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TIP-OFF
• The eighth-ranked Central Missouri Mules get the 2015 portion of their schedule tipped off when they travel to Kearney, Nebraska on Saturday, January 3 to take on Nebraska-Kearney at 7:30 p.m. at the UNK Health & Sports Center.
• The Mules are 11-1 on the season and 2-1 in MIAA play after an 81-62 win over Northeastern State on Saturday, December 20 on CBS Sports Network.
• The Lopers enter the contest at 7-3 overall and 3-1 in conference action after a 90-85 win at Lincoln on Saturday, Dec. 20.
• This game will pit the top two shooting teams in the MIAA and two of the top four scoring teams. The Mules lead the MIAA in field goal percentage at 52.7 and rank fourth in scoring at 80.7, while the Lopers are second in the league in shooting (50.5) and third in scoring (81.4).
• The Mules were 30-5 a season ago when they captured the NCAA-II National Championship. It was 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 last year 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 1,626 wins.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).
• The Mules are averaging 80.7 points per game and shooting 52 percent from the field. The opposition is averaging 69.1 points per game and shooting 41 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.

MULE TIDBITS
• TJ White has recorded his first three career double-doubles this season to lead all Mules.
• Dillon Deck has one double-double this season and seven during his two-year UCM career.
• Jordan Epps set career-highs with six made three-point field goals and 20 points in the nationall-televised victory over Northeastern State.
• Preston Brunz leads the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage at 56.8 percent ... he is also second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.3 (34 assists/8 turnovers).
• Ten different Mules have scored in double figures this season ... seven different Mules have led the team in scoring.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney with the Mules holding a 4-2 series lead.
• The Mules beat UNK 85-65 on Jan. 4, 2014 last season in Warrensburg and have won two straight in the series.
• UCM won the last meeting in Kearney, 78-64 on Jan. 16 2013.
• The Mules lead the series 2-1 in games played in Kearney.

LAST MEETING WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
• The Mules used a big second half run to pull away from Nebraska-Kearney for a 85-65 win on January 4, 2014 in Warrensburg.
• Daylen Robinson led UCM with a game and career-high 26 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
• Four Mules finished in double figures with TJ White adding 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Jon Gilliam and Charles Hammork each finished with 12 points.
• UCM shot 48 percent from the field compared to 41 percent for Nebraska-Kearney.
• The Mules out-rebounded the Lopers by one, 34-33.
• Central Missouri forced 25 Nebraska-Kearney turnovers and had 14 steals in the game.
• Ethan Brozek led UNK with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Tyler Shields added 14 points.

SCOUTING THE LOPERS
• Nebraska-Kearney enters the contest at 7-3 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play after a 90-85 comeback win over Lincoln back on Dec. 20 in Jefferson City.
• UNK is 4-1 at home this season with the only loss coming to Colorado Mines (91-83) in the season opener back on November 15.
• The Lopers are averaging 81.4 points per game offensively and giving up 75.1 per contest. They shoot over 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range, while opponents are shooting 47 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc.
• They average 31.7 rebounds per game and a little over a board per game more than their opponents.
• Ethan Brozek leads three Lopers scoring in double figures at 20.0 points per outing. Connor Beranek averages 17.4 points per game and Trey Lansman chips in 10.2 per contest.
• Brozek also leads the team in rebounding at 8.3 boards per game.
• The Lopers get to the free throw line almost 24 times per game and have attempted 58 more free throws than the opposition.
• They average 14.5 assists per game and turn the ball over just 12.5 times per contest.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 81, NORTHEASTERN STATE 62 • 12/20/14
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The third-ranked Mules shot nearly 60 percent from the field and pulled away from Northeastern State for an 81-62 win in front of a national television audience on CBS Sports Network on Saturday morning. The win improves UCM's record to 11-1 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play.
    The Mules jumped out to an early six point advantage, leading 10-4 at the 15:25 mark. A three from Demone Harrison cut the lead to three, but a 7-2 run capped by a Brennen Hughes layup gave the Mules a 17-9 lead with 13:06 to play in the half.
    Kyle Wolf buried a three-pointer and TJ White added a free throw to put UCM in front 21-11 midway through the first half. The RiverHawks (2-8, 1-3 MIAA) cut the lead to eight, but back-to-back threes from Jordan Epps gave the Mules a 32-21 lead with 5:34 remaining in the opening period. A quick 6-0 run by NSU cut the margin to eight, but a 7-0 run by UCM made it a 42-27 advantage. The RiverHawks hit a three at the buzzer and the Mules led 42-30 at halftime.
    The RiverHawks cut the UCM lead to eight out of halftime, but the Mules responded with a 12-6 spurt that gave them a 55-41 lead with 11:44 to play in the game. Northeastern State was able to chip away and get the lead back to 10 at 62-52 with 7:54 to play in the game, but a quick 6-0 spurt by UCM made it a 68-52 margin at the 6:22 mark.
    After an NSU three-point play made it a 13-point lead, the Mules scored nine straight points to stretch their lead to 22 at 77-55 with 3:20 to play. The Mules would coast to the 19-point victory.
    Rakeem Dickerson led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also added four assists. Epps shot 7-of-9 from the floor, including a career-high six three-pointers and finished with a career-high 20 points. TJ White added a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Preston Brunz dished out a game-high six assists.
    The Mules shot 59 percent from the floor, going 29-of-49. They were 12-of-23 from beyond the arc for 52 percent, but struggled at the foul line going just 11-of-25 for 44 percent.
    Harrison was the only RiverHawk in double figures with 20. NSU shot 20-of-58 from the field for 34 percent and 6-of-24 from three-point range for 25 percent. They were 16-of-19 at the charity stripe for 84 percent.
    The Mules out-rebounded the RiverHawks 37-29 and had 17 assists compared to just six for NSU. The UCM bench outscored NSU's 44-19.

