Our #5 Cards (7-1) return home this Saturday for a 2pm showdown with the Summit Leagues UMKC Kangaroos (4-4). The Cards are coming into this one after a very impressive win on Tuesday night. The Kangaroos are also coming into this game after a win against North Dakota.
In-conference offense: 1.00 points per possession (9th)
In-conference defense: 1.10 points allowed per possession (6th)
Matt Brown is in his sixth season as the head coach of the UMKC men’s basketball program, and has a 59-102 overall record at the helm. The Roos are coming off a disappointing 10-21 season but they have achieved roster stability over the past two seasons after enduring a rash of transfers in the early years of Matt Brown’s tenure. And he’s hoping that the players he has returning have improved. After counting on three sophomores and a freshman last season, his roster is aging. And he added to his team’s experience by signing three junior college transfers. The Roos have played at least 10 players in every game, and at least 11 in all but one. Eight different players have scored double figure points, with five different guys leading them in points. However, no player on the team averages double figure points. They have played another top 5 team this season. They traveled to Columbus and played #3 Ohio St. They lost badly in that one 91-45. Worth a mention that this team finished dead last in the league in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. Not good when they are facing a Cards team that out-rebounds the opposition by 8.3 per an outing.
Coach Matt Brown: “We played a lot of the kids early last year,” “We’re really relying heavily upon that junior class. Hopefully, the sophomores that became juniors will be a lot better.”
The Kangaroo players:
Thomas Staton SR (9.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg) 6-6 G/F has been the ‘Roos hottest player, averaging 12.2 points per game in his last five games. He has scored 74 pts this season and played 142 min.
Brad Reid SR (2.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg) 6-11 C doesn’t see much playing time averaging just 12 minutes this season. He has scored 19 pts this season and played 96 min.
Nate Rogers JR (7.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg) 6-1 G is a DePaul transfer who started 9 games last year. He led all scorers in the last game with a career-best 16 points on a career-best four threes made. He has scored 59 pts this season and played 175 min.
Nelson Kirksey JR (5.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) 6-3 G/F is a junior college transfers who made his first start for the Roos in their last game. He has scored 42 pts this season and played 124 min.
Alton Tanner JR (3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) 6-8 F adds athleticism and rebounding to this team. He has scored 25 pts and played 88 min.
Fred Chatmon JR (7.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) 6-9 F/C has had career best in his last 3 games. And had a double-double his last time out. He has scored 63 pts, grabbed 57 rebounds and played 181 min.
Trinity Hall JR (5.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg) 6-7 F is the leading returning scorer. He’s consider to be one of the best wing players in the Summit League. Has performed at a high level at times, but over the course of the season he’s been susceptible to committing lots of turnovers and poor shot selection. He has scored 40 pts this season and played 175 min.
Kirk Korver JR (9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) 6-7 F/C is the last in line of the famous Korver family. He’s a good rebounder and a very good shooter. He hit 32 percent of his 3-point tries last season. He has scored 74 pts this season and played 187 min.
Estan Tyler SOPH (9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) 6-1 G is the fourth returning starter. He is a very aggressive scorer and one of the best point guards in the summit league. He has scored 76 pts this season and played 228 min.
John Burke FR (1.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg) 6-3 G has not seen that much PT. Has scored 6 pts this season and played 36 min.
Mason Wedel FR (2.6 ppg, 0.9 rpg) 6-1 G has been the most productive freshman. He has scored 21 pts, has 10 assist, and 7 rebounds this season. Has played 100 min.
Trevor Franklin FR (2.7 ppg, 0.0 rpg) 6-6 F has scored 8 pts this season and played 26 min.
The Cards came out Tuesday and took care of business. The defense continues to adjust without Gorgui but it looked very good. The Cards are holding opponents to only 53.9 ppg and are forcing 21.9 turnovers per game. But it seems like every season we have that one game where we play down to the level of competition. And even in the last home game these guys sleep walked through the first half. I’d like to see them come out Saturday and have the same intensity and sense of purpose they played with Tuesday. We’ll see if they can match that.
This will be the very first meeting between the Roos and Cards. And it will be a good payday for them. But they are 0-15 all-time against ranked teams and I expect that to be 0-16 when they leave town on Saturday evening. Cards are gonna coast in this one and the only question is by how much.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 90 UMKC 43