Men Basketball Game 10 Notes: vs. Maryville

Game 10: TRUMAN (4-5) vs. Maryville (10-2)

Date: Sunday, December 30, 2012
Time: 3:00 pm CT
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena
Radio: 104.7 KRES-FM (Moberly, Mo.) || Listen Online
Video: Watch Online
Live Stats: Regular || Media/Mobile
Game Notes: Truman || Maryville
Statistics: Truman || Maryville || MIAA || GLVC
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || #miaaMB || #DogMBB

Opening Tip:
For the final time in the 2012-13 season, the Truman men's basketball team will step out of conference play, capping the non-conference portion of the schedule with a Sunday, December 30 battle against future-GLVC rival Maryville (Mo.). Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm in Pershing Arena.

The Bulldogs (4-5) will take on a Maryville Saints squad that entered the holiday break atop the GLVC West division standings at 10-2 overall. Truman, meanwhile, will look to build momentum off a second-place finish at the Quincy Holiday Tournament on Dec. 18-19, where the Bulldogs smashed host-Quincy 76-50 in the semifinals before losing on a last-second runner in the lane to Northeastern State in the championship game. The Bulldogs lost 72-71 to the RiverHawks on Dec. 19 in the team's last action prior to Sunday's game against MU.

Probable Starters:
G – #2 – Seth Jackson – 6'3” – 200 – SO – 9.3 ppg | 3.4 rpg | 1.6 apg
F – #5 – Mike Carlson – 6'9” – 200 – JR – 16.8 ppg | 6.8 rpg | 1.9 apg
G – #11 – Cole Myers – 6'3” – 190 – FR – 6.2 ppg | 2.7 rpg | 1.7 apg
G – #12 – Cory Myers – 6'3” – 190 – FR – 6.4 ppg | 3.1 rpg | 3.7 apg
F – #33 – Tyler Anderson – 6'5” – 210 – SO – 7.4 ppg | 4.3 rpg | 0.4 apg

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Matt Woodley
Career Record: 12-25 || .324 || 2^nd season
At Truman: Same
MIAA: 6-16 || .273
Assistant Coaches: Todd Lorensen (2^nd season), Matt Fitzpatrick (2^nd season)

Series Notes vs. Maryville:
Series Record: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Maryville 67, Truman 64 (Nov. 19, 2011 || St. Louis, Mo.)
Series Streak: Maryville W-1
Record in Kirksville: Truman leads 1-0 (W-1)
Last TSU win in Kirksville: Truman 83, Maryville 69 (Dec. 3, 2003)
Woodley vs. Maryville: 0-1

Coaches' Clipboard:
1) Barometer Test: The Bulldogs will get a good look as to how they currently stand amongst one of the GLVC's top programs. The West Division – Truman's division for next season in the inaugural year in the GLVC – is currently led by MU with a 10-2 record.
2) Make It, Take It: Neither of these teams hit the offensive glass well, as the Bulldogs rank 14^th (of 15) in the MIAA at 8.8 offensive boards per game, while the Saints rank last (16^th of 16) in the GLVC at just 7.2.
3) Shaking off the Rust: Both teams will enter the game having been off since December 19. Since both rank in the top four of their respective conferences for three-pointers this season, whoever gets back into rhythm first will have a good shot at picking up a key non-conference 'W'.

Bulldog Tip-Ins:

Truman is shooting 44.5% from the field as a team so far in 2012-13, including a 34.3% mark from three-point range.
The Bulldogs rank 3^rd in the MIAA in three-pointers made per game (7.6), fourth in both assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and defensive rebounding (27.6), and fifth in turnover margin (+2.3).
Truman is shooting 70.2% from the free throw line this season, a marked improvement from last year's 65.9% clip. The Bulldogs have used a solid last four games (70-for-91; 76.9%) to raise that number heading into the 2013 calendar year.
Mike Carlson has stamped his name across multiple MIAA stat categories, ranking 6^th in the league in scoring (16.8), 11^th in rebounding (6.8), 15^th in field goal percentage (52.9%), 5^th in free throw shooting (88.2%), 5^th in blocks (1.3) and 5^th in defensive rebounds (5.0). He also ranks in the top-12 in three-point percentage at 42.3%.
Isaac Gardner continues to be one of the MIAA's top snipers, averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game – good for fifth in the league. Tom Norton has hit 10 three's in four games played (2.50/game) but doesn't yet qualify for the MIAA leaders lists.

