Men's Basketball | 2/9/2016 2:55:00 PM
Game #24: Truman (17-6, 9-4 GLVC) vs. #17 UW-Parkside (18-3, 11-2 GLVC)
When: Thursday, February 11, 2016 || 7:30 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Mo. || General John J. Pershing Arena
Audio: 104.7 FM KRES (Brad Boyer, Play-by- Play; Hank Janssen, Analyst) || Online Feed
Live Stats || Live Stats (Mobile) || Live Video
Series Record: Wisconsin-Parkside leads, 3-1
Series Record in Kirksville: Series tied, 1-1
Series Record Since Truman Joined GLVC: Wisconsin-Parkside leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: March 5, 2015 || UW-Parkside won, 73-70 (St. Charles, Mo.)
Last TSU Win vs. UWP: Jan. 26, 1991 || Truman won, 83-58 (Kirksville, Mo.)
Series Streak: UW-Parkside – W3
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The final home-stand of the 2015-16 regular season kicks off this Thursday night for the Truman men's basketball team, as the Bulldogs welcome nationally-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside to Pershing Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
The Bulldogs (17-6, 9-4 GLVC) and Rangers (18-3, 11-2 GLVC) each sit as part of a three-way tie in their respective Great Lakes Valley Conference divisions, with Truman joining Quincy and Drury atop the GLVC West and Parkside sitting with Bellarmine and Indianapolis atop the GLVC East. With just five games to play in the regular season and a bunched cluster at the top of each division, every game will feature a playoff atmosphere – beginning Thursday night in Kirksville.
Truman is coming off a 3-1 road trip that spanned nearly 1,500 miles and three states throughout the past two weekends, capped off with a split in the Hoosier State last Thursday and Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated Saint Joseph's College 98-94 on February 4, before falling by an 87-86 score at the University of Indianapolis on February 6. Despite the strong road trip, the Bulldogs find themselves without any separation at the top of the GLVC West with two top GLVC East division teams in Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis visiting Kirksville this weekend.
Parkside, meanwhile, defeated both William Jewell and Rockhurst at home last weekend to improve to 11-2 in league play, as the only two blemishes on the Ranger card came at Indianapolis by a 90-79 score on December 3 and at McKendree in a 92-85 defeat on January 28. This weekend will be their last extended road trip of the season, as they have another shot at UIndy and Saint Joseph's at home next weekend before finishing the year at Lewis.
Thursday night marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Rangers, with Parkside having the most recent momentum with three wins in a row. Last season, the two teams battled in a pair of close games, with Parkside picking up a 77-69 win in Kirksville on January 2, 2015, before the Rangers bounced the Bulldogs from the GLVC tournament quarterfinals with a 73-70 decision at Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. The Rangers shot the ball well behind former squad-members Jordan Mach, Zygimantas Riauka, and Jimmy Gavin, but the Truman defense forced a combined 35 Parkside turnovers in the two meetings.
Chris Foster is in his second season as the head coach of the Bulldogs and is in his third season with the program overall. He has a career record of 37-16 (.698) and was a former standout guard at the University of Northern Iowa, where he ranks among the program's top-10 in games played, assists, and three-pointers. Foster was a member of UNI's 2003 and 2004 NCAA Div. I tournament squads. He is assisted by Mike Annese, who returned to the program this season after a one-year stint at Minnesota-Crookston, and graduate assistant Nik Koprivica.
About the Bulldogs:
Truman comes into Thursday night looking to re-start a winning streak after having its five-game stretch snapped last Saturday. The Bulldogs are shooting 47.3% from the floor as a team, which includes a 36.1% mark from three-point range. Truman is shooting 71.7% from the foul line and has forced 128 more turnovers (388-260) than it has committed.
The Bulldogs remain one of the nation's most balanced squads, as five different players are averaging double-figures offensively. Junior Kyle Kanaskie holds team lead in scoring average at 12.4 per game. However, he is closely followed by redshirt junior Cory Myers (12.0 ppg/ 4.2 rpg/ 87 assists/ 42 steals). Redshirt junior Connor Erickson (11.8 ppg/ 4.0 rpg), senior Cole Myers (11.2 ppg/ 4.1 rpg/ 33 steals), and redshirt senior Andrew Vander Zwaag (10.3 ppg) round out the top-five in scoring.
