THE SETTING
The UMKC men’s basketball team will return to action on Tuesday night when it heads to Big 12 country to face off against Nebraska.  The game between the ‘Roos and Cornhuskers will be held at Bob Devaney Sports Center beginning at 7 p.m.,  and it will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Midwest/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360.com.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 810 AM WHB (Steven Davis - p-b-p; Nick McCabe - color)
Television: Fox Sports Midwest/ESPN Full Court/ESPN360.com
(Greg Sharpe - p-b-p; Eric Piatkowski - color)
Web: None
Live Stats:  www.UMKCKangaroos.com

LAST TIME OUT
The ‘Roos improved to 3-0 with a 70-63 victory at North Dakota on Saturday afternoon in Grand Forks.  UMKC led by as many as 14 points in the first half before the Fighting Sioux fought back to grab their first lead early in half two.  Five straight points from Kirk Korver gave UMKC the lead for good at the 10-minute mark before the squad made seven straight free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

THE COACHES
Head Coach Matt Brown is in his third season with the UMKC men’s basketball program, where he has compiled an 21-45 overall record and has coached three players to all-Summit League recognition.  Former forward Dane Brumagin was a second team all-league honoree and Reggie Hamilton was an all-newcomer team selection in 2007-08, while Brumagin earned an honorable mention all-league nod in 2008-09.  Last season, Brown guided the ‘Roos to a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes Wichita State and Bradley.  It was just the third time in school history for the team to beat two MVC teams in the same season.   
    Doc Sadler is in his fourth season as the head coach at Nebraska, where he has compiled a 57-41 overall record.  Sadler has guided the Huskers to the post season in two of his three seasons, including an NIT berth a season ago.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Cornhuskers enter Tuesday’s game with a 2-1 overall record with both wins coming at home at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.  NU has posted victories over USC Upstate (76-49) and TCU (90-77), while its loss came on Nov. 18 at Saint Louis (69-55).
    Six Nebraska players are averaging at least 8.0 points per game with three players checking in in double figures.  Sek Henry is pacing the team with an 11.0 per game average, while Jorge Brian Diaz (10.3) and Ryan Anderson (10.0) are both in double digits.  Diaz is also the team’s leading rebounder with a 5.3 per game, while also posting a .571 field goal percentage. 
    The Huskers are averaging 73.7 points per game on the year, while shooting .475 from the floor and .450 from long range.  The squad is +7.7 on the boards, but it has 47 assists to 44 turnovers on the season.

HUSKER GAME NOTES
• Nebraska had five players score in double digits in the 90-77 win over TCU on Nov. 21.  Jorge Brian Diaz, who came off the bench for the first time this season, finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting in 30 minutes of action.
• Doc Sadler is the winningest coach in Nebraska history in his first three seasons. 
• Forward Brandon Ubel, who has started all three games for NU, played high school basketball at Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kan., where he was a first team all-state honoree as a senior.

THE SERIES
Tuesday’s game will be the 11th meeting in the all-time series with Nebraska with the Huskers leading the series, 9-1.  The last meeting came on Dec. 8, 2000, when the ‘Roos claimed an 82-71 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln. 

UMKC AGAINST THE BIG 12
The ‘Roos are 10-50 all-time in games played against current Big 12 conference foes.  UMKC’s last win over the league came during the 2003 season when it pounded Kansas State, 93-52, in Kansas City.  The squad also has victories over Baylor (4), Texas A&M (2), Colorado (1), Nebraska (1) and Texas Tech (1).

QUICK HITTERS
• UMKC’s 3-0 start is the best start to a season since the 2001-02 campaign.  That year the squad opened with a 5-0 mark. 
• Freshman Alex Bazzell made his first career start in the win at North Dakota.  The guard finished with seven points and six assists in 32 minutes of play.
• Bazzell has yet to commit a turnover and has handed out 12 assists in 77 minutes of collegiate basketball action. 
• Fellow freshman Kirk Korver scored eight points in the win at North Dakota, including five straight to give UMKC the lead for good in the win.
• The ‘Roos have forced 70 turnovers in three games, while committing just 24 TOs.  This includes just four turnovers in the road win at North Dakota.
• UMKC’s margin of victory in its two wins at home is 36.5 points.
• UMKC won on the road in its first opportunity on Nov. 21 at North Dakota.  Last season, the squad went 3-13 on the road and it was 5-26 away from KC the last two seasons.

