'Roos To Face Leathernecks In Regular Season Road Finale
2/19/2010 12:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
THE SETTING
The UMKC men's basketball team will play its final regular season road game on Saturday night when it travels to Macomb, Ill., to square off against Western Illinois at Western Hall beginning at 7 p.m. The game will play a part in seeding implications for The Summit League Tournament, as both squads enter the game tied for seventh place with 5-10 league records.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 1140/1160 AM (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: None
Web: Roo Vision (UMKCKangaroos.com)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Kangaroos dropped a 103-65 road decision at IUPUI on Thursday night in Indianapolis. The Jaguars, who shot a blistering .679 from the floor, jumped on UMKC early and poured it on late en route to the 38 point victory. Sophomore LaTreze Mushatt paced the 'Roos with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Jay Couisnard added 10.
THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men's basketball program, where he has compiled an 29-60 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.
Jim Molinari is in his second season as the head coach of the Western Illinois men's basketball program, where he has compiled a 21-34 overall record. Prior to joining the Leathernecks, Molinari had been the head coach at Northern Illinois, Bradley and Minnesota.
UMKC-WIU - FIRST MEETING - JAN. 21, 2010
The 'Roos climbed back to .500 on the season with a 61-57 victory over Western Illinois on Jan. 21 at Municipal Auditorium. WIU rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half and climbed to within a point late in the second half, but UMKC held on down the stretch to secure the four-point victory. Four 'Roo players finished in double figures with Jay Couisnard and LaTreze Mushatt pacing the team with 14 points apiece. Guard Ceola Clark, meanwhile, led a pair of WIU players in double digits, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
The Leathernecks have won three straight and four-of-five games to push its record to 12-14 overall and 5-10 in league play. On Thursday night, WIU defeated Southern Utah, 63-49, in Macomb behind 20 points by Matt Lander.
Sophomore Ceola Clark is the only WIU player averaging in double figures in the season. The guard averages 14.0 points, while shooting .479 from the floor and .402 from long range. Clark also paces the Leathernecks in assists (78) and steals (63) and is second on the squad with 4.9 rebounds per game.
Western Illinois shoots .408 from the floor, .351 from long range and .677 from the free throw line en route to scoring 58.7 points per game. Defensively, WIU allows just 59.2 points, while limiting its opponents to a .401 field goal percentage and a .321 clip from long range. The Leathernecks, however, are -1.9 on the glass.
WIU GAME NOTES
• Western Illinois clinched a berth into The Summit League Tournament with Thursday night's win over Southern Utah.
• The Leathernecks ranked 12th in the NCAA in scoring defense at the beginning of the week, giving up 59.6 points per game. Their 40 percent field goal percentage defense also ranked 40th in the nation.
• The Leathernecks won back-to-back road games on the same trip for the first time since 1997-98 when they won at Oral Roberts and Centenary last weekend. Additionally, the win in Tulsa was the first for WIU since 2001.
• Guard Ceola Clark was tabbed as the Co-Summit League Player of the Week on Feb. 15. Clark averaged 23.0 points in the two Leatherneck victories.
THE SERIES
Saturday's game will be the 37th meeting in the all-time series between UMKC and Western Illinois with the 'Roos holding the 23-13 advantage. The Leathernecks, however, have won four-of-the-last five meetings over UMKC and the last two games in Macomb. At Western Hall, WIU is 9-8 against the 'Roos, which includes a 71-68 victory last season.
'ROO TIDBITS
• UMKC will clinch the eighth and final Summit League Tournament spot with a win or a Southern Utah loss on Saturday. The only way the 'Roos won't make the tournament is if the T-Birds go 3-0 to close out the season.
• Junior Spencer Johnson is expected to make his 50th consecutive start at Western Illinois on Saturday. The forward has started 56 of the last 57 contests.
• Junior Jay Couisnard made 10-of-13 free throws in the victory over IPFW on Feb. 11. When Couisnard gets to the free throw stripe eight or more times in a game, the 'Roos are 7-2.
• Over the last two games, UMKC opponents have been shooting 65.7 (67-102) percent from the floor, 48.4 (15-31) percent from long range and 80.4 (37-46) percent from the charity stripe en route to scoring 93.0 points per game. IUPUI's .679 field goal percentage was a season-high for a UMKC opponent this season.
• The 'Roos allowed a season-high 103 points at IUPUI on Thursday. The point total is the seventh highest total by a UMKC opponent all-time and the 15th time that the program has allowed 100 in school history.
• UMKC limited IPFW to a .293 field goal percentage on Feb. 11, which is a low for a Division I opponent this season.
• The nine-point win over IPFW was UMKC's largest margin of victory in league play this season. All the other wins were decided by four points or fewer.
• The 'Roos out rebounded IPFW, 42-28. The +14 rebounding margin was the largest for the squad this season and the fourth double-digit margin on the year. The 42 rebounds were also a season-high.
• Four players reached double digits in scoring in the win over IPFW. The 'Roos are 6-1 on the year when four or more players reach double figures.
• Sophomores Trey McKinney-Jones and LaTreze Mushatt tallied career-highs in points in the loss to Oakland. McKinney-Jones finished with 22 points, while Mushatt netted 21. It was the first time this season that a pair of players netted 20 or more points in the same game and the first time since Dec. 4, 2008, against Oakland for the 'Roos to accomplish this feat.
