Milwaukee faces Kansas City on the road

Milwaukee Panthers (6-2) vs. Kansas City (1-4)
Location: Municipal Auditorium – Kansas City, Missouri
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Broadcast: TV: Time Warner SportsChannel; Radio: WISN-AM1130

To close out the month of November the Milwaukee Panthers will be back on the road as they square off against University of Missouri–Kansas City.

These two teams have not squared off since 1999 when the Panthers won 70-68 in Kansas City for then head coach Bo Ryan.

Entering this season the Kangaroos returned 47 percent of its scoring from a year ago, and although they have six seniors, they also have six freshman and nine newcomers. Even with almost half of their scoring back and six seniors on the team, UMKC has not had much success.

They have only been able to get a win against University of Tennessee at Martin, and have disappointing losses to Emporia State (81-76), Creighton (96-70), Omaha (101-71), and #17 Iowa State (110-51).

As anyone can see from just looking at the score from all of their losses, the Kangaroos struggle to make stops on the defensive side of the ball. While they do average 69.4 points per game, they allow on average 91 points to their opponents.

One thing UMKC has done well defensively is forcing turnovers. They have forced 78 turnovers for an average of 15.6 per game, which has led to 10.6 steals per game.

Four players are averaging double figures for the Kangaroos, but the one player the Panthers will need to keep their eyes on is freshman guard Martez Harrison who leads the team with 15.4 points per game.

Joining Harrison in the starting lineup will be guards Frank Williams and Nelson Kirksey, and forwards Fred Chatmon and Trinity Hall.

The Panthers will matchup against the Kangaroos with their usual lineup featuring guards Steve McWhorter and Jordan Aaron, and forwards Austin Arians, Matt Tiby and Kyle Kelm.

Milwaukee already has set the school record for wins in the month of November, but that does not mean they cannot win another. The Panthers will have a great chance to close out the month on the right note, as the Kangaroos have struggled against good teams, who are capable of scoring a lot of points. If the Panthers can play anywhere near the level they did against Judson, they will easily return home with a win.