Game Notes: 'Dogs Carry Win Streak to Kansas City

Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (January 23-25, 2014)
Full Notes (PDF) | 2013-14 Schedule | 2013-14 Statistics

Game #16: Truman (12-3, 5-2 GLVC) at Rockhurst (5-9, 1-6 GLVC)

Date: Thursday, January 23, 2014 (7:30 PM CDT)
Location: Kansas City, Mo. || Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse

Series Record: Truman leads, 20-13.
Last Meeting: Truman won, 80-65, on Dec. 1, 1999 in Kansas City.
Series Streak: Truman W-5
Record in Kansas City: Rockhurst leads, 8-5.

Last TSU win in Kansas City: Last meeting.
Woodley vs. RU: 0-0

Game #17: Truman at William Jewell (6-9, 2-5 GLVC)

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014 (3:00 PM CDT)
Location: Liberty, Mo. || Mabee Center

Series Record: Truman leads, 5-4.
Last Meeting: William Jewell won, 74-64, on Dec. 21, 1971 in Kirksville.
Series Streak: William Jewell W-2
Record in Liberty: William Jewell leads, 3-1.

Last TSU win in Liberty: 72-69; Dec. 21, 1965
Woodley vs. WJC: 0-0

Live Stat Links: THURS Regular/Mobile || SAT Regular/Mobile
Live Audio: 104.7 FM KRES (Moberly, Mo.); Brad Boyer (PBP), Hank Janssen (Color)
Live Video Links: THURS || SAT
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay || #GLVCmbb

Projected Starters:

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	Extra
G	#2	Seth Jackson	6'3"	200	JR	12.2	4.7	1.5	17 Off. Rebs
G	#4	Reed Mells	5'11"	165	JR	11.2	3.8	4.9	4.35 AT Ratio
F	#5	Mike Carlson	6'9"	200	SR	20.4	6.5	1.5	16 Blocks
G	#22	Kyle Kanaskie	5'11"	170	FR	7.1	3.2	2.5	89% FT
F	#40	Billy Daniel	6'6"	200	FR	2.6	1.4	0.6	42% FG

Off the Bench:

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	Extra
G	#3	Isaac Gardner	6'4"	205	SR	5.3	0.8	0.0	6 GP; 7 3FG
G	#11	Cole Myers	6'3"	190	SO	5.2	1.9	1.7	12 steals
G	#12	Cory Myers	6'3"	190	SO	6.3	1.8	1.5	4 GP; 4 steals
G	#20	Dominic Kacich	6'3"	180	JR	2.9	1.2	0.9	46% FG; 4 stl
C	#21	Marek Bush	6'6"	245	SR	3.8	2.6	0.6	68% FG
C	#24	Kiefer Starbird	6'10"	200	r-FR	0.8	1.1	0.0	60% FG; 3 stl
G	#30	Andrew Vander Zwaag	6'3"	185	r-SO	8.3	1.3	1.5	30 3FG; 11 stl
F	#32	Connor Erickson	6'8"	190	r-FR	3.0	2.0	0.9	6 blocks
C	#35	Patrick Burmester	6'9"	235	JR	1.7	2.4	0.7	9 Off. Rebs

2013-14 Redshirts:

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	Extra
G	#10	Hank Mathews	6'2"	185	FR
F	#25	Connor Lusso	6'6"	210	FR

Staff:
Head Coach: Matt Woodley
Career Record: 30-40 || .429 || 3^rd season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 5-2 || .714 || 1^st season

Associate Head Coach: Chris Foster (1^st season)
Assistant Coach: Mike Annese (1^st season)
Athletic Trainer: Nicole Buck (1^st season)

Opening Tip:
Winners of four straight, the Truman men's basketball team carries its show to Kansas City this Thursday and Saturday, when the Bulldogs are scheduled to face Rockhurst and William Jewell in a pair of west division matchups.

Truman (12-3, 5-2 GLVC) is off to a blazing start in its first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference action – having won four straight and five of seven league matches to sit all alone in second-place in the GLVC west division. The conference's halfway point will hit this Saturday night, after the Bulldogs close out a three-game road swing with two contests this weekend.

The Bulldogs will first face Rockhurst at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 23) night before capping the trip with a 3 p.m. showdown at William Jewell on Saturday (Jan. 25). Both opponents will be looking to right the ship after suffering a sweep at Missouri S&T and nationally-ranked Drury last weekend.

Truman, meanwhile, is looking to keep the train rolling after moving its divisional record to 3-0 with a 83-66 home win against Missouri-St. Louis last Thursday (Jan. 16) and a 63-61 road win at Maryville on Saturday (Jan. 18). The purple and white were forced to win in two completely different fashions against the Tritons and Saints – scoring 52 first-half points against UMSL before limiting MU for much of the game offensively to close the week.

