WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 6) - Basketball returns to the Multi this weekend as the Mules host their second annual Central Region Tipoff Classic.
Opponents:
Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Augustana Vikings (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Where:
Multipurpose Building - Warrensburg, Mo.
When:
Saturday, Nov. 9 - 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 10 - 6 p.m.
Tip Off:
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball will kickoff their 2019-20 season playing at home in the Multipurpose Building. This is the second year the Mules have hosted the Central Region Tipoff Classic.
• The Mules finished the 2018-19 season 14-14 overall with an 7-12 mark in MIAA play to finish 11th in the regular season standings. The Mules season ended with a 78-59 loss to Lincoln.
• The Mules were picked to finish sixth in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll
• Southwest Minnesota State had a record of 18-14 last season and finished in ninth place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with an league record of 10-12.
• The Mustangs were selected as the No. 5 seed in the South Division and the overall No. 12 seed in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Augustana men's basketball team was picked to finish second in both the overall NSIC Preseason Poll and in the south division.
• The Vikings are coming off an 18-11 campaign that saw it go 14-8 in NSIC action. The Vikings did not have a senior on last year's team and return Cartwright, the squad's top scorer at 16 points per game, who was also named the NSIC Player to Watch.
How to Watch:
• 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.
• Links to live stats for both Mules games can be found at ucmathletics.com.
Story Line:
• The Mules finished off 2018-19 at 14-14 overall and were selected sixth in the MIAA Preseason Poll.
• UCM brings back All-MIAA selection junior guard
Daniel Farris. Farris joins a group of returners including senior
Matt Wilkinson, junior
Michael Winger and sophomores
Gaven Pinkley and
Dawson Jones.
• Farris finished his sophomore season ranked in the top-10 in two categories in the MIAA. His 3.6 assists per game and 1.5 assists to turnover ration put him 10th in the MIAA. Farris averaged 9.4 points per contest, shooting 46-percent from the field and 70.5 percent from the stripe. He has a team-high of 102 assists, 39 steals, and his 1.4 per game make him third in the MIAA.
• Last season, UCM's defense finished second in the league in scoring (66.1 ppg). The Mules also finished third in field goal percentage defense at 43.8% and sixth in three-point field goal percentage defense at 34.6%.
• The Mules introduce six talented transfers to the squad this season: senior
Kendale Hampton, juniors
Koray Gilbert,
Joshua Greer,
Tristen Hull and
Dyllan Robinson and sophomore
Garrett Luinstra.
• UCM's lone freshman is
DeAndre Sorrells from Grandview, Mo.
Quick Hits:
Last Time Out
Mizzou 80, UCM 56
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball jump started their 2019-20 season tonight in an exhibition game against Division I Mizzou. The Mules lead 32-31 at the half but it was the Tigers who came out on top with a 80-56 victory.
• The Tigers shot 47.5% from the floor and 78.9% from beyond the arc while the Mules connected on just 39.6% of their field goal attempts and were 12-25 from three.
• Turnovers played a big factor as UCM lost the ball 27 times while Mizzou only recorded 13 in their first outing of the season. The Tigers totaled half of their 80 points off UCM's turnovers.
• The Mules did have an edge in rebound, recorded 35 boards compared to the Tigers 32.
• Senior
Matt Wilkinson lead the Mules offense with 14 points and played the team-high of 27 minutes. Wilkinson was 5-8 on the field and 4-5 from the three.
• Mules newcomer and fellow senior Kendal Hampton recorded 10 points and was responsible for all the UCM's three blocks.
• UCM's 2018-29 assists leader
Daniel Farris lead the Mules with five assists.
• Another newcomer,
Dyllan Robinson, lead the Mules defense with eight boards.
Previously vs. SMSU
• Saturday marks the second meeting between the Mules and the Mustangs.
• The first meeting between SMSU and UCM was in 2012.
• The game resulted in a 64-62 Mustang victory at Northwest's Bearcat Classic in Maryville, Mo.
Previously vs. Augustana
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series against the Vikings 4-2.
• The last time the Mules and the Vikings met was in UCM's Division II National Championship season, 2013-14.
• The Mules defeated Augustana 75-63 on the road in South Dakota.
Individual Milestones
•
Matt Wilkinson surpassed the 300 career point marker in the first seven games last season. Wilkinson now has 464 points on his career at UCM. Wilkinson also surpassed 100 rebounds on his career. He currently has 162 total rebounds.
•
Daniel Farris also surpassed the 300 career point market last season with 263 points on the year. Farris began his junior campaign with 348 career points.
Scouting the Opposition:
Southwest Minnesota State (18-14, 10-12 NSIC - 2018-19 Record)
•SMSU returns five letter winners and two starters from last season's team that finished 18-14 overall and advanced to the NSIC Tournament championship game for the third straight season.
•SMSU must replace 66 percent of its scoring from last season as three of the team's top four scorers graduated.
•The 2019-20 team does not have a senior on the roster and features four juniors, two sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen.
•Junior guard Kenny Byers started 31 games last season and is the squad's top returning scoring after ranking third averaging 10.2 points per game. Byers closed the season shooting 49 percent (130 of 226) from the field and connected on 21 3-pointers. He finished third on the team in steals (30) and was fourth in rebounding (4.0).
•Junior forward Braedan Hanson started 22 games and averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
•Junior guard Nick Dufault ranked fifth on the team in scoring (7.8), while ranking third with 49 3-pointers.
•Sophomore guard Grant Kramer played in all 32 games and averaged 2.6 ppg, while sophomore forward Kevin Totusek appeared in five games and scored six points.
•SMSU added junior forward transfer Weston Baker Mcgrath, who played two seasons at Division II Nebraska-Kearney. He started 24 games last season and averaged 6.6 ppg and 3.1 rpg.
• SMSU finished the season shooting 48 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, 81 percent from the free throw line and was minus-5.4 in rebound margin.
• SMSU averaged 80 points per game, while opponents averaged 78 points per game.
Augustana (18-11, 14-8 NSIC - 2018-19 Record)
• Augustana did not have a senior on last year's team and return Matt Cartwright, the squad's top scorer at 16 points per game and the 2019-20 NSIC Player to Watch.
• The Vikings also bring back Adam Dykman who played in just one game last year before injury but averaged 10.9 points per game as a sophomore in 2017-18. Other top returners include Tyler Riemersma and Michael Schaefer, who each scored 13.7 points per game.
• Cartwright, picked as a player to watch, ranked 12th in the NSIC a season ago with his points per game average while ranking fourth in the league hitting 42.5 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts.
