'Roos To Battle IPFW for Postseason Tournament Spot Saturday
2/24/2012 5:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
February 25, 2012 - 7:05 p.m. (Central)
Swinney Recreation Center * Kansas City, Mo.
TV: KSMO TV - Kansas City (Neil Harwell, J.C. Pearson)
Radio: 810 AM (Steven Davis, Steven St. John)
Promotions: Senior Night, UMKC Courtwarming
THE GAME
The Kangaroos face IPFW with a berth in the Summit League Tournament on the line on Saturday. The game will be televised on KSMO as part of a doubleheader with the women, and it will be Senior Night as well. IPFW has lost eight in a row coming into the contest, while the 'Roos have lost four straight.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
IPFW enters the week with a 10-18 overall record, and a 4-13 mark in the Summit League. The 'Dons have lost eight in a row coming into the contest, and must defeat UMKC to make the SL Tournament.
They are led by 6-5 junior guard Frank Gaines, who is averaging 20.8 points and 5.7 boards per game. 6-10 senior forward Trey McCorkle is averaging 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing as well. The point guard is true freshman Jonny Marlin, who has a team best 99 assists.
The Mastodons out-rebound their opponents by 2.1 per game, and average 69.9 points per contest. Defensively, opponents shoot 46.7 percent and score 74.9 points per game.
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 52-97 overall record and has coached seven players to all-Summit League recognition.
Tony Jasick is in his first season as the head coach at IPFW, and has a 10-18 overall record. He served as an assistant coach the last six seasons. Prior to going to IPFW, he was an assistant at Middle Tennessee State.
THE SERIES
The Kangaroos and Mastodons are meeting for the 10th time with the series tied 5-5. The Mastodons won both meetings last season, but UMKC grabbed an 81-66 road win earlier this season, tasting victory for the first time ever in Fort Wayne. The 15-point margin was the largest on the road in conference play during the tenure of Matt Brown.
The 'Roos are 4-1 at home against IPFW, losing only last season by an 82-57 margin.
Brown has a 4-5 mark against IPFW (includes a vacated win), while Jasick is 0-1 vs. UMKC as a head coach.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- UMKC would earn a berth in the Summit League Tournament as the No. 8 seed, and face Oral Roberts next Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- UMKC would have snapped a four-game skid overall, and improve its home record to 7-7.
- UMKC would have a season sweep over IPFW for the first time in school history.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- In the single season books, Reggie Chamberlain is now seventh with 92 threes. He needs one to move into fifth, and five to move into fourth.
- Chamberlain now has 147 career threes and needs seven more to take sole possession of seventh. His current 3.1 made per game is third all-time at UMKC, while his percentage of .441 would be No. 1.
- Chamberlain is now 14th on the all-time scoring list at UMKC (started the season 49th). He has 856 points now, and is the 14th player to reach 800 pts at UMKC. He needs 18 points to pass Nick Richmond in 13th.
- Dustin Dibble will be playing in his 110th career college basketball game on Wednesday, moving into sole possession of eighth at UMKC.
POSTSEASON SHOWDOWN
UMKC comes into the contest in a tie for ninth in the league standings with IPFW at 4-13. South Dakota is in eighth but is ineligible for the postseason, so the final spot is up for grabs between UMKC and IPFW in a winner-take-all contest.
The winner will face regular season champion Oral Roberts next Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D. It will be the first game of the men's bracket in the tournament.
