WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 8, 2018) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball begins their 2018-19 season this weekend in Warrensburg at the Central Region Tipoff.
OPPONENTS: Harding Bisons
                       Wayne State (Neb.)
WHERE: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
WHEN: Friday-Saturday, November 9-10
             Friday, Nov. 9 vs. Harding - 7 p.m.
           Saturday, Nov. 10 vs. Wayne State (Neb.) - 8 p.m.
TIP-OFF
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball will tip-off the 2018-19 season in the Central Region Tipoff, in Warrensburg the Mules will face off against Harding and Wayne State. The Mules take on the Bisons on Friday at 7 p.m. before facing the Wildcats on Saturday at 8 p.m.
• The Mules finished the 2017-18 season 20-10 overall with an 11-8 mark in MIAA play to finish fifth in the regular season standings. The Mules fell in MIAA Tournament, in the quarterfinal round to Central Oklahoma, 72-68.
• The Mules were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Harding was 5-22 a season ago and finished in 11th place in the Great American Conference with a 5-17 conference mark.
• The Bisons were picked to finish 10th in the GAC Preseason Poll.
• Wayne State was 14-17 last season and finished in seventh place in the NSIC South with a 9-13 conference record.
• The Wildcats were picked to finish 12th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
ON THE AIR
• The games will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.
• The games will also be webcast online through the MIAA's Blue Frame portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. It is a pay-per-view webcast.
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
• This is the 114th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).
MULE FEED
• The Mules return seven letter winners from last season as well as three redshirts to their 2018-19 team while adding five transfers and only one freshman to the program.
• The Mules averaged 71.6 points per game and shot 48.2 percent from the field last season. Defensively, UCM allowed 66.3 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting.
• Three different players scored in double figures for the Mules in 2017-18 and one of those players return to the squad this year.
• Jakob Lowrance is the only other returner who recorded double-figure points last season in 21/30 games played averaging 28.0 last season.
SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the second time the Mules meet the Harding Bisons and the first time they play the Wildcats of Wayne State
• UCM fell to the Bisons of Harding back in 2013 in a close match up 75-71.
SCOUTING THE BISONS
• The Bisons went 5-22 last season with a 5-17 mark in GAC play, finishing 11th.
• Head Coach Jeff Morgan leads the Bisons in his 26th season. He has a career record of 434-307 and a 417-297 mark at Harding.
• Senior guard Reggie Anthony will look to lead the Bisons this season. He started and played in 26 out of 27 games for the Bisons last season and dished out a team-best 88 assists and averaged 9.5 points per contest.
• The Bisons lost their two leading scores from last season in Tim Wagner and Zac Ward.
• Last year, the Bisons averaged 70.5 points per game, while giving up 80.2. They shot 43.2 percent from the field and allowed 45.0 percent.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Wayne State was 9-13 last season in conference play and finished 14-17 overall.
• The Wildcats finished 7th overall in the of the NSIC Conference South.
• The Wildcats are led by third-year head coach Jeff Kaminsky. He is 24-36 at BSU. Entering his 30th overall season as a head coach, Kaminsky is 476-403.
• Wayne State is coming into this match up 0-1 on the season after an exhibition game. Last week they took on Nebraska and fell 75-40. Â
• WSU will have a combination of youth and experience on this year's squad as they return five letter winners from a season ago, two transfers and bring in four true freshmen.
• Senior guard Kendall Jacks will look to make a big impact for the Wildcats after a strong junior season.
• Jacks lead the team averaging 13.7 points per contest and grabbed 151 rebounds last season and shot 79 percent from the free throw line.
• WSU returns two other players from a season ago in senior guard Trevin Joseph and senior guard Vance Janssen. Joseph averaged 13.5 points per game, second best on the team, while Janssen put up 9.4 points per game.
• Last year, the Wildcats averaged 74.2 points per game and gave up 73.5 while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and allowing 46.6 percent shooting.
