CHICAGO -
OPENING TIP: Chicago State men's basketball heads to Kansas City this Thursday to open a three-game road trip when it takes on host UMKC at Municipal Auditorium in a Western Athletic Conference matchup which begins at 7 p.m. as a live broadcast on the WAC Digital Network.
SCOUTING CSU: The Cougars open their homestand coming off the heels of concluding a weekend homestand last Saturday afternoon at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center with a 91-81 loss to conference foe Seattle (81-91) despite receiving a career-best 25 points from senior forward/center
Deionte Simmons (Detroit, Mich./Lewisville (Texas)). CSU is led by junior guard
Fred Sims, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale) as he's averaging 13.4 points per game and shooting 86 percent (60-of-70) from the free throw line. Simmons leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and has connected on a team-leading 58 percent (94-of-161) from the field while ranking second in scoring at 11.4 points a game. Senior guard
Glen Burns (West Memphis, Ark./West Memphis Christian) has tallied team-high numbers of 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game in addition to averaging 9.7 points per contest.
SCOUTING UMKC: UMKC heads into its home finale sporting an 8-19 season record and now holds a 3-7 conference mark following home wins over Seattle (74-67) and Utah Valley (77-70) last week. Four players are averaging double figure scoring for the Kangaroos this season, led by sophomore guard Xavier Bishop's team-leading 12.1 points and 3.2 assists per game. Senior guard Broderick Robinson is producing team highs of 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals a game in addition to scoring 11.5 points per contest. The final players scoring double-digit averages are sophomore guard Isaiah Ross (10.9 ppg) and sophomore forward Jordan Giles (10.2 ppg).
SERIES HISTORY: UMKC holds a 31-11 series lead against Chicago State which includes a 6-2 record through the last four years. The Kangaroos have won the last four consecutive games following last season's sweep following a close 87-82 victory in Chicago on March 4, 2017 with Sims scoring a career-high 31 points.
WAC TOURNEY TICKETS ON SALE: Tickets for the 2018 WAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas are now on sale. The tournament starts on Wednesday, March 7 with the women's first round of play, followed by a full day of men's action on Thursday, March 8. The championship games will be contested on Saturday, March 10. Currently available for purchase are $135 and $85 all-session passes, which consist of entry into 14 games over six sessions. To purchase your all-session pass today, please contact the CSU Athletics Ticket office at (773) 995-3659 or gocsutix@csu.edu.
WAC LEADERS: The Cougars currently lead the WAC in steals in conference contests with an average of 8.3 per contest. In addition, Bowles ranks first in the league in free throw shooting with a percentage of .885 (23-of-26).
UP NEXT: Chicago State continues its road swing on Feb. 22 in Las Cruces, N.M. against defending WAC Tournament Champion New Mexico State at the Pan American Center with a start time of 8 p.m.
