WEEK 11: TRUMAN VS. MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS, VS. MARYVILLE
	Truman Bulldogs 2018-19 Record: 8-8, 3-3 GLVC Coach: Jeff Horner, First season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Missouri-St. Louis Tritons 2018-19 Record: 12-4, 3-3 GLVC Coach: Bob Sundvold, Sixth season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Maryville Saints 2018-19 Record: 6-9, 1-5 GLVC Coach: Marc Stricker, Second season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Game Information When? January 17, 2018 | 7:30 p.m. January 19, 2018 | 3:00 p.m. Where? Kirksville, Mo. | Pershing Arena Follow Along GLVCSN | 104.7 KRES (Brad & Hank) | Live Stats Twitter Truman Athletics | #BewareOfDog | Truman Men's Basketball GLVC Men's Basketball Standings | Statistics | News

Truman Game Notes (PDF)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Since winning eight of nine games after an 0-4 start to the season, the Truman State University men's basketball team has hit a bit of a rough patch with three-straight losses, all of which were on the road. Thankfully, the Bulldogs get to come home for a four-game homestand where they've won five in a row including two straight in GLVC play.

Despite three-straight league losses after a 3-0 start in conference, Truman has hung on to second place in the GLVC Point Rating System behind just Bellarmine, the No. 1 team in the country, with a 3.92 rating to the Knights' 4.70. The Bulldogs' next two opponents, Missouri-St. Louis (3.75) and Maryville (2.75) are currently ranked third and 11th, respectively. The top eight teams will qualify for the GLVC Tournament.

A bright spot during the aforementioned three-game losing streak has been the play of Cade McKnight. In that span, McKnight has averaged 17 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 68 percent (17-of-25) from the field. The big man has upped his scoring average to a season-best 13.2 points per game thanks to efforts of 22, 16 and 13 in the last three. In his first five games, McKnight was held to less than 10 points three times. In his last 10, that has happened just twice.

Scouting Missouri-St. Louis
If not for GLVC play, Missouri-St. Louis would be 9-1 with the lone loss coming at home against Missouri Southern, who was ranked No. 25 at the time, on Nov. 23. Instead, the Tritons are 12-4 overall with a similar league record to Truman at 3-3. Despite that 3-3 conference mark, Missouri-St. Louis has held on to third in the GLVC Point Rating System as all three of its losses came against teams ranked in the top five. Much like the Bulldogs just did, the Tritons are in the midst of a four-game GLVC road trip which began with a win at Illinois Springfield (76-71) and blowout loss at McKendree (92-67).

Senior guard, Johnathan Matthews, is the engine that makes UMSL go as he leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game (T13th in GLVC) and his 90.2 free throw percentage is the second best in the league behind just Nate Michael of McKendree at 92.7. Matthews is also tied for 10th in the conference in three-pointers made per game with 2.4. Also averaging double-figures in scoring for the Tritons are junior guard, Ronnie Carson (11.4), and senior forward, Eric Dust (11.2). Nine of the 13 that have played for UMSL average at least five points per outing. Dust is the team's leading rebounder with 6.0 per game while sophomore guard, Shane Wissink, is on top of assists with a clip of 4.0.

Scouting Maryville
2017-18, the first season under head coach, Marc Stricker, saw Maryville go 20-8 overall, 12-6 in the GLVC and win the Central Divsion. Fast forward to this season and the Saints are off to a slow start with a record of 6-9, which includes a 1-5 mark in league play. Maryville won four of its first six games, but has since dropped seven of its last nine.

Maryville is led by one of the top scorers in the GLVC in senior guard, Casey Teson. Teson is fourth in the league in points per game with 19.6. Among the conference leaders, he is also sixth in free throw percentage (87.1), 10th in field goal percentage (48.4) and 15th in three-pointers made per game (2.1). Other scoring leaders for the Saints include senior guard, Chaz Glotta (12.3), and senior forward, Robin Thompson (10.1). At the top of the rebounding leaderboard is senior forward, Jerome Davis, and senior forward, Eugene Jones, each with 5.6. Teson is the team's leader in assists per game with 2.8.

Friendly Confines
Truman has won five games in a row inside the friendly confines of Pershing Arena. That marks the Bulldogs best home winning streak since the 2015-16 season when they won seven in a row from Dec. 12 through Jan. 23. Victories on Thursday and Saturday would make it seven straight and that seven-game streak two seasons ago also ended with wins against Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville.
 
Three-Point Land
Truman continues to be among the best in the league at making the three-pointer. The Bulldogs are second in the GLVC in both total triples made with 159 and treys made per game with 9.9. Individually, Nathan Messer is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (40.7) and tied for fourth in three-pointers made per game (2.8). For the Truman career record book, Messer has jumped into the top 10 for triples made with 172. His first year as a Bulldog, the St. Louis native made 41.2 percent of his three-point attempts and that number dipped to 34.7 last season. Messer has seen a resurgence as a senior as that number is up to the aforementioned 40.7 percent.
 
Both Ends
Missouri-St. Louis has been able to play well at both ends of the court. Offensively, the Tritons don't score a ton of points (ninth in GLVC in points per game with 78.7), but they do it efficiently with the second-best field goal percentage in the league at 49.4 percent. Defensively, UMSL is third in scoring defense (70.1 points per game) and sixth in field goal percentage defense (44.1 percent).
 
Up Next
The four-game homestand will continue for Truman as it hosts Illinois Springfield on Thursday, Jan. 24 (7:30 p.m.) before former head coach, Chris Foster, and McKendree come to town the following Saturday (3 p.m.).

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