Truman head coach Matt Woodley is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, having posted a 30-40 record during his time in Kirksville. The team's 12 wins this season has already surpassed win totals from each of Woodley's first two years at the helm.

K-9 Checkup:

The Bulldogs are averaging 79.5 points per game on the season, while allowing just 64.9 on the defensive end for a +14.6 scoring margin. Truman holds the GLVC's No. 1 scoring defense and fourth-best scoring margin.
Truman is shooting 48.2% from the floor as a team, including a 37.2% mark from three-point range. In addition, the Bulldogs have a top-third free throw shooting mark in the GLVC, connecting at a 3^rd-highest 77.2%.
The Bulldogs hold a +2.6 rebounding margin on the season (7^th in the GLVC).
Truman has taken care of the ball to a nationally-recognized tune this season, as the Bulldogs rank sixth of 291 Div. II teams in turnovers per game at just 9.2. The Bulldogs also continue to lead the GLVC in both turnover margin (+4.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81-to-1).
The Bulldogs earned win No. 1,100 in program history with its 91-60 victory against McKendree on Jan. 11. Truman is just the 60^th Div. II program to reach that milestone, sitting in the top-25% of all Div. II programs in total victories.
Truman has put up three of the top field goal shooting nights in program history this season, including the 6^th-best mark vs. Lincoln Christian (.586), the 7^th-best mark vs. Faith Baptist (.576), and the 10^th-best mark vs. Iowa Wesleyan (.563).
The 15 three-pointers Truman made against Iowa Wesleyan on Dec. 16 marked the second-most in program history, tying three other games with that total. The all-time record is 16, set on Jan. 7, 2002 at Central Missouri.
Truman's .964 (27-for-28) effort from the free throw line against Illinois Springfield on Jan. 9 set a handful of new marks, including the second-best team percentage all-time. Mike Carlson's 19-of-20 effort that night also set a new Pershing Arena single-game best and marked the second-most by an individual in both columns in Truman history.
Truman is a perfect 11-0 this season when dishing out at least 15 assists in a game.
The Bulldogs have made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003, a stretch of 294 consecutive games.

Top 'Dogs:

Through games of January 11, the Bulldogs are the nation's No. 4-ranked team in assist-to-turnover ratio. Truman also sits amongst the Div. II top-10% in scoring margin (15^th), turnover margin (16^th), scoring defense (17^th), free throw percentage (18^th), and fouls per game (20^th).
On an individual level, junior guard Reed Mells is the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.35-to-1, while also ranking in the top-50 in both steals per game (2.1) and assists per game (4.9).
Senior forward Mike Carlson sits 39^th in points per game (20.4) and 40^th in field goal percentage (59.2%). He also is in the GLVC top-10 in scoring (3^rd), free throw percentage (8^th) and FG%, while also ranking 14^th in rebounding.
Sophomore guard Andrew Vander Zwaag sits 14^th in the GLVC in three-pointers per game (2.0).

We're Going Streaking!:
The Bulldogs have a four-game conference winning streak for the first time since 2006, when that season's squad put together a five-game stretch. With a win Thursday, this year's squad would tie for the ninth-longest conference win streak in school history (five straight), with a pair of wins this weekend matching the third-longest league win streak (six straight).

The longest conference winning streak ran 14 games from 1947-1949, with the second-longest stretch spanning nine games from Feb. 1, 1999 through Jan. 3, 2000.

You're in Good Hands with Mells:
In the team's last three contests, junior guard Reed Mells has handed out 20 assists without committing a single turnover in 107 total minutes (35.7 per game). The Missouri Western transfer also has six games this season in which he has not committed a single miscue.

On the year, Reed is averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 assists per game, with season-highs of 21 points (twice), 10 assists (vs. UMSL), and nine rebounds (vs. UIS).

Carlson Named GLVC Player of the Week:
Senior forward Mike Carlson became Truman basketball's first GLVC player of the week in program history on Monday, as the Superior, Wis.-native averaged 27.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, all while shooting 64% from the floor and 89% from the foul line in two wins last week.

Carlson opened the week by notching his fourth 30+ point game of the season with a 34-point, 11-rebound double-double against UMSL. Then, on Saturday, the previously all-MIAA third-teamer came just shy of his second double-double of the week by scoring 21 points and adding nine rebounds.

On the season, he is the number two scorer in the GLVC in league-only games at 22.3 per contest while also ranking sixth in rebounding at 7.3 per game. No player in the GLVC has more 30-point performances than Carlson this season.

