Kangaroos Look to Bounce Back Saturday at Bakersfield
2/20/2015 7:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (11-16, 6-4) at CSUB Roadrunners (11-16, 6-5)
Date / Time: February 21, 2015 - 9:00 p.m. CT
Site: Bakersfield, Calif. / Icardo Center (3,800)
TV: None
Talent: N/A
Radio: 810 AM
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com (via CSUB)
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #WACHoops #RooUp
Series: UMKC leads 2-1
Home: 1-1
Away: 1-0
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: UMKC won 66-63 in KC, 1/22/15
Richardson vs. Opponent: 2-1
THE GAME
The 'Roos finish a three-game road swing on Saturday, facing Bakersfield at 9:00 p.m. CT. The game will be available to watch on the WAC Digital Network. UMKC is looking to make it 2-of-3 on the road trip, and win its seventh game in the last 10 outings. Bakersfield has won 6-of-8 since a loss to the 'Roos in January.
QUICK NOTES
- Martez Harrison is 13 points away from becoming the 10th member of the 1,000 point club at UMKC, and he needs six points to pass graduate assistant Spencer Johnson for 10th in scoring.
- The 'Roos have improved immensely on the defensive end this season, and it has been evident in conference play, holding opponents to only 62.6 points per outing (71.4 in non-conference).
- UMKC is the highest it has been in the standings 10 games into conference play since 2005-06. That season it finished third in the standings.
- So far this year, the 'Roos have forced 468 turnovers and turned them into 511 points (19.1 ppg). - UMKC ranks No. 51 in the nation in free throw attempts (594), led by Martez Harrison, who has been a WAC-high 189 times, and ranks No. 8 in the nation individually.
- As a team the 'Roos are 16th in the nation and first in the WAC in steals per game at 8.4, while ranking first in the WAC and 25th in the nation with a +2.8 turnover margin.
- Martez Harrison is leading the WAC in steals (1.8), while ranking second in scoring (17.5) and assists (3.9). He is also seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).
- UMKC has been hit by injuries this year, with eight different scholarship players missing games due to injury, including Shayok, Smith, Holliday, Knight, Jennings, Wedel, Rivas and Franceschi.
- The roster currently has eight players from the Kansas City area, the most ever at UMKC (previous record set last season with seven).
- UMKC is playing its second year back at Municipal Auditorium, and second in the WAC.
- In Richardson's first year, he led the team to a fifth place finish in the WAC, and the fourth seed in the conference tournament, both of which were the highest since 2006 at UMKC.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Roadrunners enter the contest with an 11-16 overall record and a 6-5 mark in WAC play. They have won six of their last eight games, including a 4-2 mark at home in conference play, falling only to NMSU and Grand Canyon there.
Individually, they are paced returners Aly Ahmed and Kevin Mays. Ahmed is averaging 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds a game, while shooting 75 percent from the line in the post. Mays leads the WAC with 8.1 boards a game to go with 9.5 points per game. Javonte Maynor is the top deep threat, hitting a team-best 59 threes. As a team they are No. 2 in the league in defense, allowing only 61.5 points per game, as well as rebounding at +4.7 per contest.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his second season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 21-36 record. He was named the sixth coach in the Division I era on March 19, 2013 after helping Louisville to a National Championship in 2013 as an assistant under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
He brings 14 years of Division I coaching experience to the fold, as well as four years playing at the Division I level, graduating from Evansville in 1997.
Rod Barnes is in his fourth season at Bakersfield and has a 54-66 record there. He posts a 240-255 overall record as a head coach. He was the head coach at Ole Miss, for eight years prior to taking the job at Georgia State for four seasons. After his tenure there ended, he became the head coach at CSUB.
THE SERIES
The 'Roos are 2-1 all-time against CSUB, winning earlier this year in Kansas City by a 66-63 margin. This will be the fourth meeting between the schools, with all three meetings being decided by five points or less.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have put two games between them and the team behind them in the standings in the loss column.
- UMKC would have won its seventh WAC game, matching last year's total.
- The 'Roos would have won seven of their last 10 games overall.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will return home for a contest against Utah Valley on Thursday, which will tip at 7:05 p.m. The contest will be televised on KSMO, and streamed on ESPN3.
The 'Roos are 4-6 all-time against Utah Valley, but have won the last two meetings. This will be the 11th meeting in the series, with UMKC posting a 3-2 mark in Kansas City. The 'Roos won for the first time in Orem on January 31, taking a 66-59 victory.
