UMKC Opens League Play At ORU On Thursday Night
12/2/2009 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
THE SETTING
The UMKC men's basketball team will look to snap its two-game losing streak when it opens Summit League play at Oral Roberts on Thursday night at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. The game, which will be broadcast live on Metro Sports, is set to tip-off at 7:05 p.m.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 810 AM WHB (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: Metro Sports (Neil Harwell - p-b-p; Doug Elstun - color)
Web: Roo Vision (UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The 'Roos dropped their first home game of the season when Idaho State rallied for a 68-65 victory on Nov. 28 at the Swinney Recreation Center. UMKC led by as many as nine points midway through the second half, but the Bengals fought back to take the lead with 22 seconds remaining before running out three point winners. Junior Jay Couisnard led a group of three 'Roo players in double digits, as he finished with 16 points.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 21-47 overall record and has coached three players to all-Summit League recognition. Former forward Dane Brumagin was a second team all-league honoree and Reggie Hamilton was an all-newcomer team selection in 2007-08, while Brumagin earned an honorable mention all-league nod in 2008-09. Last season, Brown guided the 'Roos to a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes Wichita State and Bradley. It was just the third time in school history for the team to beat two MVC teams in the same season.
Scott Sutton is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Oral Roberts men's basketball program, where he has posted a 187-130 overall record. During his tenure in Tulsa, Sutton has guided the Golden Eagles to four Summit League regular season titles and finished first or second in the conference seven times. He has also made four post-season tournament appearances including three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2006-08.
SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday's game with a 3-4 overall record after dropping a 73-68 decision at Arkansas-Little Rock on Monday evening. Dominique Morrison paced the squad by scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Morrison leads a group of four ORU players in double digits with a 15.0 per game average to go along with a team-high 20 assists. The Kansas City, Mo., native is shooting .452 from the floor and .810 from the charity stripe. Center Kevin Ford is second on the team with 13.1 points to go along with a team-high 7.7 rebounds, while Warren Niles (10.6) and Michael Craion (10.1) round out the squad's double-digit scorers.
Oral Roberts is averaging 69.3 points per game on .447 shooting, while giving up 68.3 points per contest. The Golden Eagles have been struggling from long range, shooting just .317 (44-139) and they have committed 31 more turnovers than assists on the season. On the boards, however, ORU is +4.7 in the team's seven games.
ORU GAME NOTES
• Junior point guard and Kansas City, Mo., native Roderick Pearson will miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering an ACL injury at Virginia on Nov. 21. He is the third ORU player to suffer an ACL injury this season along with guard Hunter McClintock and forward Tim Morton.
• ORU has three Kansas City natives on its 2009-10 roster in Roderick Pearson (Raytown South HS), Dominique Morrison (Raytown HS) and Michael Craion (Ruskin HS).
• Since the start of the 2002-03 season, ORU is 76-12 at the Mabee Center, which includes a 51-5 mark in league play.
• ORU won at Stanford on Nov. 18 on a buzzer beater by Roderick Pearson. Every season since 2002-03, the Golden Eagles have knocked off at least one team from a power conference. In addition to Stanford, the squad has already face Wake Forest and Virginia, and it welcomes Missouri to Tulsa later this month.
THE SERIES
Thursday's game will be the 29th meeting in the all-time series between UMKC and Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles have won the last eight meetings between the two schools to push their advantage to 18-10. The 'Roos last victory in the series came in 2005 as it closed out a stretch where UMKC won six-of-seven game in the series from 2003 to 2005. Last season, ORU easily won both contests, as the average margin of victory was 33 points.
QUICK HITTERS
• UMKC lost for the first time this season at home and for the first time when leading at the half against Idaho State.
• A win at ORU would be UMKC's first league-opening victory since the 2006-07 season and the first road win in Tulsa since Jan. 29, 2005.
• Alex Bazzell opened his collegiate career by playing 108 minutes before committing his first turnover. Bazzell now has an 18-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is tops in The Summit League.
• The 'Roos are shooting .483 from the floor in three games at the SRC and .396 from the field in two road games. From long range, UMKC has a .333 (18-54) mark at home and a .324 mark on the road.
• Junior Jay Couisnard tied a career-high with five assists against Idaho State. In the game prior, the forward tied a career-best with three long balls at Nebraska.
• Couisnard played all 40 minutes against the Bengals. He is the first 'Roo player to play all 40 minutes since former guard Reggie Hamilton did it in back-to-back games last season.
• The 'Roos have forced 94 turnovers in five games, while committing just 49 TOs. This includes just four turnovers in the road win at North Dakota.
