TIP-OFF• The Mules head to Kansas City to take on Quincy on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at the Sprint Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
• The Mules are 4-0 on the season after a 91-68 win over Westminster on Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
• The Mules enter the season as the top pick in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Mules were 30-5 a season ago, the third 30-win season in program history, the seventh 20-win season in the last 12 years and the 23rd in school history.
• The 2013-14 season was the 11th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, the longest active streak in the MIAA and tied for the longest streak in conference history with Northwest Missouri, who accomplished the feat from 1997-2008.
• Central Missouri finished 16-3 in MIAA play and captured a share of the MIAA regular season championship for the third straight season. It was the sixth conference crown in the last 12 years and 24th in school history.
QUICK HITS• This is the 110th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,619 wins.
• The Mules are averaging 79.5 points per game through their first four games of the season and shooting nearly 56 percent from the field. The opposition is averaging 62.8 points per game and shooting 39 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
• In the Mules' 30 wins last season they are averaged 81.5 points per game and shot 50.6 percent from the field. They limited opponents to 40 percent shooting and 66.2 points per game.
• In the Mules' five losses last year they averaged 75.2 points per game and shot 42 percent from the field.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the Mules and Quincy. UCM holds an 11-5 lead in the series.
• The Mules have won two in a row in the series, including a 79-78 win last season in Quincy.
LAST MEETING WITH QUINCY• The Mules held of the Hawks 79-78 in Quincy on Nov. 23, 2013.
Daylen Robinson hit a jumper with seven seconds left to give the Mules the victory.
• The Mules shot 51 percent in the game, including 57 percent from three-point range.
• Four Mules finished in double figures led by Robinson's 18 points and nine assists.
Jordan Epps had 17 points off the bench, while
Dillon Deck had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards and
TJ White added 12 points off the bench.
• The Mules out-rebounded the Hawks 42-22 and held a 17-6 advantage in second chance points.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS• Quincy comes in to the contest at 2-2 overall after a 74-73 loss to Lindenwood at home on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks led 73-71 with 29.3 to play in the game, but Lindenwood hit a three-pointer with just over 10 seconds to play to get the win.
• Five players are averaging in double figures as the Hawks are scoring 86.3 points per game. they shoot 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.
• Opponents are shooting 38 percent from the field and averaging 79.3 points per game.
• Thomas Jackson leads Quincy in scoring at 13.8 points per game. Godson Eneogwe is scoring 12.5 points per contest. Herm Senor III (11.8), Ja'mil Jones (11.3) and Dalton Hoover (10.5) are also averaging double figures.
• Hoover also leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 boards per outing. Scottie Bruxvoort also pulls down 6.0 boards per game.
• Quincy is giving up 45.3 rebounds per game and opponents are out-rebounding the Hawks by 5.5 boards per contest.
• The Hawks are forcing 20.5 turnovers per outing and commit 17.3 turnovers per game. They are averaging 11 steals per game.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 91, WESTMINSTER 68 • 11/22/14WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Mules improved their early season record to 4-0 with a 91-68 win over Westminster on Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building. UCM pulled away late in the first half and cruised to the 23-point victory.
   The Blue Jays (0-3) led early on at 9-5, but the Mules (4-0) used an 8-0 run to grab a 13-9 lead. Westminster battled back, however, from five down to regain the lead at 25-24 with 7:39 to play in the first half. A three-pointer from
Brad Woodson put UCM back in frton 27-25 and he followed it up with a layup to put the Mules in front by four. A jumper from
Preston Brunz and another three from Woodson made it a 10-0 run and a 34-25 UCM lead with 3:34 to play in the half.
   Westminster cut the lead to six on a Tanner Cochran three, but Woodson drained two more triples followed by a Brunz layup and a
TJ White free throw and UCM led 43-28 at halftime.
   The Mules poured it on in the second half as they used a 12-4 run out the break to lead by 23 at 55-32 with 15:23 to play in the game.The lead grew to 30, 85-55, at the 4:37 mark of the second half as the Mules coasted to their fourth straight win to open the season.
   UCM shot 61 percent from the floor, 33-of-54, and 63 percent from beyond the arc, 12-of-19. The Mules were 13-of-20 at the foul line for 65 percent.
   Woodson led all scorers with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-6 shooting. White and
Tony Cochran both had 12 points and
Brennen Hughes chipped in 10 with a game-high five rebounds.
   The Mules out-rebounded Westminster 28-24 and held a 36-16 lead in points in the paint. UCM had 18 assists to 12 turnovers and forced 18 Blue Jay giveaways.
   Brandon Moore led WC with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Matt Murphy chipped in 13. The Blue Jays shot 48 percent from the field, 25-of-52, and 52 percent from three-point range, 9-of-17. They were 9-of-12 at the charity stripe for 75 percent.
