Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (January 2-4, 2015)
Game #12: Truman (9-2, 1-0 GLVC) vs. Wisconsin-Parkside (8-1, 0-0 GLVC)
When: Friday, January 2, 2015 | 7:30 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Mo. | Pershing Arena
Live Stream: Truman Athletics All-Access
Radio: 104.7 FM KRES | Listen | Announcers: Brad Boyer (PBP) and Hank Janssen (Analyst)
Live Stats: Regular/Mobile | Media
Printable Notes: Truman | Wisconsin-Parkside | GLVC
Stats: Truman | Wisconsin-Parkside | GLVC
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay
Series Notes vs. Wisconsin-Parkside
Series Record: Tied, 1-1.
Series Record in Kirksville: Truman leads, 1-0.
Last Meeting: Jan. 5, 2014 || UW-Parkside won, 78-57, in Kenosha, Wis.
Last Truman Win vs. UWP: Jan. 26, 1991 || Truman won, 83-58, in Kirksville.
Series Streak: Parkside, W-1
Game #13: Truman (9-2, 1-0 GLVC) vs. #23 Lewis (8-1, 0-0 GLVC)
When: Sunday, January 4, 2015 | 3 p.m.
Where: Kirksville, Mo. | Pershing Arena
Live Stream: Truman Athletics All-Access
Radio: 104.7 FM KRES | Listen | Announcers: Brad Boyer (PBP) and Hank Janssen (Analyst)
Live Stats: Regular/Mobile | Media
Printable Notes: Truman | Lewis | GLVC
Stats: Truman | Lewis | GLVC
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay
Series Notes vs. Lewis
Series Record: Lewis leads, 1-0.
Series Record in Kirksville: Never played.
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2014 || Lewis won, 82-65, in Romeoville, Ill.
Series Streak: Lewis, W-1
Probable Starters
Off the Bench
Staff
Head Coach: Chris Foster
Career Record: 9-2 || .818 || 1st season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 1-0 || 1.000 || 1st season
Assistant Coach: Joe Barrer (1st season)
Graduate Assistant Coach: Nik Koprivica (1st season)
Athletic Trainer: Morgan Locher (1st season)
Opening Tip:
With a perfect 6-0 month of December now in the rearview mirror, the Truman men's basketball team looks to continue its momentum into 2015 – beginning with a pair of tough Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division foes this Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (9-2, 1-0 GLVC) will host Wisconsin-Parkside (8-1, 0-0 GLVC) on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. before welcoming No. 23 Lewis (8-1, 0-0 GLVC) at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. All three teams are out to fantastic starts in the 2014-15 year, with UWP (receiving votes) and Lewis earning recognition from national pollsters in the NABC top-25.
Truman shook the rust off a holiday break layoff on Wednesday afternoon, disposing of Hannibal-LaGrange by an 84-42 double-up in Pershing Arena. Seth Jackson led all players with 18 points, while Reed Mells added 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
The Bulldogs will be looking to draw even with both programs after Truman slugged through a pair of defeats at the hands of UWP and Lewis last January to open the 2014 calendar. Lewis was a 17-point winner against the 'Dogs on Jan. 3, 2014, before Parkside handed the Bulldogs a 21-point setback on Jan. 5. Mells averaged 11 points per game to lead all Bulldog returners against these two squads, with Jackson adding 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game against Parkside and Lewis last year.
Chris Foster is in his first season along the Bulldog sideline as the program's head coach, having moved over one seat this season after serving as the team's associate head coach a year ago. This is Foster's first season as a collegiate head coach, and he is the 13th head coach in program history. His 9-2 start on the sideline is the best start by a Truman first-year head coach since Boyd King opened his first season with 19 consecutive victories in 1946.
Bulldog Tweetables (140 characters or less):- This weekend marks the 2,187th and 2,188th games in program history, with the team holding a 1,119-1,067 all-time record in 95 seasons.
