Nov. 30, 1999
Game #6 - Missouri (4-1) vs. SMU (4-0) Dec. 1, 1999 - Columbia, Mo.
TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. (central)
ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,300).
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Carried on more than 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.gamecruiser.com
TV: None.
RANKINGS: Neither team is currently ranked.
SERIES: MU leads, 8-4, including 3-2 in Columbia. MU won 66-55 last year in Dallas.
COACHES:
? Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89), 4-1 at MU (1st season), 4-1 overall (1st season).
? SMU: Mike Dement (East Carolina '76), 61-57 at SMU (5th season), 183-180 overall (14th season). Dement is 0-2 vs. Missouri.
OFFICIALS: Will be announced prior to tipoff.
TIGERS BEGIN TOUGH HOLIDAY SEASON STRETCH WITH SMU
After going 4-1 in the opening month of the season, Quin Snyder's Missouri Tigers (4-1) begin a rugged stretch of the schedule that will start with a Wednesday night tussle in Columbia with the undefeated SMU Mustangs (4-0). Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Tigers have won four straight games, after dropping the season opener to Wisconsin, and are coming off an impressive 91-50 win over Morgan State on Saturday. In addition to Wednesday's game, the Tigers will face the likes of #24 Indiana, Saint Louis, Iowa, #16 Illinois and #12 Kentucky in December.
SMU has opened the season with consecutive wins over Hardin-Simmons, Lamar, Houston and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Mustangs return all five starters from last year's team which went 15-15 and placed 4th in the Western Athletic Conference.
MISSOURI TIGERS (4-1)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 31 | Johnnie Parker** | 6-6 | 221 | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 9.0 / 6.4 |
| C | 33 | Tajudeen Soyoye | 6-9 | 236 | Jr. | Lagos, Nigeria | 10.6 / 8.2 |
| G | 5 | Keyon Dooling* | 6-3 | 184 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 13.6 / 1.4 |
| G | 12 | Brian Grawer** | 6-0 | 165 | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 6.6 / 2.8 |
| G | 4 | Clarence Gilbert* | 6-2 | 197 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 9.6 / 3.8 |
SMU MUSTANGS (4-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 34 | Willie Davis** | 6-6 | 230 | Jr. | Dallas, Texas | 19.5 / 11.2 |
| F | 55 | Mike Niemi* | 6-9 | 270 | So. | Katy, Texas | 2.8 / 3.2 |
| G | 5 | Jeryl Sasser** | 6-6 | 200 | Jr. | Dallas, Texas | 18.8 / 13.0 |
| G | 4 | Damon Hancock* | 6-4 | 195 | So. | Lancaster, Texas | 15.0 / 3.5 |
| G | 23 | Stephen Woods*** | 6-0 | 185 | Sr. | Bay City, Texas | 9.2 / 3.2 |
MIZZOU-SMU SERIES HISTORY
Missouri and SMU will square off for the 13th time, and the Tigers will carry an 8-4 series edge into Wednesday's contest. MU has won four straight from the Mustangs, dating back to 1993. The last SMU win in the series came on Dec. 1, 1973, when the Mustangs claimed a 77-73 win in Columbia. We won't even mention that current Tiger broadcaster Gary Link was a part of that MU team. Oops, we just mentioned it. Sorry, Linker.
Missouri nabbed a 66-55 win last year at Dallas, which broke a 23-game road losing streak for MU.
Missouri holds a 3-2 advantage in games played in Columbia. SMU's last visit to the Hearnes Center resulted in a 66-51 win for the Tigers, on Nov. 30, 1995.
THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 4-1 in his first season as a head coach. He notched his first career win Nov. 13th vs. Princeton, when the Tigers grabbed a 51-48 victory in the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y.
An exciting new era began at Missouri this past April, when Snyder was introduced as men's head basketball coach by Director of Athletics Michael Alden.
Snyder, an assistant coach at Duke University the past four years, is just the fifth different head coach at Missouri since 1926.
