UMKC will enter Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country.
The Roos rank sixth in the nation with 95 three-pointers and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.430), which should give the third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks their toughest test in regards to perimeter defense.
Ranked 207th by KenPom, UMKC (6-3) owns road losses against Creighton and South Dakota State, and a neutral site loss to Green Bay. The Roos, who were picked to finish fifth in the WAC in the preseason coaches poll, have scored at least 68 points in each game.
But the Roos won’t quite be at full strength. Martez Harrison, a former Western Athletic Conference player of the year, won’t be available Tuesday because of a suspension. Without their second-leading scorer, the Roos have turned to shooting more three-pointers in hopes to make up his 16.5 points per game.
Interesting note: UMKC opened the season 6-2, its best start in 15 years, when the Roos also began 6-2 following a 5-0 start in 2001.
Series history: Kansas leads, 6-0. The Jayhawks won the last meeting, 99-52, in 2011.
**UMKC STARTERS**
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*No. 4 — G LaVell Boyd | 6-0, 180, sr.*
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– Averaging 19.1 points, 3.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He ranks 22nd nationally in three-pointers (28) and 35th in total points (172).
– A preseason second-team WAC selection, Boyd is shooting 44 percent from deep, making 28 of his 63 attempts from behind the three-point arc. Plus he’s an 86 percent free-throw shooter.
– The Chicago native played in high school at Farragut Academy, the same school that produced Kevin Garnett.
– QUOTE: “All the wins we’ve had this season so far have been team wins,” Boyd said. “We just have a different type of chemistry this year.”
*No. 2 — G Isaiah Ross | 6-4, 195, fr.*
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.@ResearchMed Player of the Game: Isaiah Ross
Career-highs 17 points, 5 made 3-pointers, 33 minutes played#TeamKC ???? pic.twitter.com/VrUen2Rj2R
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) December 3, 2016
– He played at Hillcrest Prep last season, the same school in Arizona where No. 1 recruit (and Arizona commit) DeAndre Ayton played. He formerly played in high school at Davenport West in Iowa.
– He’s started six of his nine games as a true freshman, playing at least 22 minutes in his past three contests. He’s averaging 7.6 points and 1.7 rebounds, shooting 47 percent from deep (20-of-43).
– Almost exclusively relies on jumpers. He’s only taken eight percent of his shots at the rim, according to hoop-math.com.
– QUOTE: “He is a big guard that can play multiple positions,” coach Kareem Richardson said.
*No. 10 — G Broderick Robinson | 6-1, 195, jr.*
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Broderick Robinson leads UMKC scoring with 13 points. #teamkc on top 48-38 with15:50 left in game. @University0News pic.twitter.com/4paPedQkWU
— Ryan Hennessy – KCTV5 Reporter (@HennyNews) November 29, 2016
– A transfer from Northwest Tech CC, Robinson was inserted into the starting lineup for the past three games after Martez Harrison started his suspension.
– Robinson is averaging 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game. In his first two starts, he combined for 25 points in 49 minutes on 14 shots.
– Similar to Ross, Robinson doesn’t go to the rim often, only taking seven percent of his shots there according to hoop-math.com.
– QUOTE: “He is an experienced, well-rounded combo guard,” Richardson said.
*No. 3 — F Kyle Steward | 6-7,195, sr.*
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– He previously played at Butler CC, earning first-team All-Jayhawk Conference honors.
– Steward is averaging 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds through nine games. In his past four contests, he’s averaged nearly 12 points.
– He prefers jump shots to shots at the rim, according to hoop-math.com. He’s shooting 41 percent from behind the three-point arc (9-of-22).
– His brother, Keanan, played basketball at Eastern Kentucky and Northwest Missouri State.
*No. 54 — C Darnell Tillman | 6-8, 250, jr.*
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– Tillman has started in every game, but he’s only played more than 20 minutes once this year.
– The senior played at Southern Idaho CC and Florida State-Jacksonville CC before arriving at UMKC. He’s averaging 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.
– It’s a small sample size, but he’s only shooting 44 percent from the free-throw line, making four of his nine attempts.
**UMKC BENCH**
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*No. 00 — G Xavier Bishop | 5-8, 150, fr.*
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– The top scorer in Springfield (Ill.) public school history (2,287 points) averaged 25.5 points during his senior year of high school. He finished ninth in voting for Mr. Basketball in Illinois. Finished 17th in Illinois history for made three-pointers (307).
– In nine games off of the bench, Bishop is averaging 5.7 points and 1.7 assists. He’s only shooting 2-of-11 from behind the arc, but the 5-8 guard has made 44 percent of his shots at the rim according to hoop-math.com.
– His father, William, played football at Montana State and Arkansas Pine-Bluff. His brother, also named William, played football at Western Illinois.
– QUOTE: “The coaching staff has been telling me to play aggressive and my teammates have been giving me confidence,” said Bishop. “I just wanted to come out here and help.”
*No. 25 — G Broderick Newbill | 6-5, 205, r-sr.*
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– Suffered a season-ending foot injury last season and only played in 17 games.
– In nine games (one start), Newbill is averaging 5.9 points and 2.6 rebounds on 59 percent shooting. He’s 6-of-10 from deep.
– He played his freshman season and redshirted at Fresno State before opting to transfer to UMKC. His dad, William, played at UMKC from 1987-89.
*No. 22 — F Duane Clark | 6-8, 260, fr.*
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Duane Clark ????????#TeamKC ???? pic.twitter.com/T1ake6kgsm
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) December 1, 2016
– The true freshman is averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds through nine games. He’s played at least 10 minutes in six games with career-highs of 10 points and five rebounds in the season opener at Creighton.
– In high school he was coached at Christian Brothers College High by Justin Tatum, the father of Duke standout freshman Jayson Tatum.
*No. 1 — G Dashawn King | 6-3, 205, sr.*
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– The Bronx, N.Y., native has started in two games this year but just played two minutes against South Dakota State on Saturday.
– King, who previously played at Erie CC, has scored 37 points in 112 minutes this year (4.1 points per game). He’s shooting 30 percent from the floor.
*No. 12 — G Martez Harrison | 5-11, 200, sr.*
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– WAC Player of the Year in 2014-15, Harrison remains suspended indefinitely, according to the Kansas City Star, because of a violation of athletic department rules.
– Harrison, who missed the last three games, ranks second on the team with 16.5 points per game.
