occasions, but the Grizzlies hit all 10 of its free throws in the final 1:07 to secure the victory.
Notes From The OU Game
- The Grizzlies dominated the action on the glass, 50-27. OU also made 31-of-40 free throws compared to just 10-of-15 for the Kangaroos.
- Four Kangaroos players finished the contest in double figures with freshman Reggie Hamilton pacing the squad with 23 points.
- UMKC committed just 10 turnovers in the game, while forcing OU into 16 miscues.
Brumagin/Hamilton Garner Post Season Honors
Junior Dane Brumagin and freshman Reggie Hamilton both received post season honors from The Summit League. Brumagin was a second team all-conference selection after finishing fifth in the league in scoring, while Hamilton was named to the all-Newcomer team after posting an 11.6 scoring average.
UMKC's Championship History
The Kangaroos are 5-12 all-time in tournament games, and the team has made a total of five semifinal appearances (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007) in school history. This is the first time that a UMKC team has ever been a No. 7 seed at the Championship.
In tournament history, the No. 7 seed is 5-17 all-time. Since UMKC has joined the conference, the No. 7 seed is just 1-11 with the lone victory coming from Oakland over the Kangaroos in 2004-05.
Post Season Experience
UMKC has a total of 20 games of experience at the league tournament, but when taking injuries into account, that number dips to 15 games. Among the healthy players, junior Dane Brumagin has the best post season scoring average on the team with a 12.0 clip in three career games.
School Record Goes Down
UMKC broke the single season school record for three-point field goals against Oakland on Saturday night. With the long ball by Tim Blackwell at the 6:38 mark, the Kangaroos erased the old record of 267 treys, which was set last season. UMKC currently has 274 three-pointers this season, which is the top total in The Summit League.
Kangaroos and Brumagin Take Home League Crowns In Free Throw Shooting
UMKC and junior Dane Brumagin both claimed The Summit League crowns for team and individual free throw shooting. In league games, the Kangaroos led all teams with a .778 percentage, while Brumagin shot 90 percent from the charity stripe for the best individual mark in the conference.
Brumagin Moving Up UMKC Single Season Charts
Junior Dane Brumagin currently ranks among the top-10 in the single season recordbooks in several categories. The forward's .867 (98-113) free throw percentage is the second best all-time in school history, while his .456 (77-169) three-point percentage ranks third all-time. Brumagin's 77 three-point makes are also the 10th most in a single season.
Freshman Surging To Close Out The Year
While most freshman tale off at the end of their first playing season on a college campus, UMKC's Reggie Hamilton has been elevating his play over the final third of the season. The Harvey, Ill., native has scored in double figures in six straight and in eight of the last 10 games for the Kangaroos heading into the league tournament.
The freshman has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games, and he netted a career-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting last Saturday against Oakland. In the game at Centenary on Feb. 23, Hamilton did most of his damage during crunch time, as he scored 17 of the team's 20 points over the final three minutes of regulation and overtime.
Hamilton has scored in double figures in 21-of-30 games on the year. He is also leading the team in assists (94), and he's second in steals (34) on the season.
Kangaroos Play Best Ball At The End Of The Season
The Kangaroos have played their best basketball of the season down the stretch, winning three of its last five games to close out the regular season. During the streak, UMKC averaged 73.4 points on .421 shooting and .409 from long range.
The team is getting balanced scoring during the stretch, as three players are averaging better than 15 points a game. Freshman Reggie Hamilton is leading the team with 18.2 points per game followed by Dane Brumagin with 17.5. Senior Tim Blackwell is adding 15.2 for the squad during the spurt.
Blackwell Becomes Eighth 1,000-Point Scorer In UMKC History
With his three-pointer at the 16:04 mark in the first half at Oral Roberts on Feb. 21, senior Tim Blackwell became just the eighth player in UMKC history to surpass the 1,000-career point plateau. Blackwell now has 1,053 points in a Kangaroo uniform, which puts him 23 points shy of Darecko Rawlins for seventh place on the all-time list.
Spreading The 20s
Four UMKC different UMKC players have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Freshman Reggie Hamilton became the fourth with his 22-point outing at Oral Roberts on Feb. 21. The Kangaroos have also had six different players pace the squad in scoring on the year.
