MORRIS, Minn. – Last season Minnesota Morris (2-9) and Crown (0-11) played three exciting games last season and now the two teams meet to open up the 2015 UMAC season. The contest was chosen as the UMAC Game of the Week.  
 
Both teams have struggled out of the gate this season and will be looking to start the conference season with a win. The race to the UMAC playoffs is a marathon, as every team plays each other twice, and the Cougars will look to protect their home along the way. Crown beat the Cougars all three times last season and knocked out UMM in the UMAC semi-finals in Morris last year.
 
Minnesota Morris has the highest scoring offense in the UMAC, averaging 71.2 points per game. A big part of their offense success is due to the Cougars protecting the ball; UMM turns the ball over less than any other team in the conference. Balanced scoring and rebounding have also been major factor for the Cougars during non-conference play.
 
Crown has a much different look than a year ago, losing three key players from a team that made the UMAC Championship. The Storm's James Brown comes into the game as the 4th leading scorer in the UMAC at 14.3 points per game. Crown needs to control their turnovers as they have turned the ball over 18.2 times per game through the non-conference season. The Storm challenges other teams on the defensive end though, ranking second in steals per game (7.5).