UMKC Hosts First-Place Aggies on Senior Day
2/26/2016 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
New Mexico State Aggies (20-9, 11-1 WAC) at UMKC Kangaroos (10-17, 3-9 WAC)
Date / Time: February 27 - 2:05 p.m. CT
Site: Kansas City, Mo. / Municipal Auditorium (9,827)
TV: KSMO-TV, Kansas City area / KVIA-TV, El Paso area
Talent: Neil Harwell (pxp), Michael Watson (analyst)
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:WAC DN (free)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: NMSU leads 4-1
Home: 1-1
Away: 0-3
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: NMSU won 65-64 in Las Cruces, 1/14/16
Richardson vs. Opponent: 1-4
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC pulled down a season-best 46 rebounds at Utah Valley Saturday. It was also the most rebounds the Roos have had in a game under Kareem Richardson.
- Martez Harrison needs 15 points to become the fourth UMKC player to score 1,500 career points. He needs four assists to tie Michael Watson for third all-time in assists (357), and four steals to tie Ronnie Schmitz on the all-time list (148). His 29 games of scoring 20+ is tied with Quinton Day for fourth all-time.
- Harrison has 110 assists so far this year, ranking ninth in the single-season top 10. He is now in the top 10 for the third time, making him and Day the only two to be in the top 10 three times. He needs 21 to tie the school record for a season by Day at 131.
- Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,485), free throws made (479), steals (144), and assists (353).
- LaVell Boyd is the first player under Kareem Richardson to hit 50 threes in a season (68). He needs 80 to crack the single-season top 10 at UMKC.
- Harrison's 177 free throw attempts are 54th and 137 free throw makes are 47th in the country. LaVell Boyd is 51st with a .412 three-point percentage.
- UMKC has several players in the WAC rankings. Martez Harrison and LaVell Boyd are 3rd and 11th in scoring in the WAC at 15.1 and 13.3 ppg. Shayok Shayok is fourth in field goal percentage (.559). Harrison is 6th in assists (4.2), while sitting 6th in steals (1.3) and 7th in free throw percentage (.774). Boyd is 2nd in three-point percentage (.412) and 3rd in three point makes per game (2.5).
- 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 3-9 against those teams.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Aggies enter the contest with a 20-9 overall record and are 11-1 WAC play. The defending WAC champs, they have lost only to Grand Canyon this year.
They are led by first-team All-WAC performer Pascal Siakam, who leads the WAC in scoring (20.7) and rebounding (11.8), and has been named WAC Player of the Week five times. Also ranking 10th in the league in scoring is guard Ian Baker at 13.8 points per contest, with 62 threes made. As a team, they hold opponents to 64.2 points per game.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 34-56 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 ninth season at NMSU and has a 195-109 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 will be facing the Aggies for the sixth time, and are 1-4 against them in the all-time series. UMKC has posted a 1-1 mark against them at home. Earlier this year, UMKC lost at NMSU by one point on the road.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would be in good shape to receive the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tourney.
- The 'Roos would have defeated NMSU for the second time ever, and second at home.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have won 10 home games, the most in a season since 2010-11 and most under Richardson.
UP NEXT
The 'Roos will play their final regular season game of the year on Saturday against Chicago State. The game will be televised on KSMO in Kansas City and on ESPN3.
The Roos will be facing Chicago State for the 40th time, posting a 28-11 overall record against them. They have won the last three meetings, and are 1-1 in Chicago under Richardson.