• UMKC won on the road in its first opportunity on Nov. 21 at North Dakota, and the squad is 1-1 on the road this season. Last year, the squad went 3-13 on the road and it was 5-26 away from KC the last two seasons.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 28 consecutive starts and has started 35 of the last 36 contests.
SHARING THE ROCK
UMKC is second in The Summit League with 15.6 assists per game through five contests as it has recorded an assist on 63 percent of its field goals. The squad finished with a season-high 20 assists on 29 field goals in the season-opening win over Truman State, which matched the high for the program during the Matt Brown era.
KEEPING THE ROCK
Not only is UMKC doing an excellent job distributing the rock, but the squad is doing an even better job taking care of the rock. The 'Roos turned the ball over a season-low four times in the road win at North Dakota, which is the lowest figure during Coach Brown's tenure. On the year, UMKC is averaging under 10 turnovers per contest (9.8), while forcing 18.8 TOs a game.
LAST MAN STANDING
Junior Jay Couisnard is the only UMKC player to reach double figures in all five contests to start the year. The forward finished with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting in the three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance came on the heels of a career-high 21 point outing at North Dakota and an 11-point showing at Nebraska.
Couisnard, who has led the team in scoring in four of five games, is pacing the 'Roos with a 15.2 per game average, while shooting .406 (28-69) from the field. The 15.2 points is the eighth best average in The Summit League.
BK EXPLODES FOR 13 OFF THE BENCH
Junior Bakari Lewis netted a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the tight three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance, which was Lewis' 11th career game in double figures, helped the guard break out of his early season funk. Lewis entered the game with a total of seven points, as he had made just 2-of-12 shot attempts (.167) and 0-of-4 attempts from long range.
MUSHATT COOLS OFF AFTER BLISTERING START
After starting off the season on fire in UMKC's 3-0 start, sophomore LaTreze Mushatt has come back to earth in the last two defeats. The forward opened the year by shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor en route to a 15.3 per game average through the first three games - all UMKC wins. In the last two losses, however, Mushatt is shooting .273 (6-22) from the floor en route to 7.5 points per game.
Despite his shooting struggles in the last two games, Mushatt is still second on the team with a 12.2 scoring average, while shooting .500 (25-50) from the floor. The field goal percentage is the fifth best mark in the league.
PRODUCTIVE MINUTES
Freshmen Kirk Korver and Fred Chatmon have been productive in limited minutes for the 'Roos this season. Korver scored eight points in 12 minutes of action at North Dakota and in nine minutes vs. Idaho State. Chatmon, meanwhile, netted six points in eight minutes at Nebraska and in 12 minutes vs. ISU.
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The coaches have been preaching defense all season and the effort is paying off statistically, as the 'Roos have the top scoring defense in The Summit League. UMKC is giving up 57.2 points per game on the year.
In the opener, UMKC's defense limited Truman State to a total of just 33 points, which is the second fewest points allowed in a single game in school history (William Jewell - 29 pts. - 11/21/99).
IN NEED OF A TUNE-UP
After allowing its opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the floor in the two wins to open the season, UMKC's opposition has been scorching the nets in the last three contests. In the last three games, opponents have been shooting a blistering .574 (78-136) from the field and .500 (15-30) from long range. The 'Roos are 1-2 in these three contests.
QUICK HANDS
UMKC has three games this season with 10 or more steals to give it a total of 45 steals (9.0 p/game) on the year. The 9.0 steals per game are the second most in The Summit League this season. Individually, four 'Roo players have five or more swipes with LaTreze Mushatt leading the team and league with 15 on the season.
SETTLING FOR THE LONG BALL
Chicks dig the long ball... when they are going in. UMKC has been hot and cold with the long ball this season, as the squad is shooting just 33 percent in five games (30-91). In the last two games, the 'Roos came out of the gates on fire, as they made six first half three pointers against both Nebraska and Idaho State. The squad, however, went cold for extended periods of both contests, as it went 0-8 in the final 27 minutes against the Huskers and 1-for-6 against the Bengals in the second half.
NEARLY HALF WAY TO 1,000
Junior Spencer Johnson is approaching the 500-point mark for his career in Blue and Gold. The forward currently has 441 points in 66 career games for the 'Roos. This is remarkable considering Johnson scored a grand total of 54 points during his freshman season in Kansas City.
A KORVER DEBUT
Freshman Kirk Korver opened his UMKC career in grand fashion by finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14. In the first half alone, the center was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points in his first 20 minutes of collegiate basketball.
Kirk's performance is the top single game output among the Korver brothers in their collegiate debuts. Kyle and Kaleb, both of whom played at Creighton, scored two points apiece in wins over Mississippi Valley State and DePaul, respectively, while Klayton (Drake) netted three points in a victory over Simpson in 2003.
