Roos Return to Play at Swinney Center

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following a nearly three-week hiatus, Kansas City Men's Basketball returns to action this week, hosting Omaha tomorrow, Baptist Bible on Tuesday and Oral Roberts on Saturday. All games will tip off at 7 p.m.

Kansas City Notes

After their previous four contests were postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, the Roos will be back on the court for the first time in 19 days as they take on Omaha, Baptist Bible and Oral Roberts in an action-packed week.
Kansas City remains one of the top teams in the country in defending the three-point line, which is important in a prolific three-point shooting league like the Summit. The Roos allow opponents to connect on just 27.5% of long-range attempts, the best mark in the Summit and 16th-best in the nation. The Roos have held four opponents below 20% three-point shooting.
Evan Gilyard II has notched two 30-point games already this season, including a career-high 31-point performance in the Roos' win over South Dakota on Dec. 22. Gilyard is the first Roo with multiple 30-point games in a single season since the 2010-11, when Jay Cousinard went for 30-plus three times.
Kansas City earned its first Summit League victory of the season by defeating South Dakota, 68-57. The Roos forced the Coyotes into 17 turnovers on the day while committing just five of their own. KC holds a 6-2 record when winning the turnover battle.
In his two appearances since returning from injury, Arkel Lamar has been a difference maker for Coach Billy Donlon. He averaged 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in the first two league games.

Last Time vs. Omaha

The Roos swept the Mavericks in conference play last season with back-to-back 55-47 and 62-52 victories in the Swinney Center.
On Feb. 12, Brandon McKissic etched a career-high day with 29 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Jacob Johnson and Arkel Lamar also gave KC nine points each in the first game of the series.
Josiah Allick led Kansas City the following day, earning a double-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.
Kansas City's lockdown defense forced a combined 36 turnovers by Omaha in the two contests.

Series History vs. Omaha

The Mavericks hold a 5-4 series lead, but the Roos dominated last year's meetings.
Kansas City performs well at home against Omaha, with all four victories coming from home court advantage.
The greatest margin of victory by Kansas City was the 10-point win on Feb. 12, 2021, a 62-52 decision.
The Roos dropped two close games in their previous non-conference matchups against the Mavs on Dec. 15, 2016 (75-80) and Nov. 17, 2015 (89-95 OT) when KC was in the Western Athletic Conference.
Coach Billy Donlon looks to continue his unbeaten streak against Omaha since their return to The Summit League.

Omaha Scouting Report

The Mavericks enter this game 3-13 overall. Two of their three wins have come against Summit League teams, defeating Western Illinois and North Dakota.
Omaha currently holds a 2-3 record in Summit League play, with their most recent win coming over North Dakota in the 92-82 decision.
Their two league victories are their only NCAA Division I wins this season.
The Roos and Mavericks lone common opponent is SIUE, both teams dropped these non-conference matchups with KC falling 56-60 and Omaha losing 65-75.
Omaha's offense and defense comes in last in The Summit League with a 14.6 differential in points per game and points allowed by their opponents.
Felix Lemetti leads the Mavs' scoring efforts with 10.7 points per game, ranking 22nd in the Summit. Lemetti also holds a .371 three-point field goal percentage and 2.4 threes per game, which is top-ten in the league from long distance.
Frankie Fidler is coming off two double-digit performances in league play last week.

Series History vs. Bible Baptist

This is the first meeting between KC and Baptist Bible.

Bible Baptist Scouting Report

The Pioneers enter this game 6-3.
This marks their first NCAA Division I matchup of the season.
Bible Baptist averages 85.2 points per game, but also allow their opponents 82.9 points.
Scoring is led by Trent McBride who is putting up 19.5 points per game. He also leads the team on the boards with 8.2 per contest.
Tre Flowers has played nearly every minute this season, averaging 39 minutes per game.

Last Time vs. Oral Roberts

In their most recent meeting on Feb. 24, 2021, the Roos took revenge against the Golden Eagles beating them 81-76 in Tulsa. This win came after dropping a close one in a 58-60 decision the day before.
Brandon McKissic and Josiah Allick combined for half of KC's points in the victory, with 24 and 17, respectively.
Sam Martin was a spark off the bench, going 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
In the first game of the series, Arkel Lamar made his presence known with a nine point, four rebound performance.

Series History vs. Oral Roberts

The Golden Eagles hold a 25-11 series lead. The rivalry dates back to February of 1994, where Kansas City defended their home court in their first-ever game against Oral Roberts.
Prior to last season's conquest, the Roos last win over the Golden Eagles was in Municipal Auditorium on February 22, 2005.
The greatest margin of victory by Kansas City was in 2001, a 71-48 decision.
The Roos trend towards high-scoring games against Oral Roberts, averaging 70.4 points in the 36 games of the long-standing matchup.

Oral Roberts Scouting Report

The Golden Eagles return 4-of-5 starters and their first man off the bench from their 2021 squad who made a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Oral Roberts currently holds a 5-1 record in Summit League play and 11-6 overall record, with their lone conference loss coming to top-seeded South Dakota State.
ORU comes into the week with the second most-potent offense in the league, averaging 82.6 points per game.
Max Abmas of ORU leads the conference in scoring and minutes played, averaging 22.9 points and 34.8 minutes per game.
On the defensive end, Francis Lacis ranks fifth in the Summit in rebounds with 6.8 per game, while his teammate, DeShang Weaver, is atop the charts in blocked shots with 1.2 per game.

Roos Return to Play at Swinney Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josiah Allick

Evan Gilyard II

Jacob Johnson

Arkel Lamar

Sam Martin

Brandon McKissic

Roos Return to Play at Swinney Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Josiah Allick

Evan Gilyard II

Jacob Johnson

Arkel Lamar

Sam Martin

Brandon McKissic

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University of Missouri Kansas City Athletics