Snyder's mission is to take the Tiger program to the next level. And if that next level represents the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, Snyder will be a repeat visitor. In 10 years at Duke, he took part in five Final Fours - three as a player (1986, 88, 89) and two more as a coach (1994, 99). For those of you keeping score at home, that's exactly five more Final Fours than Mizzou has qualified for in its previous 93 years.
Snyder had served as Duke's associate head coach the past two seasons, and was entrusted with numerous on-court coaching responsibilities, as well as recruiting duties for the Blue Devils by Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was widely credited with recruiting the group of student-athletes (including 1999 national player-of-the-year Elton Brand) at Duke who compiled a 37-2 record last year and finished as NCAA runners-up.
Snyder and his wife, Helen, were married on Sept. 24th of this year. Snyder celebrated his 33rd birthday on Oct. 30th.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| MIZZOU | SMU | |
| 4-1 | Overall Record | 4-0 |
| 0-0 | Big 12 Record | n/a |
| W 4 | Current Win-Loss Streak | W 4 |
| .408 | Field Goal Percentage | .457 |
| .440 | Opponent FG Percentage | .415 |
| .382 | 3-PT FG Percentage | .295 |
| .337 | Opponent 3-PT FG Percentage | .247 |
| 10.4 | 3-PT FGs Made Per Game | 6.0 |
| 27.2 | 3-PT FGs Attempted Per Game | 20.3 |
| .651 | Free Throw Percentage | .611 |
| 37.6 | Rebound Average | 47.5 |
| +3.2 | Rebound Margin | +9.0 |
| 13.4 | Turnovers Per Game | 12.8 |
| 16.6 | Opponents Turnovers Per Game | 21.8 |
| 71.4 | Points Per Game | 89.2 |
| 60.2 | Opponents Points Per Game | 66.8 |
| +11.2 | Average Margin | +22.4 |
SHOTS ARE FALLING
In the first three games of the year, Missouri experienced some serious shooting woes, as the Tigers connected on just 34.4 percent of its shots from the floor.
But in the last two outings, the Tigers have found the mark, as MU has shot a combined 48.1% from the floor, hitting 65-of-135 attempts.
Included in that output is a deadly attack from behind the three-point line. The Tigers have hit 27 threes in their last two games, in 60 attempts, good for a success rate of 45.0%.
In the same two games, MU has held opponents to just 37.8% from the floor.
NEW FACES LEADING THE CHARGE
In Missouri's last three games, Tiger newcomers have led the charge, helping MU to consecutive wins over UNC-Asheville, Western Carolina and Morgan State.
Last Saturday vs. Morgan State, MU's top three scorers were freshman Josh Kroenke (18 points), freshman Kareem Rush (14) and junior transfer T.J. Soyoye (13).
Kroenke nailed 5-of-7 three pointers against the Bears, marking the second straight game in which he connected on five long-range bombs.
Two games ago vs. Western Carolina, it was junior college transfer Tajudeen Soyoye who led the Tigers with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It marked the first career double-double for the Lagos, Nigeria native. He hit 8-of-11 field goals on the day, and grabbed seven offensive rebounds.
Also in that same game, freshman Josh Kroenke was a key, as he scored 15 points off the bench, on 5-of-8 three-point field goals. The points were his first as a Tiger.
Prior to that, vs. UNCA, it was freshman Kareem Rush who led the way with a career-high 16 points. He was MU's top scorer on the day, and helped the Tigers erase a 10-point deficit in the first half.
Through five games, 57.7% of MU's scoring has come from the Tigers' underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores). See the sidebar on page five for a class breakdown.
DIALING 10-10-333
With all the different long distance phone numbers one has to choose from, the Missouri Tigers have decided to make their own - 10-10-333. What we're trying to say with that lame attempt at a segue, is that the Tigers are gunning early and often from long distance this year - and the results have been quite good.
Missouri is coming off a record-tying performance from three-point land, as the Tigers hit 15 three pointers on Saturday (in 31 attempts) against Morgan State. The 15 threes made tied an MU single-game record, previously accomplished in 1997 vs. Wake Forest and in 1998 vs. Kansas State.
