'Roos Hit The Road To Face Oakland On Thursday Night
1/12/2010 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
THE SETTING
The UMKC men's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of league games beginning with a Thursday night match-up at Oakland. The Kangaroos and Golden Grizzlies will square off at the Athletics Center O'Rena in Rochester, Mich., beginning at 6 p.m. (CT).
ON THE AIR
Radio: 810 AM WHB (Steven Davis - p-b-p)
Television: None
Web: www.OUGrizzlies.com
Live Stats: www.OUGrizzlies.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Kangaroos came up on the short end of a 74-69 decision when they hosted South Dakota State last Thursday at Municipal Auditorium. The Jackrabbits used a strong second half to pull out the road victory, as they shot 60.9 percent over the final 20 minutes to go along with making 15-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe. Trey McKinney-Jones led a group of four 'Roo players in double digits, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 26-52 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.
Greg Kampe is in his 26th season as the head coach of the Oakland men's basketball program, where he has compiled a 430-321 overall record. Kampe guided the Golden Grizzlies to the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05 and has led the squad to seven 20-win seasons, including a Division I record 23 victories last season.
SCOUTING OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies enter Thursday's contest having won five straight games and 7-of-9 contests to push their overall record to 11-7 and 5-0 in Summit League play. Last weekend, OU held off Oral Roberts for a 67-64 win in Tulsa before routing Centenary, 88-50, in Shreveport.
Four Oakland players are averaging at least 9.8 points per game with three in double figures. Center Keith Benson is tops on the squad by averaging a double-double with 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. The Michigan native is shooting .516 from the floor and .761 from the charity stripe, making 86-of-113 attempts. Forward Derick Nelson scores 11.8 points per game to go along with 6.6 boards, while Johnathon Jones averages 11.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. Jones also has a team-high 36 steals.
Oakland is shooting 43.2 percent from the floor, but just 29.2 percent from long range en route to 73.1 points a night. The squad is also +5.3 on the glass and it has nearly made more free throws (301) than its opposition has attempted (305).
OU GAME NOTES
• Former UMKC guard Reggie Hamilton transferred to Oakland following the 2008-09 season. Hamilton is sitting out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules and regulations.
• The Golden Grizzlies again played a very difficult non-league schedule. OU lost games at Wisconsin (58-42), at No. 1 Kansas (89-59), at Memphis (77-46), at No. 12/14 Michigan State (88-57), at Oregon (72-60) and at No. 5 Syracuse (92-60).
• Oakland has won 12 straight Summit League games dating back to the 2008-09 season. The streak is tied for the fourth longest in league history.
• The Golden Grizzlies are 6-1 at the O'Rena this season with their lone loss coming in the season opener vs. Eastern Michigan, 81-77.
• Oakland moved into this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, checking in at No. 21. It marks the first ranking for a Summit League team since the Golden Grizzlies were No. 20 on Nov. 16. Oakland's highest ranking came at No. 14 in the preseason poll.
THE SERIES
Thursday's game will be the 25th meeting in the all-time series between UMKC and Oakland with the Golden Grizzlies holding the 18-6 advantage. OU has won the last five contests over the 'Roos, which includes winning 84-78 in KC and 100-88 in Rochester last season. At the O'Rena, the Grizzlies are 9-2 all-time with UMKC's last win coming in 2006.
'ROO TIDBITS
• Sophomore Trey McKinney-Jones is fourth in The Summit League in field goal percentage at .519 (55-106).He is one of just three guards among the top-10 in the category. Fellow sophomore LaTreze Mushatt ranks 10th in the league with a .483 shooting clip. As a team, the 'Roos have the second best overall mark in the league (.442).
• UMKC has committed fewer than 10 turnovers in each of the last two contests. The 'Roos had seven TOs in the win over Southern Utah before turning it over just eight times against South Dakota State. UMKC has finished with 10 or fewer turnovers in three games this season.
• Freshman Alex Bazzell did not see any game action in the win over Southern Utah and played sparingly against South Dakota State. The guard has been recovering from a hamstring injury he tweaked at Missouri.
• UMKC has forced 20 or more turnovers in a total of five games this season.
