Roos Face Top-Seeded Aggies in WAC Semifinals Friday Night
3/11/2016 2:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
No. 5 UMKC Kangaroos (12-18) vs. No. 1 New Mexico State Aggies (22-9)
Date / Time: March 11 - 8 p.m. CT/ 6 p.m. PT
Site: Las Vegas, Nev. / Orleans Arena (7,471)
TV: None
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:WAC Digital Network (free)
Talent: Mychal Clanton (pxp), Steven Hunter (analyst)
Live Stats: WACSports.com
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: NMSU leads 5-1
Home: 1-2
Away: 0-3
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: NMSU won 62-61 in Kansas City, 2/27/16
Richardson vs. Opponent: 1-5
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC is the No. 5 seed. All-time, the Roos are 3-4 as the No. 5 seed, winning first round games in 2003, 2004 and 2016. This is the fifth time they have been a five seed.
- Martez Harrison was named second-team All-WAC, and LaVell Boyd was on the All-Newcomer team.
- UMKC's 49 rebounds vs. UVU were the most under Kareem Richardson, and most since 2002 when they had 52 against Youngstown State.
- LaVell Boyd was named WAC Player of the Week last Sunday after his career-high 26 point effort in a win at Chicago State.
- Martez Harrison became the fourth UMKC player to score 1,500 career points on Feb 27. He has 369 career assists, needing eight to tie Quinton Day for No. 1 all time (377), and needs one steal to tie Ronnie Schmitz for third on the all-time list (147). His 31 games of scoring 20+ is fourth all-time.
- Harrison has 126 assists so far this year, ranking tied for 4th in a single-season. He is in the top 10 for the third time, making him and Quinton Day the only two to be in the top 10 three times. He needs five to tie the school record for a season by Day at 131.
- Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,538), free throws made (490), steals (147), and assists (369).
- UMKC has several players in the WAC rankings. Martez Harrison and LaVell Boyd are 3rd and 10th in scoring in the WAC at 15.4 and 13.8 ppg. Shayok Shayok is third in field goal percentage (.541). Harrison is 4th in assists (4.4), while sitting 5th in steals (1.3) and 6th in free throw percentage (.763). Boyd is 2nd in three-point percentage (.420) and 2nd in three point makes per game (2.6).
- LaVell Boyd is the first player under Kareem Richardson to hit 50 threes in a season (79). He needs 80 to crack the single-season top 10 at UMKC.
- Harrison's 194 free throw attempts are 69th and 148 free throw makes are 65th in the country. LaVell Boyd is 40th with a .420 three-point percentage.
- 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Aggies enter the contest with a 22-9 overall record and went 13-1 WAC play to earn the No. 1 seed. The defending WAC champs, they have lost only to Grand Canyon this year among WAC teams.
They are led by WAC Player of the Year Pascal Siakam, who leads the league in scoring (20.7) and rebounding (11.7), and has been named WAC Player of the Week five times. Also ranking ninth in the league in scoring is first-team all-league guard Ian Baker at 13.8 points per contest, with 62 threes made.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 35-57 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 197-109 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 seventh time, and are 1-5 against them in the all-time series. UMKC has never faced them in the WAC Tournament. UMKC lost both meetings this season by one point.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have advanced to a conference tournament title game for the first time in school history.
- The 'Roos would have defeated NMSU for the first time this season.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have defeated NMSU for the second time ever.
UP NEXT
UMKC would face either CSU Bakersfield or Seattle in the championship game on Saturday at 10 p.m. CT/ 8 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
The Roos went 0-2 against CSUB this season, and is 1-1 against Seattle.
