Jan. 17, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers (9-6 overall, 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play), winners of two straight, head to Waco, Texas, where they'll take on the Baylor Bears (9-5, 0-3). Tipoff for Tuesday's game is set for 7:00 p.m.
Head Coach Quin Snyder and his Tigers are coming off impressive home wins over Kansas State and Colorado. A win for the Tigers would give MU three straight Big 12 wins for only the third time since the league formed in 1996.
The always-dangerous Bears are looking for their first win in Big 12 play this season, but their three losses have been at the hands of Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State - three of the Big 12's four ranked teams.
TIGER NEWS & NOTES 1999-2000
Game #16 - Missouri (9-6, 2-1) at Baylor (9-5, 0-3)
Jan. 18, 2000 - Waco, Texas
TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. (central).
ARENA: Ferrell Center (10,284). Baylor is 8-3 at home this season.
RADIO: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Carried on more than 50 stations statewide, and on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
TV: No television for this game.
RANKINGS: AP: MU (n/a)/BU (n/a), ESPN/USA Today: MU (n/a)/BU (n/a).
SERIES: BU leads, 5-4, and is 2-0 alltime vs. Missouri in Waco. MU has won 2-of-3 meetings since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
COACHES:
-
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89), 9-6 at MU (1st season), 9-6 overall (1st season).
Baylor: Dave Bliss (Cornell '65), 9-5 at BU (1st season), 474-276 overall (24th season). Bliss is 7-5 vs. Missouri, including 6-5 at Oklahoma, and 1-0 at New Mexico.
MISSOURI TIGERS (9-6, 2-1)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 24 | Jeff Hafer*** | 6-5 | 212 | Sr. | Joplin, Mo. | 6.9 / 3.2 |
| C | 33 | Tajudeen Soyoye | 6-9 | 236 | Jr. | Lagos, Nigeria | 9.9 / 6.7 |
| G | 5 | Keyon Dooling* | 6-3 | 184 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 16.8 / 1.8 |
| G | 12 | Brian Grawer** | 6-0 | 165 | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 6.4 / 2.7 |
| G | 4 | Clarence Gilbert* | 6-2 | 197 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 12.1 / 3.4 |
BAYLOR BEARS (9-5, 0-3)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 24 | Terry Black | 6-5 | 215 | Jr. | Milwaukee, Wis. | 15.1 / 10.0 |
| F | 21 | Jamie Kendrick*** | 6-8 | 210 | Sr. | Troup, Texas | 7.8 / 5.4 |
| C | 54 | Ben Echols | 6-11 | 255 | Sr. | Houston, Texas | 8.4 / 7.6 |
| G | 3 | Tevis Stukes | 5-11 | 185 | Sr. | New Orleans, La. | 16.9 / 2.2 |
| G | 23 | DeMarcus Minor | 6-4 | 210 | Jr. | Rowlett, Texas | 10.5 / 4.8 |
MISSOURI-BAYLOR SERIES
Missouri and Baylor have met nine previous times, and the Bears hold a slim 5-4 lead in the series.
MU has won 2-of-3 games in Big 12 Conference play, with the home team winning each time. The Tigers are 0-2 alltime vs. Baylor in Waco, with losses coming in 1994 and 1998.
Please see page four of this release for a breakdown of the MU-BU series.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| MIZZOU | BAYLOR | |
| 9-6 | Overall Record | 9-5 |
| 2-1 | Big 12 Record | 0-3 |
| W 2 | Current Win-Loss Streak | L 3 |
| .421 | Field Goal Percentage | .446 |
| .446 | Opponent FG Percentage | .417 |
| .368 | 3-PT FG Percentage | .303 |
| .311 | Opponent 3-PT FG Percentage | .311 |
| 9.2 | 3-PT FGs Made Per Game | 5.8 |
| 25.0 | 3-PT FGs Attempted Per Game | 19.1 |
| .681 | Free Throw Percentage | .638 |
| 33.5 | Rebound Average | 39.3 |
| -3.4 | Rebound Margin | +4.0 |
| 13.5 | Turnovers Per Game | 19.9 |
| 16.8 | Opponents Turnovers Per Game | 17.6 |
| 70.9 | Points Per Game | 70.1 |
| 66.1 | Opponents Points Per Game | 65.4 |
| +4.8 | Average Margin | +4.7 |
A DISH BEST SERVED COLD?