The UMKC men's basketball team will look to snap its two-game losing streak when it opens Summit League play at Oral Roberts on Thursday night at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. The game, which will be broadcast live on Metro Sports, is set to tip-off at 7:05 p.m.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 810 AM WHB (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: Metro Sports (Neil Harwell - p-b-p; Doug Elstun - color)
Web: Roo Vision (UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The 'Roos dropped their first home game of the season when Idaho State rallied for a 68-65 victory on Nov. 28 at the Swinney Recreation Center. UMKC led by as many as nine points midway through the second half, but the Bengals fought back to take the lead with 22 seconds remaining before running out three point winners. Junior Jay Couisnard led a group of three 'Roo players in double digits, as he finished with 16 points.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 21-47 overall record and has coached three players to all-Summit League recognition. Former forward Dane Brumagin was a second team all-league honoree and Reggie Hamilton was an all-newcomer team selection in 2007-08, while Brumagin earned an honorable mention all-league nod in 2008-09. Last season, Brown guided the 'Roos to a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes Wichita State and Bradley. It was just the third time in school history for the team to beat two MVC teams in the same season.
Scott Sutton is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Oral Roberts men's basketball program, where he has posted a 187-130 overall record. During his tenure in Tulsa, Sutton has guided the Golden Eagles to four Summit League regular season titles and finished first or second in the conference seven times. He has also made four post-season tournament appearances including three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2006-08.
SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday's game with a 3-4 overall record after dropping a 73-68 decision at Arkansas-Little Rock on Monday evening. Dominique Morrison paced the squad by scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Morrison leads a group of four ORU players in double digits with a 15.0 per game average to go along with a team-high 20 assists. The Kansas City, Mo., native is shooting .452 from the floor and .810 from the charity stripe. Center Kevin Ford is second on the team with 13.1 points to go along with a team-high 7.7 rebounds, while Warren Niles (10.6) and Michael Craion (10.1) round out the squad's double-digit scorers.
Oral Roberts is averaging 69.3 points per game on .447 shooting, while giving up 68.3 points per contest. The Golden Eagles have been struggling from long range, shooting just .317 (44-139) and they have committed 31 more turnovers than assists on the season. On the boards, however, ORU is +4.7 in the team's seven games.
ORU GAME NOTES
• Junior point guard and Kansas City, Mo., native Roderick Pearson will miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering an ACL injury at Virginia on Nov. 21. He is the third ORU player to suffer an ACL injury this season along with guard Hunter McClintock and forward Tim Morton.
• ORU has three Kansas City natives on its 2009-10 roster in Roderick Pearson (Raytown South HS), Dominique Morrison (Raytown HS) and Michael Craion (Ruskin HS).
• Since the start of the 2002-03 season, ORU is 76-12 at the Mabee Center, which includes a 51-5 mark in league play.
• ORU won at Stanford on Nov. 18 on a buzzer beater by Roderick Pearson. Every season since 2002-03, the Golden Eagles have knocked off at least one team from a power conference. In addition to Stanford, the squad has already face Wake Forest and Virginia, and it welcomes Missouri to Tulsa later this month.
THE SERIES
Thursday's game will be the 29th meeting in the all-time series between UMKC and Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles have won the last eight meetings between the two schools to push their advantage to 18-10. The 'Roos last victory in the series came in 2005 as it closed out a stretch where UMKC won six-of-seven game in the series from 2003 to 2005. Last season, ORU easily won both contests, as the average margin of victory was 33 points.
QUICK HITTERS
• UMKC lost for the first time this season at home and for the first time when leading at the half against Idaho State.
• A win at ORU would be UMKC's first league-opening victory since the 2006-07 season and the first road win in Tulsa since Jan. 29, 2005.
• Alex Bazzell opened his collegiate career by playing 108 minutes before committing his first turnover. Bazzell now has an 18-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, which is tops in The Summit League.
• The 'Roos are shooting .483 from the floor in three games at the SRC and .396 from the field in two road games. From long range, UMKC has a .333 (18-54) mark at home and a .324 mark on the road.
• Junior Jay Couisnard tied a career-high with five assists against Idaho State. In the game prior, the forward tied a career-best with three long balls at Nebraska.
• Couisnard played all 40 minutes against the Bengals. He is the first 'Roo player to play all 40 minutes since former guard Reggie Hamilton did it in back-to-back games last season.
• The 'Roos have forced 94 turnovers in five games, while committing just 49 TOs. This includes just four turnovers in the road win at North Dakota.
• UMKC won on the road in its first opportunity on Nov. 21 at North Dakota, and the squad is 1-1 on the road this season. Last year, the squad went 3-13 on the road and it was 5-26 away from KC the last two seasons.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 28 consecutive starts and has started 35 of the last 36 contests.
