vs

STORY LINES
• The 15th-ranked Central Missouri Mules open MIAA Tournament play as the No. 1 seed on Friday at 12 p.m. against ninth-seeded Northeastern State.
• The Mules are coming off a 76-64 win over Northwest Missouri last Saturday in Warrensburg. The win gave the Mules a share of their third straight MIAA Regular Season Championship, the first three-peat in school history.
• It is the sixth conference title under head coach Kim Anderson and the 24th in school history.
• The RiverHawks are coming off a 79-75 win over No. 8 seed Washburn on Tuesday night in Topeka in the MIAA Tournament play-in games.

QUICK HITS
• This is the 109th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,609 wins.
• In the Mules' 24 wins this season they are averaging 82.5 points per game and shooting 52 percent from the field. They are limiting opponents to 41 percent shooting and 65.2 points per game.
• In the Mules' four losses they are averaging 73.5 points per game and shooting 42 percent from the field.
• The win over Southwest Baptist on Feb. 6 gave UCM 18 wins on the season. It marks the 11th straight season of at least 18 wins for the Mules, which ties the MIAA record for the longest streak in conference history. The Mules tied Northwest Missouri, which accomplished the feat from 1997-2008.
• The Mules were 22-8 a season ago, the sixth 20-win season under Kim Anderson and the 22nd in school history.
• Central Missouri finished 13-5 in MIAA play last year and captured a share of the MIAA regular season championship for the second straight season. It was the fifth conference crown under Anderson and 23rd in school history.
• Three of the top nine single-season scoring leaders in UCM history have come during the 11-year tenure of head coach Kim Anderson.

MIAA POSTSEASON HONORS
• The Mules had three players named to the All-MIAA Team as voted on by the league coaches. Junior forward Dillon Deck was a first team selection, senior guard Daylen Robinson earned third team honors and senior guard Charles Hammork earned honorable mention accolades.
• This is the second straight All-MIAA honor for Hammork and the first for both Deck and Robinson. This is Deck's second straight first team all-conference award, however, as he was a first team All-GLVC pick last season at William Jewell.

SERIES HISTORY VS NORTHEASTERN STATE
• This will be just the third meeting all-time between Central Missouri and Northeastern State and the first in the MIAA Tournament.
• The series is tied 1-1 with the RiverHawks winning the only meeting this season, 72-71, on December 21 in Tahlequah.
• The Mules beat Northeastern State 77-69 in Warrensburg on January 9 of last season in the first ever meeting.