Truman continues to lead the GLVC in turnover margin (+5.6) and steals per game (9.4). The Bulldogs also remain second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36-to-1) and three-pointers (9.3 per game), while once again entering the week as the nation's No. 2 team in turnover margin, trailing St. Edward's (Texas) who holds the top spot at +7.2.
GLVC Tournament Outlook:
With just five regular season games to play, Truman enters the week tied with both Quincy and Drury atop the GLVC West division at 9-4. The Bulldogs, by way of tiebreakers, have clinched a GLVC post-season tournament bid and hold a "magic number" of just two to clinch – at minimum – a first-round home game.
The top 12 teams will earn a berth, with the top-4 seeds earning an automatic bye into the quarterfinal round and a direct ticket to St. Charles. Seeds 5-8 will play host to seeds 9-12 on campus sites on Sunday, Feb. 28, with the four first-round winners advancing to the quarterfinals.
Heading into Thursday night, Indianapolis (11-2), Truman (9-4), Bellarmine (11-2), and UW-Parkside (11-2) are in possession of the top-4 seeds, with Quincy, Lewis, and Drury sitting in seeds 5-7. One thing to watch are the remaining schedules, as both Truman and Quincy's remaining opponents hold combined league records of 36-29, while Drury's five remaining opponents have a record of just 17-48.
Scouting the Rangers:- UW-Parkside is averaging 82.5 ppg (4th in GLVC) offensively while giving up 71.2 ppg (2nd in GLVC) on the defensive end. The Rangers don't lead the league in one specific category, but they are in the top-4 in 10 of the 19 counted metrics.
- The Rangers are 7-2 away from home this season, including a 4-2 mark in league play. In non-conference common opponents, UWP has a 74-71 win at Upper Iowa as the only similar foe.
- UWP has three players averaging double-figures, led by Andy Mazurczak (#3; Sr., 6-foot-2) at 17.8 ppg. He is shooting 56% from the floor (43% 3-pt) and is an 88% foul shooter.
- Kendale McCullum (#10; So., 6-foot-1) might be the team's most versatile player, as he averages 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, while also leading the squad with 38 steals. Alexander Brown (#24; Jr., 6-foot-3) has been coming off the bench to average 12.9 ppg and has made 34 three-pointers this season.
- Luke Reigel is in his 13th season at the helm of the UWP program and has posted a 188-172 record at the school.
Pick Your Poison:
As balanced as the Bulldogs have been all season long in scoring with five players in double-figures, a second glance is typically needed when looking at the Truman scoring lineup in conference-only games. Truman has six players in double-figures through 13 league games, but it's how tight the numbers are that show the balance of the Bulldog offense.
12.4 / 12.1 / 11.8 / 11.3 / 11.2 / 10.2
That sextet consists of – in scoring order – Kyle Kanaskie, Cole Myers, Cory Myers, Connor Erickson, Andrew Vander Zwaag, and Dwight Sistrunk Jr. As a group, they are shooting 47.5% (team – 46.0%) overall, 38.0% (team-35.8%) from three, and 76.1% (team-72.1%) from the foul line.
Bulldog Tweet-ables (140 characters or less):- #MBBHistory: Thursday's game will mark the 2,229th in program history. TSU has a 1,147-1,081 overall record (.515) in 96th season.
- #Familiarity: Truman has jogged out the same starting five each of the last 10 games: 12, 22, 30, 32,45
- #NoLeadTooBig: The Bulldogs have come from 10 points down to win twice this season (CU, 11/28; UMSL, 1/21).
- #UniWatch: 'Dogs have three uni combos this season – 12-2 in whites, 3-3 in purples, and 2-1 in anthracite greys.
- #ForceTheMistakes: In 23 games this season, Truman has had equal/fewer turnovers than opponents 21 times (17-4 in those games).