THE MULES AT HOME• Central Missouri is 156-21 at the Multipurpose Building over the last 13 years and 2-0 under
Doug Karleskint after the 91-68 win over Westminster.
• The Mules were 13-0 at home each of the last two seasons and have won 29 straight games at the Multi dating back to the 2011-12 season.
• Over the last nine years, UCM is 139-11 at home, including 55-1 against non-conference opponents and 84-10 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 467-88 in their 39th season playing home games at the Multi.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules a 5-0 record for the second straight season.
• Give UCM three straight wins against Quincy and a 12-5 lead in the all-time series.
• Give the Mules a 5-0 start under
Doug Karleskint. The first coach since Robert White in 1943-44 to start his UCM career 5-0.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Give the Mules an 4-1 record for the third time in the last five seasons.
• Snap UCM's two-game win streak against the Hawks.
• Pull Quincy to within 11-6 in the all-time series.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION• The Mules are 4-0 in non-conference games this season and 119-29 over the last 13 seasons after the win over Westminster.
• The Mules went 14-2 in non-MIAA games last year.
• Central Missouri is 55-1 in the last 56 non-conference games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES• UCM is 52-20 in neutral site games over the last 13 years after opening the season with a pair of wins at the Sanford Pentagon Showcase in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
• The Mules were 9-1 in neutral site games last season.
BLOCK PARTY• Senior
Dillon Deck now has 36 blocked shots in his UCM career, putting him 10th on Central Missouri's career blocks list.
• He blocked 32 shots last season, the eighth most in a single season in Central Missouri history.
DISHING IT OUT• Senior point guard
Rakeem Dickerson leads the MIAA averaging 6.5 assists per game and has a 4.33 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first four games.
• He has had at least five assists in every game and dished out a career-high 10 in the win over Missouri S&T.
NEW ADDITIONS• Central Missouri welcomes seven newcomers to the roster in 2014-15 along with redshirt freshman
Brad Woodson (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney HS). Newcomers include
Donte Adams (Bronx, N.Y./Cecil CC),
Tony Cochran (St. Louis, Mo/Harding),
Rakeem Dickerson (Little Rock, Ark./Arkansas State),
Taylor Johnson (Flower Mound, Texas/Central Arkansas),
Michael Luscombe (Boonville, Mo./Moberly CC),
Jared Pearson (Osceola, Mo./Wentworth Military Academy), and
Rico Richardson (Topeka, Kan./Howard College).
KARLESKINT ERA OFF TO A GOOD START•
Doug Karleskint is 4-0 in his first season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 94-34 (.734) overall in his fifth season as a head coach.
• He spent the previous five seasons at Arkansas Tech, including the last four as head coach. He compiled a 90-34 (.726) record with the Wonder Boys with four conference championships and four trips to the NCAA-II National Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2012.
MULES IN THE POLLS• Despite returning two starters and eight letterwinners from last season's national championship team, the Mules are not ranked in any of the Division II preseason polls.
• The Mules have been ranked in 139 polls in the history of the program, the seventh most in NCAA-II history.
MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY• In the 110th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,619-924 (.637) record in 2,543 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri is one of just three NCAA-II programs with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 23 times in the history of the program.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season three times, including last year.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA tournament titles.
THE NEXT LEVEL• In the past 12 years, 21 former UCM players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Four players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster;
Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), Sanijay Watts (Germany, Dorsten) and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS• Central Missouri has won a combined 200 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season titles, the most of any school in league history and the second time Central Missouri accomplished the feat.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 146 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won six national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003 and men's basketball in 2014) and eight national championships overall.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM• Central Missouri had 220 student-athletes named to the 2013-14 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 41 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 12 student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with seven of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on the 44,000-watt 98.5 "The Bar, 1450 KOKO and online at warrensburgradio.com. All games are broadcast by 1450 KOKO/98.5 "The Bar" Sports Director, Greg Hassler and Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations,
Mike Knipper.
• The
Doug Karleskint Show, Live from Traditions Restaurant presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. will air on Monday nights at 6 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as warrensburgradio.com. The first show of the season will air on Monday, Dec. 1.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly 30-minute look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV and re-airs on Saturdays at 5 p.m.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING• Live video coverage for all Central Missouri home and away MIAA games will be available through Stretch Internet on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $9.95 for a day pass or $89.95 for an all-season pass for UCM basketball. With a day pass, fans can access any MIAA game being broadcast that day. Fans can access webcasts through the GameCentral by Stretch Internet link on the UCM Athletics homepage or through the "Video" links on the Mules Basketball schedule page. Fans can also go directly to
portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/
UPCOMING• The Mules return home after Thanksgiving for back-to-back home games. The Mules will host Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. and Tabor on Sunday, Nov. 30 also at 4 p.m.