Seven different Tigers dialed long distance vs. Morgan State, including freshman Josh Kroenke, who came off the bench to nail five treys for the second straight game.
In its last two games, the Tigers have hit 27-of-60 three pointers, which is a salty 45.0 percent mark.
Through five games, Missouri has hit 52-of-136 three pointers, both totals of which lead the Big 12 Conference thus far.
Three Tigers: Clarence Gilbert, Johnnie Parker and freshman Kareem Rush, are the only Tigers to hit a three-point field goal in each game thus far, entering Wednesday's SMU contest.
Season records to keep an eye on include 214 three-pointers made and 580 treys attempted, both by the 1997-98 squad. Through five games, the Tigers are on pace to make 302 three pointers in 789 attempts.
Last year, Missouri made 38.0 percent of its three point attempts (180-of-474), and averaged 6.2 made threes per game and 16.4 attempts per game.
TIGER FACT-OF-THE-GAME
Newcomers have led Missouri in scoring each of the last three games. First, it was Kareem Rush vs. UNCA (16 pts.), then T.J. Soyoye vs. W. Carolina (19 pts.), then Josh Kroenke vs. Morgan State (18 pts.).
SERIES HISTORY
SOUTHERN METHODIST
(Tigers lead, 8-4)
| 12-12-46 | L, *53-56 | Kansas City |
| 12-20-48 | W, 52-41 | at Columbia |
| 12-21-48 | L, 49-59 | at Columbia |
| 12-22-49 | W, 62-61 | at Dallas |
| 12-23-49 | W, 53-42 | at Dallas |
| 12-23-64 | L, 73-78 | at Dallas |
| 1- 8-73 | W, 74-73 | at Dallas |
| 12- 1-73 | L, 73-77 | at Columbia |
| 12-11-93 | W, 82-77 | at Columbia |
| 1- 4-95 | W, 84-68 | at Dallas |
| 11-30-95 | W, 66-51 | at Columbia |
| 12-12-98 | W, 66-55 | at Dallas |
at Columbia: MU leads, 3-2
at Dallas: MU leads, 5-1
at Neutral Sites: SMU leads, 1-0
MU MILESTONES
? Brian Grawer needs 10 three-point field goals to move into 8th place on the MU career three-point field goal chart.
? Brian Grawer needs 7 points to reach 500 for his career.
? Brian Grawer needs 1 blocked shot to register his first career blocked shot.
? Jeff Hafer needs 15 steals to move into 7th place on the MU career steals chart.
TIGER COMEBACKS
Missouri has rallied from deficits two times this season to register wins under Quin Snyder. Here's a look at those games:
| Date | Opp. | Deficit (Time) | Final Score |
| 11-13 | Princeton | 9 pts. (13:06, 1st) | 51-48 |
| 11-21 | UNCA | 10 pts. (1:26, 1st) | 75-69 |
ACHIEVING A BALANCE
Unlike an SID's checkbook register, Missouri has looked very balanced on the offensive end in its last three outings.
While Keyon Dooling is clearly the leader of this team, the Tigers at times have been caught standing and watching to see what the playmaker will do next. He was the only Tiger to score in double figures through MU's first two games other than Johnnie Parker, who notched 11 points in the season opener vs. Wisconsin.
But, much to the delight of Quin Snyder, Missouri showed a balanced scoring attack even though Dooling has been a bit off his offensive game (4-of-22 FGs in last two games).
Four Tigers scored in double figures on Saturday, marking the third straight game that at least four Tigers have done so.
Against Western Carolina, four more Tigers notched double figures in points, and prior to that, against UNC-Asheville, five Tigers scored in double figures.
Against Western Carolina, only eight Tigers played, but all eight scored at least five points.
FREEBIES NOT FALLING FREELY
Missouri opened the season by hitting 24-of-29 free throws (82.8%) in its first two games, offsetting the Tigers' shooting troubles from the floor.
