Roos Finish Big Sky-Summit Challenge Against Portland State

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Starting Five

Kansas City Men's Basketball returns to the solace to the Swinney Center this weekend for a Big Sky-Summit Challenge contest against Portland State on Saturday. The Roos have won all five of their games played in Kansas City, but are 1-7 on the road.
The Roos have begun to see a positive trend from the charity stripe, where they struggled to begin the season. After shooting below 70% from the line in eight of the first 10 games and ranking ranking 342nd out of 351 Division One teams, the Roos have eclipsed the 70% plateau in five of the last six. In that span, KC is shooting 73.7% on free throw attempts.
Jamar Brown has turned into a double-double machine for the Roos, notching three in the past five games. He has four double-doubles on the season, a first by a Roo since Marvin Nesbitt Jr. in 2021-22. Should he accomplish his fifth of the year, he would tie with Josiah Allick's 2020-21 mark for the most in a single season since 2011-12.
Since establishing himself in the starting lineup, Khristion Courseault has seen himself catapult up the Summit League assist leader boards. In the first eight games of the season, Courseault made three starts and averaged 1.9 assists per game. Since the game against Kansas on Dec. 5, he has started in all eight games and averaged 5.9 per game. His season average of 3.9 assists ranks second in the league.
The three-pointer has become a vital part of the Kansas City offense. The Roos average 25.0 attempts per game, and have shot at least 20 threes in each of the past eight games. When shooting above 35% from deep, Kansas City holds a 4-3 record, but when shooting below that mark, KC is 2-7.

Portland State Notes

Portland State was picked fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Poll, and are off to a 10-4 start to the season, including recent wins over Fresno State and Idaho.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas City and the Vikings.
Kansas City will be looking for its first win against a Big Sky opponent since knocking off Idaho State on Nov. 22, 2021.
Portland State has established a clutch gene, winning three games this season on game-winning shots: against California Baptist on Nov. 17, Portland on Nov. 28 and Fresno State on Dec. 18.
The Vikings create turnovers and convert them into points. PSU ranks 2nd in the Big Sky at 13.43 forced turnovers per game and 12.29 fast break points per game.
Portland State boasts a balanced scoring attack as five players average over nine points per game. KJ Allen leads the bunch with a 10.57 point per game average.

Roos Finish Big Sky-Summit Challenge Against Portland State

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Players Mentioned

Jamar Brown

Khristion Courseault

Roos Finish Big Sky-Summit Challenge Against Portland State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jamar Brown

Khristion Courseault

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