UMKC Faces Defending Champion Aggies on the Road Thursday
1/13/2016 9:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (8-9, 1-1 WAC) at New Mexico State Aggies (9-8, 1-1 WAC)
Date / Time: January 14 - 8 p.m. CT
Site: Las Cruces, N.M. / Pan American Center (8,994)
TV: American Sports Network - KSMO in Kansas City area
Talent: Neil Harwell (pxp), JC Pearson (analyst)
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:Americansportsnet.com
Live Stats: NMStatesports.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: NMSU leads 3-1
Home: 1-1
Away: 0-2
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: NMSU won 77-63 in KC, 2/7/15
Richardson vs. Opponent: 1-3
QUICK NOTES
- Martez Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,351), threes made (106), free throws made (429), steals (134), and assists (322).
- Harrison needs 23 points to tie Dane Brumagin for sixth on the UMKC scoring chart with 1,374.
- Harrison ranks 53rd in the nation in assists (79), while his 114 free throw attempts are 26th and 87 free throw makes are 28th in the country. LaVell Boyd is 56th with 43 threes made.
- Boyd needs seven more threes to crack the 50 barrier, which would make him the first player under Kareem Richardson to hit 50 threes in a season.
- UMKC has several players in the WAC rankings. Martez Harrison and LaVell Boyd are 4th and 10th in scoring in the WAC at 15.2 and 13.4 ppg. Harrison is 4th in assists (4.7), while sitting 6th in steals (1.4) and 6th in free throw percentage (.763). Dashawn King also ranks 7th in free throw percentage (.756) and 9th in steals (1.2), while Boyd is 7th in three-point percentage (.410) and 3rd in three point makes per game (2.5).
- UMKC is ranked No. 197 in the RPI rankings as of Monday, the fourth highest RPI in the WAC.
- The Kangaroos matched the school record for best home start at 7-0, before falling to CSUB.
- One of the Roos biggest issues this season has been turnovers. They have 251 this season, and rank 324th in the nation in fewest turnovers (14.8 per game). The Roos are 5-0 in games that they have fewer turnovers than their opponent.
- The Roos non-conference strength of schedule is No. 108 in the nation, the highest in the WAC.
- UMKC finished its non-conference schedule with seven wins, marking the most for the Roos since the 2010-11 team also had seven. The last team with eight or more: 2001-02 team, with 10.
- UMKC has now defeated an SEC school for the second straight year after the win over Mississippi State (defeated Missouri last season).
- The 'Roos are facing 10 schools this season that went to postseason tournaments last year (South Dakota St., UT-Martin, Iowa, Louisville, UNC-Wilmington, Oklahoma St., USC-Upstate, Seattle, New Mexico State and Grand Canyon). So far UMKC is 3-5 against those teams.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Aggies enter the contest with a 9-8 overall record and are 1-1 WAC play. The defending WAC champs, they have defeated Utah Valley and lost to Grand Canyon.
They are led by first-team All-WAC performer Pascal Siakam, who leads the WAC in scoring (23.0) and rebounding (11.6), and has been named WAC Player of the Week four times. Also ranking third in the league in scoring is guard Ian Baker at 15.3 points per contest, with 41 threes made. As a team, NMSU is 7-2 at home. They also hold opponents to 66.1 points per game.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 32-48 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.
His second season in Kansas City as the head man was another step in the right direction in 2014-15, and generated several program firsts. The 8-6 WAC record was the first above .500 at UMKC since 2005-06, and its second place finish matched the highest ever in league play. UMKC finished with a 6-1 WAC home record, the best in school history in conference play.
Marvin Menzies is in his fifth season at NMSU and has a 184-108 record there. He has led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament five times, winning the WAC Tournament in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He was also named WAC Coach of the Year last season after leading them to a regular season title.
THE SERIES
The 'Roos are 1-3 all-time against NMSU, dropping both games a year ago. UMKC is 0-2 in Las Cruces all-time as well. The lone win came in January of 2014 at home.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have won for the first time in Las Cruces.
- The 'Roos would have snapped a three-game skid to the Aggies.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have snapped a five-game road losing streak, having not won on the road since Nov. 21 vs. Drake.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will continue conference play on Saturday night on the road, facing UTRGV at 7 p.m. in a game that can be seen on the WAC Digital Network.
The Vaqueros lead the series 10-7 overall, but UMKC won two of the three meetings last season. In Edinburg though, UMKC is just 1-6, and have not won there since 1988.
