Men’s Basketball Week in Review: 2/9 and 2/11
February 19, 2023
The Kansas City Roos struggled to maintain momentum all season. However, this latest stretch has been particularly rough.
This past week, the Roos won one and lost one. They beat the Western Illinois Leathernecks 76-64. Then, they traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota to play the St. Thomas Tommies. Kansas City got run out of the arena, 73-43.
The Roos will very often live or die by the three-pointer. If they can’t keep putting up buckets from behind the arc, it’s a good assumption that they will struggle. A good example of this fact would be the Feb. 4 game against Oral Roberts. The Roos shot 37% from three – and lost by 28 points.
The Roos showed resiliency during their first road trip in two weeks versus Western Illinois. In their first meeting, Kansas City lost 60-52 at home. In that game, the Roos took 25 shots from the three-point line. They made three of them.
Led by a 26-point performance by senior guard Shemarri Allen, the Roos shot 53.3% from behind the arc. That impressive showing from three got them a commanding 12-point win.
But the week wasn’t over. The Roos still had one more game to play before returning home. They faced the Tommies. The last time these two teams faced off, Kansas City controlled the second half. The team charged forth to a 21-point win.
Unfortunately, Kansas City was not prepared this time around. At the final media timeout of the first half, the Roos found themselves in a 32-11 hole. In the game, they shot 15 three-pointers and only made two (13.3% from three). Kansas City lost by 30 points.
Every position in the Summit League is still up for grabs. If everything falls the Roos’ way, they could end up as the #2 seed in the conference. Aside from Oral Roberts, Kansas City has either swept or split with every team in the Summit League. And, if the team can shoot efficiently from behind the arc, anything is possible.
The Roos play at home on Feb. 18 versus North Dakota. You can listen to the game on the RooTV YouTube channel or watch here.
There’s a lot of fight left in this team. This should be fun.