While 1st-year Tiger Head Coach Quin Snyder will face Baylor skipper Dave Bliss for the first time on Tuesday, Snyder's team will be looking to exact some revenge.
Bliss was at the helm for New Mexico last season, when the Lobos knocked Missouri out of the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico downed MU, 61-59 in the NCAA West Regional 1st Round in Denver, Colo.
Bliss is certainly no stranger to Missouri basketball, as he went against MU regularly from 1975-80, when he was the head coach at Oklahoma. His OU teams went 6-5 against Missouri, giving him a 7-5 lifetime mark versus the Tigers.
TIGER FACT-OF-THE-GAME
Missouri is the Big 12 Conference's top three-point shooting team, with a league-best 138 threes made in 15 games. However, the stats show that when MU attempts 20 or more threes in a game, they are just a .500 team (6 wins, 6 losses). When the Tigers try fewer than 20 threes, they are a perfect 3-0.
SERIES HISTORY
BAYLOR
(BU Leads, 5-4)
LAST 20 MEETINGS
| 12-28-46 | L, *51-58 | at Oklahoma City |
| 12-16-48 | L, 44-45 | at Columbia |
| 12-17-48 | L, 42-49 | at Columbia |
| 12-5-75 | W, 105-70 | at Columbia |
| 12-12-81 | W, 70-51 | at Columbia |
| 11-29-84 | L, 88-103 | at Waco |
| FIRST YEAR | IN BIG 12 | CONFERENCE |
| 1-14-97 | W, 82-66 | at Columbia |
| 2-11-98 | L, 80-89 | at Waco |
| 1-30-99 | W, 73-55 | at Columbia |
*All-College Tournament
at Columbia: MU leads, 4-2 at Hearnes: MU leads, 4-0
at Waco: BU leads, 2-0
at Neutral Sites: BU leads, 1-0
Big 12 Conference Games: MU Leads, 2-1
Big 12 Tournament Games: No meetings
TIGER COMEBACKS
Missouri has rallied from deficits five 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 |
| 12-1 | SMU | 6 pts. (5:58, 2nd) | 63-60 |
| 12-21 | Illinois | 14 pts. (8:03, 1st) | 78-72 |
| 1-12 | Colorado | 7 pts. (9:21, 1st) | 100-86 |
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
Missouri will be looking for its fourth straight win playing in the Lone Star State, as the Tigers went 3-0 last year.
MU notched wins at SMU, Texas A&M and Texas last season to achieve the sweep.
LAST YEAR AT COLUMBIA
MU 73, Baylor 55Jan. 30, 1999 -- Columbia, Mo.
Freshman Keyon Dooling had 22 points and outscored Baylor for most of the first half in Missouri's 73-55 victory. Dooling had 17 of his points in the first half as the Tigers rolled to a 42-19 lead. He made six of 10 shots, was 9-for-10 at the line and added four assists and three steals. Eight of Dooling's points came in a 22-2 run over a seven-minute span midway through the first half that turned a two-point game into a 34-12 blowout. Brian Grawer added 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for Missouri, which led by as many as 31 points in the second half.
| BU (55) | FG | 3PT | FT | RB | A | PF | TP |
| Kendrick - f | 4-11 | 2-3 | 3-5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Jones, R. - f | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Lewis - c | 5-13 | 0-0 | 4-9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| Smith - g | 1-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Morris - g | 3-7 | 0-1 | 4-4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Sellers | 3-5 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Jones, D. | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Allen | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| McCasland | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gipson | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ramirez | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Echols | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Totals | 18-54 | 6-15 | 13-23 | 36 | 7 | 20 | 55 |
| MU (73) | FG | 3PT | FT | RB | A | PF | TP |
| Hafer - f | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| White - f | 2-7 | 1-1 | 3-6 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Hardge - c | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Dooling - g | 6-10 | 1-2 | 9-10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 22 |
| Grawer - g | 5-7 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Stevenson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilbert | 0-5 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wampler | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Parker | 3-8 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Woods | 4-8 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Rowan | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Schumacher | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Totals | 24-53 | 8-16 | 17-29 | 43 | 16 | 20 | 73 |
| Baylor | 19 | 36 - | 55 |
| Missouri | 42 | 31 - | 73 |
Officials: Rucker, Bosone, Higgins
OFFENSE GETTING UNTRACKED
Missouri is showing vast improvement in its offensive game, of late, as the Tigers rank as the Big 12's 2nd-highest scoring team in league games, with an 84.7 per-game average entering Tuesday's game at Baylor.
