TIP-OFF• The 12th-ranked Central Missouri Mules wrap up their four-game home stand hosting Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi.
• The Mules are planning on wearing their black uniforms at home this Saturday and are encouraging all UCM fans to wear black as well.
• The Mules are 7-0 overall on the season and 1-0 in MIAA play after their 74-59 win over Missouri Western on Wednesday night.
• Northwest Missouri enters the contest at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play after a 73-50 win at Southwest Baptist on Thursday night.
• The Mules were picked No. 2 in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, while the Bearcats are the preseason favorite to win the league.
• The Mules were 25-7 a season ago and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the eighth 20-win season in the last 11 years and the 24th in school history.
• Central Missouri finished 14-5 in MIAA play last year and finished as the regular season runner-up.
QUICK HITS• This is the 111th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,647 wins.
• Last season was the 12th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, an MIAA record.
• Last season was the third straight 20-win season for UCM and the 24th in program history.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).
MULE FEED• Through seven games this season, the Mules are averaging 80.3 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field. They are limiting opponents to 65.4 points per game on 39.1 percent shooting.
• The Mules are shooting 38.2 percent (58-of-152) from three-point range compared to 29.6 percent (40-of-135) for the opposition.
• UCM has attempted six less free throws than the opponents. The Mules are averaging 21.5 free throw attempts per game. Last year, they attempted 23.5 free throws per outing.
• The Mules are seventh in the MIAA in scoring offense (80.3 ppg) and first in scoring defense (65.4 ppg). They are ninth in the league in field goal percentage (47.0) and first in field goal percentage defense (39.1) and three-point field goal percentage defense (29.6).
• Through seven games this season, 10 different players have scored in double figures and five different players have led the team in scoring.
•
Marquiez Lawrence (14 points, 10 rebounds) recorded the first double-double of the season for Central Missouri in the win over MidAmerica Nazarene.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the 214th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri. The Mules lead the series 127-86. The teams split last season's series with each team winning on their own home floor.
• UCM has won 12 of the last 14 meetings. The Bearcats' win in last season's regular season finale snapped a three-game winning streak for the Mules.
• The Mules have won six straight games over NWMSU at the Multi and hold a 69-31 edge in games played in Warrensburg.
LAST MEETING WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI• The Mules shot 63 percent from the field, but went the final 7:22 without a field goal as they fell to Northwest Missouri 83-73 in last year's regular season finale in Maryville.
• UCM opened the game on a 12-2 run and made their first eight shots from the field.
• The Mules shot 50 percent, 13-of-26, at the free throw line.
•
Rakeem Dickerson led all scorers with 23 points.
Brennen Hughes chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while
Kyle Wolf added 10 points.
• The Bearcats were led by Grant Cozad's 21 points. Justin Pitts had 19 points and Zach Schneider scored 18.
• Northwest Missouri shot 50 percent for the game game and made 25-of-30 free throw attempts.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS• Northwest Missouri enters the Saturday showdown at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play after a 73-50 win at Southwest Baptist on Thursday night in Bolivar.
• The Bearcats are led by seventh-year head coach Ben McCollum. He has a 117-66 record during his tenure as the head man of the Northwest Missouri program.
• The Bearcats are averaging 78.8 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting. They shoot 38 percent from three-point range and have attempted 54 more free throws than their opponents.
• Defensively, they allow 65.8 ppg on 44.6 percent shooting and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. Opponents have only attempted 76 free throws through four games.
• Justin Pitts leads the squad averaging 19.6 points and 4.8 assists per game. D'Vante Mosby averages 15.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Conner Crooker chips in 10.8 points per contest.
• The Bearcats are averaging 33.4 rebounds per contest and out-rebound their opponents by just over a board per game.
• The Bearcats dish out 13 assists per game and they only turn the ball over 8.2 times per outing. On the flip side, they force 13.4 turnovers and allow 10.4 assists per contest.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 74, MISSOURI WESTERN 59 • 12/2/15WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The 12th-ranked Mules made their first nine shots of the game and bolted to a 26-2 lead in the first six plus minutes en route to a 74-59 win over Missouri Western on Wednesday night. The Mules are now 7-0 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play.
   The Mules came out of the gates hitting on all cylinders as they jumped out to the huge lead. In addition to making their first nine shots from the floor, they made their first six three-pointers to blow the game open from the get go. Seven different Mules scored in the first half as they led by as many as 25 in the frame.
   The Griffons (2-5, 0-1 MIAA) battled back, however. After trailing 29-4, they went on a 12-2 run to pull within 15 by the 6:34 mark of the first half.