- Already 6-0 this year, Truman looks to build on last year's 12-2 home mark, in which they won by an average of 9.1 ppg in GLVC games (7-2).
- The Bulldogs are shooting 52.4% from the floor, inc. 41.2% from 3-point distance this year. Opponents are at 40.0%/34.3% respectively.
- Truman is connecting at 73.8% (177-of-240) from the foul line, while opponents are shooting 66.9% (109-of-163) at the stripe.
- The Bulldogs have been out-rebounded in seven of 11 games so far, but hold a +0.5 margin on the glass.
- Truman has been careful with the ball this year, posting equal/fewer turnovers than their opponents in each game.
- Truman has a turnover margin of +7.4 on the season, while forcing 81 more turnovers than they've committed in 2014-15.
- Five different Bulldogs have hit at least 10 three-pointers this season, led by 24 from senior guard Isaac Gardner.
- Eight players are averaging at least 15 minutes per game, with Mells' 27.8 per game serving as the team-high.
Scouting the UWP Rangers:
The Rangers come into Friday night's matchup having been idle since a Dec. 20 69-62 win against Midwest-region foe Michigan Tech at home. UWP is one of four GLVC East Division teams to have accumulated eight wins in the 2014 portion of the calendar – joining the Bulldogs' Sunday opponent Lewis, Bellarmine, and Indianapolis.
Senior Zygimantas Riauka leads the Rangers on the season in points (17.4 per game), rebounds (8.9 per game), blocks (18) and assists (4.1 per game). Junior Jimmy Gavin is adding 16.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 3.1 apg, while 2013 GLVC Freshman of the Year Andy Mazurczak adding 11.6 ppg. Another former GLVC Freshman of the Year – Jordan Mach in 2011 – is shooting nearly 42% from three-point range and is adding 9.1 ppg.
Luke Reigel is in his 12th season at UWP and has 153 total wins with the program. He has guided the Rangers to three NCAA tournament berths.
Scouting the LU Flyers:
Like UWP, the Flyers make the weekend trip through Quincy and Truman looking to shake off a nearly two-week long rust period, having not played since a 76-54 win against Saint Francis (Ill.) on Dec. 20. Lewis is 2-1 away from home this year and will battle QU on Friday night at 7:30 before trekking west to Kirksville for the Sunday afternoon matinee.
Lewis may be one of the deepest teams in the GLVC, as 16 different players have competed in at least five games this year. However, the starting-five has been the same in all nine contests, led by seniors Ryan Jackson (15.0 ppg; 4.1 rpg) and Jeff Jarosz (11.3 ppg; 49% FG), along with freshman Max Strus (11.7 ppg; 4.1 rpg). Senior Julian Lewis is the team leading on the glass at 6.6 per game.
Scott Trost is in his ninth season at Lewis – progressing up the ladder following five seasons at Illinois Wesleyan and four at Elmhurst. He has 150 wins at LU and has led the team to the GLVC tournament each of the past eight seasons.
Bulldogs Scoring the Free Ones:
Just one year removed from setting the program's new standard for single-season free throw shooting at 74.1%, the 2014-15 Bulldogs are on track to challenge the newly-established number this season. Through the first 11 games, the Bulldogs have connected on 73.8% of their team free throws, making 177 of the 240 total taken from the charity stripe.
Helping fuel that high number from the line is redshirt sophomore Cory Myers, who currently is riding the longest free throws made streak in program history at 32 consecutive from the line. He is a perfect 21-for-21 this season, which combines with a 10-for-10 mark prior to a season-ending injury last year and the final free throw of his freshman campaign in 2012-13. His final free throw against Iowa Wesleyan on Dec. 19 broke the previous program record of 31, set in the 2009-2010 season by Tom Norton.
Bombs Away:
In addition to the high free throw totals, the Bulldogs are also on pace to set a new program record in three-pointers made in a single-season with 108 through the first 11 games this year. The all-time record of 246 (in 26 games) was set in 2001-02, with last year's squad coming up 13 triples short.