SHARING THE ROCK
UMKC is second in The Summit League with 15.6 assists per game through five contests as it has recorded an assist on 63 percent of its field goals. The squad finished with a season-high 20 assists on 29 field goals in the season-opening win over Truman State, which matched the high for the program during the Matt Brown era.
KEEPING THE ROCK
Not only is UMKC doing an excellent job distributing the rock, but the squad is doing an even better job taking care of the rock. The 'Roos turned the ball over a season-low four times in the road win at North Dakota, which is the lowest figure during Coach Brown's tenure. On the year, UMKC is averaging under 10 turnovers per contest (9.8), while forcing 18.8 TOs a game.
LAST MAN STANDING
Junior Jay Couisnard is the only UMKC player to reach double figures in all five contests to start the year. The forward finished with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting in the three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance came on the heels of a career-high 21 point outing at North Dakota and an 11-point showing at Nebraska.
Couisnard, who has led the team in scoring in four of five games, is pacing the 'Roos with a 15.2 per game average, while shooting .406 (28-69) from the field. The 15.2 points is the eighth best average in The Summit League.
BK EXPLODES FOR 13 OFF THE BENCH
Junior Bakari Lewis netted a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the tight three point loss to Idaho State on Nov. 28. The performance, which was Lewis' 11th career game in double figures, helped the guard break out of his early season funk. Lewis entered the game with a total of seven points, as he had made just 2-of-12 shot attempts (.167) and 0-of-4 attempts from long range.
MUSHATT COOLS OFF AFTER BLISTERING START
After starting off the season on fire in UMKC's 3-0 start, sophomore LaTreze Mushatt has come back to earth in the last two defeats. The forward opened the year by shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor en route to a 15.3 per game average through the first three games - all UMKC wins. In the last two losses, however, Mushatt is shooting .273 (6-22) from the floor en route to 7.5 points per game.
Despite his shooting struggles in the last two games, Mushatt is still second on the team with a 12.2 scoring average, while shooting .500 (25-50) from the floor. The field goal percentage is the fifth best mark in the league.
PRODUCTIVE MINUTES
Freshmen Kirk Korver and Fred Chatmon have been productive in limited minutes for the 'Roos this season. Korver scored eight points in 12 minutes of action at North Dakota and in nine minutes vs. Idaho State. Chatmon, meanwhile, netted six points in eight minutes at Nebraska and in 12 minutes vs. ISU.
DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
The coaches have been preaching defense all season and the effort is paying off statistically, as the 'Roos have the top scoring defense in The Summit League. UMKC is giving up 57.2 points per game on the year.
In the opener, UMKC's defense limited Truman State to a total of just 33 points, which is the second fewest points allowed in a single game in school history (William Jewell - 29 pts. - 11/21/99).
IN NEED OF A TUNE-UP
After allowing its opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the floor in the two wins to open the season, UMKC's opposition has been scorching the nets in the last three contests. In the last three games, opponents have been shooting a blistering .574 (78-136) from the field and .500 (15-30) from long range. The 'Roos are 1-2 in these three contests.
QUICK HANDS
UMKC has three games this season with 10 or more steals to give it a total of 45 steals (9.0 p/game) on the year. The 9.0 steals per game are the second most in The Summit League this season. Individually, four 'Roo players have five or more swipes with LaTreze Mushatt leading the team and league with 15 on the season.
SETTLING FOR THE LONG BALL
Chicks dig the long ball... when they are going in. UMKC has been hot and cold with the long ball this season, as the squad is shooting just 33 percent in five games (30-91). In the last two games, the 'Roos came out of the gates on fire, as they made six first half three pointers against both Nebraska and Idaho State. The squad, however, went cold for extended periods of both contests, as it went 0-8 in the final 27 minutes against the Huskers and 1-for-6 against the Bengals in the second half.
NEARLY HALF WAY TO 1,000
Junior Spencer Johnson is approaching the 500-point mark for his career in Blue and Gold. The forward currently has 441 points in 66 career games for the 'Roos. This is remarkable considering Johnson scored a grand total of 54 points during his freshman season in Kansas City.
A KORVER DEBUT
Freshman Kirk Korver opened his UMKC career in grand fashion by finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14. In the first half alone, the center was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points in his first 20 minutes of collegiate basketball.
Kirk's performance is the top single game output among the Korver brothers in their collegiate debuts. Kyle and Kaleb, both of whom played at Creighton, scored two points apiece in wins over Mississippi Valley State and DePaul, respectively, while Klayton (Drake) netted three points in a victory over Simpson in 2003.
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