Preview: Men's Basketball Looks to Stay Perfect at Home

Kansas City Opening Tip
• Kansas City Men's Basketball (8-7, 1-0) wraps up its first conference home weekend on Saturday against Utah Valley (7-9, 1-0). Tip-off from Swinney Center is 7 p.m.
• Both teams have a first-year head coach walking the sidelines with the Roos Billy Donlon and Utah Valley's Mark Madsen.
• On Thursday, the two programs started off on the right foot by each winning their conference opener. The Roos out-lasted Seattle U in triple OT by a 90-86 score, while Utah Valley powered past Chicago State, 94-73.
• The Roos are looking to break a three-game losing skid to Utah Valley in the series. Overall, the Wolverines are 8-13.

The Starting Five
1. The buzz is still in the air at Swinney Center after Thursday's triple-overtime, 90-86 victory against Seattle U. There were 21 lead changes and 15 ties in the 55-minute marathon. The win improved the Roos record to 8-7 and put them to the fastest eight-win mark since the 2010-11 season.
2. Kansas City is No. 1 in the Western Athletic Conference in both field-goal percentage (.461) and three-point percentage (.360) and put that on display in Thursday's victory. The Roos were at 48.5 percent shooting overall with a 50.0 clip (10-of-20) from long-distance range. Another stat to add on is that Kansas City is 7-0 when shooting at a higher percentage than the opposition.
3. Coach Donlon may have found the best starting five combination. During the current-three game win streak, the line-up has been Javan White and Jordan Giles in the front-court, with Brandon McKissic, Marvin Nesbitt Jr. and Rob Whitfield teaming up in the back-court. Overall, nine players have earned the starting nod, with two players getting a team-high 14 starts (White, Nesbitt Jr.). There have been six different starting line-ups overall used this year.
4. The Roos carry an unblemished 5-0 home record into Saturday's match with Utah Valley. That is tied for the best start on their home court since the 2016-17 program went 5-0. The 2015-16 unit had a 6-0 home record prior to its first loss.
5. Senior big man Javan White continues to claim the distinction of being the only player in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to lead (or tie for first) on the team in four statistical categories. A starter in 14-of-15 games, White is No. 1 (or tied) in scoring (11.9), rebounding (7.5), steals (1.2) and blocks (1.0). He has been the leading rebounder in 10 games and been high scorer in three games.

2020-21 Signing Class
• Head coach Billy Donlon has signed three individuals in the class of 2020-21. Below is a list of those players:
   • Caden Boser | Forward | 6-8 | 200 | Eau
   Claire Memorial HS | Eau Claire, Wis.
   • Tyre Boykin | Guard | 6-1 | 175 | West
   Bladen HS | White Oak, N.C.
   • D'Anthony Pennington | Guard | 6-2 | North
   Kansas City HS | North Kansas City, Mo.

The Comforts of Home
• The Roos are a different team playing at the renovated Swinney Center with a 5-0 record. As a team, Kansas City shoots 50 percent overall and outscores the opponent by over 28 points. • On average, the Roos force 19 turnovers, are +11 in rebounding margin and post 10 steals.
• The 5-0 start is the best home start since the 2016-17 team went 5-0 on its home court to begin the season.

Making a Good First Impression
• With five wins prior to Dec. 1, the Roos collected the most victories before the calendar flipped into December since the 2016-17 program went 6-2. That year was the last time Kansas City had a winning record at 18-17 overall.
• By gaining its fifth win in its ninth overall game against Western Illinois on Nov. 30, Kansas City saw early success it had not accomplished recently. Kansas City notched win No. 5 in its 14th game last year and win No. 5 in its 16th game in 2017-18.
• Kansas City recorded seven wins prior to Jan. 1, which was the most since the 2016-17 program tallied seven victories prior to the new year.

National Stat Rankings
• Kansas City is ranked in the top 100 in six different national statistical categories:
   - No. 27 in total steals (126)
   - No. 56 in steals per game (8.4)
   - No. 63 in 3-point FG defense (.297)
   - No. 80 in 3-point FG percentage (.360)
   - No. 81 in turnovers forced (15.7)
   - No. 86 in FG percentage (46.1%)

Bucking the Streak
• Heading into the Dec. 22 game at South Dakota, Kansas City was 0-6 on the year in true road games losing by an average margin of 17.8 points. However, the Roos stopped that streak courtesy of a three-pointer by senior Jahshire Hardnett. His dagger with two seconds remaining lifted the Roos to a 78-75 road victory and improved their team record to 7-7 on the season.

Statistical Trends
• There are a few statistical trends that equates to success for Kansas City. When the Roos do the following, they have a perfect record this year:
   - Out-rebounding the opponent: 4-0
   - Higher FG% than opponent: 7-0
   - More made FT's than opponent: 3-0
   - Allowing 60 points or less: 3-0

Going Deep
• Kansas City is riding a streak of 312-straight games making at least one three-pointer. The last time the team failed to connect from deep was on Jan. 22, 2000 against Oakland when the Roos were 0-for-13. This year, Kansas City averages 6.9 make's per game, which ranks third in the WAC. Kansas City recorded a season-high of 12 against Avila (11/5). The fewest amount was four done on two occasions.

Series History Notes vs Utah Valley
• Utah Valley is 13-8 in the all-time series with the Roos. However, Kansas City is 6-4 on its home court.
• The Wolverines are riding a three-game win streak in the overall series, including a 71-64 win in the WAC quarterfinals in Las Vegas last March.
• Utah Valley won the last meeting in Kansas City on Jan. 24, 2019 in the 75-67 match-up. The Roos have been on the winning end in four out of the last six meetings in Kansas City.

Last Time Out Against Seattle U (Jan. 2)
• In a game befitting of the tough play in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), Kansas City and Seattle U battled it out in the league opener at Swinney Center. Senior Jahshire Hardnett poured in a career-high 28 points, including four three-pointers, to lift Kansas City (8-7) to a 90-86 triple-overtime victory against the Redhawks (7-9).
• The win was significant on several fronts for the Roos as they improve to 5-0 at home this year, 7-0 at home all-time against Seattle U, and extend their season win streak to three games.
• The Roos squeezed every point out of their senior floor leader. Hardnett scored 18 of his 28 points in the three overtime sessions, including 12 in the first overtime. His 30-foot long range bomb with .5 seconds left tied the score at 71-71 to send the game into the second overtime.
• Hardnett and Rob Whitfield each played 50 minutes, which tied a single-game Kansas City record shared by four other individuals. The last player prior to these two to log 50 minutes was Tim Blackwell on Feb. 6, 2006 against Chicago State.

Preview: Men's Basketball Looks to Stay Perfect at Home

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Giles

Jahshire Hardnett

Brandon McKissic

Marvin Nesbitt Jr.

Javan White

Rob Whitfield