Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Truman State University Athletics

KyleK14_UMSL1
Tim Barcus - University Photographer

Men's Basketball Tyler Madsen, AMR Assistant Director

Game Notes: Men Set to Host Miners and Defending Champs in Pershing

Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (January 30- February 1, 2014)
Full Notes (PDF) | 2013-14 Schedule | 2013-14 Statistics
Game #18: Missouri S&T (9-8, 4-5 GLVC) at Truman (14-3, 7-2 GLVC)
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2014 (7:30 PM CDT)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena
 
Series Record: Truman leads, 90-48.
Last Meeting: Truman won, 76-62, on Nov. 18, 2006 in St. Joseph, Mo.
Series Streak: Truman W-3
 
Record in Kirksville: Truman leads, 55-18.
Last TSU win in Kirksville: 72-54; Feb. 7, 2005 (Truman W-1)
Woodley vs. S&T: 0-0
 
Game #19: #5 Drury (16-1, 8-1 GLVC) at Truman
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2014 (3:00 PM CDT)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena
 
Series Record: Drury leads, 7-4.
Last Meeting: Truman won, 78-65, on Dec. 18, 2002 in Springfield, Mo.
Series Streak: Truman W-1
 
Record in Kirksville: Drury leads, 3-2.
Last TSU win in Kirksville: 80-75; Dec. 1, 2001 (Drury W-1)
Woodley vs. DU: 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 13.4 4.7 1.5 18.4 ppg last 5 gm
G #4 Reed Mells 5'11" 165 JR 11.2 3.9 5.1 4.10 Ast/TO Ratio
F #5 Mike Carlson 6'9" 200 SR 20.1 6.8 1.8 20 blocks; 31 3FG
G #22 Kyle Kanaskie 5'11" 170 FR 6.9 3.2 2.4 89% FT; 12 steals
F #40 Billy Daniel 6'6" 200 FR 2.6 1.4 0.6 46% FG; 8 blocks
 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 5.1 2.0 1.6 15 steals; 94% FT
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 2.7 1.1 0.8 46% FG; 4 stl
C #21 Marek Bush 6'6" 245 SR 4.3 3.1 0.5 70% FG; 13 O-Reb
C #24 Kiefer Starbird 6'10" 200 r-FR 0.7 1.0 0.0 60% FG; 3 stl
G #30 Andrew Vander Zwaag 6'3" 185 r-SO 8.0 1.4 1.4 33 3FG; 11 stl
F #32 Connor Erickson 6'8" 190 r-FR 2.8 2.0 0.8 48% FG; 6 blocks
C #35 Patrick Burmester 6'9" 235 JR 1.5 2.2 0.6 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: 32-40 || .444 || 3rd season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 7-2 || .778 || 1st season

Associate Head Coach: Chris Foster (1st season)
Assistant Coach: Mike Annese (1st season)
Athletic Trainer: Nicole Buck (1st season)
Opening Tip:
Riding the program's longest conference winning streak in nearly 14 full seasons, the Truman men's basketball team kicks off a four-game home-stand this Thursday and Saturday by hosting former MIAA-rival Missouri S&T and defending national champion Drury.
 
The Bulldogs (14-3, 7-2 GLVC) sit one game back of first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference after rattling off six consecutive league victories – including three straight on the road against fellow GLVC West division foes Maryville, Rockhurst and William Jewell. Truman will play host to Missouri S&T (9-8, 4-5 GLVC) on Thursday (Jan. 30) night at 7:30 pm before welcoming division-leading and No. 5 ranked Drury (16-1, 8-1 GLVC) on Saturday (Feb. 1) afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
Truman is coming off a perfect 2-0 sweep through the GLVC's Kansas City programs, having used a big run in each contest to defeat Rockhurst 88-71 on Jan. 23 before squeezing William Jewell's offense for 40 minutes in a 67-52 win on Jan. 25. The Bulldogs used a 27-5 run that encompassed 7:38 of second-half clock at RU as well as a 25-5 run that drained 8:56 of first-half time at WJC.
 