MU is coming off an off shooting day against Kansas State, as the Tigers connected on only 39.7% from the floor against the Wildcats. Despite the poor shooting performance, MU still managed to post 73 points, which is the 7th-most points they've scored in a game this season.
Last Wednesday in a 100-86 win over Colorado, the Tigers had a brilliant offensive performance.
Missouri shot a scintillating 64.6% from the floor against the 'Buffs, which is the best shooting day for an MU team since the Tigers hit for 64.7% against Chicago State on Dec. 2, 1995. It's also the best mark put forth by a Tiger team since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. The previous Big 12 best by MU was a 56.7% shooting day at Texas A&M in 1999.
In scoring 100 points for the first time since beating Southern, 111-69 on Dec. 30, 1996, the Tigers' offensive prowess was impressive, considering the fact that just eight days earlier, MU suffered through its worst shooting performance in over 22 years. On Jan. 8th, MU fell to Winthrop, 51-46, in a game in which the Tigers made just 25.0% of their shots. That was MU's lowest output since shooting 23.9% in a 96-49 loss to Kansas on Dec. 28, 1977.
GILBERT LEADS BIG 12 IN SCORING
Sophomore guard Clarence Gilbert enters Tuesday's game as the top scorer in Big 12 Conference games, as he's scoring at a 23.3 points per game clip. He's got a slight lead over Marcus Fizer of Iowa State who is second, at 22.7 points a game.
Gilbert celebrated his 20th birthday Saturday vs. Kansas State by scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds. In Big 12 games, he's now scored 26 points (at Iowa State), 19 points (vs. Colorado) and 25 points (vs. KSU).
Additionally, Keyon Dooling ranks 9th in league games with a 16.0 per-game average, and T.J. Soyoye is 20th with a 13.0 average.
Yes, we're just three games into the league season, but Tigers rank high in nearly every category thus far. Here's a quick look:
FG% - Johnnie Parker, 6th (65.2%)
Assists - Brian Grawer, 8th (4.3)
FT% - Jeff Hafer, 6th (85.7%)
Steals - Brian Grawer, 2nd (2.67)
3-pt. FG% - Clarence Gilbert, 3rd (57.1%)
3-pt. FG% - Keyon Dooling, 10th (45.0%)
3-pt. FGs - Clarence Gilbert, 1st (5.33)
3-pt. FGs - Keyon Dooling, 6th (3.0)
THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 9-6 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. His first win in the Big 12 Conference came on Jan. 12th, as the Tigers jumped Colorado, 100-86.
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.
TIGER QUICK FACTS
After scoring a career-high 26 points at Iowa State to open the Big 12 season, sophomore guard Clarence Gilbert followed up with 19 more vs. Colorado and 25 vs. Kansas State, the latter of which came on his 20th birthday. He's hit a league-best 16 three pointers (in 28 attempts, for a 57.1% rate) in the three contests. His 70 combined points in league games thus far is just seven points shy of his total in 16 Big 12 games last year as a freshman.
Sophomore guard Keyon Dooling was near perfect last week vs. Colorado, when he scored 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point land. He also was good on 7-of-8 free throws on the night, and added five assists. His 25 points tied a career high, and he's accomplished that three times this season - against Princeton, #15 Illinois and Colorado.
Junior guard BRIAN GRAWER scored 14 points Saturday vs. Kansas State, which is just one point shy of his season high. Grawer made 6-of-12 shots on the day, a sign that he could be finding his way out of an extended shooting slump. The career 48 percent shooter is connecting on 32 percent of his shots thus far.
Missouri ranks 56th in the latest RPI rankings, while Baylor rates #108 in the land. MU's schedule ranks as the 35th toughest in the nation currently. The Big 12 Conference is ranked as the #3 league in strength ratings, behind only the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.
Johnnie Parker followed up a 10-point performance at Iowa State by racking up a career-high 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench last Wednesday. That gave him his first back-to-back double figure scoring games since he scored 10 points in consecutive games as a freshman against Illinois and Maryland. He was held to four points Saturday vs. Kansas State, but did lead the team with a season-high eight rebounds.
Senior forward Jeff Hafer also chimed in with a career-high 19 points against Colorado last Wednesday, eclipsing the previous best of 18 he had against Coppin State as a sophomore. Hafer hit 12-of-14 free throws on the night, and added four assists. He could play only 10 minutes due to foul trouble Saturday vs. KSU, and was held to four points.
REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL
Missouri is not exactly what you'd consider a huge team, as only two players on the roster stand 6-foot-9 or taller.
But the Tigers have come up big on the glass in the last two outings, as they've outrebounded both Colorado and Kansas State. Those performances broke a string of eight straight games in which MU had been outrebounded by foes.
Against KSU, the Tigers enjoyed a 46-33 rebounding advantage, including 16-6 on the offensive end, which led to an 18-4 edge in second chance points in the game. Additionally, MU's starting guard trio of Keyon Dooling (7 rebounds), Clarence Gilbert (6) and Brian Grawer (6) accounted for 19 combined rebounds.
Rebounding also keyed MU's win over Colorado last week.. Mizzou outrebounded CU by only one, 30-29, but Colorado came into the game as the Big 12's 2nd-best rebounding team.
In MU's previous six games the outsized Tigers had been outrebounded by a margin of 244-to-170 (an average of 40.7 to 28.3), including a season-high deficit of 18 against Kentucky (44-to-26).
Missouri is averaging 33.5 rebounds a game entering the Baylor contest. The Tigers are 5-0 when outrebounding their opponent, and 3-5 when losing the battle of the boards.
DEFENSE TIGHTENS THE SCREWS
After giving up 86 points in consecutive games against Iowa State and Colorado, Head Coach Quin Snyder preached to his Tigers the importance of focusing on defense.
The message was received crystal clear by Snyder's troops last Saturday, as the Tigers put the clamps down on Kansas State. MU held the Wildcats to 38.9% shooting, including 18.8% from three-point range (3-of-16). Additionally, MU harassed the Wildcats into 20 turnovers, and tied a season high by nabbing 13 steals.
The Tigers have twice held opponents to under 35% - including an opponent season-low mark of 34.5% percent vs. Morgan State.
ACHIEVING A BALANCE
Unlike this SID's checkbook, the Missouri Tigers have showed great balance of late, on the offensive end of things.
MU has had at least four players score in double figures in each of the three conference games thus far. MU had five score in double digits against both Iowa State and Colorado, and had four reach that mark Saturday vs. Kansas State.
For the season, only three Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring (not counting Kareem Rush, who is inactive currently), but in Big 12 play, a whopping six Tigers are scoring in double figures, led by Clarence Gilbert's 23.3 per-game standard. Other Tigers in double figures in league play include: Keyon Dooling (16.0 ppg), T.J. Soyoye (13.0), Brian Grawer (10.3), Jeff Hafer (10.0) and Johnnie Parker (10.0).
OUR 'A' MATERIAL
Statistics can be manipulated to explain any number of things, but thus far through the season, one fact seems to say alot about Missouri's success.
When junior center T.J. Soyoye plays 26 minutes or more in a game, the Tigers are 9-1 on the year. He's averaging 11.6 points in those ten games.
When he has been sadled with foul trouble and has played 25 minutes or fewer, the Tigers miss his presence - they're 0-5. He's averaging 7.4 points in those games.
RUSH BACK FOR TEXAS a&M GAME
The NCAA has ruled that freshman forward Kareem Rush must miss a total of nine games, down from the original ruling of 14 games. He's already sat out seven games thus far, and will miss two more, including Tuesday's game at Baylor. The first game he'll be back for is on Jan. 29th vs. Texas A&M.
After declaring Rush ineligible for competition on Dec. 14th, the University of Missouri learned from the NCAA on Dec. 21st that Rush could be reinstated given that certain conditions are met.
The NCAA ruled that Rush will be required to repay the amount of money he received from an AAU coach, prior to his enrollment at Missouri, which has been deemed as an impermissible benefit. Rush will have the length of his eligibility to complete the payment. The money will go to the charity or charities of his choice.
The reinstatement staff has also ruled that Rush must be withheld from 33 percent of Missouri's competition during the 1999-2000 season (nine games). Prior to the appeal, the NCAA had ruled that he must miss 50 percent (14 games).
THE DYNAMIC DUO
Batman and Robin beware, Missouri can claim a pretty potent duo of its own, in sophomore guards Keyon Dooling and Clarence Gilbert.
Dooling and Gilbert, childhood friends and high school teammates from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are the top two scorers on the Tiger squad, entering the Baylor contest.
