Friday, February 1, 2013

'Roos Continue Road Swing, Face Red-Hot Jacks On Saturday

The 'Roos will face the hottest team in the league on Saturday when it heads to Brookings for a battle with South Dakota State. Kansas City has lost three in a row, while SDSU boasts a six-game win streak.  It will be the 15th meeting between the 'Roos and Jackrabbits, with SDSU holding a 9-5 lead in the series. The Jacks have won the last three contests, and seven of the last eight. The last win for UMKC came on Jan. 27, 2011 by a 63-58 score on the road.
South Dakota State comes in with a 17-6 overall mark and an 8-2 record in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits were picked to win the conference. They are currently on a six-game win streak with victories over both North Dakota State and Western Illinois.
They are led by preseason Summit League Player of the Year Nate Wolters, who averages 20.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Jordan Dykstra puts up 13.0 points and 7.1 boards a game, while Tony Fiegen is averaging 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest.
As a team the Jacks lead the conference in scoring at 72.3 points per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4. They also shoot 45.6 percent from the field and hit 74.6 percent from the foul line. The Jackrabbits have an eight-man rotation with five players averaging 30 or more minutes per game.
This has been a trying season for the 'Roos and their fans. The team is 6-17 and coming off a 71-34 bludgeoning at North Dakota State on Thursday. In that game UMKC made only 11 shots while turning it over 18 times. It is its lowest point total ever in conference play and the 37 point margin of defeat was the second biggest in a conference game for the school.
Kansas City finishes its road swing, this time against Houston Baptist in the second half of a home-and-home series this Wednesday.

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