Major college basketball programs routinely face inferior competition in nonconference play as tune-up games to work on conditioning, fundamentals or just to shamelessly add an easy tally in the win column to help gain confidence. But Kansas City's 100-point demolition of Calvary, a National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) Division II school, on Monday registered as something far, ahem, different.
The Roos' 119-19 win over the former bible college also located in Kansas City was indeed an aberrational outcome after an analysis of scores over the last two-plus decades. Only five other schools since 2000 have won by a larger margin in a college basketball game, per Sports Reference data. And of those, just two -- Bryant's win vs. Thomas (Maine) in 2022 and McNeese State's win vs. Dallas Christian in 2020 -- took place since 2017.
Not even close
Largest margins of victory since 2000 according to Sports Reference.
| Game | Date | Score | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant vs. Thomas (Maine) | Nov. 7, 2022 | 147-39 | 108 |
| Southern vs. Champion Christian | Dec. 30, 2013 | 116-12 | 104 |
| McNeese vs. Dallas Christian | Dec. 2, 2020 | 140-37 | 103 |
| Western Carolina vs. Toccoa Falls | Jan. 17, 2012 | 141-39 | 102 |
| Appalachian State vs. Toccoa Falls | Nov. 11, 2017 | 135-34 | 101 |
| Kansas City vs. Calvary | Nov. 18, 2024 | 119-19 | 100 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne vs. Andrews | Nov. 9, 2023 | 130-34 | 96 |
Small schools and bible colleges regularly sign up to play in games they're almost guaranteed to lose to help fund their athletic programs. This isn't even the first time Calvary has faced -- and gotten smacked -- by Kansas City, believe it or not. Last year, for instance, McNeese played Mississippi University for Women (spoiler: McNeese won). And earlier this year, Southern played Ecclesia College and won by 89 points.
For Division I teams, facing a team in a lower NCAA division or a team not in the NCAA, is nearly a surefire way to pick up a victory. This season, NCAA Division I teams are 232-1 vs. teams not in Division I with Alcorn State's 62-56 loss to Xavier-Louisiana, an NAIA school, on Nov. 9 the only time it has happened so far this season through Monday.
We rarely see margins that big and might not see a 100-point margin of victory or greater anytime soon if history is any indicator. The game was just the seventh to be decided by 100 or more points for single games since 1938-39, according to Sports Reference's database
Big number vs. not as big number.#ROOUP | #RiseOfTheRoos pic.twitter.com/QbssMjsGh4
— Kansas City Men's Basketball (@KCRoosMBB) November 19, 2024
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Roos regularly schedule down
The Roos' lopsided win came just 10 days after it rolled another bible college, Kansas Christian, by what was then a school-record 88 points in a 124-36 win. The record lasted less than two weeks.
In the rout of Cavalry, Kansas City used a herculean effort to do the near-impossible -- finishing with 30 steals, 18 made 3-pointers and 19 points allowed -- all of which qualified as new school records.
Calvary was the third non-Division I team Kansas City has played this season. The Roos are 3-0 vs. non-NCAA teams, but 0-2 vs. Division I teams in 2024-25.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2024 | vs. Hannibal-LaGrange | W 91-68 | NAIA/NCCAA D-I |
| Nov 8, 2024 | vs. Kansas Christian | W 124-36 | NCCAA D-II |
| Nov 11, 2024 | @ Iowa St. | L 82-56 | NCAA D-I |
| Nov 16, 2024 | @ Creighton | L 79-56 | NCAA D-I |
| Nov 18, 2024 | vs. Calvary | W 119-19 | NCCAA D-II |
The only other NCAA Division I team to have played three games against non-Division I teams this season is Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs defeated NAIA members Oakwood 121-78, Arkansas Baptist 103-57 and Fisk 103-69 this season and bring a 3-1 record into Tuesday's game at Georgia.
