Summit League Men’s Basketball Tournament Preview
February 28, 2023
The Kansas City Roos’ men’s basketball regular season ended silently.
However, it’s Summit League Championship Tournament time, and the Roos’ first matchup looks to be favorable.
Kansas City’s first-round face-off is against the Omaha Mavericks, a team the Roos swept earlier this season. The first match, in Omaha on Dec. 31, ended in a 75-59 victory. The second game, at home on Jan. 26, ended in a heart-stopping 64-61 victory.
The Mavericks did not have a great season, only winning eight of 30 games. With only four in-conference victories, Omaha finished last in the Summit League.
That isn’t to say the Mavericks haven’t played conference opponents close. They only lost to Oral Roberts by three in their first game. Most importantly, they only lost to Kansas City by three in their second meeting.
Omaha averages 68.8 points per game and shoots 44% from the field and 34% from behind the arc. While these aren’t eye-popping numbers, they are enough to win if Kansas City isn’t careful.
The Roos will enter the tournament with injured starters. Since losing sophomore forward Allen David Mukeba Jr. on Feb. 9 for the rest of the year, the Roos are averaging 54.4 points per game.
On top of that, senior guard Shemarri Allen went out with a left arm injury against North Dakota almost two weeks ago. Allen will be out for the rest of the season. This considerably hurts the Roos both offensively and defensively as Allen led the team in both steals (59) and assists (77). He also averaged 17 points per game.
Since joining back up with the Summit League in the 2020-21 season, the Roos have struggled in the Summit League Championship Tournament. Both years they have been one-and-done. Should the Roos win on Friday, they will face off against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Saturday, March 4 at 8:30 p.m. Central Time.
The game against Omaha will take place on Friday, March 3, 2023. Live audio from the game can be found on the RooTV YouTube channel. The game begins at 8:30 p.m. Central Time. As always, ROO UP!
If you want to watch other Summit League games, go to MidcoSports.com/streaming.