But in the past three contests while the Tigers have found the range from the floor, Missouri has struggled from the foul line, as they've connected on just 45-of-77 freebies in wins over UNCA, Western Carolina and Morgan State (58.4%).
No matter how they shoot from the line, a positive remains that the Tigers are getting to the foul line much more frequently than their opponents thus far.
Through five games, the Tigers have made more free throws (69) than their foes have even attempted (63). MU is attempting an average of 21.2 free throws per game, while opponents are toeing the line just 12.6 times an outing.
Only once thus far has an opponent tried more free throws than MU, and that came in the Tigers' only loss of the season against Wisconsin. The Badgers attempted 16 free throws to just 15 for Mizzou.
KROENKE ERUPTS
Freshman guard Josh Kroenke has come of age in Missouri's last two games, as the Columbia, Mo. native has averaged 16.5 points in wins over Western Carolina and Morgan State.
Kroenke, who was held scoreless in MU's first three games of the year, has since exploded for 33 points in the last two games. He's coming off a career-high 18 point outing Saturday vs. Morgan State, in which he nailed 5-of-7 three pointers.
Previously vs. Western Carolina, he came out gunning, and lit up the Catamounts for 15 points in just 13 minutes of play, on 5-of-8 three pointers. He came off the bench and gave MU a spark when they were struggling offensively.
He's hit 11-of-17 shots in the two-game stretch (64.7%) including 10-of-15 three-point field goals (66.7%).
DOUBLE TROUBLE
While his name creates problems for broadcasters, junior center Tajudeen Soyoye has been creating even more distress for Tiger opponents on the court of late.
After a slow start offensively, MU's "Nigerian Nightmare" is catching fire of late. He's averaging 16.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in the last two games, and has shot 77.8 percent from the floor (14-of-18). He's coming off a 13-point, eight rebound performance Saturday vs. Morgan State.
He tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds in MU's 85-68 win over Western Carolina. It marked the Lagos, Nigeria native's first career double-double at MU.
Soyoye hit 8-of-11 field goals on the day, and snagged seven offensive rebounds in 29 minutes of action.
Soyoye enters the SMU game as MU's second-leading scorer (10.6 ppg) and is the team's top rebounder (8.2 rpg). He's also shooting a team-best 58.8% from the floor through five contests.
MU'S KEY: KEYON DOOLING
If the early season is any indication of things to come, keep an eye on electrifying sophomore guard Keyon Dooling, who clearly is the key to MU's fortunes.
He's battling a shooting slump that's hampered his scoring in the last two games, but he's still finding ways to make MU successful. After averaging 18.7 points in the Tigers' first three games, he's been held to a 6.0 average the last two times out. He's dished out a team-best nine assists in the last two games, however, and his direction has helped guide the Tigers to two straight impressive offensive performances.
Dooling helped fuel a Tiger comeback three games ago vs. UNCA, as he scored all 15 of his points in the second half, erasing a 10-point Bulldog lead. Dooling was held scoreless in the first half, as he could play only 9 minutes due to foul trouble.
Dooling led Missouri to victory against Princeton on Nov. 13th, as he scored 25 of MU's 51 points on the night (that's 49.0 percent of the team's scoring). The 25 points was a career high for the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native.
Last year as a freshman, Dooling averaged 8.7 points and 3.0 assists in 28 games for the Tigers. He averaged 10.7 points a game in Big 12 play, and had a seven-game stretch in which he averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 assists and shot 54.9% from the floor.
A RUSH TO JUDGMENT
No, it's not a cheesy made-for-TV movie about O.J. Simpson or Monica Lewinsky, although we'd like to see one that combines the two!
We're talking about Tiger freshman forward Kareem Rush, who has been pretty impressive thus far.
In MU's five games, Rush is averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He's coming off a 14-point performance in MU's win Saturday over Morgan State.
Rush was held to five points the previous outing vs. Western Carolina, but prior to that, he had a career-high 16 point game vs. UNCA. He hit 3 three-pointers on the night, and helped keep the Tigers in a game in which they trailed by 10 points at one point.