Marquiez Lawrence quickly pushed the lead back to 17 as he flushed home a missed layup to halt the run. UCM finished the half on an 11-6 spurt and led 44-24 at the intermision.
   Missouri Western picked up the intensity early in the second half as they were able to get back to within 15 at 53-38 with 15:04 to play in the game. The Mules, however, had another answer, a 12-0 run after the Griffons got within 55-40 made it 67-40 in favor of UCM with 8:24 to play in the game. The lead grew to 28 at 70-42 on an
Isiah Sykes made three-pointer as UCM cruised to the conference-opening win.
   The Mules were led by
D'Marnier Cunningham's 23 points. He shot 10-of-15 from the field and also had five assists and three rebounds. Lawrence added 12 points and a team-high nine boards and
Spencer Reaves finished with 11. UCM shot 48 percent from the field, going 28-of-58. The Mules were 10-of-23 from three-point range for 43 percent and 8-of-13 at the foul line for 61 percent.
   UCM held Missouri Western to 35 percent shooting for the game, 22-of-62, and just 4-of-15 from beyond the arc for 26 percent. The Griffons were 11-of-12 at the charity stripe for 91 percent. Aaron Emmanuel led MWSU with a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Trey Sampson had 11 points and Xavier Newson chipped in 10 off the bench.
   The UCM bench out-scored Missouri Western's 45-21.
THE MULES AT HOME• The Mules are 6-0 at home this year after the win over Missouri Western on Wednesday night.
• Central Missouri went 14-2 at home last season.
• Over the last 11 years, UCM is 157-13 at home, including 64-1 against non-conference opponents and 93-12 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 485-90 in their 40th season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD• The Mules are 1-0 on the road this season after the win at Missouri S&T on Nov. 21.
• UCM was 6-3 on the road last season and were one of only three teams with a winning record on the road during MIAA play.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules are 1-0 this season after their conference-opening win over Missouri Western on Wednesday night.
• UCM finished the 2014-15 regular season 14-5 in conference action under
Doug Karleskint and second in the final league standings.
• Central Missouri is 173-71 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 6-0 in non-conference action after the wins over SE Oklahoma State and MidAmerica Nazarene.
• The Mules were 11-0 in regular season non-con games last season and are 132-31 over the last 13 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 64-1 in the last 65 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules an 8-0 overall start for the second straight season and a 2-0 start in MIAA play for the second time in three seasons.
• Give UCM its fourth win over Northwest Missouri in the last five meetings and 13th in the last 15 matchups.
• Give the Mules eight straight wins over the Bearcats the Multi.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Drop the Mules to 7-1 overall for the second time in three seasons and 1-1 in MIAA play for the second consecutive year.
• Snap the Mules' seven-game winning streak.
• Snap UCM's 11-game home court winning streak and their seven-game home winning streak against the Bearcats.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 32-7 (.821) in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 122-41 (.748) overall mark in his sixth season as a head coach.
• He became the first Mules' head coach to start his first season at UCM 7-0 when he accomplished the mark last season.
• His 25 wins last year were the most by a first-year head coach in Central Missouri history.
• Karleskint became the fourth Mules' head coach to win at least 20 games in his first season.
• Before coming to UCM, 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 NATIONAL POLLS• The Mules moved up four spots in this week's NABC Poll to No. 12. UCM has been ranked in 154 polls in the history of the program, the seventh most in NCAA-II history.
• The Mules moved up four spots to No. 4 in the Division II Media Poll sponsored by D2SIDA. The poll is voted on by a panel of Sports Information Directors.
• The Mules stayed put at No. 2 in the latest USBWA Central Region Poll. The Mules totaled 45 points to trail only Minnesota State-Moorhead in the poll. The United State Basketball Writers' Association poll is voted on by a panel of Sports Information Directors from the Central Region.
MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY• In the 111th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,647-931 (.639) record in 2,578 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri is one of just four NCAA-II programs with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 24 times in the history of the program, including each of the last three seasons.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season three times (2006-07, 2008-09, and 2013-14).
• 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• Entering the 2015-16 academic year, Central Missouri had won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM• Central Missouri had 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 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 six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.
MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, and online at warrensburgradio.com. 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, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Svc Corp., live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. The Show is hosted by Greg Hassler and is broadcast live from Traditions Restaurant at Mules National Golf Club.
UPCOMING• The Mules have a week off for finals before hitting the road for the first MIAA road test of the season on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Emporia State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at White Auditorium.