LAST MEETING WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The Mules rallied from six points down in the final minute, but their last second shot fell short and UCM fell 72-71 to the RiverHawks in Tahlequah.
• The Mules shot 45 percent from the field and held Northeastern State to just 35 percent shooting, but the RiverHawks were 24 of 31 at the free throw line compared to just 5 of 6 for Central Missouri.
• UCM out-rebounded NSU in the game 39-35 and held a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.
• Dillon Deck led UCM with 22 points on 10 of 18 shooting. Daylen Robinson had one of his best all-around performances of the season with 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
• Curtis Evans led five RiverHawks in double figures with 17 points. Keon Littleton had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Marcus Sheppard added 13 points and Bryton Hobbs and Michael Harmon finished with 11 points apiece.
• The teams combined for just 14 turnovers in the game, nine by UCM and five for NSU.
• Both teams made eight three-point attempts.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS
• Northeastern State enters the game at 15-12 overall after beating Washburn 79-75 in Tuesday night's play-in game in Topeka. The RiverHawks finished the MIAA schedule 9-10 and in ninth place.
• NSU has won back-to-back games and four of their last six.
• The RiverHawks are shooting 45 percent from the field and averaging 74.2 points per game. They give up 73.3 points per contest and 45 percent shooting to the opposition.
• NSU is shooting 36 percent from three-point range and 76 percent at the free throw line. They are holding opponents to just 34 percent shooting from beyond the arc and the RiverHawks have attempted 92 more free throws than their opponents.
• Bryton Hobbs is the only RiverHawk averaging in double figures, but he leads the MIAA at 22.6 points per game. He is also third in the league with 5.7 assists per game.
• Marcus Sheppard and Dalen Qualls are both averaging 9.3 points per contest, while Curtis Evans chips in 9.2 per outing along with a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.
• Hobbs has attempted 282 free throws this season and gets to the line an average of 10.4 times per contest.
• The RiverHawks turn the ball over just 9.8 times per game.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 76, NORTHWEST MISSOURI 64 • 3/1/14
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The 19th-ranked Central Missouri Mules led from start to finish in a 76-64 win over Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The win gives the Mules a share of the MIAA regular season title with the Bearcats and the No. 1 seed in next week's MIAA Tournament.
    The Mules opened the scoring on a jumper from Dillon Deck and following a DeShaun Cooper layup the Mules rattled off six straight points to take an 8-2 lead and force a Bearcat timeout.
    Northwest Missouri scored four quick points out of the timeout to pull within a pair. The lead was still two at 12-10 when Daylen Robinson hit a layup and Charles Hammork nailed a jumper to push the lead to 16-10. After a Grant Cozad layup cut the lead to four, Ryan Donald converted on a three-point play, followed by a Jordan Epps jumper and another jumper from Donald and UCM led 23-12 with 11:03 to play in the half.
    Central Missouri pushed the lead to 14 at 35-21 with 6:23 left in the opening period, but a quick 7-0 run by the Bearcats cut the lead to 35-28 with 4:42 remaining. The Bearcats cut the lead to six with just under four minutes left in the half, but the Mules ended the half on a 5-0 run to lead 42-31 at the intermission.
    The teams traded buckets out of the halftime break before back-to-back buckets from Hammork gave UCM a 48-35 lead with 15:42 to play. The lead reached 14 again at 50-36, but a pair of free throws from Cooper and a trey from Zach Schneider cut the lead to nine with 13:26 left in the game.
    Three more free throws for NWMSU made it a six point agme with 11:06 to play. A TJ White layup stemmed the tide for the moment, but another three from Schneider cut the deficit to five at 52-47 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
    Epps drained a triple from the top of the key and followed it up with a fastbreak layup to push the lead back to 10 with eight and a half to play.
    The Bearcats wouldn't go away thought and got back to within six on another three from Schneider with just under six minutes to play. They would get no closer though. Robinson hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to eight and Hammork made two more to give UCM a 66-56 lead with 3:33 to play.
    Deck's layup with 2:54 remaining made it a 12-point lead and the mules were able to ice the game away, claiming a share of their third straight conference crown.
    Robinson led UCM with 17 points and six assists. Hammork finished with 16 points and eight rebounds and Donald added 10 points off the bench.
    The Mules shot 51 percent from the floor, 26 of 51, but just 14 percent from three-point range, 2 of 14. UCM was 22 of 30 at the free throw line for 73 percent.
    The Bearcats were led in scoring by Starzl's 18 points. Cooper had 16 and Schneider chipped in 12 off the bench. NWMSU was 20 of 50 from the field for 40 percent and made 6 of 19 threes for 32 percent. The Bearcats were 18 of 30 at the foul line for 60 percent.
    The Mules out-rebounded the Bearcats 35-33 and forced 15 Northwest turnovers compared to just 10 for UCM.
    The win gives Central Missouri three straight conference championships for the first time in school history. It is the sixth MIAA regular season title under Kim Anderson and the 24th conference crown in school history.

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• Central Missouri is 159-66 in MIAA play during the Kim Anderson era and 16-3 this season after the 76-64 win over Northwest Missouri on Saturday.
• The Mules were 13-5 in conference play last year and won a share of the MIAA regular season title for the second straight season.
• The Mules' best MIAA record under Anderson was an 18-2 mark during the 2009-10 season.
• The Mules captured their sixth MIAA regular season championship this season and have four MIAA tournament titles under Kim Anderson.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 109-28 in non-conference games during the Kim Anderson era, including an 8-1 mark this season.
• Central Missouri is 53-1 in the last 54 non-conference games at home.

