Roos Open Summit League Play Against Oral Roberts

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Starting Five

Kansas City Men's Basketball opens up Summit League play at home on Friday, taking on Oral Roberts in the Swinney Center at 7 p.m. In the past 10 years, the Roos hold a 5-5 record in conference-opening match ups, including a 62-45 win over South Dakota to begin league play last season.
The Roos are a defensively-minded team, and the numbers prove it. Kansas City is a top-four team in the Summit in blocks, rebound margin, turnovers forced and scoring defense. When holding opponents below 70 points, the Roos hold a 5-1 record, but when opponents surpass the 70-point mark, KC is 0-7.
Kansas City made the most of its trips to the charity stripe in the Roos' most recent game against East Tennessee State. The Roos were 17-of-21 from the line, good for a season-high 81.0% free throw percentage. It also tied the team's season high for free throws made, alongside the 17-of-32 performance against Avila on Nov. 6. The Roos were led by Cameron Faas at the line, going 6-of-6 on freebies.
A fresh face made an appearance in the game against ETSU as Yulian Ramirez Montero made his collegiate debut. The 6'9 freshman out of Florida Costal Prep saw the floor for 15 minutes, shooting 1-of-2 from three and knocking down three free throws to finish with six points. He added two rebounds and an assist.
The Roos are trying to find a fit in the center position of the starting lineup, trying three different lineups as many games. Jeff Ngandu, Allen Mukeba and Melvyn Ebonkoli have each gotten starting nods at the five.

Oral Roberts Notes

ORU comes to Kansas City with a 5-6 record, winning its most recent game against John Brown on Dec. 19.
The Golden Eagles won the Summit League regular season and tournament titles last year, and were selected for a second place finish in the preseason poll this year.
These teams know each other well, as this is the 41st meeting all-time. The Golden Eagles lead the series, 29-11.
ORU won both meetings last year, a 74-71 buzzer-beating win in Tulsa and an 85-57 win in KC.
KC's last win over the Golden Eagles came in Tulsa on Jan. 24, 2021, an 81-76 win.
ORU is led in scoring by Isaacc McBride at 18.4 points per game, ranking second in the Summit League and 65th in the nation.

Roos Open Summit League Play Against Oral Roberts

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Melvyn Ebonkoli

Cameron Faas

Jeff Ngandu

Roos Open Summit League Play Against Oral Roberts

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Melvyn Ebonkoli

Cameron Faas

Jeff Ngandu

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