Thursday, November 16, 2017 7:00 p.m.
Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
The UMKC Kangaroos are coming off one of their best seasons in their 29 years in Division I, having won a game in the first round of the CBI over UW-Green Bay. Loyola has faced UMKC four times in the past, with the Ramblers winning three of four. Perhaps the key game in the two teams’ history was in Dec. 2003, when freshman Majak Kou scored 19 points in his second game as a Rambler to help Loyola to an 83-75 overtime win at Municipal Auditorium.
The streamline, art deco home of the UMKC basketball is also one of the most historic buildings in college hoops, hosting three of the first four NCAA Final Fours, has hosted the NAIA championships for many years, and has hosted the 2nd most NCAA tournament games of any venue. It was home court for the Kansas City Kings of the NBA for two and a half years.
Coach Kareem Richardson, an Evansville alum, lost his three top scorers from last year’s team but has restocked with some promising young players. Freshman Brandon McKissic is a three-start shooting guard who chose UMKC over Missouri State and DePaul. The core of the re-tooled ‘Roos team is built around young, super-quick guards with lots of athleticism.
UMKC was beaten badly at Wichita State in their season opener, 109-57, then returned home to similarly thrash Haskell, a primarily American Indian college, 110-59. On Tuesday night the ‘Roos put in a respectable performance at Kansas State, losing 72-51.
The ‘Roos are likely to start three guards and two forwards. Xavier Bishop is a 5’8” sophomore point guard out of Springfield, Illinois and leads a backcourt that includes 6’1” senior Broderick Robinson and 6’4” sophomore Isaiah Ross. Ross is the leading scorer at 11.3 points per game, and does most of his damage from behind the arc (8-of-19 on threes for the season). The starting forwards are 6’7” Jordan Giles and 6’9” junior Aleer Leek. Giles is the 2nd leading scorer at 10.3 ppg, and gets most of his points driving to the basket—he’s also 12 of 13 from the line on the season. The top players off the bench include 7’2” junior center Mo Ahmed 6’3” freshman guard Brandon McKissic, and 6’5” freshman guard/forward Tony Jackson.
There’s a lot of speed and quick hands on this UMKC team, but the execution and experience are lacking. Ross and Jackson are good shooters from distance, and Bishop and Giles are deadly free throw shooters (a combined 22 of 23). Other than those departments, scoring is a problem for the young ‘Roos. Defensively, the big men Leek, Ahmed, and Giles have combined for only three blocks and four steals on the season while committing 19 turnovers between them. The UMKC guards are adequate defending the three, holding opponents to 38.5% on the season and keeping Kansas State to only 30% last outing. It should be a good game for Krutwig, with his footwork and mobility and ability to pass from the paint, and someone on the perimeter should be able to find a comfortable seam to shoot threes.
The Ramblers have looked pretty good on offense, but a little shaky on defense in their two games. Loyola has allowed the opposition to shoot a staggering 42.9% on threes, and that’s with both games at home and one game against a Division III team. Hopefully, the 19 turnovers Loyola committed against Wright State will be a season high that can be attributed to first game jitters; the eight turnovers committed against Eureka was considerably better. Several times the Ramblers have looked ready to make an emphatic run, but an opponent’s three pointer or a player just getting into a groove needs to take a breather. A game on the road against a team with some young players might be enough to re-focus the mind and get into a different rhythm.
LINKS
- Loyola game notes
- UMKC game notes
- TV/Streaming video: NBC Sports Chicago+
- Vegas odds: None
- Loyola Rambler basketball message board discussion
