Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Truman State University Athletics

MB1_LCC_2014
George Barlow

Men's Basketball Tyler Madsen, AMR Assistant Director

Notes: Bulldog Men Carry #5 Seed into GLVC Tournament

Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (March 2, 2014)
Full Notes (PDF) | 2013-14 Schedule | 2013-14 Statistics
 
Game #27: Illinois Springfield (9-17; #12 seed) at Truman (20-6; #5 seed)
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014 (3:00 PM CDT)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena
 
Series Record: Truman leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Truman won, 76-70, on Jan. 9, 2014 (Kirksville)
Woodley vs. Illinois Springfield: 1-0
 
Media Links: Live Stats || Audio (104.7 FM KRES) || Video ($; America One)
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay
Projected Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG Extra
G #2 Seth Jackson 6'3" 200 JR 14.8 4.4 1.6 19.2 ppg (last 6)
G #4 Reed Mells 5'11" 165 JR 11.9 3.9 5.2 35.5 Min/gm GLVC
F #5 Mike Carlson 6'9" 200 SR 21.4 7.1 1.7 29 blocks; 54 3FG
G #11 Cole Myers 6'3" 190 SO 5.7 1.9 1.8 42% 3-pt; 22 stl
C #21 Marek Bush 6'6" 245 SR 3.7 3.8 0.6 71% FG, 26 O-Reb
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 #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 2.3 1.0 0.7 13 GP | 46% 3FG
G #22 Kyle Kanaskie 5'11" 170 FR 6.0 2.7 2.1 17 steals; 89% FT
C #24 Kiefer Starbird 6'10" 200 r-FR 0.6 0.8 0.0 12 GP | 60% FG
G #30 Andrew Vander Zwaag 6'3" 185 r-SO 9.0 1.7 1.4 60 3FG; 13 stl
F #32 Connor Erickson 6'8" 190 r-FR 2.2 1.7 0.7 15 GP | 48% FG
C #35 Patrick Burmester 6'9" 235 JR 1.7 2.2 0.6 18 GP | 10 O-Reb
F #40 Billy Daniel 6'6" 200 FR 2.3 1.2 0.5 49% FG; 9 blocks
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: 38-43 || .469 || 3rd season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 13-5 || .722 || 1st season

Associate Head Coach: Chris Foster (1st season)
Assistant Coach: Mike Annese (1st season)
Athletic Trainer: Nicole Buck (1st season)
Opening Tip:
The 2013-14 regular season is in the books, and a wild Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament kicks off this Sunday afternoon, as the Truman men's basketball team plays host to Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m. in Pershing Arena.
 
The Bulldogs (20-6) head to their second straight conference tournament appearance – and first as a member of the GLVC – after locking down the No. 5 seed with an 89-85 win against Quincy on Thursday night. Senior Mike Carlson jumped two more spots up to No. 8 on the career scoring chart with his second 40-point outburst of the season, as the Wisconsin-native's 40 led three Bulldogs in double-figures past the Hawks.
 
Illinois Springfield, meanwhile, capitalized on Truman's four-point win against QU by jumping past the Hawks into the conference tournament with a 78-61 home victory against McKendree on Thursday night. The Prairie Stars got a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double from forward Dylan Sparkman, while Jamall Millison added 15 points.
 
It's been nearly two months since the squads last met, with the Bulldogs earning a 76-70 home victory against UIS on January 9. Carlson led all players with 33 points and 13 rebounds, while three other Bulldogs – Reed Mells, Seth Jackson, and Andrew Vander Zwaag – all reached double-figures on the offensive end. Regan Bruenger scored 22 points for UIS, while Jacob Williams – who is no longer on the Prairie Stars roster – added 16 points.
 
With a win, the Bulldog men will advance to the GLVC quarterfinals to face fourth-seeded Lewis (Ill.) at 12 pm (CDT) on Friday, March 7, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
 
Head coach Matt Woodley is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, having posted a 38-43 record during his time in Kirksville.
 
Found: 20 Wins!:
This year's Bulldog team became the first to win 20 games since the 2005-06 team capped its season with a 20-9 record. That squad was also the last Truman team to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
 
Only five previous Bulldog teams – 1946-47 (30-2), 1947-48 (29-2), 1978-79 (20-9), 1998-99 (26-7), 2005-06 (20-9) – reached the 20-win mark in a season, and with a win on Sunday, the 2013-14 squad will mark the fourth-highest win total in single-season school history.
 
In addition, the Bulldogs' 13 conference wins this season set a new program record, as only two other Bulldog teams reached the dozen win mark during their respective conference slates.
 
K-9 Checkup:
  • Truman is averaging 80.1 points per game on the season (8th in GLVC) and is allowing just 69.7 on the defensive end (3rd in GLVC) for a +10.4 scoring margin (4th  in GLVC).
  • The Bulldogs are shooting 49.4% from the floor as a team, including a 38.5% mark from three-point range. In addition, the Bulldogs rank fourth in the GLVC in free throw shooting, checking in at 75.0% on the year.
  • Truman has taken care of the basketball to a nationally-recognized tune this season, ranking 12th out of 291 Div. II teams with a mere 10.0 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs leads the GLVC and ranks eighth in Div. II with a 1.61 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • The Bulldogs have had two GLVC Players of the Week this season, with Mike Carlson earning the nod on January 20 and Reed Mells picking up league honors on February 10. Only UW-Parkside and Bellarmine – three each – have had more individuals recognized than Truman.
 