• Junior Spencer Johnson moved into eighth place in school history in career rebounds with his four carom outing at IUPUI, as he now has 404. He is just eight boards shy of seventh place in the record books. The forward also ranks 26th in the record books in career scoring with 595 points.
• Trey McKinney-Jones is seventh in The Summit League in field goal percentage at .487 (94-193). He is one of just three guards among the top-10 in the category.
• The X factor? UMKC is 8-3 this season when junior Spencer Johnson reaches double figures.
• Freshman Kirk Korver has made two or more three pointers in eight games on the season and he is leading the team with 24 long balls. The total is the 10th most by a freshman in school history.
• Foul trouble has been consistently plaguing junior Jay Couisnard, as the forward has had four or more fouls in 16 games with seven disqualifications.
• The 'Roos are 8-2 on the year when attempting more free throws than its opposition.
• In wins, UMKC is averaging 72.0 points on .449 shooting from the floor and .354 from long range in victories. The squad has also shot 77 more free throws than its opponent. The opposition, meanwhile, shoots .417 from the field, .358 from distance and averages 16.7 turnovers per game.
• In losses, the 'Roos average 61.7 points with a .411 field goal percentage and a .332 mark from three-point land. The opposition, meanwhile, shoots .517 from the floor, .376 from long range and has attempted 124 more free throws than UMKC.
• The 'Roos are shooting .442 from the floor and .357 from long range at home and .413 from the field and .328 from long range on the road.
• In seven games at Municipal, UMKC is shooting .408 from the floor, .342 from long range and .700 from the charity stripe. In contrast, the opposition is shooting .437 from the field, .342 from three-point land and .745 from the free throw stripe.
• UMKC's reserves average 18.3 points per game.
MAX FINALLY TAKES THE COURT
Freshman Max Rockmann scored nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 (1-1 3PT) night from the floor on Thursday night at IUPUI in his UMKC debut. The forward entered the game midway through the first half and ended up playing 16 minutes off the bench. The Germany native missed the first 25 games of the season due to transfer regulations and NCAA rules regarding amateurism.
TWICE AS NICE
The 'Roos had two players - Jay Couisnard (20 pts./10 reb.) and Spencer Johnson (10 pts./11 reb.) - tally double-doubles in the 65-56 victory over IPFW on Feb. 11. It was the first time that two players recorded a double-double in the same game since Dec. 4, 2008, when Dane Brumagin (29 pts./10 reb.) and Spencer Johnson (20 pts./13 reb.) accomplished the feat against Oakland.
MUSHATT AVERAGING 17.3 OVER LAST THREE
Sophomore LaTeze Mushatt is having a productive stretch for the 'Roos, as the forward has reached double digits in three staight and in four of the last five contests. On Thursday, the Michigan native scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. This performance came on the heels of a career-best 21-point outing against Oakland on Feb. 13, where he made 8-of-10 shot attempts to go along with eight rebounds,
During the current three-game stretch, Mushatt is averaging a team-high 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, while shooting 63.3 (19-30) from the floor and 60 percent (3-5) from long range.
On the year, Mushatt has provided the 'Roos with a steady scoring option, as he has reached double figures in 16 contests. 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 second on the team with 11.3 points per outing, while shooting .479 from the floor, which ranks 10th in The Summit League. He is also second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game, while also dishing out 45 assists, which are the fourth most on the team.
MAKE IT NINE STRAIGHT FOR COUISNARD
Junior Jay Couisnard has scored in double digits in each of the last nine contests for the 'Roos, as he extended his streak with a 10-point effort at IUPUI on Thursday night. The forward is pacing the team with a 16.6 average during the stretch, while shooting .468 (51-109) from the floor and .750 (39-52) from the free throw stripe. Couisnard tallied his first and second career double-doubles during the streak, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds at North Dakota State and 20 points and 10 boards against IPFW. Additionally, he scored 20 or more points in three games and 18 or more in five contests. Couisnard has also picked up his productivity on the glass, pulling down 6.4 caroms per game.
'ROOS WIN 11TH GAME
UMKC secured its 11th victory of the season with its 65-56 win over IPFW on Feb. 11 at Municipal Auditorium. The 11 wins match the program-high total during the Matt Brown era, as the squad went 11-21 in his inaugural season in 2006-07. This season, UMKC has made a great deal of improvement, as it has surpassed last season's overall (7), league (3) and road (3) win totals.
UMKC TOP WIN TOTALS - DIVISION I HISTORY
20 wins (once) - 1991-92 (later changed to 21 wins due to NCAA violation by UTPA)
18 wins (once) - 2001-02
16 wins (twice) - 1999-00, 2004-05
15 wins (three times) - 1990-91, 1992-93, 2003-04
14 wins (twice) - 2000-01, 2005-06
13 wins (once) - 1989-90
12 wins (three times) - 1993-94, 1995-96, 2006-07
11 wins (twice) - 2007-08, 2009-10 (three games + league tournament remaining)
INCHING TOWARDS THE SUMMIT
The 'Roos have been much more competitive in Summit League play this season, as the squad has posted five wins thus far, up from three a season ago. In the team's 10 league losses, UMKC has either held or been tied for the lead in the second half in four contests, before ultimately falling. Seven of the team's league games have been decided by five points or less with the 'Roos being 4-3 in such contests.
