Roos Head to Vegas for WAC Tournament, Face Utah Valley
3/9/2016 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
No. 5 UMKC Kangaroos (11-18) vs. No. 4 Utah Valley Wolverines (12-17)
Date / Time: March 10 - 4 p.m. CT/ 2 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: UVU leads 8-5
Home: 4-3
Away: 1-5
Neutral: 0-0
Last Meeting: UVU won 79-70 in Orem, 2/20/16
Richardson vs. Opponent: 3-3
QUICK NOTES
- UMKC enters the WAC Tourney as the No. 5 seed. All-time, the Roos are 2-4 as the No. 5 seed, winning first round games in 2003 and 2004. This is the fifth time they have been a five seed.
- LaVell Boyd was named WAC Player of the Week on Sunday after his career-high 26 point effort in a win at Chicago State.
- The Roos had their largest margin of victory of the season last time out in a 29-point win vs. CSU.
- UMKC's 13 threes made vs. CSU were the most under Kareem Richardson, and most since 2011 when they drilled 16 vs. Longwood.
- Martez Harrison became the fourth UMKC player to score 1,500 career points vs. NMSU. He has 366 career assists, needing 11 to tie Quinton Day for No. 1 all time (377), 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 123 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 eight to tie the school record for a season by Day at 131.
- Harrison is the WAC's active career leader in points (1,516), free throws made (486), steals (145), and assists (366).
- UMKC has several players in the WAC rankings. Martez Harrison and LaVell Boyd are 3rd and 10th in scoring in the WAC at 15.1 and 13.7 ppg. Shayok Shayok is third in field goal percentage (.547). Harrison is 4th in assists (4.4), while sitting 5th in steals (1.3) and 6th in free throw percentage (.762). Boyd is 2nd in three-point percentage (.410) 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 (75). He needs 80 to crack the single-season top 10 at UMKC.
- Harrison's 189 free throw attempts are 58th and 144 free throw makes are 53rd in the country. LaVell Boyd is 64th with a .410 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 Wolverines enter the game with a 12-17 overall record, and were 6-8 in the WAC. They are the No. 4 seed in the tourney.
They are led by a trio of scorers in Konner Frey (14.1 ppg), Jaden Jackson (14.2 ppg), and Marcel Davis (14.3 ppg), while Frey pulls down a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest. Davis fills the stat sheet with 5.6 rebounds and a team-best 144 assists as well. The Wolverines are a fast-paced team, scoring 75.9 points a game, while giving up 78.6 per contest.
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.
Mark Pope is in his first season at UVU (12-17) after four years as an assistant coach at nearby BYU. He is another Pitino disciple, playing for him at Kentucky and winning a national championship there in 1996. He also played seven seasons in the NBA.
THE SERIES
The Roos will be meeting Utah Valley for the 13th time, with UVU holding a 7-5 series advantage. UMKC had won three in a row before the Wolverines won in Kansas City earlier this season, 90-79.
A WIN WOULD MEAN...
- The 'Roos would have won opening round tournament games in consecutive years for the first time since 2003 and 2004.
- The 'Roos would have defeated UVU for the first time this season.
- Missouri-Kansas City would have won its seventh conference tournament game all-time, and second since 2007.
UP NEXT
UMKC would face No. 1 seed New Mexico State on Friday at 6 pm PT/8 pm CT. The Aggies received a first round bye after winning the regular season title and earning the No. 1 seed.
UMKC is 1-5 against NMSU all-time, and lost both meetings this season by a one-point margin. This would be the first meeting between the two on a neutral court.