Dooling leads all MU scorers, and ranks 9th in the Big 12, with an average of 16.3 points a game. He leads the team in field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, steals and minutes played, and is second on the squad in assists, steals and three point field goals made.
Gilbert is second on the team with a scoring average of 13.0 points a game, more than three times his freshman scoring average of 4.2. Gilbert is averaging 23.3 points a game in league play, a statistic which currently leads the league. For the season, he's shooting 44.4% from three-point range, up from 23.7% a year ago.
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
Missouri has used the three-point shot to its advantage this year. The Tigers enter the Baylor game as the top three-point outfit in the Big 12 Conference. Through 15 games, Missouri has hit 138-of-375 three pointers, both totals which are tops in the Big 12 Conference thus far.
MU has made at least 10 three pointers in in six of its last 12 games, and last week had a scorching night against Colorado when the Tigers hit 10-of-15 attempts for a season-best 66.7% clip.
Ironically, however, MU scored a season-high 100 points on Wednesday against Colorado, but the 15 three point attempts were the fewest they've tried this season.
Taking a look at the season stats, it appears that when MU tries fewer threes, they are more successful. The three games in which MU has attempted the fewest number of threes this year, MU is 3-0. The three games in which they have attempted the most number of threes this year, the Tigers are just 1-2. Here's a breakdown:
| 15 vs. Colorado | W |
| 17 vs. SMU | W |
| 20 vs. Illinois | W |
| -- | |
| 31 vs. Morgan State | W |
| 30 vs. Indiana | L |
| 30 vs. Winthrop | L |
MU tied a single game school record back on Nov. 27th when it made 15 threes in a rout of Morgan State. The 15 threes made tied the 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.
Conversely, Tiger opponents have yet to reach double digits in threes made for a game. Princeton had an opponent high when they hit eight treys on Nov. 13 against the Tigers.
Season records to keep an eye on include 214 three-pointers made and 580 treys attempted, both by the 1997-98 squad. Through 14 games, the Tigers are on pace to make 267 three pointers in 725 attempts.
GETTING TO THE LINE
All season long, Tiger Coach Quin Snyder has preached the importance of driving the ball, which leads to open shots and getting fouled. Missouri was aggressive on the offensive end last week against Colorado, as the Tigers' efforts to get to the hoop resulted in a season-high 28 made free throws. MU shot a solid 77.8% from the line (28-of-38), which was a big factor in the outcome of the game, as CU was 19-of-28 on the night.
MU followed up by making 14-of-19 free throws against Kansas State. Through three league games, MU leads the conference with a 75.8% rate from the foul line.
MU faced a huge deficit at the foul line at Iowa State, as the Cyclones hit 24-of-34 free throws, compared to just 8-of-11 for the Tigers. MU actually outscored ISU by a 73-62 margin from the field, but couldn't overcome the Cyclones advantage from the line.
Missouri enjoyed a nice advantage at the foul line against Winthrop, shooting 25 foul shots to 10 for the visiting Eagles. But the Tigers could convert on only 15 of those freebies (60.0 percent), and made only two of six free throws in the game's final two minutes.
MU had trouble getting to the line against Indiana. In that game, MU earned only eight free throw attempts, making six, while the Hoosiers connected on 18-of-27 on the night - clearly a deciding factor in IU's five-point win.
TIGERS HIT THE ROAD
When MU plays at Baylor Tuesday evening, the game will mark just the second true road game of the year for the Tigers.
Due to a scheduling rarity, five of the Tigers' six games thus far outside of the Hearnes Center have been played at neutral-court sites. Missouri opened up at the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y., and never faced the host Orangemen. Later, the Tigers played a pair of neutral-site games in St. Louis and closed out 1999 by facing Kentucky in New Orleans, La. MU dropped a 86-81 decision at Iowa State on Jan. 8th to open league play.
The Tigers hold a 1-4 record in games away from the Hearnes Center thus far. Here's a look at the Tigers' numbers this season at home compared to the six games they've played thus far outside the friendly confines of Hearnes:
| Category | Home | Away |
| Record | 7-2 | 2-4 |
| Points | 74.8 | 65.0 |
| Opp. Points | 63.8 | 69.5 |
| FG % | 43.6 | 39.6 |
| Opp. FG % | 41.3 | 50.2 |
| 3-pt. FG % | 35.4 | 39.0 |
| Rebounds | 36.7 | 28.8 |
Individually, numbers which stand out include the following: T.J. Soyoye is averaging 12.3 ppg at Hearnes, and just 7.0 away from home ... Soyoye is shooting an outstanding 59.4% from the floor at Hearnes (41-of-69 FGs), and just 42.4% away from home (14-of-33)...Conversely, leading scorer Keyon Dooling is averaging 20.2 ppg away from Hearnes, compared to 13.8 ppg at home.
