'Roos Resume League Play With T-Birds On Saturday Night
1/1/2010 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
THE SETTING
The UMKC men's basketball team will resume
Summit League competition on Saturday night when Southern Utah comes to
Kansas City for a 7:05 p.m. contest. The 'Roos and Thunderbirds will
square off at Municipal Auditorium in a game that will be televised on
Metro Sports.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 810 AM WHB (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Steven St. John - color)
Television: Metro Sports (Neil Harwell - p-b-p; Doug Elstun- color)
Web: Roo Vision (www.UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: www.UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The
'Roos closed out non-league play with a 91-57 road loss at Missouri on
Dec. 30 in Columbia. The Tigers used a 20-0 first half run and a 20-4
second half run to build a double digit advantage and they never looked
back in the 34-point victory. Three UMKC players reached double digits
in the defeat with LaTreze Mushatt leading the way with 12 points, five
rebounds and five assists.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt
Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program,
where he has compiled an 25-51 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.
Roger Reid is in his third season as the head coach of the Southern
Utah men's basketball program, where he has posted a 26-48 overall
record. A 36-year coaching veteran, Reid has coached five NCAA
Tournament and one National Invitational Tournament squads.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
The
Thunderbirds enter Saturday's contest having lost seven of their last
eight games to drop their record to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in league
play. The team's lone victory came at home over UC Riverside on Dec.
21 by the score of 76-65.
Four SUU players are averaging at
least 8.6 points per game and two T-Bird players are in double digits.
2009 First Team all-Summit League selection Davis Baker is pacing the
team with a 17.2 scoring average, while shooting 47 percent from the
floor and 95 percent from the charity stripe. Junior college transfer
Ryan Brimley is second on the team with an 11.3 average and he's tops
on the team with a .926 free throw percentage. Forward Matt Massey is
leading the squad with 5.5 rebounds per game, while forward Jake
Nielson has a team-best 36 assists and 21 steals.
The
Thunderbirds are being out scored 73.2 to 67.0 on the year, and the
squad is shooting .442 from the floor, .356 from long range and .767
from the free throw stripe. SUU is also +3.3 on the glass, but the
squad is averaging 19.8 turnovers per contest.
SUU GAME NOTES
•
Eight of the team's 13 games have been played on the road or on a
neutral court. Five of the last seven games for the T-Birds have been
road contests. Overall, SUU is winless on the road (0-6) this season.
•
In 2009, Coach Reid guided Southern Utah to its first post season win
since the 2003 season. The Thunderbirds upset No. 4 seed IUPUI in the
quarterfinals of the league tournament.
• Southern Utah has made 70
percent or more of its free throws in 9-of-13 games on the season.
Last season, SUU led the nation with a 79.6 free throw clip.
• SUU has nine underclassmen (6 Fr., 3 So.) on its 2009-10 roster.
•
Outside of league foes, UMKC and SUU have played one common opponent
this season in Nebraska. The 'Roos lost 70-48 against the Huskers,
while SUU fell 94-61 on Tuesday night.
THE SERIES
Saturday's
meeting will be the 29th in the all-time series between UMKC and SUU
with the Thunderbirds holding the 16-12 advantage. The 'Roos are 11-3
in the series in games played in Kansas City, but last season, SUU
swept the two contests, winning 66-50 at Municipal and 81-69 in Cedar
City. SUU has been victorious in each of the last three meetings.
'ROO TIDBITS
•
Sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones is third in The Summit League in field
goal percentage this season. The guard has connected on 47-of-85
attempts for a .553 shooting clip. He is one of just three guards
among the top-10 in the category. Fellow sophomore LaTreze Mushatt
ranks ninth in the league witha .476 shooting clip. As a team, the
'Roos have the second best overall mark in the league (.448).
• UMKC
and Southern Utah have the fewest three-point makes in The Summit
League this season. The 'Roos have made 64 long balls, while SUU has
63 makes.
• LaTreze Mushatt had a career-high five assists at
Missouri to catapult him into a tie for the team lead with 29 assists
with Jay Couisnard and Alex Bazzell.
• Junior Spencer Johnson became the 30th 'Roo player to reach 500 points, when he netted five points at Missouri.
•
UMKC has committed season-highs in turnovers in each of the last two
games. The squad had 21 TOs at SIUE and 25 TOs at Missouri.
•
Daniel Brady saw his first significant game action at Missouri,
finishing with two points and a rebound in six minutes. Sophomore
Dustin Dibble also saw extended PT, netting seven points on 3-of-5
shooting in just seven minutes.
• Junior Jay Couisnard missed double
digits for just the second time this season in the road contest at
Mizzou. Couisnard finished with five points in 28 minutes of action.
•
Freshman Alex Bazzell reached double digits for the second time in his
career at Missouri. The guard made 3-of-6 shot attempts (2-of-5 3PT)
in the contest.