MULES IN THE MIAA POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
• The Mules are 14-7 in the MIAA Tournament under head coach Kim Anderson and 32-27 all-time in the MIAA Tournament after going 3-0 and capturing the tournament title last season.
• The Mules have captured six MIAA Tournament championships in school history, more than any other league school. UCM has been in the championship game 14 times in the history of the tournament.
• The Mules have made the championship game five of the 11 years the tournament has been held in Kansas City.
• UCM has won four titles under Anderson, winning championships in 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2012-13 in addition to titles won in 1981-82 and 1983-84.
• The Mules have played in every MIAA Tournament since it's inception, the only school to do so.
• Overall, here is how the Mules have fared against conference opponents in the MIAA postseason tournament:
Team    Quarters    Semis    Finals    In KC    Overall
Central Oklahoma    -    1-0    -    1-0    1-0
Emporia State    2-0    1-0    -    1-0    3-0
Fort Hays State    1-0    -    -    1-0    1-0
Lincoln    -    0-1    -    -    0-1
Lindenwood    -    -    -    -    -
Missouri Southern    4-0    -    1-0    3-0    5-0
Missouri Western    1-3    1-1    1-1    2-0    3-5
Nebraska-Kearney    -    -    -    -    -
Northeastern State    -    -    -    -    -
Northwest Missouri    0-2    3-0    2-1    1-0    5-3
Pittsburg State    2-3    1-0    1-0    2-2    4-3
Southwest Baptist    0-1    1-0    0-2    1-1    1-3
Washburn    0-4    1-1    -    1-3    1-5
    -- vs former MIAA members --
Missouri-Rolla    -    -    0-1    -    0-1
Missouri-St. Louis    1-0    1-0    -    -    2-0
Nebraska Omaha    0-1    -    -    0-1    0-1
Southeast Missouri    1-0    2-1    1-3    -    4-4
Truman State    -    2-1    -    1-0    2-1
Totals    12-14    14-5    6-8    14-7    32-27

STREAKING MULES
• The Mules enter the MIAA Tournament riding a 10-game winning streak. It is the longest such streak since UCM had a pair of 12-game winning streaks during the 2009-10 season.
• This is the third straight season Central Missouri has a winning streak of at least nine games. The Mules are shooting 54 percent from the field and averaging 82.3 points per game during the current streak.
• The average margin of victory during the streak has been 17.9 points per game.
• The Mules have not lost since their game at Northwest Missouri back on Jan. 18.

MULES IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• Central Missouri moved up four spots in this week's NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll to No. 15.
• The Mules have been ranked in 138 polls in the history of the program, the seventh most in NCAA-II history.
• This is Central Missouri's fourth week in the rankings this season.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
• The Mules moved up one spot to the No. 1 ranking in the latest Central Region poll released by the NCAA on Wednesday afternoon.
• The top eight teams in the final rankings on Sunday, March 9 qualify for the Central Regional tournament March 15, 16 and 18 at a campus site to be determined.
    Central Region    Overall DII Record    In-Region Record
    1. Central Missouri    20-4    20-3    
    2. Minnesota State-Mankato    23-4    22-3    
    3. Missouri Southern State    18-5    16-5    
    4. Northwest Missouri State    18-7    18-6    
    5. Winona State    21-5    21-5    
    6. Fort Hays State    20-6    20-6    
    7. Arkansas Tech    19-7    19-7    
    8. Washburn    14-9    12-9    
    9. Minnesota State-Moorhead    17-7    17-7    
    10. Arkansas-Monticello    15-9    14-8

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 154-21 at the Multipurpose Building under Kim Anderson after beating Northwest Missouri on Saturday.
• The Mules were 13-0 at home last season and have won 27 straight games at the Multi dating back to the 2011-12 season.
• Over the last nine years, UCM is 137-11 at home, including 53-1 against non-conference opponents and 84-10 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 465-88 in their 38th season playing home games at the Multi.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 8-4 on the road this season, including 7-3 in MIAA play, after the win at Missouri Western on Wednesday night.
• The Mules are one of just four MIAA teams to have a winning road record during conference play.
• UCM is 71-56 on the road during the Kim Anderson. The Mules were 4-5 on the road last season.

