Kansas City Hits the Road for Western Illinois, St. Thomas

at Western Illinois (WATCH | STATS)
at St. Thomas (WATCH | STATS)

Starting Five

The Roos take to the road, looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they travel to Western Illinois and St. Thomas. Kansas City is 2-8 on the road this year, but is 2-2 in its past four road matchups, earning wins at Omaha and North Dakota State.
Kansas City has maintained its position among the top offensive rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 13.84 offensive boards per game, ranking fourth in the NCAA. The Roos have pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in every game this year and have reached the double-digit mark in 22-of-25 games.
After averaging 22.3 points and 4.4 threes per game in the first eight conference matchups, RayQuawndis Mitchell has seen a slight dip in productivity, averaging 13.5 points and 1.5 triples per game in KC's last four games. He will look to right the ship this weekend against a pair of teams that he combined for 46 points against in the first meetings.
In the last game against Oral Roberts, Kansas City used its 10th unique starting lineup of the season in Mitchell, Shemarri Allen, Babacar Diallo, Promise C. Idiaru and Jeff Ngandu. As such, KC is now tied for having used the 13th-most starting lineups in Division One basketball this season.
Mitchell and Allen are two of the highest-usage players in the NCAA this season. Allen averages 35:43 of playing time per game, while Mitchell is at 35:42, ranking second and third in the Summit League. According to KenPom, the pair both rank top-150 in the nation in both percentage of possessions used and percentage of shots taken.

Western Illinois Notes

After starting league play 2-4, Western Illinois has won six of its past seven games, including a five-game win streak from Jan. 14-28.
The Leathernecks have had success on their home court, notching an 11-2 overall record and 6-1 record in conference play.
In the first meeting between the two teams this year, WIU took a 60-52 win. Three Roos finished in double-digits for KC.
The Roos hold a 29-18 advantage in the all-time series, but the Leathernecks have had the edge in Macomb, winning 12-of-22 games.
WIU forces teams to miss shots from deep, holding opponents to a Summit-best 30.8% three-point percentage.
Trenton Massner's name is scattered across the league leader boards, ranking top-six in assists, points, defensive rebounds, steals and three-pointers per game, as well as field goal percentage and three-point percentage.

St. Thomas Notes

St. Thomas's second year at the Division One level has the Tommies off to a 7-6 record in league play, including wins in three of their last four games.
UST is dominant at home, posting a 10-1 record. However, the Tommies' lone home loss came in their last home game against South Dakota.
Kansas City ran away with the win in the first meeting between the two teams, 81-60. RayQuawndis Mitchell scored 29 points and the Roos finished the game on a 21-8 run.
St. Thomas is still looking for its first-ever win over KC, one of three Summit teams that the Tommies are yet to beat (ORU, USD).
The Tommies are a three-point shooting team, knocking down 8.7 threes per game at a 35.9% clip.
Andrew Rhode, Parker Bjorklund and Riley Miller all average double-digit scoring for UST.

Kansas City Hits the Road for Western Illinois, St. Thomas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Shemarri Allen

Babacar Diallo

Promise C. Idiaru

RayQuawndis Mitchell

Jeff Ngandu

Kansas City Hits the Road for Western Illinois, St. Thomas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Shemarri Allen

Babacar Diallo

Promise C. Idiaru

RayQuawndis Mitchell

Jeff Ngandu

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