• UMKC is leading the league and rank 43rd nationally in turnover margin (+3.3). The squad is also third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9), fourth in steals (7.4) and sixth in assists (12.1) per game.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has moved into the top-15 in UMKC history in career rebounding, ranking 14th with 331 caroms. He also ranks 30th in the record books in career scoring with 520 points.
• The 'Roos rank second in the league in three-point field goal defense (.325). Overall, however, the squad is allowing its opposition to shoot .471 from the field, which ranks eighth in the 10-team league.
• Foul trouble has been consistently plaguing junior Jay Couisnard, as the forward has had four or more fouls in nine games with four disqualifications.
• The 'Roos have attempted at least 24 free throws in 6-of-the-last-9 games and the squad has attempted 30 or more from the charity stripe in three of those contests. The squad is 6-0 on the year when attempting more free throws than its opposition.
• The 'Roos are shooting .451 from the floor and .349 from long range at home and .435 from the field and .303 from long range on the road.
• Junior Spencer Johnson has made 38 consecutive starts and has started 45 of the last 46 contests.
DIBBS, TREZ RETURN TO MICHIGAN
Sophomore Dustin Dibble and LaTreze Mushatt will return to their home state of Michigan on Thursday. Dibble is a native of Petoskey where he attended Petoskey High School, while Mushatt is from Saginaw where he prepped at Arthur Hill.
Dibble and Mushatt both have ties to members of the OU squad. Dibble played AAU ball with OU's Blake Cushingberry and Drew Maynard, while Mushatt led his high school team to a state title over Johnathon Jones' Okemos squad in 2006.
INYARD LEAVES TEAM
Sophomore guard Patrick Inyard, who joined the team as a walk-on during the 2008-09 season, has left the team due to personal reasons. Inyard, who will not enroll in classes during the second semester, is expected to re-enroll in classes in the fall and rejoin the squad during the 2010-11 season.
'ROOS SURPASS 2008-09 WIN TOTAL
UMKC surpassed its 2008-09 win total when it picked up its eighth victory of the season in the Jan. 2 win over Southern Utah. Additionally, the squad has four road wins and a pair of conference victories thus far in 2009-10. The four road wins surpass last year's total (3), and the team's next Summit League victory will match last year's mark.
BK DOES IT AGAIN
Junior Bakari Lewis is developing a knack for taking and making the big shot, as the guard connected for the game-winner for the second time this season on Jan. 2. Lewis drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 17 seconds remaining to lift the 'Roos to the 53-50 win over Southern Utah. Prior to making the shot, Lewis was just 2-10 from the floor and 0-4 from long range in the contest.
The Cleveland, Ohio, native had his first late game heroics in the 84-83 road victory at Centenary on Dec. 5 when he scored 10 of his team-high 18 points over the final four minutes of the contest. This included seven straight points over the final 52 seconds, which included the game-winner with 3.3 seconds remaining to lead the 'Roos back from a 10-point deficit for the victory.
BALANCED SCORING
The 'Roos have five players averaging at least 9.3 points per game this season and a total of three players in double figures. UMKC is 4-1 on the year when it has four or more players finish in double digits. The team's lone loss came at home vs. South Dakota State on Jan. 7.
THE 'ROOS ARE...
• 6-1 when leading at the half.
• 6-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
• 5-0 when out rebounding their opponent.
• 4-0 when opponent scores fewer than 60 points.
• 6-2 when it has fewer turnovers than the opposition.
• 5-2 when it has more steals than their opponent.
CONSISTENT COOZY
Junior Jay Couisnard has been UMKC's most consistent player this season, as the forward has reached double digits in 13 of the team's 15 games and he's been the leading scorer for the squad in eight 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 is 12th in The Summit League with a 13.3 per game average, while shooting .400 from the floor and .375 from long range. He also leads the team in free throw makes (57) and attempts (90).
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 eight games and he's averaging 10.7 points, which is third best on the team, with a .519 field goal percentage.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
The 'Roos hit the century mark, scoring 102 points in the road win at Houston Baptist on Dec. 12. The point total was the 15th highest in school history. It was also the second time during the Matt Brown era that the squad has reached the 100-point 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.
