Feb. 1, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Standing just one half game out of first place in the Big 12 Conference race, the Missouri Tigers (12-6 overall, 5-1 in Big 12 play) begin a big two-game road swing this week when they play Wednesday in Boulder, Colo. against the Colorado Buffaloes (11-8, 2-5). Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. (Central Time).
Missouri, 1-1 in league road games thus far, continues its road trip at Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. MU defeated Colorado on Jan. 12th in Columbia by a score of 100-86. The Tigers will be looking for their first win in Boulder since 1994. CU is 8-1 at home.
Colorado began league play 0-3, but has since split the last four games, playing what is arguably the toughest stretch of games to start the Big 12 season. The 'Buffs have lost two straight entering Wednesday's contest, at Kansas and at Texas.
Game #19 - Missouri (12-6, 5-1) at Colorado (11-8, 2-5)
Feb. 2, 2000 - Boulder, Colo.
TIPOFF: 8:00 p.m. (central).
ARENA: Coors Events Center (11,198). MU is 11-9 there, but CU has won five straight.
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 contest.
RANKINGS: MU is receiving votes in the AP poll, CU is not ranked.
SERIES: MU leads, 82-47, and has won two straight in the series. CU has won four of the seven meetings since the beginning of the Big 12 Conference (1996-97 season).
COACHES:
-
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89), 12-6 at MU (1st season), 12-6 overall (1st season). Snyder is 1-0 vs. Colorado and Ricardo Patton.
Colorado: Ricardo Patton (Belmont '80), 68-56 at CU (5th season), 68-56 overall (5th season). Patton is 5-3 vs. Missouri and is 0-1 vs. Quin Snyder.
MISSOURI TIGERS (12-6, 5-1)
(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. | 7.2 / 3.2 |
| C | 33 | Tajudeen Soyoye | 6-9 | 236 | Jr. | Lagos, Nigeria | 10.8 / 6.4 |
| G | 5 | Keyon Dooling* | 6-3 | 184 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 16.1 / 2.4 |
| G | 12 | Brian Grawer** | 6-0 | 165 | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 6.9 / 2.8 |
| G | 4 | Clarence Gilbert* | 6-2 | 197 | So. | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 13.9 / 3.5 |
COLORADO BUFFALOES (11-8, 2-5)
(Probable Starting Lineup/Just an SID's best guess)
| P | NO | NAME | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN | PPG/RPG |
| F | 5 | Jamahl Mosley** | 6-8 | 225 | Jr. | San Diego, Calif. | 12.2 / 7.2 |
| F | 10 | Will Smith*** | 6-6 | 206 | Sr. | Memphis, Tenn. | 7.1 / 3.1 |
| C | 50 | Richard Fox | 6-11 | 250 | Fr. | Denver, Colo. | 8.8 / 7.5 |
| G | 3 | Jose Winston* | 6-0 | 180 | So. | Milwaukee, Wisc. | 3.5 / 2.6 |
| G | 4 | Jaquay Walls* | 6-3 | 180 | Sr. | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 16.5 / 3.3 |
MISSOURI-COLORADO SERIES
Missouri leads the overall series by a margin of 82-47, and has won two straight meetings - both in Columbia.
Colorado, however, has won five straight over Missouri at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, and leads MU 12-8 there since the building opened 20 years ago. MU's last win in Boulder came during the 1994 Big Eight season in which the Tigers went a perfect 14-0.
CU has won four of the seven matchups between the two schools since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
Coaching-wise, MU's Quin Snyder is 1-0 against CU and Ricardo Patton, with a 100-86 win earlier in the season. Patton is 5-3 vs. Missouri, and is 0-1 vs. Snyder.
Please see page four of these propagana-lined pages for a breakdown of the last 20 games of the MU-CU series.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| MIZZOU | COLORADO | |
| 12-6 | Overall Record | 11-8 |
| 5-1 | Big 12 Record | 2-5 |
| W 5 | Current Win-Loss Streak | L 2 |
| .437 | Field Goal Percentage | .430 |
| .442 | Opponent FG Percentage | .419 |
| .372 | 3-PT FG Percentage | .331 |
| .311 | Opponent 3-PT FG Percentage | .312 |
| 9.1 | 3-PT FGs Made Per Game | 4.3 |
| 24.5 | 3-PT FGs Attempted Per Game | 12.9 |
| .678 | Free Throw Percentage | .670 |
| 33.0 | Rebound Average | 40.8 |
| -3.9 | Rebound Margin | +4.4 |
| 13.4 | Turnovers Per Game | 14.4 |
| 17.6 | Opponents Turnovers Per Game | 16.4 |
| 72.8 | Points Per Game | 75.1 |
| 65.8 | Opponents Points Per Game | 76.3 |
| +7.0 | Average Margin | -1.2 |
LAST TIME VS. COLORADO
MU 100, COLORADO 86Jan. 12, 2000 -- Columbia, Mo.
