UMKC Heads to Chicago State for Regular Season Finale
3/4/2016 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UMKC Kangaroos (10-18, 3-10 WAC) at Chicago State Cougars (4-26, 0-13 WAC)
Date / Time: March 5 - 2:05 p.m. CT
Site: Chicago, Ill. / Jones Center (7,000)
TV: KSMO-TV, Kansas City area / ESPN3
Talent: Neil Harwell (pxp), Michael Watson (analyst)
Listen:UMKCKangaroos.com (free)
Talent: Steven Davis (pxp)
Webstream:ESPN3.com
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com (via CSU)
Twitter: @UMKCMensHoops #RooUp
Series: UMKC leads 28-11
Home: 16-5
Away: 11-5
Neutral: 1-1
Last Meeting: UMKC won 78-64 in KC, 1/30/16
Richardson vs. Opponent: 3-2
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC can either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the WAC Tournament next week. If they defeat CSU and NMSU defeats UTRGV, the Roos will be the No. 5 seed due to a tiebreaker. If UMKC loses or UTRGV wins on Saturday, UMKC will be the No. 6 seed.
- Martez Harrison became the fourth UMKC player to score 1,500 career points on Saturday. He also passed Michael Watson for third all-time in assists (359), and needs three steals to tie Ronnie Schmitz on the all-time list (currently 145). His 30 games of scoring 20+ is fourth all-time.
- Harrison has 116 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 15 to tie the school record for a season by Day at 131.
- Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,505), free throws made (484), steals (145), and assists (359).
- LaVell Boyd is the first player under Kareem Richardson to hit 50 threes in a season (70). He needs 80 to crack the single-season top 10 at UMKC.
- Harrison's 185 free throw attempts are 58th and 142 free throw makes are 53rd in the country. LaVell Boyd is 64th with a .405 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 15.3 and 13.3 ppg. Shayok Shayok is fourth in field goal percentage (.547). Harrison is 5th in assists (4.3), while sitting 5th in steals (1.3) and 6th in free throw percentage (.768). Boyd is 2nd in three-point percentage (.405) and 2nd 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 Cougars enter the contest with a 4-26 overall record and are 0-13 in the WAC. They are currently on a 17-game losing streak, last winning on December 19.
They are led by Fred Sims, Jr., with 11 points per game, while Trayvon Palmer is averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds an outing. Last time the Cougars faced UMKC, they were led by Sims with 26 points while Clemmye Owens V posted nine points. They average 67.7 points a game, while allowing 77.2 a contest. UMKC used a big rebound advantage and the three-point shot in its win over CSU last time they met.
THE COACHES
Kareem Richardson is in his third season as the head coach at UMKC, posting a 34-57 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.
Tracy Dildy is in his sixth season as the head coach at Chicago State, posting a 46-116 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 28-11 margin, winning both meetings last season and one this season. This will be the 40th overall meeting, with Kareem Richardson posting a 3-2 mark against CSU and winning the last three.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would be in good position to receive the No. 5 seed, needing a NMSU win over UTRGV later on Saturday.
- The 'Roos would have defeated CSU for the fourth time in a row.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have won its 11th game for the second time since 2011.
WAC TOURNEY SEEDING
UMKC can either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the WAC Tournament next week. If they defeat CSU, and NMSU defeats UTRGV, the Roos will be the No. 5 seed due to a tiebreaker. If UMKC loses, or UTRGV wins on Saturday, UMKC will be the No. 6 seed.
If the Roos are the No. 5 seed, they will face Utah Valley at 2 pm PT on Thursday. If they are the No. 6 seed, they will play Seattle at 7 pm PT on Thursday.