Top 'Dogs:
  • Through games of February 25, the Bulldogs sit amongst the Div. II top-10% in assist-to-turnover ratio (8th), turnover per game (10th), fouls per game (24th), scoring margin (26th), and field goal percentage (29th).
  • On an individual level, senior forward Mike Carlson ranks 27th nationally in points per game (20.7) and 84th in the country in field goal percentage (53.9%). He also ranks in the GLVC's top-10 in scoring (3rd), free throw percentage (5th), blocked shots (9th), and rebounding (10th).
  • Junior guard Reed Mells is No. 35 in the nation in both assists per game (5.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.71-to-1). He ranks third in the GLVC in assists, fourth in steals (1.8/game), and sixth in minutes played (33.2).
  • Junior forward Seth Jackson ranks No. 76 overall in Div. II in field goal percentage, checking in at 54.7%. He also is 21st in the GLVC in scoring at 14.6 per game.
  • Sophomore guard Cole Myers is the 8th-best three-point shooter by percentage in the GLVC, checking in at 42.4% on the season. Fellow sophomore Andrew Vander Zwaag is eighth in the GLVC in three-pointers made per game at 2.3, while sitting 11th in three-point percentage (42.9%).
 
GLVC Tournament Schedule:
Sunday, March 2 (Campus Sites)
  • Game 1: #12 Illinois Springfield at #5 Truman; 3 p.m. (Kirksville, Mo.)
  • Game 2: #11 Maryville at #6 Southern Indiana; 3:15 p.m. (Evansville, Ind.)
  • Game 3: #10 William Jewell at #7 Bellarmine; 2 p.m. (Louisville, Ky.)
  • Game 4: #9 Missouri S&T at #8 Missouri St. Louis; 3 p.m. (St. Louis, Mo.)
 
Tournament is Re-Seeded after Opening Round
Friday, March 7 (Evansville, Ind; Ford Center; all times Central)
  • Game 5: #4 Lewis vs. TBD; 12 p.m.
  • Game 6: #1 Drury vs. TBD; 2:30 p.m.
  • Game 7: #2 UW-Parkside vs. TBD; 6:00 p.m.
  • Game 8: #3 Indianapolis vs. TBD; 8:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 8 (Evansville, Ind; Ford Center; all times Central)
  • Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner; 6:00 p.m.
  • Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner; 8:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 9 (Evansville, Ind; Ford Center; all times Central)
  • Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner; 3:30 p.m.
 
Be Like Mike:
Senior forward Mike Carlson reached the 40-point mark for the second time this season in Thursday night's win against Quincy, becoming the first player in program history to reach 40 points twice. He now owns the 1st- and 4th-best single-game scoring marks in Truman basketball history, having scored 48 against Missouri S&T earlier this season to set the new program benchmark.
 
Bulldogs Poised to Crack Single-Season Top-10s:
Mike Carlson, Seth Jackson, and Reed Mells will each have the opportunity to either crack into or move up along various single-season top-10 charts with at least two games left to play this season.
 
Carlson's 557 points is now the second-most in a single season, as his 40-point burst against QU moved him six spots up the chart. He now is 60 points away from tying Johnnie Wesley's record of 617. Carlson is also currently 5th in scoring average and is three blocks away from moving into the top-10 for the second time in single-season blocks.
 
Jackson, meanwhile, is currently shooting at the 8th-highest clip in single-season history (55.1%), while Mells is just seven assists away from reaching the single-season top-10 in that category. With 17 more assists, he would jump all the way to fourth place.
 
Other team single-season and individual career record chases are available on page four of the full game notes (PDF version).
 
Mr. 1,000 (x 27):
Seth Jackson continues to make moves up the career scoring charts, as the St. Louis-native became just the 27th member of Truman's 1,000-point club during the team's game at UMSL last Saturday night. With his 20-point game against QU most recently in the rearview mirror, he is now No. 25 overall – just nine behind recent graduate Alex Henderson (2007-11).
 
He has a career scoring average of 12.9 ppg and is a career 47% shooter from the floor. This season, he is averaging 14.8 ppg (16.2 in GLVC-only games) and is shooting 55% overall.
 
Knocking Down Freebies:
For the year, the Bulldogs are hitting 75.0% of their free throw chances and are on pace to topple the current single-season program record. The top placeholder at the moment is 73.4%, set by the 1999-00 squad.
 
Letting It Fly:
This year's Bulldog team has made 222 three-pointers through 26 games, moving into second-most all-time on the single season chart. The 2014 edition of Truman basketball needs 24 more to move into a tie for the top spot – set in 2001-02 with 246 makes.
 
The first two seasons under Woodley have resulted in 205 made (2011-12) and 201 made (2012-13) three-pointers.
 
The Bulldogs have also made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003, a stretch of 305 consecutive games.
 
Scouting the Prairie Stars:
  • UIS ranks 15th in scoring (75.2 ppg), 15th in scoring margin (-5.3), 13th in field goal percentage (45.5%), 14th in 3-point percentage (35.0%) and 16th in free throw shooting (66.1%) in the GLVC.
  • Brandon Snowden (11.0 ppg) is the active leading scorer for UIS, with three other players – Jamall Millison, Dylan Sparkman, and Regan Bruener – all averaging 10 ppg.
  • Kentrell King ranks 8th in the GLVC in assists per game (4.0).
  • UIS is 2-10 in true road games this season.
  • Ben Wierzba is in his fourth season at the helm of the UIS program, having compiled a 40-66 record at the school.

Up Next:
With a win, the Bulldog men will advance to the GLVC quarterfinals to face fourth-seeded Lewis (Ill.) at 12 pm (CDT) on Friday, March 7, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
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