Keyon Dooling, Jeff Hafer and Johnnie Parker all set or matched career highs and Missouri shot a scintillating 64 percent from the floor, as the Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 100-86 win over Colorado.
Dooling was 7-of-8, hit all four 3-point attempts, and was 7-of-8 at the foul line to score 25 points for the third time this season. Eleven of his points came in the final 10 minutes, with Missouri nursing small leads. The Tigers pulled away by going 13-of-16 at the free-throw line in the final five minutes.
Missouri was 10-of-15 from 3-point range, en route to scoring 100 points for the first time since 1995. Clarence Gilbert hit his first five attempts and added 19 points.
Gilbert and Dooling were a combined 8-of-9 from 3-point range in the first half as Missouri took a 48-38 halftime lead.
The Tigers hit their first five from 3-point range. Gilbert had four of them, including three in a stretch of 1:26.
SCORING EXPLOSION
Missouri began its current five-game winning streak on Jan. 12th in Columbia against Colorado. Since then, MU has knocked off Kansas State, Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M in succession.
In those five games, Missouri has really put things together on the offensive end. MU has shot 51.4 percent as a team in the five wins, compared to just 42.7 percent by opponents.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that the Tigers have averaged 84.2 points a game in the string - just under 16 points more than the team was averaging prior to the first meeting with CU (68.5 ppg). The Tigers are outscoring foes by a 17.2 point margin per game during the current streak (84.2 to 67.0).
STREAKING TIPS
Going hand-in-hand with the increased production is MU's assist totals and a more balanced scoring attack.
During the current five-game winning streak, MU has averaged 18.4 assists per game, exactly six more than the team averaged in its prior 13 games.
Additionally, five Tigers, led by Clarence Gilbert (18.4 ppg) are averaging double figures in scoring in the winning streak. Two others have scoring averages of more than nine points, as well.
Individually, Clarence Gilbert has made 22 three-point field goals in the five games, with is just under half of the team's total of 45 during the same stretch. Gilbert has hit 22-of-43 treys in the streak, good for a 51.2 percentage rate.
Johnnie Parker and Jeff Hafer have shot the ball extremely well of late, as they are connecting at respective rates of 68.8 and 64.5 percent.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
While an MU win at Colorado on Wednesday might not be as historically significant as man landing on the moon, or the invention of Cheez-Whiz, it would still mark a pretty large accomplishment for the Tigers.
A win on Wednesday would give the current MU squad six straight conference wins. Since the 1922-23 Tigers went 14-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play, only seven other MU teams have won as many as six consecutive regular-season conference games. None of those teams finished worse than third place in the conference standings, and five of them went on to claim conference championships.
Here's a look at those teams:
| Winning | League | League | |
| Year | Streak | Record | Standing |
| 1993-94 | 14 | 14-0 | 1st |
| 1981-82 | 8 | 12-2 | 1st |
| 1989-90 | 7 | 12-2 | 1st |
| 1979-80 | 7 | 11-3 | 1st |
| 1988-89 | 6 | 10-4 | 2nd |
| 1986-87 | 6 | 11-3 | 1st |
| 1976-77 | 6 | 9-5 | 3rd |
SUPER NUMBERS
Missouri turned in an impressive statistical day against Texas A&M last Saturday in MU's 93-62 win.
The Tigers turned in a season-high 24 assists on the day, and forced an opponent season-high 29 turnovers. MU scored a whopping 47 points off Aggie turnovers.
Additionally, MU nabbed 20 steals against Texas A&M, a total which is the second-highest single-game total in Tiger history. The 20 steals turned in Saturday trail only the mark of 23 accomplished on Dec. 3, 1991 vs. Florida A&M.
START ME UP
With a 5-1 record through six games, Missouri is already off to its best start since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
A win Wednesday would give the Tigers a 6-1 league record, which would be one game better than they've ever stood through seven games in Big 12 play. If they follow the progression pattern below, look for the Tigers to make some noise this season.
