UMKC Hosts Cougars in Saturday Afternoon Showdown
1/29/2016 11:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Chicago State Cougars (4-19, 0-6 WAC) at UMKC Kangaroos (8-13, 1-5 WAC)
Date / Time: January 30 - 2:05 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo. / Municipal Auditorium (9,827)
TV: None
Talent: N/A
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:WAC DN (free)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: UMKC leads 27-11
Home: 15-5
Away: 11-5
Neutral: 1-1
Last Meeting: UMKC won 61-50 in Chicago, 2/14/15
Richardson vs. Opponent: 2-2
QUICK NOTES
- LaVell Boyd is the first player under Kareem Richardson to hit 50 threes in a season (52).
- Shayok Shayok and Dashawn King each set career-highs in scoring on Thursday, with 21 and 18, before Kyle Steward set career-highs in both scoring and rebound on Saturday with 13 and 10.
- Martez Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,405), threes made (111), free throws made (442), steals (136), and assists (332).
- Harrison is fifth on the UMKC scoring chart with 1,405 points, passing Quinton Day last time out. He needs 38 points to tie Michael Jackson for fourth at 1,443.
- Harrison's 131 free throw attempts are 45th and 100 free throw makes are 43rd in the country. LaVell Boyd is 69th with 52 threes made.
- 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 13.3 ppg. Shayok Shayok is second in field goal percentage (.557). Harrison is 5th in assists (4.5), while sitting 5th in steals (1.3) and 7th in free throw percentage (.763). Boyd is 6th in three-point percentage (.406) and 4th in three point makes per game (2.5).
- UMKC is ranked No. 270 in the RPI rankings as of Friday, fifth highest in the WAC.
- The Kangaroos matched the school record for best home start at 7-0.
- One of the Roos biggest issues this season had been turnovers. They seemed to have turned it around though, committing a season-low six against NMSU, seven against UTRGV, and 11 vs. UVU and Grand Canyon.
- The Roos non-conference strength of schedule is No. 152 in the nation, first 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 3-7 against those teams.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Cougars enter the game with a 4-19 overall record, including an 0-6 mark in WAC play. Their only Division I win this year is against Western Illinois.
They are very balanced on offense. In WAC play, Kieran Woods leads the team with 10.6 points per game, while Fred Sims, Jr. is at 9.2 points and Clemmyne Owens is at 9.0 per contest. In league games, CSU is being outscored by 14.3 points a contest, and are averaging 63.5 points per game.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 32-52 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.
Tracy Dildy is in his sixth season as the head coach at Chicago State, posting a 46-109 overall record. Prior to taking over the program, he spent three seasons at Illinois-Chicago as the associate head coach.
THE SERIES
The Roos lead the all-time series with Chicago State by a 27-11 margin, winning both meetings last season. This will be the 39th overall meeting, with Kareem Richardson posting a 2-2 mark against CSU.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have snapped a five-game losing streak.
- The 'Roos would have won three straight games against CSU for the first time since 2003-04.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have won 14 of its last 18 games played at Municipal Auditorium.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will hit the road for a two-game swing at Bakersfield and Seattle on Thursday and Saturday, kicking off the second half of the WAC season.
The Roos are 2-3 overall against CSU Bakersfield, dropping the last two contests, including an 82-73 home loss on Jan. 9. The Roos are 1-1 in Bakersfield, with both games coming down to a last second shot.
