WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 5, 2020) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball looks to carry last week's momentum on the road as they travel North for a pair of MIAA match ups on undefeated home courts.
Opponents:
No. 1 Northwest MIssouri Bearcats (20-1, 10-1 MIAA)
Missouri Western Griffons (11-11, 7-4 MIAA)
When:
vs. Northwest Missouri - Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
vs. Missouri Western - Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3:30 p.m.
Where:
Bearcat Arena - Maryville, Mo.
Griffon Field House - St. Joseph, Mo.
How To Watch:
• Both games will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.
•The game 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 and live video can also be found at ucmathletics.com.
Tip Off:
• Central Missouri went 2-0 last week, picking up back-to-back MIAA wins for the first time this season.
• The Mules are meeting the Bearcats and the Griffons for the second time this season.
• Top-ranked Northwest Missouri is out for revenge after suffering their first and only loss of the season to the Mules in their first meeting on Dec. 7.
• Since their loss in the Multipurpose Building, the Bearcats have won their last 12 consecutive games and lead the MIAA in scoring defense, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and more.
• The Bearcats's current 28-game home win streak ranks as the third-longest streak in the nation among all NCAA divisions.
• Missouri Western has won seven of their last 13 games since defeating the Mules in their MIAA opener on Dec. 5. The Griffons are currently on a four-game win streak and sit fifth in the MIAA standings.
• The Griffons are also undefeated on their home court, winning all seven of their home games so far this season.
• Central Missouri is currently 0-6 on the road this season. The last time the Mules earned a road victory was against the Griffons last season in St. Joseph, Mo.
Quick Hits:
Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 1, 2020) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball picked up their second MIAA victory of the week in a last-minute 59-56 victory over Washburn. The Mules fought their way back from an early Ichabod lead and snapped Washburn's four-game winning streak.
• The Ichabods saw their final lead at 55-53 with 2:35 left to play. The Mules went on to outscore Washburn 6-1 as the Ichabods missed eight of their final nine shots from the field.
• Central Missouri finished 17-49 from inside the arc for 34.7% and 6-16 from the three-point range for 37.5%.
• Washburn hit 19-53 from the field for 35.8% and 8-28 from behind the arc for 28.6%.
• In a game with 50 called fouls, the Mules shot 65.5% to total 19 points from the foul line while the Ichabods totaled just 15 points at the free throw line, shooting 55.6%.
• The Ichabods did have the rebounding advantage over the Mules, bringing down 42 boards compared to the Mules 35.
Perviously vs. Northwest
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series against the Bearcats, 128-95.
• The Mules upset the top-ranked Bearcats earlier this season in Warrensburg, 72-60.
• The win UCM's first time defeating the No. 1 ranked team since beating Metro State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals back in 2014.
• Northwest has won the last five matchups between the two schools in Bearcat Arena.
Previously vs. Missouri Southern
• Prior to falling to the Griffons earlier this season, the Mules had won their last seven consecutive games over Missouri Western.
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series against Missouri Western 41-29.
• The last time Missouri Western defeated the Mules in St. Joseph was a 63-62 Griffons win in the 2015-16 season.
Individual Milestones
•
Matt Wilkinson is only eight points away from hitting 600 career points.
•
Gaven Pinkley is 15 rebounds away form 200 in his career and just 25 points away from 400 career points.
•
Michael Winger is one points away from 300 career points.
Scouting the Competition:
No. 1 Northwest Missouri Bearcats
• Ranked as the top Division II team in the nation, Northwest the midst of an 12-game win streak, which is tied for the fourth-longest active win streak among NCAA Division II teams.
• The Bearcats's current 28-game home win streak ranks as the third-longest streak in the nation among all NCAA divisions.
• As a team, Northwest leads the MIAA in scoring defense (62.8), scoring margin (20.5), field goal percentage (52.3%), three-point field goal percentage (45.1%), three-pointer made per game (11.0), rebounding defense (26.3), turnover margin (4.52), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44) and steals per game (7.81).
• The Bearcats also rank No. 1 in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 45.1%. Northwest has drained 231-of-512 three-pointers this season.
• Ryan Hawkins tops the Bearcats and MIAA in scoring at 22.6 points per game. The junior Bearcat is currently shooting 56.0% from the field, including 46.4% from three-point range.
• Hawkins also leads the team in rebounds (145), free throws made (78), steals (52) and blocks (15).
• Sophomore Trevor Hudgins is also one of the league top-five scorers. Hudgins ranks third in the MIAA scoring an average of 18.2 points per game.
• Hudgins leads Northwest and the MIAA from beyond the arc, shooting 49.6% from the three an averaging 2.8 three's per game.
• Redshirt freshman Luke Waters has upped his game since joining the starting lineup his last six contests. Over his six starts, Waters is averaging 10.2 points per game and has eclipsed the double-figuring scoring mark in three of the contests. Waters is shooting 66.7% from the field (22-of-33). He has also drained 7-of-12 three-pointers.
Missouri Western Griffons
• Missouri Western is currently averaging 76.4 points per game, ranking the Griffons in the top-five of the MIAA in that stat category.
• Missouri Western also ranks third in the MIAA averaging 9.3 made three-pointers per game.
• Defensively, Griffons lead the league in blocked shots, averaging 4.14 rejections per game.
• Sophomore Tyrell Carroll leads the Griffon offense averaging 17.8 points per game which currently ranks fourth in the MIAA scoring. Carroll also ranks second in the league in assists with six per contest and second in steals with two per game.
• Senior Tyus Millhollin is currently hitting an averaged of 3.1 three's per game to lead the MIAA from behind the arc.
• Reese Glover also ranks in the top-15 of the made three-pointers category averaging 2.1 per game.
• Will Eames leads the Griffon defense with 7.6 rebounds per game which ranks fifth in the league.
• Alex John ranks in the top-10 of the conference in blocked shots averaging 1.2 rejections per contest.
Mules Feed:
• Central Missouri leads the MIAA at protecting the three as opponents are shooting just 31% form the three-point range. Central Missouri also rank second in defensive field goal percentage, as opponents average just 42.3% from inside the arc against the Mules.
• Overall, the Mules also rank third in the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score a low average of 66 points per game.
• Offensively, the Mules are currently averaging the league-low of 67.0 points per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. However from outside the arc, the Mules are shooting 37.6% to rank seventh in the MIAA.
• The Mules also rank second in the league with 7.8 steals per game, lead by
Kendale Hampton who ranks in the top-10 with 1.6 steals per game.
• Sophomore forward
Gaven Pinkley paces Central Missouri averaging 13.8 points per game and about six rebounds per game. Pinkley has scored in double figures in 17 of the Mules 20 games so far this season.
• Senior
Kendale Hampton is averaging 11.1 points per game and leads the Mules from the three-point range with 37 three's on the season. Hampton also leads the Mules in blocks with 16 which ranks 12th in the league.
• Junior guard
Daniel Farris is averaging 3.5 assists per contest to rank eight in the MIAA.
