After ending its season on a stunning six-game win streak, the Kansas City Roos are headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Summit League Basketball Championships.
The team will have lost its last game over a month ago when they tip off on Saturday night.
With wins over third-ranked North Dakota and first-ranked South Dakota State at the front end of the Roos win streak, the team is poised for a big run in the tournament.
In the quarterfinals of the tournament, the team will face off against the Denver Pioneers, a team Kansas City beat twice in the regular season.
In the first match on Feb 1, the Roos beat the Pioneers by 14, 85-71. But the win wasn’t the story of the day.
The Roos defense shined during the match. While 71 points may seem like a lot – and it is – the Roos successfully held the nation’s leading scorer, senior guard Tommy Bruner to a mere 12 points.
In the second game, played in Denver, the Roos weren’t so lucky with Bruner. Though in the first half, Bruner had 13 points, he would end the day with 31. That said, even scoring 6.5 points more than his season average wasn’t enough to prevent a loss for the Pioneers.
Kansas City would go on to win by 15, 84-69.
Head Coach Marvin Menzies always comments on how it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a single season, and he is correct.
Looking back to last season, the Roos finished as the seventh-seed in conference. The team was set to play tenth-ranked Omaha in the first round of the tournament. KC had beaten the Mavericks by 16 points and 3 points earlier in the season. The team lost by 12 in the tournament game.
The difference between this season and last season comes down to Coach Menzies’ experience, now in his second season with the Roos, and injuries.
Last season, several players were removed from the active list, and the team struggled to find balance with a dwindled roster.
This season, while there have been injuries, the team has found a way to build around them and has been mostly healthy down the final stretch.
Kansas City’s tips off against Denver in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Saturday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. central time.
Fans can listen to the game for free via the RooTV YouTube channel. Game recaps will be posted to the Roo News site shortly after games conclude.
