Roos Take Winning Streak Into Summit Opener Against South Dakota

Thursday, January 2

Kansas City, Mo.

7:00 PM

Kansas City

South Dakota

Photo by: Francie Wilson

1/1/2025 2:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Kansas City will tip off against the Coyotes tomorrow at 7 p.m.

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First Five

Kansas City Men's Basketball kicks off the 2025 calendar year with the beginning of Summit League play, hosting South Dakota on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Roos are 2-0 in Summit League openers under Head Coach Marvin Menzies and are 5-5 in conference openers across the last 10 years.
KC enters the year on a four-game winning streak, the Roos' best winning streak to end a calendar year in program history. Kansas City ends with a winning record in non-conference play for the first time since 2021-22 and finishes with eight non-conference victories for the first time since 2019-20.
Jamar Brown went for a team-high 22 points in the Roos' Dec. 21 win over ETSU, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Brown has five 20-point games on the year and is averaging 19.3 points on 55.6% field goal shooting across KC's four-game winning streak.
The Roos have made their mark as a strong rebounding team under Coach Menzies, but have not been as reliant on the glass this year as in seasons past. Entering this season, the Roos were 3-20 under Menzies when losing the battle of the boards. Through 15 games this year, KC holds a 3-4 record when being out-rebounded.
Kansas City shot a blistering 11-of-21 from three in the win over ETSU, moving KC to 3-0 this season when shooting above 50% from deep. The Roos rank third in the Summit with an average of 9.8 three-point makes per game.

Scouting South Dakota

The Coyotes enter Summit League play with a 9-6 record but have lost back-to-back contests entering Thursday's meeting.
Chase Forte leads the USD offense with an average of 15.3 points per game, also pacing the team in assists (3.5) and steals (1.8) per game.
South Dakota scores in bunches, averaging 86.6 points per game, leading the Summit and ranking 14th in the nation. They also give up 80.0 points per game, last in the Summit and 332nd in the nation.
Kansas City swept the season series between these two squads last year, claiming an 81-57 victory at home and a 82-78 win in Vermillion.
The Roos own a 10-8 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-4 record and three-straight wins in games played in KC.