The Bulldogs have topped 200 each of the last three seasons, beginning with 205 in 2011-12 and 201 in 2012-13.
Truman has seen sustained success from distance throughout program history, with the Bulldogs having made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003 – a stretch of 316 consecutive games.
Bulldogs Ranking in the GLVC:
Thanks to six 20+ point performances through the team's first 11 games of the season, senior guard Seth Jackson is leading the Great Lakes Valley Conference at 21.1 points per game. He is one of just three players currently averaging at least 20 points per game, with the St. Louis-native currently edging out both Cameron Vines from Saint Joseph's College (20.9 ppg) and Gavin Schumann from Southern Indiana (20.0 ppg).
Other top-5 Bulldogs in individual categories include guards Kyle Kanaskie and Cole Myers sitting second and third in three-point field goal percentage; Isaac Gardner ranking fifth in three-pointers made, and Cory Myers topping all GLVC players in free throw percentage.
As a team, Truman ranks first in field goal percentage and three-point percentage, second in scoring offense, free throw percentage, turnover margin, and assist-to-turnover ratio, and third in scoring defense, assists, and steals.
Scratching Records:
The Bulldogs have used the month of December to re-write a handful of single-game team record columns – most notably on Monday (Dec. 15) night when the team drained a program-high 18 three-pointers in the win against Faith Baptist. Truman broke a nearly 13-year old record that had been previously set on Feb. 7, 2002 at Central Missouri, when the Bulldogs hit 16 three-pointers in a loss at then-CMSU.
This year's squad also now holds the Nos. 2 and 4 spots on the field goal percentage charts, with the squad's 63.6% night against Lincoln Christian and 61.1% night against Faith Baptist knocking a February 1992 night against Washburn (63.0%) down one spot to No. 3. The program's all-time record of 64.1% against Northwest Missouri (March 1975) still stands despite the team's 66.7% night against Central Christian this year since the minimum 60 field goal attempts required was not reached against the CCCB Saints (36-for-54).
Truman also currently holds the GLVC's top scoring margin by any team this season, with the team's 65-point win against Lincoln Christian holding the No. 1 slot. The Bulldogs also have two wins ranked No. 6 in that category, with 56-point wins against both Central Christian and Faith Baptist.
#UniWatch:
The Bulldogs added a third jersey to their uniform arsenal this season, picking up an anthracite-gray to go along with the team's traditional purple and white choices. The full game notes will be tracking the team's record in each color this year, with only the white kit (7-0) and gray kit (2-2) seeing action so far.
Hands Off!:
The Bulldogs have posted three of the GLVC's five-lowest single-game foul totals this season, with the team committing just three against Central Christian, six against Faith Baptist, and nine against Lincoln Christian. The team had a stretch of 24-minutes and 24-seconds of not committing a single foul, including the entire second half against CCCB.
Found: 20 Wins!:
Last year's Bulldog team became the first to win 20 games since the 2005-06 team capped its season with a 20-9 record. 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.
In addition, the Bulldogs' 13 conference wins last season set a new program record, as only two other Bulldog teams reached the dozen win mark during their respective conference slates.
A Whole New Venue:
The Great Lakes Valley Conference's 20 league championships sites have been determined for the 2014-15 season, with the most notable change to the GLVC Championship schedule coming in basketball.
The 2015 GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournament will enter into its first of a two-year agreement with the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., just minutes outside St. Louis. The league's premiere event had been held the past two years at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, but a two-year schedule conflict with the venue required the GLVC to relocate. The 2015 event will begin with first-round competition on campus sites on March 1, with eight quarterfinalists on both the men's and women's side advancing to Family Arena for tournament action, March 5-8. Tickets for the 2015 GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournament are expected to go on sale in late November.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs hit the road for the first time since Nov. 28-29 when they travel to McKendree (Jan. 8) and Illinois Springfield (Jan. 10) next Thursday and Saturday for GLVC action.
