UMKC Men's Basketball Opens Season with Bearcats in Veteran's Day Afternoon Affair
11/10/2011 4:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Radio: 1510 AM (Steven Davis, play-by-play; Steven St. John, color)
Webcast: UMKCKangaroos.com (subscribers only)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
The Game
The Kangaroos open the 2011-12 season in a rare Friday afternoon game on Veteran's Day against NCAA-II opponent Northwest Missouri State at 1:00 p.m. UMKC will open the season with a member of the MIAA for the third consecutive season, playing Truman State the last two years.
Scouting the Opposition
Northwest Missouri State went 10-16 overall last season, finishing 8-14 in conference play. It was picked to finish fifth in the MIAA this season by the coaches. The Bearcats are led by junior point guard DeShaun Cooper, who averaged 16.3 points and 5.2 assists per game last season, ranking in the top five of the league in both categories. They also return two other starters to the lineup, and added Illinois State transfer Justin Clark.
The Series
The Kangaroos have never played Northwest Missouri as an NCAA Division I member. The last time they faced was back in 1985 as an NAIA program. The Bearcats won that contest 82-78. UMKC has lost the last four meetings in the series, last winning in 1980 by a 67-65 score.
The Coaches
Matt Brown is in his fifth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's basketball program, and comes off his most successful season at the helm.In 2010-11, he posted his first winning record at 16-14 overall. The 'Roos also posted the third-most home wins in school history, going 11-4 in Kansas City, and the third-most overall wins in program history.
Brown joined the 'Roos as the eighth head coach in school history on April 12, 2007. In his first four seasons as head coach, Brown has guided UMKC to a 42-77 overall record and has coached seven players to all-Summit League recognition.
Ben McCollum is entering his third season at the helm of Northwest Missouri State after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Emporia State. He played two seasons at NWMSU, leading them to a 29-3 record in 2001-02 with an Elite Eight appearance.
For Openers
The Kangaroos are 2-2 under Brown in season openers, winning the last two seasons against Truman State. Should UMKC win, it would be the first time in the Division I era that UMKC has won three season-opening games in a row.