At the halfway point of the GLVC regular season slate, the Bulldogs have a firm grasp on second place in the West division at 7-2 – one game behind Drury. Truman has a three-game lead on both Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri S&T, who both check into this week's action at 4-5 in conference play.
 
Head coach Matt Woodley is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, having posted a 32-40 record during his time in Kirksville. The team's 14 wins this season have already surpassed win totals from each of Woodley's first two years at the helm.
 
Making a Name for Themselves:
For the first time in the last 50 years of Truman men's basketball, the Bulldogs have started a season with 14 wins in their first 17 games. Only five teams in the 94 seasons of men's basketball at the University have started at least 14-3, with the 1963-64 squad being the last team to start 14-3. That team proceeded to drop their 18th game to fall to 14-4.

Should Truman pick up a win on Thursday night, the team would be the first to win 15 of its first 18 games since the 1955-56 Bulldogs, who started their season 16-2. That team lost its 19th game, so two Bulldog wins would even this year's squad with the 55-56 team at 16-3.
 
The best Truman starts all-time through 17, 18, and 19 games are detailed below:
  • 17 games: 17-0 (1946-47); 16-1 (1947-48); 15-2 (1955-56); 14-3 (1963-64, 2013-14)
  • 18 games: 18-0 (1946-47); 17-1 (1947-48); 16-2 (1955-56); 14-4 (1963-64)
  • 19 games: 19-0 (1946-47); 18-1 (1947-48); 16-3 (1955-56); 14-5 (1963-64)
 
K-9 Checkup:
  • The Bulldogs are averaging 79.2 points per game on the season, while allowing just 64.5 on the defensive end for a +14.8 scoring margin. Truman holds the GLVC's No. 1 scoring defense and second-best scoring margin.
  • Truman is shooting 48.6% from the floor as a team, including a 37.0% mark from three-point range. In addition, the Bulldogs have a top-third free throw shooting mark in the GLVC, connecting at a 4th-best 75.9%.
  • The Bulldogs hold a +2.5 rebounding margin on the season (7th in the GLVC).
  • Truman has taken care of the ball to a nationally-recognized tune this season, as the Bulldogs rank fifth out of 291 Div. II teams in turnovers per game at just 9.4. The Bulldogs also continue to lead the GLVC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.75-to-1) while also sitting second in turnover margin (+3.7).
  • The Bulldogs earned win No. 1,100 in program history with its 91-60 victory against McKendree on Jan. 11. Truman is just the 60th Div. II program to reach that milestone, sitting in the top-25% of all Div. II programs in total victories.
  • Truman has put up four of the top 11 field goal shooting nights in program history this season, including most recently the 9th-best mark last Thursday night in a 57.6% shooting effort at Rockhurst. That 34-for-59 effort matched the team's mark from a Dec. 17 game against Faith Baptist, while the team's 34-for-58 (58.6%) mark against Lincoln Christian on Nov. 9 is the 7th-highest single-game mark in program history.
  • 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.
  • The Bulldogs have also put three new single-game free throw marks in the record book this season, including an 11-for-11 (100%) line against UMSL on Jan. 16 – matching two other perfect marks in program history (last: 2007). Truman also has a .964 (27-for-28) effort (UIS; Jan. 9) that is 4th-best all-time, while 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 12-0 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 296 consecutive games. 
Top 'Dogs:
  • Through games of January 27, 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 (13th), scoring defense (13th), free throw percentage (22nd), fouls per game (22nd), turnover margin (23rd), and win-loss percentage (24th).
  • On an individual level, junior guard Reed Mells remains the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.10-to-1, while also ranking in the top-55 in both steals per game (2.0) and assists per game (5.1). He also is in the GLVC top-3 in both categories.
  • Senior forward Mike Carlson sits 43rd in points per game (20.1) and 57th in field goal percentage (57.3%). He also is in the GLVC top-10 in scoring (4th) and blocks (7th), while also ranking 12th in rebounding.
  • Sophomore guard Andrew Vander Zwaag sits 13th in the GLVC in three-pointers per game (2.0). 
We're Going Streaking!:
The Bulldogs have a six-game conference winning streak for the first time since 2000, when the 1998-99 and 1999-00 teams carried over a nine-game MIAA winning streak between the two seasons. Only nine teams have pieced together a six-game conference streak in school history.
 