Dialing Long Distance:
The Bulldogs have taken an average of 22.0 three-point attempts per game so far this season, including a 10-year high of 37 against Missouri Western on December 5. Truman ranks third in the MIAA in three-pointers made per game at 7.6 and have hit eight or more in all four wins this season.

Holiday Blues:
Each of the last four games before an extended break/end of season have been heartbreakers for the Bulldogs, starting with the 2011 holiday break-

December 17, 2011 – at Emporia State (Lost 60-59). ESU hits layup as time expires.
February 25, 2012 – at Central Missouri (Lost 82-79). Carlson scores 34; EJ Hicks adds 16.
November 20, 2012 – at Quincy (Lost 62-60). QU hits jumper with 0.7 seconds to play to break tie.
December 19, 2012 – vs. Northeastern State (Lost 72-71). NSU hits jumper with 3.2 seconds to play.

Deep Rotation:
The Bulldogs are averaging 26.2 points per game from their bench, accounting for more than 36% of the total scoring this season. Truman has gone with the starting lineup of Carlson, Seth Jackson, Cole Myers, Cory Myers and Tyler Anderson for seven of the team's nine games this season, with that five-man combo posting a 4-3 record in games they start.

Turning the Red Shirts Purple:
Senior Tom Norton and freshman Jaylon Jones were both tagged at the beginning of the season as planning on using a redshirt year; however, head coach Matt Woodley put both players in uniform starting with the Dec. 5 game at Missouri Western. Both players have seen the floor in all four games since.

Scouting the Saints:
Maryville University is out to a 10-2 overall (1-0 GLVC) record in 2012-13, having recently won two straight heading into the holiday break. The Saints have played three games against MIAA teams so far this year, defeating Lincoln twice (85-67 in St. Louis; 75-72 in Jefferson City) but falling to Lindenwood (61-53 at home) on December 15.

The Saints have benefited from a relatively-easy schedule in their first dozen games, however, with the combined record of the first 12 teams totaling 46-79 (.368). Maryville does have a seven-point OT win against 7-2 Missouri-St. Louis, but is just 1-1 against teams currently above .500 on the year.

Junior guard Asa Toney, the reigning GLVC player of the week, is the team's engine on offense – leading the way at 16.1 points and 4.6 assists per game. Sophomore guard Armon Provo is also in double-figures at 13.6 ppg and joins Toney as the only two Saints to start all 12 games this season. Maryville is shooting 49% from the floor and is holding teams to just 26% from three-point range.

Kevin Carroll is in his third season at Maryville as the program's head coach.

Bulldogs Notables vs. Maryville:

Isaac Gardner hit six three-pointers and scored 20 points last season, adding eight rebounds in 35 minutes.
Tom Norton hit four three-pointers and scored 18 total points last season.
Mike Carlson battled foul trouble in last year's game, scoring eight points with three rebounds in 24 minutes.
Seth Jackson scored seven points and added four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench last season.

Five Peas in an MIAA Pod:
For the 2012-13 season, the MIAA will be invoking a “pod” system for basketball scheduling, resulting in 18 league matches for all 15 of the conference's schools. While all 15 teams will fall under set of standings with no delineation between pods, Truman will play Central Missouri, Lincoln, Southwest Baptist and newcomer-Lindenwood twice each as part of one five-team grouping.

Emporia State, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State will join with newcomers Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State as a second pod, while Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, Washburn and Fort Hays will align with the final newcomer, Nebraska-Kearney, in a third pod.

At the end of the season, the top 12 teams will compete for the MIAA men's basketball championship. First-round games will be played on Monday, March 4 on campus sites with the top-4 teams and the first-round winners advancing to Kansas City for the remainder of the tournament as usual.

For a full game-by-game breakdown of MIAA standings and schedules, check the full set of game notes linked at the top of this page.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs return to MIAA play at full speed, starting on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 pm against Lincoln in Kirksville.

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