TIGERS SIGN THREE PREP BLUE-
CHIPPERS DURING EARLY PERIOD
MU Head Coach Quin Snyder has signed three high school standouts in what looks to become one of the nation's top recruiting classes.
During the early signing period, which ran from Nov. 10-17, Snyder inked prep stars Rickey Paulding, Arthur Johnson and Wesley Stokes to national letters of intent.
Here's a look at each of them:
RICKEY PAULDING
Paulding, a 6-foot-5 guard from Detroit Renaissance High School, is considered one of the nation's top 30 prep prospects, and has been selected to the pre-season all-American team by Street & Smith Magazine . He averaged 25.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots per game last season at Renaissance High, and was selected to Michigan's all-state team in 1999. His point total led the extremely competitive Detroit Public School League last year.
Paulding selected Missouri over Michigan State, Ohio State and Miami, Fla.
ARTHUR JOHNSON
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Detroit Pershing High School, is considered a top 30 national prospect by many recruiting services. He's one of the top big men in the country, and is coming off a season in which he averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds per game as a junior. He led his Pershing team to a top-five ranking in the state last year, and earned all-state honors for his efforts.
Johnson selected Missouri over Miami, Fla., Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. His high school coach is Arnold Neville.
WESLEY STOKES
Stokes, a 5-foot-10 point guard out of Long Beach Poly, is considered the top-rated point guard prospect in the West, and is a top-50 national recruit. Stokes averaged 16 points, eight assists and four steals per game last year as a junior, and garnered much attention after some superb play in various summer all-star camps.
Stokes selected Missouri over Southern California, San Diego State, Texas and Massachusetts. His high school coach is Ron Palmer, who directed Long Beach Poly to a 24-7 record last season, and the quarterfinals of the Southern California Regionals. They are a pre-season favorite to win the Southern Section Division I-AA championship, which would be their second in the past four years.
"We're obviously very excited to have such good kids want to join our program," said Quin Snyder. "We get better with all three of them, in different ways."
MIZZOU SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD
At Missouri's home game on Dec. 7th vs. Indiana, the Tigers played in an electric atmosphere that included 13,782 fans.
That was a single-game attendance record for the Hearnes Center - breaking the previous mark of 13,706 set in 1989 vs. Kansas. It is only the second entry in the top ten that involves a non-conference team.
Here's a listing of the top ten single-game attendance records at Hearnes.
| 1. | 13,782, 12-7-99 vs. Indiana |
| 2. | 13,706, 2-11-89 vs. Kansas |
| 3. | 13,645, 1-14-89 vs. Iowa State |
| 4. | 13,610, 2-27-88 vs. Kansas |
| 5. | 13,558, 2-21-88 vs. Oklahoma State |
| 6. | 13,544, 1-23-88 vs. Iowa State |
| 7. | 13,471, 3-3-88 vs. Oklahoma |
| 8. | 13,470, 2-4-89 vs. Kansas State |
| 9. | 13,454, 12-28-88 vs. Arkansas |
| 10. | 13,360, 1-21-89 vs. Oklahoma State |
TIGER QUICK NOTES
Sophomore forward Matt Rowan left the University of Missouri men's basketball team, and will transfer from MU at the following of the fall semester, as announced Nov. 16th by Head Coach Quin Snyder.
Rowan, a Liberty, Mo. native, did not play in either of Missouri's games at the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. The 6-foot-7 forward saw limited action last season as a freshman, averaging 0.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 17 games. He averaged 4.9 minutes played in those contests.
Rowan will remain on scholarship through the end of the fall semester, after which time he will be released from his commitment. By releasing him at the end of the semester, Rowan will be allowed to pursue a number of options. He will be eligible to play immediately at any Division II school, and would have to sit out until the end of the first semester of the 2000-2001 season if he was to choose another Division I program.
"We wish Matt the very best, and we'll do whatever we can to help him with his future plans," said Coach Snyder. "He's made a personal decision that he wants to be in a program where he'll be able to make more of a contribution, and we certainly understand and respect his decision."