 DISHING IT OUT
• Senior guard Daylen Robinson moved into sixth place on UCM's single-season assist list with 155 when he dished out six assists in the win over Northwest Missouri. He is five assists shy of fifth place on the single-season list and nine shy of fourth place.
• He is fourth in the MIAA in assists per game at 5.5

SWATTING HIS WAY
• Junior forward Dillon Deck has registered 26 blocks this year. He is three blocks away from cracking UCM's top 10 single-season list.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 25-4 overall record and advance them to the MIAA Tournament Semifinals for the second straight season.
• Give the Mules four straight wins in the MIAA Tournament and 11 straight wins overall

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 24-5 overall and snap their 10-game winning streak.
• Snap Central Missouri's three-game MIAA Tournament winning streak.
• Give the Mules four MIAA Tournament quarterfinal losses in the last five years.

ANDERSON LEADING THE WAY
• Now in his 12th season leading the Mules, Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson has compiled a career record of 268-94 (.740).
• His .731 winning percentage entering the 2013-14 season ranks seventh among all active NCAA Division II coaches.
• He has led UCM to six MIAA regular season titles, more than any other coach in school history, four MIAA tournament championships, two Regional championships and two Final Four appearances.
• Anderson recorded career win No. 200 with a 65-61 win against Washburn on February 9, 2011.
• Anderson is one of only five coaches in Central Missouri history to record 100 or more career wins - Anderson (268), Tad. C. Reid (178), Earl Keth (159), Jim Wooldridge (131) and Lynn Nance (114).
• Three of the top nine single-season scoring leaders in Central Missouri history have come during the tenure of head coach Kim Anderson.

MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY
• In the 109th season of UCM basketball the Mules have compiled a 1,609-923 (.635) record in 2,532 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri became just the third NCAA-II program with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 23 times in the history of the program, including this season.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season twice, both during the Kim Anderson era.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA tournament titles.

THE NEXT LEVEL
• In the Kim Anderson era, 23 former players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Four players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster; Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), Reggie Stallings (Rochester Razor Sharks), Sanijay Watts (Germany, Dorsten) and Zack Wright (Greece, Panathinaikos Athens).

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Following the 2013 fall seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 196 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles and one tournament championship.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 142 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003) and seven national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• The 550 Central Missouri student-athletes received 375 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2012-13 academic year.
• 305 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 37 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.
• 33 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had eight student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in their respective sports, including Brent Vogel being named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Men's Track & Field.

MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on the new 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.
• The Kim Anderson Show presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. airs on Monday nights at 7 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as warrensburgradio.com.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly one-hour look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV.

LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
• Live video coverage for every Central Missouri home game will be available through America One Sports. All home games and road MIAA games will be available on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $8 per game, $30 for a 30-day pass or $89.95 for an all-season pass for UCM men's and women's basketball. Fans can access webcasts through the AmericaOneSports link on the UCM Athletics website or by going to AmericaOneSports.com.

UPCOMING
• If the Mules win their opening round game, they will face the winner of Fort Hays State and Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
• A win in the semifinals would advance UCM to the MIAA Tournament Championship Game on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against the winner of the other semifinal.
• The NCAA Selection Show will take place on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. CST on NCAA.com. The public is invited to watch the selection show along with the Mules and Jennies at Traditions Restaurant at the Audrey J. Walton Clubhouse at Pertle Springs.