SHARING THE ROCK
UMKC is averaging 17.3 assists per game through three games as it has recorded an assist on 66 percent of its field goals.  The squad finished with a season-high 20 assists on 29 field goals in the season-opening win over Truman State, which matched the high for the program during the Matt Brown era.

KEEPING THE ROCK
Not only is UMKC doing an excellent job distributing the rock, but the squad is doing an even better job taking care of the rock.  The ‘Roos turned the ball over a season-low four times in the road win at North Dakota, which is the lowest figure during Coach Brown’s tenure.  On the year, UMKC is averaging just 8.3 turnovers per game, while forcing 23.3 TOs.

MAN ON FIRE
Sophomore LaTreze Mushatt has been UMKC’s hottest and most efficient player to start the season.  The forward has reached double digits in all three contests, where he is averaging 15.3 points on .679 (19-28) shooting from the floor and .600 (3-5) from long range.  He is also tied for the team lead with 6.7 rebounds per game.
    The Michigan native’s breakout game came in the win over Lincoln on Nov. 17 when he made a career-best 9-of-12 field goals en route to a career-high 20 points.  He also grabbed nine boards to finish just shy of his first career double-double.

JOHNSON IS BACK
After finishing with six points in the season opener, junior Spencer Johnson has scored in double digits in each of the past two contests.  In the road win at UND, the forward finished with 14 points and nine boards.  The rebounding figure bumped his season average to 6.7 boards per game, which is tied for the team high.

DEFENSIVE INTENSITY
UMKC stepped up its defensive intensity in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14.  Using an aggressive man-to-man defense, the ‘Roos limited the Bulldogs to 33 points, which is the second fewest points allowed in a single game in school history to William Jewell’s 29 points on Nov. 21, 1999. 
    Through three games, the squad is giving up just 49.3 points per game, while limiting its opposition to a .426 field goal percentage and a .286 mark from long range.

A ROUT
UMKC’s 47-point win over Truman State is the fifth largest margin of victory in school history and the biggest win for a Matt Brown coached team. 
   
COUISNARD GETS IT DONE FROM THE LINE
Junior Jay Couisnard established a new career-high for the second time in three games when he finished with 21 points in the road win at North Dakota.  The forward did most of his damage from the charity stripe by making 10-of-13 attempts, which were both career-bests. 
    Couisnard is one of two ‘Roo players to reach double digits in all three games, where he is averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game.

A KORVER DEBUT
Freshman Kirk Korver opened his UMKC career in grand fashion by finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the win over Truman State on Nov. 14.  In the first half alone, the center was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor en route to 10 points in his first 20 minutes of collegiate basketball.
    Kirk’s performance is the top single game output among the Korver brothers in their collegiate debuts.  Kyle and Kaleb, both of whom played at Creighton, scored two points apiece in wins over Mississippi Valley State and DePaul, respectively, while Klayton (Drake) netted three points in a victory over Simpson in 2003.

TEAM CAPTAINS
The Kangaroos have a trio of captains for the 2009-10 season.  Juniors Spencer Johnson and Jay Couisnard and sophomore LaTreze Mushatt will don the captain titles this season.  Couisnard assumes the leadership role despite not having played a single minute in UMKC Blue and Gold.

YOUNG SQUAD
UMKC’s roster of 15 players includes five freshmen, five sophomores and five juniors.  The freshmen are Alex Bazzell, Fred Chatmon, Kirk Korver, Max Rockmann and Aaron Young.  The sophomores are Dustin Dibble, Michael Gholston, Jr., Patrick Inyard, Trey McKinney-Jones and LaTreze Mushatt.
    Gholston, Jr. is in his first year at UMKC after attending State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., last season.