A quick check of the MU record book shows that Missouri had never before won a game when shooting worse than 30.0%. The Tigers managed a 51-48 win over Princeton on Nov. 13th despite shooting just 29.4%. The previous low shooting night during a Tiger win was back on Feb. 8, 1995, when MU shot just 30.0%, but beat Iowa State, 59-56 in Columbia.
The first point scored in the Quin Snyder era came on a free throw from T.J. Soyoye. Johnnie Parker hit the first field goal (a three-pointer), got the first steal and blocked shot. Soyoye grabbed the first rebound, and Jeff Hafer was the first sub. Keyon Dooling clinched the first win for Snyder with a pair of free throws late in the game vs. Princeton.
An impressive handful of visitors have come calling in the early season to check out Quin Snyder and his Tigers. Early in the year, Doug Collins, current NBA analyst for NBC Sports, and a former NBA head coach and all-star player, visited Tiger camp. He saw the Tigers three days during his visit, and addressed the Tiger team following one practice.
Also paying a visit to Columbia a few weeks ago was former Duke and Vanderbilt standout Billy McCaffrey. He saw practices on two days before heading out of town.
Earlier this summer, current Detroit Pistons Head Coach Alvin Gentry paid a visit to Columbia. Gentry coached with MU associate head coach John Hammond at Detroit.
TELEVISION
AFFILIATES
Following are the statewide television affiliates for the Big 12 Basketball Network broadcast of the Texas A&M-Missouri game on Jan. 29th:
| Cape Girardeau | WDKA-TV |
| Columbia | KMIZ-TV |
| Kansas City | KMCI-TV |
| St. Louis | KDNL-TV |
| Springfield | KYTV |
MU MILESTONES
Brian Grawer needs 3 three-point field goal to move into 7th place on the MU career three-point field goal chart, past John Woods, who stands 7th, with 119 career treys.
Jeff Hafer needs 3 steals to move into 7th place on the MU career steals chart.
TIGER SIDEBARS
Four Tigers - seniors Jeff Hafer, Mark Wampler and juniors Brian Grawer and Tajudeen Soyoye - visited a Columbia restaurant on Thanksgiving Day and helped distribute food to the needy and homeless.
Junior guard Brian Grawer helps coach the boys fifth-grade basketball team at Columbia's Mill Creek Elementary School on Thursday nights.
Freshman guard Josh Kroenke was a ballboy for the Missouri basketball team as a grade-schooler in Columbia.
Missouri held a canned food drive earlier in the season in conjunction with the Thanksgiving holiday, and fans donated over 1,000 cans of food for the area homeless.
THE QUIN SNYDER SHOW
Starting the weekend of January 8, Tiger fans can join Quin Snyder for 13 weekends of exciting Tiger basketball. Beginning with rugged Big 12 Conference play right through the excitement of the NCAA Tournament, viewers will be able to meet Tiger players, review action-packed highlights and receive Coach Snyder's analysis of each week's games.
Watch the Quin Snyder Show on the following network affiliates across the state of Missouri:
| City | Station | DAY/TIME |
| C. Girardeau | KBSI-TV | Sun.@10 p.m. |
| Columbia | KOMU-TV | Sat.@12:30 p.m. |
| Joplin | KGCS-TV | Mon.@5:30 p.m. |
| Kansas City | KMCI-TV | Sat.@12 p.m. |
| Kansas City | Metro Sports | Mon. @ 7 p.m. |
| Kirksville | KYOU-TV | Sun.@11:30 p.m. |
| St. Louis | KPLR-TV | Sun.@9:30 a.m. |
| St. Joseph | KQTV | Sat.@TBA |
| Springfield | KYTV | Sat.@12 p.m. |
TIGER TALK
Missouri Tigers fans who wish to speak with MU Head Basketball Coach Quin Snyder can do so each Monday night through the radio facilities of the Tiger Network.
"Tiger Talk" airs each Monday evening from 7-8 p.m., on radio stations across the state. Persons in central Missouri may also attend the show, which is broadcast "live" each week from Harpo's in downtown Columbia, located at the intersection of 10th and Cherry streets.
Snyder spends most of the hour fielding telephone calls from interested fans across the state, and even the nation. Tiger players often appear as guests, as do coaches of MU opponents, college basketball media experts from across the country, broadcasters, and others on the inside of college athletics.
"Tiger Talk" is hosted by Mike Kelly, the Tiger Network voice of the Tigers, as well as director of broadcast operations for the University of Missouri athletic department.