Here's a look at how the Tigers have started the league season in the past three years:
| Year | 1st 7 | Overall (Place) |
| 1996-97 | 2-5 | 5-11 (10th) |
| 1997-98 | 3-4 | 8-8 (5th) |
| 1998-99 | 5-2 | 11-5 (2nd) |
THE QUIN-TISENNTIALS
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 12-6 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. His first-ever road win will go down in the books as a 74-72 win at Baylor on Jan. 18th.
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.
A VALUABLE RESOURCE
The return of Kareem Rush to the Tiger lineup gives Quin Snyder not only another explosive offensive weapon, but it helps give MU a much deeper bench.
To illustrate the point, consider the following fact: in the nine games that Rush had to sit out, the Tiger bench averaged just 9.8 points per game. In the nine games that Rush has played, the Tiger bench has contributed an average of 24.9 points a contest.
Last Saturday vs. Texas A&M was a perfect example of what depth can do for a team. In the Tigers' dismantling of the Aggies, MU reserves contributed 43 points off the bench, compared to just nine points off the bench for A&M.
MU's season high for reserves in a game came vs. Morgan State, when the Tiger bench outscored MSU by a 46-9 margin.
OFFENSE GETTING UNTRACKED
Since conference season rolled around, the Missouri has turned itself into one of the league's top offensive units, as the Tigers rank as the Big 12's highest scoring team in league games, with an 83.7 per-game average entering Wednesday's game at Colorado.
In conference play, MU also leads the league in field goal percentage (50.3%) and free throw percentage (71.2%) and is second in three-point shooting (41.8%).
The turnaround in offensive performance has been dramatic for the Tigers. Entering the league season, MU ranked 12th in the league in field goal percentage.
MU has shot better than 50.0 percent in two straight games, including a 52.3 percent shooting day vs. Texas A&M last Saturday. Previously, the Tigers had an outstanding performance against #7 Kansas, in which MU shot 54.7% from the floor, including 50.0% from three-point land (11-of-22).
In a 100-86 win over Colorado on Jan. 12th, 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.
WELCOME BACK, KAREEM!
After missing nine games due to an NCAA-mandated suspension, one had to wonder how long it would take freshman Kareem Rush to get back into the flow, when he returned to game action last Saturday vs. Texas A&M.
Well, it took the unflappable rookie from Kansas City, Mo. about as long as it takes Al Gore to flip-flop a position - not too long.
Rush entered the game with 14:30 left in the first half, and MU trailing the Aggies 13-5. Over the next three minutes, the Tigers went on a 14-0 run to regain the lead for good. On the day, Rush tied a career-high by scoring a team-high 16 points, on 6-of-10 shooting. He also added three assists, three steals and two rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
Rush missed games from Dec. 18 through Jan. 22, due to impermissible benefits he received from an AAU coach prior to his enrollment at Missouri.
The University first declared him ineligible on Dec. 14th, and turned in its findings to the NCAA. The NCAA then ruled he must sit out 50 percent of MU's games originally, but reduced the sentence to 33 percent, or nine games. Additionally, Rush will have four years to donate to charity the monetary value of gifts he received from his former coach.
Missouri managed to go 6-3 during Rush's absence, with big wins over #7 Kansas, #15 Illinois and Iowa, but was certainly welcomed back with open arms.
Rush is now averaging 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds a game, numbers which rank 3rd and 2nd, respectively, on the team.
GILBERT 3RD IN BIG 12 IN SCORING
Sophomore guard Clarence Gilbert enters Wednesday's game as the 3rd-leading scorer in Big 12 Conference games, as he's scoring at a 19.7 points per game clip. He had been leading the league in scoring through five games, but was held to six points Saturday vs. Texas A&M.
Gilbert recently turned in a performance against Kansas that will have Tiger fans talking for a long time. Against the Jayhawks, Gilbert scored a career-high 27 points, and didn't even play the last 6:09 because of an ankle sprain.
Gilbert hit 7-of-10 three pointers against KU, including a torrid stretch where he hit five straight treys to push MU out to a 56-39 lead with 12:41 left in the game. He also led the team with six rebounds, and added four assists.
Gilbert celebrated his 20th birthday on Jan. 15th vs. Kansas State by scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds. He's now scored 25 or more points in three league games already - 26 points (at Iowa State), 25 points (vs. KSU), and 27 points (vs. Kansas).