The longest conference winning streak ran 14 games from 1947-1949.
 
Truman's Big Three Carrying Offense Load:
The Bulldogs' top three scorers on the season – senior Mike Carlson, junior Seth Jackson and junior Reed Mells – have upped their outputs in the last five games during the team's recent winning streak. During that stretch, Carlson is averaging 20.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game; Jackson is averaging 18.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and Mells has posted marks of 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game (including a mark of 32 assists to just three turnovers).
 
On the season, the trio has combined to average 28.2 minutes per game each while being responsible for 56.5% of the total points scored by the purple and white (64.3% in GLVC games). The group is shooting a collective 50.5% from the floor and has come up with 61 combined steals.
 
Knocking Down Freebies:
For the year, the Bulldogs are hitting 75.9% of their free throw chances and are on pace to set a new single-season program record. The current high is 73.4%, set by the 1999-00 squad.
 
The team's top-six scorers (Carlson, Jackson, Mells, Vander Zwaag, Kyle Kanaskie, and Cole Myers) are a collective 77.7% (199-for-256).
 
Magic Number – 70:
When Truman has reached the 70 point mark on offense this season, the team is a perfect 12-0. In two-plus seasons under coach Woodley, Bulldog teams are 27-13 when reaching that 70-point mark in a single game.
 
Scouting the Miners (9-8, 4-5 GLVC):
Another team riding a multi-game GLVC winning streak will do battle with Truman on Thursday night, as Missouri S&T checks into Thursday night having just completed a perfect four-game home-stand from Jan. 16-25. The Miners have certainly benefited from its home court this season, as the team is 7-3 in Rolla but just 2-5 in combined road/neutral games.
 
The squad is the No. 1 scoring team in the GLVC at 90.9 ppg but has given up 89.4 ppg on the defensive end for just a +1.6 scoring margin. Senior Bryce Foster is second in the GLVC in points at 21.0 per game, while fellow senior Mudi Eruteya leads the league in steals at 2.3 per game. He also ranks fifth in scoring (18.3), sixth in rebounding (8.4), and fourth in assists (5.0).
 
Jim Glash is in his fifth season at the S&T helm and has a record of 37-85 at the school.
 
Scouting the No. 5 Panthers (16-1, 8-1 GLVC):
The defending national champions are off to a hot start again in 2013-14, as West division-leading Drury makes a stop in Pershing Arena at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon after playing at Quincy on Thursday night. The team has played 12 of its first 17 games at home, going just 1-1 so far in GLVC road games.
 
Drury is shooting 53% from the floor this season – a GLVC-best – while also holding opponents to a 40.5% mark defensively. The squad has been led by sophomore Kameron Bundy's 17.8 points and 4.2 assists per game, while junior Cameron Adams ranks right behind him at 16.8 ppg.
 
The Panthers are coached by Steve Hesser, who is in his 10th season at the school. He has posted a 211-76 record at the DU helm.
 
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 get no breather next Thursday and Saturday despite playing at home, as Truman will play host to two squads recognized in the NABC top-25 (and others) coaches' poll in Southern Indiana and Bellarmine. 16th-ranked USI will stop in Pershing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, before BU, who was ranked as high as No. 2 before falling just out of this week's top-25, will take on the 'Dogs at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 on men's basketball alumni day.
Want to stay up-to-date with what's going on with the Bulldogs? Follow @TrumanAthletics on Twitter,become a fan of Truman Athletics on Facebook, subscribe to your favorite team's newsletters/releases, and receive text alerts of scores and big news to interact with all of Truman's 20 athletic programs. For more information, visit our website – TrumanBulldogs.com.
Print Friendly Version