He also moved up four spots to No. 22 on Truman's career scoring chart last week, now sitting with 1,057 for his career.

Jackson Completing Three-Man Punch:
Junior guard Seth Jackson has exceeded his career averages this season, making 11 starts and appearances in all 15 games to a tune of 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He is shooting 49% from the floor and 75% from the foul line in his third season wearing the purple and white.

With 11 regular season games remaining this season, Jackson has an outside shot of reaching the 1,000 point mark for his career, as he sits at 820 heading into this week's action.

Knocking Down Freebies:
For the year, the Bulldogs are hitting 77.2% of their free throw chances and are on pace to set a new single-season program record.

The team's top-six scorers (Carlson, Jackson, Mells, Vander Zwaag, Kyle Kanaskie, and Cory Myers) are a collective 79.4% (185-for-233).

Magic Number – 70:
When Truman has reached the 70 point mark on offense this season, the team is a perfect 11-0. In two-plus seasons under coach Woodley, Bulldog teams are 26-13 when reaching that 70-point mark in a single game.

Scouting the Hawks (5-9, 1-6 GLVC):
Rockhurst checks into Thursday night's game after coming off a four-game road trip that resulted in a 1-3 record. So far in 2014, the Hawks are 1-5, with home losses to Southern Indiana and Bellarmine.

Overall on the year, RU is shooting 42% from the floor and averaging 78.4 points per game while allowing opponents to connect at a 47.5% clip and 81.7 points per game. The Hawks do rank in the GLVC top-3 in free throw percentage (77.8%), three-pointers per game (8.7) and turnover margin (+2.7). The squad however ranks 15^th in rebounding margin and field goal percentage.

Brandon McCann is the team leader in scoring at 17.4 ppg – fueled by a team-best 39 three-pointers. Russell Burns is next in line overall at 10.1 ppg while also grabbing a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game. Bill O'Connor is in his 20^th season at the RU helm and has a record of 263-286 at the school.

Scouting the Cardinals (6-9, 2-5 GLVC):
Like Rockhurst, William Jewell will be looking to snap a losing streak this weekend, having also gone 1-3 on a four-game road trip through central Indiana and southwest Missouri the last two weekends. The Cardinals will host Quincy on Jan. 23 before entertaining Truman on Saturday afternoon. WJC is 5-3 at home this season, including a 93-80 early season win against a former MIAA-rival of the Bulldogs, Pittsburg State.

The Cardinals are shooting 47.0% from the floor and averaging 83.9 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot at a 49.9% clip and 83.3 ppg. WJC has been either fully on or fully off in its last six games in shooting less than 40% or better than 55% in each of the contests.

All five regular starters average double-figures, led by Jordan Lewis' 14.1 ppg behind 39 three-pointers. Two other players average nearly a double-double, as D'Vante Mosby averages 11.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg, while Dwight Sistrunk leads the GLVC at 7.1 assists per game to go alongside 12.3 ppg. Larry Holley is his 35^th season at William Jewell and 43^rd season of coaching overall, having compiled a WJC record of 763-376 and an overall mark of 850-495.

Bulldogs Pegged Fifth in GLVC West:
Head coach Matt Woodley's squad was picked to finish fifth in the GLVC West Division preseason coaches' poll.

The Bulldogs finished six points ahead of William Jewell for the fifth spot in the West division, as selected by all 16 league coaches. Defending NCAA Div. II national champion Drury (Mo.) earned 10 first-place votes and 115 total points to lead the West, while Maryville (Mo.) notched the remaining six first-place votes in the West to land second with 107 points.

A tight battle put third and fourth separated by just one point, with Missouri-St. Louis (87) and Quincy (86) taking those spots. The Bulldogs and WJC were followed by Missouri S&T (37) and Rockhurst (34) to round out the West.

On the Eastern side of the league, Bellarmine logged nine first-place votes and 113 total points to earn preseason favorite status, followed by Southern Indiana (101; three first-place votes), Indianapolis (95; two first-place votes) and Lewis (83; two first-place votes) in the top half. UW-Parkside, Illinois Springfield, Saint Joseph's and McKendree slid in fifth through eighth respectively.

The Bulldogs will play an 18-game conference slate in 2013-14 during their first season as GLVC members, playing Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy twice each, while facing the other 12 programs just once. The top four teams from each division, along with four wild card teams, will qualify for the 12-team conference tournament that follows the regular season.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs come home next Thursday and Saturday to kick off back-to-back home weekends in Pershing Arena. Truman hosts former-MIAA and long-time in-state rival Missouri S&T at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 before welcoming the defending national champions – Drury – at 3 p.m. on Feb. 1.

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