Monday, November 12
7:30 p.m. ET – Kennesaw State at Samford
Location: Birmingham, Ala. | Pete Hanna Center
Links: ESPN+ |
Live Stats |
Game Notes
Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team continues its five-game road swing, traveling to Samford to take on the Bulldogs Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
» The Owls are coming off a very competitive game at No. 12 Kansas State, nearly earning the lead at halftime, while holding the Wildcats to 56 points.
» Senior
Kosta Jankovic has been on fire to open the season as the only Owl to finish in double-figures in both of KSU's games. He is currently second on the team averaging 11 points per game.
» KSU has been aggressive around the net to open the season, averaging 37 rebounds per game for a +4 rebounding margin. Four Owls are currently averaging five or more rebounds per game, led by junior
Isaac Mbuyamba with a 7.5 average.
» Mbuyamba has led the Owls in rebounding in both games this season, ranking fourth in the ASUN with 15 total rebounds.
» Redshirt-freshman
Antonio Spencer has logged two blocks in both of KSU's games this season to rank third in the conference for total blocks.
» The Owls win over Oglethorpe marked their first season-opening victory since the 2010-11 season, defeating the Stormy Petrels 68-57.
» KSU had a huge influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including
Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January.
» KSU returns only three players that started in 15 games or more from last season, senior
Kyle Clarke, red-shirt junior
Tyler Hooker and junior
Isaac Mbuyamba.
The Matchup
Monday's game marks the second half of a home-and-home series with Samford after the Owls defeated the Bulldogs 71-66 at the Convocation Center last season. Samford is currently 2-0 on the year after recording a 20-point victory over Jacksonville State this past Friday, 92-72.
The Bulldogs have recorded over 90 points in both of their games this year, shooting 58.9 percent from the field. Junior Josh Sharkey has been the driving force behind Samford's production, averaging 20 points per game over the Bulldog's two games. Four Bulldogs are currently averaging over 10 points per game, three over 15 points.
This will be the fourth time in history that KSU and Samford will square off, having faced one another three of the past four seasons. The Owls hold a slim 2-1 series advantage following last year's victory.
Last Time Out
Kennesaw State gave No. 12 Kansas State all it could handle in the Bramlage Coliseum Friday night, but could not pull off the upset, falling 56-41. Senior
Kosta Jankovic got the Owls going scoring seven of KSU's first nine points to give Kennesaw State an early 9-8 lead.
Another jumper from senior
Kyle Clarke, making his first start of the year, put KSU up by three as both teams proceeded to trade buckets, and the lead throughout most of the first half. There were six ties and six lead changes during the first half.
After a three-pointer from freshman
Pietro Agostini gave the Owls a 25-22 lead at the 5:17 mark, Kansas State closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 31-27 lead into halftime. Jankovic recorded nine of his 10 points in the opening half as Kennesaw State shot 45.8 percent in the first half.
Despite being outscored 20-8 in the paint, the Owls did a good job defensively of shutting down Kansas State's top returning scorer, senior Dean Wade, in the first half. Wade averaged 16 points per game last season, finishing with four points over the opening 20 minutes.
Clarke and red-shirt junior
Tyler Hooker got the Owls off on the right foot to open the second half with a steal and a three-point bucket, respectively, to pull KSU within one, 31-30. The Wildcats would respond with an 8-1 run to gain some separation, 39-31, with 14:54 to play.
After a jumper from Clarke made it a two-score game, 41-37, Kansas State pulled away with a 15-2 run over the remaining eight minutes. The Owls got a lot of good looks in the second half, but couldn't get anything to fall, shooting 21 percent in the second half.
Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior
Tyler Hooker put on a show in KSU's season-opener with a career-high 25 points to go along with two assists, four rebounds and a team-high five steals, tying his career-high. Despite only seven points at K-State, Hooker ranks third in the ASUN with 32 points on the year, including a team-high 16 points per game average.
Hooker shot 50 percent from the field in KSU's season-opener while going 8-of-10 from the free throw line. The Simpsonville, S.C., product has run the floor for the Owls averaging 36.5 minutes per game to lead the conference. Against Oglethorpe he played all 40 minutes, marking only the third time in his career he has played from buzzer to buzzer.
Hooker will be the team's go-to shooter this year as the Owls top returning scorer from last season, averaging 10.8 points per game. He also recorded 79 assists and 38 steals last year.
Boxing Out The World
Junior
Isaac Mbuyamba has been big on the glass for the Owls over their first two games, leading the team with 15 rebounds. He currently ranks fourth in the conference for total rebounds with a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
So far this season, Mbuyamba is the only Owl to register over 10 defensive rebounds with 11. He is one of only eight players in the league with 10 or more defensive rebounds.
Now Boarding
As a team, KSU has pulled down 37 total rebounds over its two games to rank tied for fourth in the league. In their season-opener, the Owls recorded 45 rebounds against Oglethorpe, a mark that is tied for 10th-most all-time in a single game. KSU finished the game with a +21 rebound margin.
Four Owls are currently averaging over five rebounds per game.
The Serbian Showstopper
Senior
Kosta Jankovic has been lights out over the first two games of the year. He is the only Owl to record over 10 points in both games, marking the 10th and 11th time in his career he has finished in double-figures
Jankovic recorded nine of his 10 points against Kansas State in the first half, logging seven of KSU's first nine points of the game to give the Owls an early 9-8 lead.
Back in Black (and Gold)
Kennesaw State's seven returners will have some big shoes to fill after losing nearly half of last year's squad to graduation or transfer, including the Owls' top-2 scorers in
James Scott and ASUN Second Team All-Conference honoree
Nick Masterson.
Red-shirt junior
Tyler Hooker is KSU's top returning scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game last year. He was also second on the team for assists (79) and steals (38).
Kyle Clarke and
Kosta Jankovic are the lone seniors on a young Owl squad. Clarke and Hooker are the only two returners to record over 100 points, 50 assists and 30 steals.
The Owls will rely heavily on junior
Isaac Mbuyamba in the paint. Mbuyamba led the team last year with 26 blocks and was second with 131 total rebounds.
Fresh Faces
The Owls welcome a large crop of newcomers this season with the potential to vie for a starting role. In total, KSU will have eight new faces, four freshmen and four transfers, including
Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January of this year, but did not see any action.
KSU gains some height at the forward position with three of the four newcomers standing at 6'9" or taller.
The Owls also gain a surge of much needed depth at the guard position with the addition of four guards, including transfer
Bobby Parker who led Mineral Area CC averaging 14 points per game. Joining Parker is
Danny Lewis, a three-star recruit who transferred from UCF after being red-shirted last season, and
C.J. Washington who averaged 16.7 points per game during Tompkins High School's historic playoff run to its first Region III Class 6 Championship.
Protect The Nest
The Owls have done a good job of protecting their home court recording eight wins in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2015-16 campaign, KSU has only recorded eight home wins three times since joining Division I (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10).
To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have a formidable non-conference schedule this season, featuring five matchups against Power-5 teams.
After the Owls' season-opener, they jump right into the deep end, traveling to face last year's elite eight squad of Kansas State. The following week KSU heads to the Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Tournament. KSU opens the tournament against SEC foe Missouri with the potential to face either Oregon State or Old Dominion in the second round.
KSU then returns to the states to take on perennial OVC powerhouse Belmont before squaring off against the likes of Georgia, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech before opening conference play.
Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.
The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conference
Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08).came during the 2016-17 when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth.
KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).
Looking Ahead
Following Monday's game, the Owls fly south to Paradise to open the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament against Missouri Friday at 4 p.m.
