Roos Look to Rebound at UTRGV Saturday Night
1/15/2016 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (8-10, 1-2 WAC) at UTRGV Vaqueros (5-13, 1-2 WAC)
Date / Time: January 16 - 7 p.m. CT
Site: Edinburg, Texas / UTRGV Fieldhouse (2,500)
TV: None
Talent: N/A
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:WAC Digital Network
Live Stats: GoUTRGV.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: UTRGV leads 10-8
Home: 5-4
Away: 2-6
Neutral: 1-0
Last Meeting: UMKC won 70-61 in Vegas, 3/12/15
Richardson vs. Opponent: 2-3
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC has had its two highest scoring halves of the season in the second half of the last two games, with 47 and 48 points, respectively.
- Martez Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,374), threes made (109), free throws made (433), steals (134), and assists (326).
- Harrison is tied with Dane Brumagin for sixth on the UMKC scoring chart with 1,374 points. He needs 30 points to tie Quinton Day for fifth at 1,404.
- Harrison ranks 56th in the nation in assists (83), while his 118 free throw attempts are 29th and 91 free throw makes are 31st in the country. LaVell Boyd is 69th with 44 threes made.
- Boyd needs six 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 3rd and 11th in scoring in the WAC at 15.7 and 12.9 ppg. Harrison is 4th in assists (4.6), while sitting 6th in steals (1.3) and 5th in free throw percentage (.771). Dashawn King also ranks 8th in steals (1.2), while Boyd is 7th in three-point percentage (.407) and 4th in three point makes per game (2.4).
- UMKC is ranked No. 209 in the RPI rankings as of Friday, 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 257 this season, and rank 317th in the nation in fewest turnovers (14.3 per game). The Roos are 5-1 in games that they have fewer turnovers than their opponent. They had a season-low six against NMSU Thursday.
- The Roos non-conference strength of schedule is No. 112 in the nation, second 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.
- 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 3-6 against those teams.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Vaqueros enter the game with a 5-13 overall record, and are 1-2 in the WAC. They defeated Chicago State on Thursday by 10, while falling on the road to both Grand Canyon and Utah Valley.
They are led by a balanced scoring attack, with five players in double figures. Shaquille Hines leads the way with 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds a game, while Antinio Green and JJ Thompson are putting up 12.4 and 12.3 points per outing, respectively. Also putting up double figures is center Dan Kimasa, at 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, while ranking second in the league with 18 blocks.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 32-49 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.
Dan Hipsher is in his third season at UTRGV, posting a 24-57 record there. He has an overall record of 262-239, also coaching at Akron for nine seasons. He has been a top assistant in the high-major ranks as well, most recently at Alabama for four years.
THE SERIES
The Vaqueros lead the series 10-8 overall, but UMKC won two of the three meetings last season. In Edinburg though, UMKC is just 2-6, and have not won there since 2004.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have won for the first time in Edinburg since 1988.
- The 'Roos would have evened the record against UTRGV under Richardson at 3-3.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have snapped a six-game road losing streak, having not won on the road since Nov. 21 vs. Drake.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will continue conference play and start a three-game home stand, starting with Utah Valley on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. They game will be televised locally on KSMO.
The Wolverines lead the overall series with UMKC by a 6-5 margin, but the Roos have won the last three. UMKC has also won the last two at home, and is 3-1 vs. them under Richardson.
