Thursday, February 6
Kansas City, MO
7:00 PM
Kansas City
vs
UT Rio Grande Valley
5 Things to Know vs UT Rio Grande Valley
2/4/2020 1:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Roos host Vaqueros Thursday at 7 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Men's Basketball (12-11, 4-4) brings a three-game winning streak into a home game Thursday against UT Rio Grande Valley (7-14, 3-5). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Swinney Center. The game marks the start of the second half of Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play.
The first 250 fans to the game will receive a free exclusive KC Roo koozie. As always, University of Missouri-Kansas City students are free with a student I.D.
1) The Roos enter Thursday's game tied for third in the conference standings with Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon with a 4-4 mark. The Roos are two games back of second place California Baptist – a team they defeated on Jan. 25. Kansas City is seeking its first top-three finish in the conference since the 2014-15 squad tied for second. The WAC win total marks the most through the first-half of league play since 2014-15.
2) First-year head coach Billy Donlon is guiding a Kansas City team to much-anticipated success. The 12 season victories has already surpassed last year's win total. The Roos recently owned a four-game win streak and currently bring a three-game streak into the UTRGV contest. In early January, Kansas City posted a 9-7 record, which was the fastest to nine wins since the 2010-11 season.
3) The Roos are a different team playing at the Swinney Center with a 7-2 record. As a team, Kansas City shoots 47 percent overall, makes 8.7 three-pointers per game and outscores the opponent by nearly 22 points. On average, the Roos force 18 turnovers, are nearly +6 in rebounding margin and post nine steals.
4) Senior Jordan Giles currently has 854 career points, which is 19th on the school list. In his pursuit of 1,000 career points, it would take him averaging 18.3 points in the last eight regular-season games to hit the mark. That is not too far-fetched considering the forward has averaged 15.1 in his last 10 contests. He is looking to become the 13th Roo to surpass the 1,000-point milestone. Giles is also on track to climb in the top five for most games played. He currently is tied for sixth with 112 career games played. The best mark is held by Spencer Johnson (2007-11) who appeared in 121 games.
5) Rebounding is a telling statistic this year for the Roos. When Kansas City out-rebounds the opposition, the team is a perfect 7-0. During the current three-game win streak, the Roos are +16 overall and held an advantage in each of those games. Freshman Josiah Allick has averaged 6.3 boards and senior Javan White has snared 6.0 in the last three games.
Last Time Out: Kansas City def. Chicago State, 69-51 (Feb. 1)
The first 250 fans to the game will receive a free exclusive KC Roo koozie. As always, University of Missouri-Kansas City students are free with a student I.D.
1) The Roos enter Thursday's game tied for third in the conference standings with Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon with a 4-4 mark. The Roos are two games back of second place California Baptist – a team they defeated on Jan. 25. Kansas City is seeking its first top-three finish in the conference since the 2014-15 squad tied for second. The WAC win total marks the most through the first-half of league play since 2014-15.
2) First-year head coach Billy Donlon is guiding a Kansas City team to much-anticipated success. The 12 season victories has already surpassed last year's win total. The Roos recently owned a four-game win streak and currently bring a three-game streak into the UTRGV contest. In early January, Kansas City posted a 9-7 record, which was the fastest to nine wins since the 2010-11 season.
3) The Roos are a different team playing at the Swinney Center with a 7-2 record. As a team, Kansas City shoots 47 percent overall, makes 8.7 three-pointers per game and outscores the opponent by nearly 22 points. On average, the Roos force 18 turnovers, are nearly +6 in rebounding margin and post nine steals.
4) Senior Jordan Giles currently has 854 career points, which is 19th on the school list. In his pursuit of 1,000 career points, it would take him averaging 18.3 points in the last eight regular-season games to hit the mark. That is not too far-fetched considering the forward has averaged 15.1 in his last 10 contests. He is looking to become the 13th Roo to surpass the 1,000-point milestone. Giles is also on track to climb in the top five for most games played. He currently is tied for sixth with 112 career games played. The best mark is held by Spencer Johnson (2007-11) who appeared in 121 games.
5) Rebounding is a telling statistic this year for the Roos. When Kansas City out-rebounds the opposition, the team is a perfect 7-0. During the current three-game win streak, the Roos are +16 overall and held an advantage in each of those games. Freshman Josiah Allick has averaged 6.3 boards and senior Javan White has snared 6.0 in the last three games.
Last Time Out: Kansas City def. Chicago State, 69-51 (Feb. 1)
- Kansas City led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 15-0 start to the game and never let the game get to within less than 10.
- The Roos shot the ball at a 45.7 percent clip from the field and 53.3 percent clip from three-point land.
- Senior Rob Whitfield totaled 19 points in the half, shooting 5-6 from deep. His five three pointers in a half was one shy of trying a school record for the most triples in a half. He finished with his second 20-point game of the season with a game-high 21.
- Another senior, Jordan Giles, finished behind Whitfield with 12 points. Freshman Josiah Allick shot 3-for-4 to post 10 points.
- On Jan. 9, UTRGV out-scored the Roos 21-9 from three-point land to take a 76-64 victory in Edinburg, Texas.
- The Vaqueros ended the game on a 21-13 run in the final eight-plus minutes to snap the Roos season-long four-game win streak.
- Senior guard Jahshire Hardnett led the club with 17 points for his third-straight 10-plus point contest. Freshman forward Josiah Allick contributed 10 points, three shy of his career-high at the time, on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and four free throws.
- The 51-percent shooting effort marked the fourth-time this year the Roos went over 50 percent shooting the ball. Kansas City entered the game ranked No. 1 in the conference in shooting (45.8%).
- Kansas City had 17 assists on 24 made field goals.
- Thursday is the 28th meeting all-time. Kansas City trails in the all-time series 12-15. However, the Roos own a 7-6 home record against the Vaqueros.
- UTRGV has claimed the last three games, including a 75-70 win last year in Swinney Center.
- Kansas City is seeking its first home win in the series since Jan. 7, 2017.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMBB Highlights vs. #1 Omaha
Thursday, March 06
MBB Highlights vs. #9 Oral Roberts
Wednesday, March 05
MBB Highlights @ St. Thomas
Saturday, March 01
Postgame Interview: Coach Menzies post-St. Thomas
Saturday, March 01