- #MasseySays: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 56 in the nation by Massey, online CPU rankings of D2 MBB.
- #MasseySaysSquared: According to Massey, the 'Dogs rank between Div. I Drake (#345) and Rice (#347) amongst all NCAA programs.
A First Time for Everything:
Saturday's loss at UIndy wasn't hard only on the record, but the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season when three different things – that usually lead to a win – happened:- Truman now 16-1 this year when they shoot 45% or better from the field (45.2% on Saturday)
- Truman now 11-1 this year when they distribute at least 15 assists (15 on Saturday)
- Truman now 15-1 this year (and 30-1 in the past two seasons) when they reach the 80-point mark (86 on Saturday)
Mr. 300, and Mr. 300:
With redshirt junior guard Cory Myers topping the 300-career assist mark on Saturday afternoon, becoming just the eighth Bulldog to do so all-time, he joined new teammate Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., above the milestone plateau. Sistrunk, who recorded 278 assists during his first two collegiate seasons at William Jewell, has handed out 58 in 14 games this season at Truman for a career total of 336.
Truman is one of just three NCAA Div. II programs to feature two active players with more than 300 career assists, joining Merrimack and Wheeling Jesuit in that club. There are only 36 active players in NCAA Div. II that have surpassed the 300-assist mark.
I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends:
Led by Myers and Sistrunk Jr., Truman has been incredibly generous with the rock this season, averaging nearly 15.5 assists per game overall. The Bulldogs, who have topped the 20-assist mark in a game five times this season, are 11-1 this year and 24-4 during the past two seasons when they dish out at least 15 assists in a game.
"Three"sy-Peesy:
Truman has seen sustained success from distance throughout program history, with the Bulldogs having made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003 – a stretch of 358 consecutive games.
In addition, the No. 13 has been the Bulldogs' lucky/unlucky number this season, as Truman has knocked down 13 triples in a game five times this year. In order to make the program's all-time single-game team top-10, a current eight-way tie for eighth-most is currently held by the No. 14.
Century Cole:
Senior guard Cole Myers will play in his 100th career game on Thursday night, joining current teammate Andrew Vander Zwaag above the century mark. Vander Zwaag has seen action in 103 games wearing a Truman uniform; however, he needs to reach 110 to crack the all-time top-10 at Truman. The Bulldogs enter the week with five regular season and at least one post-season game still to play.
Checking the Career Charts:
Four Bulldog regulars are creeping up on a handful of career individual charts, as senior Andrew Vander Zwaag, senior Cole Myers, junior Cory Myers, and junior Kyle Kanaskie have each seen their all-time numbers climb in recent outings.
Vander Zwaag passed Andy Guethle for seventh all-time in career three-pointers on Saturday and now sits with 187 for his career. Austin Kirby (2003-07) is next up in sixth-place with 199 career makes from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Myers twins continue to race each other up the career steals chart, as Cole holds a four-steal lead on Cory at 129-125. The elder (by athletic year) is now eighth all-time, with the younger (again, by athletic year) in 10th all-time. Jason Reinberg (1996-2000) is seventh on the all-time list with 136.
Cory (a redshirt junior) has also moved past Ethan Freeman into eighth all-time on the career assist chart with 301, leaving him next behind Banks Estridge's mark of 319 (2005-09) for 7th place.
Kanaskie, meanwhile, penciled his name onto the program's all-time free throw percentage list last Saturday, as he reached the 100-minimum makes requirement and is now 100-for-112 in his career at the stripe (89.3%). He is currently first overall, leading Tom Norton (2009-13) – the current leader – at 85.8% (211-for-246).
Up Next:
Senior Day for both Cole Myers and Andrew Vander Zwaag is in store this Saturday (Feb. 13), as the Bulldog basketball programs participate in the annual Cancer Awareness doubleheader in Pershing Arena. Truman will face Lewis (17-6, 9-4 GLVC) at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, as the Flyers open the weekend at Quincy on Thursday night.
