Kansas basketball: Five things to know about UMKC

Kansas basketball will play the Kansas City Kangaroos this Saturday night at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Here are five things to know about the Roos.

Kansas basketball is coming off of a 95-68 win over Milwaukee last Tuesday night, and the Jayhawks are looking about as good as can be right now. This game against UMKC will give Kansas one more tune-up before they play Villanova in their first true road game of the season.

Here are five things to know about the Roos:

1. Kansas City was picked to finish almost last in the WAC

In the preseason Western Athletic Conference’s preseason poll, Kansas City was picked to finish second to last by the conference’s coaches, which makes sense. The Kangaroos finished tied for second to last in the WAC last season with a 5-9 conference record.

2. This is head coach Billy Donlan’s first season with UMKC

Former head coach Kareem Richardson was fired after his fifth losing season in six years and replaced with Billy Donlan. This isn’t Donlan’s first head coaching job, as he led Wright State from 2010 through 2016, posting a 109-97 record before being controversially fired. Donlan was named the Horizon Conference’s coach of the year in 2013.

3. Milwaukee beat Kansas City

There’s always a big debate about the transitive property of wins, but this seems pretty safe. The Milwaukee Panthers, who Kansas basketball just beat by 27, actually beat UMKC earlier this season. Almost a month ago, the Panthers took down Kansas City in Milwaukee 61-52. Kansas was a 26 point favorite against Milwaukee, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they were a 30+ point favorite over the Kangaroos.

4. The Roos are one of the most experienced teams in the nation

According to kenpom.com, UMKC’s average experience is 2.18 years, which is in the top 40 in the country in terms of experience. The Kangaroos have been starting all upperclassmen this season. Despite their experience though, no Roos were named to WAC preseason all-conference teams.

5. Kansas City has lost three out of their last four games

Kansas City is 5-6 so far this season, and they’ve lost three out of their last four games. The Roos were downed by Liberty, then won against Western Illinois by one point before losing to Iowa State and most recently to McNeese State. It’s been a rough stretch for Kansas City, and it won’t get any easier this Saturday against the Jayhawks.

The bottom line is that Kansas basketball should win this game by about 30 points. Assuming they do, there’s a decent chance that the Jayhawks could be number one in the next AP Poll since both #3 Maryland and #1 Louisville lost this week.

Kansas basketball is set to tip-off in the Sprint Center against the Kangaroos this Saturday at 4:00 PM (CT). The game is set to be streamed on ESPN+ if you can’t make it.