UMKC Celebrates Senior Night, Hosts Antelopes in Key WAC Matchup Saturday
2/27/2015 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Grand Canyon 'Lopes (16-13, 7-5) at UMKC Kangaroos (12-17, 7-5)
Date / Time: February 28, 2015 - 6:05 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo. / Municipal Auditorium (9,827)
TV: None
Talent: N/A
Radio: 810 AM
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream: UMKCKangaroos.com (Roos TV, free)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #WACHoops #RooUp
Series: GCU leads 2-1
Home: 0-1
Away: 1-1
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: GCU won 78-57 in Phoenix, 1/29/15
Richardson vs. Opponent: 1-2
THE GAME
The 'Roos play their final home game of the season on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. against Grand Canyon, and will celebrate Senior Night before the game. UMKC bounced back on Thursday night for a win over UVU, and are looking to get into second place alone with a victory over GCU. The 'Lopes have won four of their last six games, but fell to Chicago State last time out.
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC has a 5-1 home record in WAC games this season, its best ever start at home in league play.
- The 'Roos have improved immensely on the defensive end this season, and it has been evident in conference play, holding opponents to only 61.7 points per outing (71.4 in non-conference).
- Thaddeus Smith has 39 blocks this year, ranking tied for fourth in a single season at UMKC. He is second in the WAC with 1.5 blocks per game.
- So far this year, the 'Roos have forced 489 turnovers and turned them into 545 points (18.8 ppg).
- Martez Harrison has shot a WAC-high 204 free throws, and ranks No. 10 in the nation.
- As a team the 'Roos are 18th in the nation and first in the WAC in steals per game at 8.3, while ranking first in the WAC and 28th in the nation with a +2.8 turnover margin.
- Martez Harrison became the 10th player in UMKC Division I history to score 1,000 points (now has 1,029) last Saturday night, and is the fourth-fastest player to pass the barrier, doing it in 58 games.
- Harrison is leading the WAC in steals (1.9), while ranking second in scoring (17.7) and assists (3.9). He is also eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and ninth in free throws (.735).
- 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 'Lopes enter the contest with a 16-13 overall record, and are 7-5 in the WAC. They have won four of their last six, but come off a loss on Thursday night to Chicago State. On the road in league play they are 3-3, and have played only 10 road games all season.
Individually, they are led by guard DeWayne Russell with 15.1 points per game, while forward Joshua Braun is putting up 11.8 per contest, to go with a team-high 4.9 rebounds a game. Royce Woolridge and Daniel Alexander each score over nine points per game. The 'Lopes are second in the league in scoring (68.3) and field goal percentage (.452). They allow 68.0 points per game though, ranking seventh in the conference. They commit only 11.3 turnovers per game, the best in the WAC.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his second season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 22-37 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.
Dan Majerle is in his second season at Grand Canyon, posting a 31-28 overall record there. He spent the previous five years as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, where he played the majority of his career as a three-time NBA All-Star.
THE SERIES
The 'Roos are 1-2 all-time against Grand Canyon, and 0-1 in Kansas City. The Lopes knocked off UMKC by a 78-57 margin in Phoenix, matching the worst loss for the 'Roos this season.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have improved their home record in the WAC to 6-1.
- UMKC would have won its eight WAC game, passing last year's total.
- The 'Roos would have guaranteed its first winning record in conference play since 2005-06 when it went 11-5.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will close out the regular season on the road at Texas-Pan American next Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest. It will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network, and KMCI 38 the Spot locally.
The 'Roos are 6-9 overall against Texas-Pan American, winning earlier this year. This will be the 16th overall meeting, with the UTPA leading 5-1 in Edinburg. On 2/5/15, UMKC won 70-45 in Kansas City.
