'Roos Host Leathernecks Thursday to Finish First Half of League Play
1/18/2012 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Western Illinois (9-7, 4-4) at UMKC (7-13, 1-7)
January 19, 2012 - 7:05 p.m. (Central)
Swinney Recreation Center * Kansas City, Mo.
Radio: 810 AM (Steven Davis, Steven St. John)
THE GAME
The Kangaroos look to snap an eight-game skid on Saturday against Western Illinois, who sits in a tie for fourth place in the league standings. The Leathernecks have lost their last two games, one in double overtime against league leader Oral Roberts, and the other against Southern Utah, both at home. UMKC is on its longest losing streak since the 2008-09 season, when it also lost eight in a row.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Western Illinois comes into Kansas City with a 9-7 overall record, and are 4-4 in Summit League play. The Leathernecks dropped their last two games at home against Oral Roberts and Southern Utah, after winning road games at Oakland and IPFW.
They are led by senior guard Ceola Clark III. He averages 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and nearly two steals per game. He is a preseason second-team all-league pick as well. Freshman forward Obi Emegano leads the team with 14.1 points per game, while junior forward Terell Parks puts up 13.2 points, along with a Summit League leading 9.1 rebounds per game.
As a team, WIU leads the conference in defense, allowing only 59.9 points per game, while holding opponents to 42.5 percent shooting. Although the Leathernecks don't shoot many threes, they rank second in the league in percentage from beyond the arc. They also have a +3.1 turnover margin, tops in the conference.
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 five seasons as head coach, Brown has guided UMKC to a 49-90 overall record and has coached seven players to all-Summit League recognition.
Jim Molinari is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Leathernecks and has a 38-67 record there. His overall record is 261-252 after spending 11 seasons as the head coach at Bradley, and two seasons at Northern Illinois. He spent three seasons at Minnesota as an assistant coach and one season at Ball State before going to WIU.
THE SERIES
The Kangaroos and Leathernecks are meeting for the 40th time, the most played series for UMKC in the Division I era. The 'Roos lead the series 25-14 overall, and have won three of the last four meetings. UMKC won both meetings last season, including the last one coming by a 66-61 margin in Macomb.
In Kansas City, UMKC is 16-3, winning the last two meetings, both by single digits.
Matt Brown has a 3-5 mark against WIU, while Jim Molinari is 3-3 vs. UMKC.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- UMKC would have snapped its eight-game losing streak, the longest since an eight-game streak from 1/17/09-to-2/14/09.
- UMKC would move its record to 2-7 in league play and 8-13 overall.
- UMKC would have snapped its three-game losing streak at home.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Dustin Dibble will be playing in his 102nd career college basketball game on Saturday, and needs just three more games to crack the UMKC top 10.
- Reggie Chamberlain needs four more threes to crack the career top 10 at UMKC at 112. His current 2.7 made per game is third all-time at UMKC, while his percentage of .412 would be third.
- Chamberlain is now 20th on the all-time scoring list at UMKC (started the season 49th). He has 685 points now, and could be the 19th player to reach 700 pts at UMKC.