• Freshman Kirk Korver knocked down 4-of-7 attempts
(2-of-4 3PT) en route to 11 points at SIUE. It was Korver's second
game in double figures this season.
• UMKC is leading the league in
turnover margin (+2.6), and is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio
(0.9). The squad is also fifth in both steals (7.2) and assists (12.3).
•
The 'Roos have attempted at least 24 free throws in 6-of-the-last-7
games and the squad has attempted 30 or more from the charity stripe in
three of those contests. The squad is 5-0 on the year when attempting
more free throws than its opposition.
• UMKC shot .533 (8-15) from
long range in back-to-back games at Houston Baptist and vs. Central
Arkansas on Dec. 12 and Dec. 19. Last season, the squad didn't shoot
50 percent in any of the team's 31 games.
• Sophomore Trey
McKinney-Jones scored a career-high 21 points in the win over Central
Arkansas. He is the third 'Roo player to hit the 20-point mark this
season.
• The 'Roos have 15 more offensive rebounds than their
opponents this season (118-103). Overall, however, UMKC is -1.3
(30.4-31.7) on the glass on the year.
• UMKC is undefeated when scoring 70 or more points.
•
Alex Bazzell opened his collegiate career by playing 108 minutes before
committing his first turnover. Bazzell now has a 3.2-to-1
assist-to-turnover ratio (29-9).
• The 'Roos are shooting .469 from
the floor and .359 from long range at home and .435 from the field and
.303 from long range on the road.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 36 consecutive starts and has started 43 of the last 44 contests.
'ROOS MATCH 2008-09 WIN TOTAL
UMKC
matched its 2008-09 win total when it tallied its seventh victory of
the season on Dec. 28 at SIU Edwardsville. The win was also the team's
fourth road victory this season, which surpasses last year's total
(3). In Coach Brown's first two years in Kansas City, the 'Roos won a
combined five road contests.
BALANCED SCORING
The
'Roos have five players averaging over 8.8 points per game this season
and a total of three players in double figures. UMKC is a perfect 4-0
on the year when it has four or more players finish in double digits.
TMJ STRONG IN DECEMBER
Sophomore
Trey McKinney-Jones enjoyed a breakout month in December for the
'Roos. The guard reached double digits in six-of-eight games in the
month, and he established two career highs. Overall, the Wisconsin
native averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds on .563 shooting and a
.500 clip from long range. He also made 28-of-33 free throws during
the eight contests.
On the year, McKinney-Jones has scored in
double figures in seven games and he's averaging 10.7 points, which is
third best on the team, with a .553 field goal percentage.
CONSISTENT COOZY
Junior Jay Couisnard has been UMKC's most
consistent player this season, as the forward has reached double digits
in 11 of the team's 13 games and he's been the leading scorer for the
squad in seven contests.
The Houston, Texas, native has
surpassed the 15-point mark in five games, which includes two 20-point
contests. In his return to his hometown on Dec. 12, Couisnard scored a
career-high 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the win at Houston
Baptist. He also knocked down 10-of-13 free throws in the victory.
Couisnard is pacing the team and 11th in The Summit League with a 13.5
per game average, while shooting .401 from the floor and .389 from long
range. He also leads the team in free throw makes (51) and attempts
(79), while making .646 percent of his chances.
OFFENSIVE EXTRAVAGANZA
The
Kangaroos finished with season-highs in field goal percentage (.571),
three-point field goal percentage (.533) and free throw percentage
(.809) in the road win at Houston Baptist on Dec. 12. The squad also
tied a season-high with eight three-pointers in the victory, which
helped the squad score 102 points.
The 102 point output is the
15th highest point total in school history and it is the second time in
the Matt Brown era that the squad has reached the century mark.
SIX'S COMPANY
All
five UMKC starters and a total of six 'Roo players finished in double
digits in leading the team to a road win at Houston Baptist. It was
the first time since Dec. 30, 2003, in the 93-52 blowout win over
Kansas State that the squad had six players reach double figures.
'ROOS TIE SCHOOL RECORD
UMKC
tied a school record with 38 free throw makes in the road win at
Houston Baptist. The squad connected on 38-of-47 attempts, which
translated into a season-high .809 free throw percentage. The 38 makes
tied the school record that was set on Jan. 4, 1992 against
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
STEADY TREZ
Sophomore LaTreze
Mushatt has provided the 'Roos with a steady scoring option this
season, as the forward has reached double figures in 9-of-13 contests
on the year. In the road win at Centenary on Dec. 5, the Michigan
native tallied his first career double-double, as he finished with 17
points and 10 boards. Mushatt is the first and only 'Roo player to
tally a double-double this season.
Mushatt is averaging 11.5
points, while shooting .476 from the floor. He is also leading the
team with 5.9 rebounds per game, while also dishing out 29 assists,
which is tied for the team-high.