Gilbert's feats in conference play thus far are pretty impressive, given the fact that he averaged just 4.8 points a game in Big 12 play last year as a freshman.
He also ranks 1st in league games with 28 three-pointers made, and in three-point shooting percentage (51.9%). His season scoring average of 13.5 currently ranks 17th in the league.
TIGER QUICK FACTS
Sophomore guard Keyon Dooling has been MU's leading scorer all season, but he's really excelled in running the team of late, as he's averaging 5.8 assists per game in MU's last five games. He currently ranks 10th in the Big 12, with a scoring average of 15.8 points a game. He's coming off a solid game vs. Texas A&M in which he scored 12 points and added six assists and four steals in only 24 minutes of play. Three weeks ago vs. Colorado, he was near-perfect 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.
Johnnie Parker has been one of the key components in MU's five game winning streak, as the junior from St. Louis, Mo. has been playing the best ball of his Tiger career. He had 14 points (on 6-of-6 FGs) in 15 minutes Saturday vs. Texas A&M, and was a key performer in MU's win over Kansas. He scored nine points off the bench (on 4-of-5 FGs), and gave the Tigers a spark when he scored a bucket on MU's last possession of the first half for the third straight game. He currently ranks 2nd in conference play with a field goal percentage of 69.2 percent. Earlier, Parker had followed up a 10-point performance at Iowa State by racking up a career-high 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench vs. Colorado. 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.
Junior center tajudeen soyoye notched the second double-double of his career on Jan. 18th at Baylor, as he racked up 14 points and added 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. He followed up with a solid game against Kansas, when he scored 16 points and held KU's Eric Chenowith to six points and five rebounds. MU is now 11-1 on the year when he plays 26 minutes or more, and is just 1-5 when he plays 25 minutes or fewer. Soyoye currently ranks 9th in the Big 12 with a season field goal rate of 56.8 percent.
Junior guard BRIAN GRAWER scored 14 points on Jan. 15th 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 offensively after having a hard time connecting earlier in the year. He had 11 points last time out vs. Texas A&M, and hit a season-high three three-point field goals. He's now scored in double figures three times in league play, after doing so just twice during 13 non-conference games. The career 48 percent shooter is connecting on 33 percent of his shots thus far. Grawer is shooting 91.7 percent from the foul line this year (33-of-36), and would lead the Big 12 in that category, if he had three more makes.
Senior forward Jeff Hafer continued his outstanding all-around play last Saturday, as he scored 11 points vs. Texas A&M, and added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. He scored eight points and added a team-best six rebounds vs. Kansas, in just 19 minutes of play. Previously, he had a solid effort vs. Baylor, as he scored 15 points, on 7-of-9 shooting. He's averaging 10.7 points per game in Big 12 play, and is shooting 60.5 percent from the floor, which ranks 6th in league games. Hafer scored a career-high 19 points on Jan. 12th against Colorado, 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.
Freshman forward justin gage, who entered the Jan. 18th game at Baylor shooting just 46.2 percent from the foul line, calmly nailed a pair of free throws with :16 seconds left to give MU a 73-68 lead, which proved to be the winning points in MU's 74-72 win. Gage is a quarterback on the MU football team who walked on to the basketball team following the conclusion of the football season.
MU'S RPI IS A.O.K.
Missouri ranks 35th in the latest RPI rankings, while Colorado rates #49 in the land. MU's schedule ranks as the 34th-toughest in the nation currently. The Big 12 Conference is ranked as the #4 league in strength ratings, behind only the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Conference USA.
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 has been received crystal clear by Snyder's troops, as the Tigers have played stifling defense since. Last Saturday, MU held Texas A&M to 43.6% shooting, and forced 29 Aggie turnovers on the day, along with grabbing 20 steals (just three shy of the school record). Previously, MU limited 7th-ranked Kansas to just 36.8% shooting, forced 18 Jayhawk turnovers, and allowed KU to post just 13 assists, on a team which averaged 21 assists per game.
On Jan. 15th, MU held Kansas State to 38.9% shooting, including 18.8% from three-point range (3-of-16). Additionally, MU harassed the Wildcats into 20 turnovers, and had 13 steals.
The Tigers have twice held opponents to under 35% - including an opponent season-low mark of 34.5% percent vs. Morgan State.
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 recently, as they 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 on Jan. 12th. 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 33.0 rebounds a game entering the Colorado contest. The Tigers are 5-0 when outrebounding their opponent, and 6-5 when losing the battle of the boards.