In MU's win against Princeton, Rush gave Quin Snyder 31 key minutes. He managed just five points (on 1-of-8 shooting), but came up huge on the boards, as he grabbed a game-high 10 caroms, including the game-saving rebound after Princeton's last-second attempt was no good. He also added two assists and a blocked shot on the night.
Against Wisconsin, he came off the bench to contribute eight points in 16 minutes of play.
THE RETURN OF GRAWER POWER
Junior guard Brian Grawer says he's never experienced the kind of shooting slump such as the one that saw him shoot just 20.7% (6-of-29) in MU's first four games of the year.
But if his last outing, on Saturday vs. Morgan State, is any indication, the St. Louis native appears to be regaining the form that saw him rank third in the nation last year in three-point field goal percentage (49.6%).
Grawer is coming off a season-best 10-point game vs. Morgan State. He hit 4-of-5 field goals on the day, including both of his three-point attempts.
For the season, Grawer is now just under 30 percent in shooting, and is averaging 6.6 points a game. He averaged 9.6 points a game last season as a junior, and shot 48.1 percent for the year.
GILBERT TAKING CHARGE
While it's well-known that he's never seen a shot he didn't like, sophomore guard Clarence Gilbert can also contribute to the cause with his tenacious defense and his rebounding.
Two games ago vs. Western Carolina, Gilbert, at just 6-foot-2 inches tall, grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, in addition to tying a career-high with 13 points. That marked the sparkplug's first career double-double.
Through five games, Gilbert is MU's third-leading scorer, averaging 9.6 points a game. Although he's shooting just 39.0% from the floor thus far, he's connected on 8-of-14 field goals in his last two games (57.1%).
Gilbert has scored in double figures in two of his last three games, and is currently second on the squad with 15 assists.
OH, TO BE YOUNG AGAIN
Okay, senior forward Jeff Hafer, at 22 years old, isn't exactly an old-timer. But, with all the bumps and bruises he's sustained in his Tiger career, it's been good to see the Joplin native flying all over the floor like he was a freshman again.
Hafer came off the bench Saturday vs. Morgan State, and sparked MU on both ends of the court. He had five points on the day, but more importantly, got his teammates involved, as he dished out a team-best and season-high five assists.
On the defensive end, he endeared himself to Coach Quin Snyder, as he took two charges during the game - a play which Snyder has declared as his favorite act of teammwork.
Hafer came off the bench and helped guide MU to its comeback win vs. UNCA. He scored 10 points (the first of his senior season), and added 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes of play.
He made a key play late in the game Friday that helped seal MU's win. With 3:09 left in the game, and MU clinging to a 67-62 lead, Hafer made a steal, and raced down the court for a crowd-pleasing slam while getting fouled. His free throw capped a three-point play which gave MU 70-62 lead, the Tigers' biggest of the night.
STEADY AS SHE GOES FOR PARKER
Junior forward Johnnie Parker might not have the flashiest numbers around, but the numbers he has posted thus far for the Tigers have been invaluable.
Through five games, the St. Louis native is averaging 9.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, the latter of which is the 2nd-best on the team.
He's coming off a nine-point, seven-rebound, three-assist game vs. Morgan State on Saturday. He also added two steals in 22 minutes.
He had a career-high 13 points in MU's win over Western Carolina on Nov. 21st, and is shooting a team-best 58.3% from three-point range.
.12-GAGE JOINS THE SQUAD
The Missouri roster grew by one this past week, when freshman Justin Gage joined the team.
Gage is a quarterback for the Mizzou football team, and played in three games this season for the Tigers as a true freshman. He threw for 138 yards in those three games, and tossed two touchdowns against Texas A&M on Nov. 13th in Columbia.
Gage was a standout player in basketball for Jefferson City High School, as well as being an all-state quarterback for the Jays.
He sat in street clothes on MU's bench for Saturday's game vs. Morgan State, and began practicing with the squad on Sunday.