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 161-22 at the Multipurpose Building over the last 13 years and 7-1 under Doug Karleskint after the 81-62 win over Northeastern State.
• The Mules were 13-0 at home each of the last two seasons.
• Over the last nine years, UCM is 144-12 at home, including 59-1 against non-conference opponents and 85-11 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 472-89 in their 39th season playing home games at the Multi.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 1-0 on the road this season after the 90-81 win at Fort Hays State on Dec. 4. It was the first win in Hays, Kansas since the 2009-10 season.
• UCM was 8-4 on the road last season, including 7-3 in MIAA play.

MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• UCM is 3-0 this year and 53-20 in neutral site games over the last 13 years after the 90-84 overtime win over Quincy on Nov. 25 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
• The Mules were 9-1 in neutral site games last season.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 2-1 in conference action under Doug Karleskint after the win over Northeastern State on December 20.
• Central Missouri is 161-67 in MIAA play over the last 13 seasons.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 9-0 in non-conference games this season and 124-29 over the last 13 seasons after the win over Culver-Stockton on December 15.
• The Mules went 14-2 in non-MIAA games last year.
• Central Missouri is 58-1 in the last 59 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules an 12-1 record overall and 3-1 in MIAA play as they begin second semester action.
• Give the Mules three straight wins over Nebraska-Kearney and two in a row at the Health & Sports Center.
• Give Central Missouri seven straight wins on the road.
• Keep the Mules no worse than one game back in the loss column to league-leading Central Oklahoma.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 11-2 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play.
• Snap a two-game winning streak against the Lopers.
• Snap the Mules' six-game road winning streak.

BLOCK PARTY
• Senior Dillon Deck now has 47 blocked shots in his UCM career, placing him eighth all-time on Central Missouri's career blocks list. He is two blocks shy of tying Darryl Somerset and Matt Webb for sixh place on the career 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 is second in the MIAA averaging 5.2 assists per game and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.8.
• He has had at least five assists in eight of 12 games this season and dished out a career-high 10 in the win over Missouri S&T.

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
• Senior TJ White has his name all over the MIAA statistic leaders sheet. Heading into this week he was fourth in the league in rebounding (6.8 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (58.3), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (2.4) and 10th in steals (1.7).

KARLESKINT ERA OFF TO A FAST START
• Doug Karleskint is 11-1 in his first season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 101-35 (.743) overall in his fifth season as a head coach.
• He became the first Mules' head coach to start his first season at UCM 7-0.
• 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
• The Mules dropped five spots to No. 8 in the latest NABC/Division II Rankings released on Tuesday. UCM was unranked to start the season.
• The Mules have been ranked in 144 polls in the history of the program, the seventh most in NCAA-II history.
• The Mules were ranked third and receiving two first place votes in the latest Division II Media Poll sponsored by D2SIDA, which came out on December 9. The poll is in its first year of existence and is voted on by Division II Sports Information Directors.

MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY
• In the 110th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,626-925 (.637) record in 2,551 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
• Following the fall sports seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 202 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.

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 continue their MIAA road trip at Washburn on Monday, January 5. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Lee Arena.
• UCM returns home for two straight games on Thursday, January 8 against Pittsburg State and Saturday, January 10 against Emporia State.