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 five of six conference games thus far. Last Saturday vs. Texas A&M, six Tigers scored in double figures, and that didn't even include Clarence Gilbert, who was held to six points on the day. MU had five score in double digits against both Iowa State and Colorado, and had four reach that mark vs. Kansas State, and at Baylor. Three Tigers hit the mark vs. Kansas, but three others were just one basket away from double figures, as well.
For the season, four Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring. In Big 12 play, five Tigers are scoring in double figures as well, led by Clarence Gilbert's 19.7 per-game standard. Other Tigers in double figures in league play include: Kareem Rush (16.0 ppg), Keyon Dooling (14.7), T.J. Soyoye (13.2), and Jeff Hafer (10.7). Two other Tigers, Brian Grawer and Johnnie Parker, are just shy of that mark, at 9.5 points a game apiece.
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES
Missouri has used the three-point shot to its advantage this year. The Tigers enter the Colorado game as the top three-point outfit in the Big 12 Conference. Through 18 games, Missouri has hit 164-of-441 three pointers, both totals which are tops in the Big 12 Conference thus far.
MU has made at least 10 three pointers in a game seven times on the year, and recently hit 11-of-22 attempts against Kansas. On Jan. 12th, the Tigers scorched the nets vs. Colorado, when MU hit 10-of-15 attempts for a season-best 66.7% clip.
Ironically, however, MU scored a season-high 100 points 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 |
| 18 at Baylor | 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 17 games, the Tigers are on pace to make 264 three pointers in 711 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's focus on being aggressive offensively led to a big night from the foul line against Colorado, as the Tigers' efforts 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, and made 16-of-22 at Baylor, including 7-of-8 shots in the game's final two minutes. In league games, MU leads the conference with a 71.2% 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.
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 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."
FOUR FORMER TIGERS HONORED
Four former Tiger basketball standouts were honored last weekend, as they were inducted into the MU Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Joining the Hall this year were former players Kim Anderson, Melvin Booker, Ricky Frazier and Woody Hatfield.
- KIM ANDERSON - Currently in his first year as director of basketball operations for the Big 12 Conference, Anderson was a junior forward on Norm Stewart's first Big Eight Conference championship team in 1976, then led the league in scoring and was it's "Player of the Year" in 1977. He tallied 1,289 points in his career to rank among MU's top-20 alltime scorers. From 1982 until 1999, he was an assistant coach, including 12 years at MU and six others at Baylor.
- MELVIN BOOKER - Booker was the catalyst for MU's 14-0 run through the Big Eight Conference in 1994, and eventual advancement to the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. He was an all-Big Eight selection as a junior (15.8 ppg) and senior (18.1 ppg), and was a first-team all-American in 1994. He ranks fifth in school history in scoring (1,697 points) and second in both three-point field goals (183) and assists (488). Booker is currently playing in Europe, and will not be in attendance this weekend.
- RICKY FRAZIER - Played on three Big Eight Conference championship and NCAA Tournament teams from 1980-82. He was all-Big Eight and all-District in 1981 and '82 and Big Eight Player of the Year and all-America in 1982. He was selected to MU's "Team of the Decade" for the 1980s, and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1982 NBA Draft.
- WOODY HATFIELD - Hatfield starred at MU in football, basketball and track and field in the 1930s, and will be inducted as part of the Pioneer Era (1890-1966).
Missouri has broken single game attendance records twice in Quin Snyder's first year as head coach.
Last Saturday vs. Kansas, a record 14,098 fans packed the Hearnes Center to see MU crush KU, 81-59. It was the first time over the 14,000 mark for an MU home game.
Previously, Missouri's home game on Dec. 7th vs. Indiana drew 13,782 fans, which broke the record 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. | 14,098, 1-22-00 vs. Kansas |
| 2. | 13,782, 12-7-99 vs. Indiana |
| 3. | 13,706, 2-11-89 vs. Kansas |
| 4. | 13,645, 1-14-89 vs. Iowa State |
| 5. | 13,610, 2-27-88 vs. Kansas |
| 6. | 13,558, 2-21-88 vs. Oklahoma State |
| 7. | 13,544, 1-23-88 vs. Iowa State |
| 8. | 13,471, 3-3-88 vs. Oklahoma |
| 9. | 13,470, 2-4-89 vs. Kansas State |
| 10. | 13,454, 12-28-88 vs. Arkansas |
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.
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.