HOME SWEET HOME
After what turned out to be a rough three-game road swing (MU's longest in five seasons), Missouri returns home Saturday to the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center, where the Tigers are a perfect 8-0 on the season.

As expected, MU has performed better statistically at home in amassing a perfect 8-0 home record thus far, compared to 2-4 on the road.

The most glaring numbers that jump out relate to shooting and free throws. MU is shooting 46.8% from the floor at home, compared to just 39.2% away from home. MU turned in its best game of the season on Dec. 30th, as they fired in 56.5% of their shots (35-of-62) at home against Stetson. That mark was also the 2nd-highest under Quin Snyder.

Additionally, Tiger opponents are getting an average of 34.7 free throw attempts per game away from Hearnes (led by a massive 50 attempts by Iowa on Dec. 16), but are being held to 17.6 attempts on average at Hearnes.

Also, the Tigers have controlled the glass at home, posting a rebounding margin of +6.2 at Hearnes, as opposed to a deficit of -6.5 away from home.

MU-TEXAS TECH SERIES
Missouri and Texas Tech have met just eight times previously, and the Tigers carry a 5-3 edge in the series into Saturday's game.

Missouri has won three straight in the series, after Tech won the first two meetings as part of the Big 12.

Texas Tech is 1-1 at Hearnes, winning its first game here, 84-73 in 1997. MU returned the favor two years later with an 88-63 victory in 1999.

Missouri won a pair of games over the Red Raiders last season. The Tigers used a 17-0 run in the final 6:42 of the game at Lubbock to rally for a come-from-behind 86-76 win. Kareem Rush scored 31 points, and made 7-of-9 three-pointers on the night.

The two teams later met up in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, and the Tigers emerged with a resounding 80-47 win. Clarence Gilbert led all scorers, with 26 points (6-of-12 3-pt. FGs).

STOPPING THE RUNS
If it were only as simple as reaching for the Pepto Bismol or Immodium-AD. In MU's last three losses, opponents have broke open games with damaging scoring runs.

Wednesday at Nebraska, MU was cruising midway through the second half, holding a comfortable 55-44 lead with 12:28 left in the game. But before you could blink, the Huskers dropped a 15-0 run on the Tigers over 4:31 to claim a 59-55 lead they would never relinquish.

Last Saturday at 13th-ranked Virginia, Mizzou held a 69-68 lead with 4:18 left to play after a Kareem Rush three-pointer (trifecter, as they're called back East), and was poised for a big road win. UVA reeled off 12 straight points, however, over the next 3:18 to take a commanding 80-69 lead. During the scoring drought, MU missed seven straight shots, two front ends of one-and-one free throw opportunities, and comitted one turnover.

Earlier last week at Kansas State, the Wildcats used a 16-0 run late in the first half to break open what was a nine-point game at the time. With leading scorer Kareem Rush on the bench in foul trouble, K-State took advantage and turned a 22-13 lead at the 8:00 mark into a commanding 38-13 bulge with :54 seconds left in the first half. MU would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

BIG 12 RECORD BREAKDOWN

Winning on someone else's home court is a tough chore, but the Tigers have shown an ability to come away with some key road wins over the past two seasons, and those wins have spurred MU to consecutive finishes in the top-half of the Big 12 standings.

Last season, MU went 5-3 on the road in Big 12 play, and ended 10-6 overall to finish 6th. All five wins came by 10 points or less.

In 1999, MU went a similar 5-3 in Big 12 road games, and finished 11-5 overall to take second in the league. All but one of those wins came by 10 points or less, as well.

Missouri went the entire first two years of Big 12 play without a conference road win.

REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL
Rebounding is an area in which the Tigers will look to improve Saturday at home. Missouri has been outrebounded in six straight games, and is coming off a game in which were dealt their largest rebounding deficit of the season.

Nebraska outboarded MU, 44-24, and had as many offensive rebounds (24) as the Tigers could muster on both ends of the court. MU entered the game as the Big 12's top offensive rebounding team (over 15 per game), but could snag only 6 offensive caroms.

Missouri opened the season by winning the battle of the boards in six of their first eight contests, but the tables have turned, as MU has now been outrebounded in nine of its last 10.

Texas Tech ranks last in the Big 12 in rebounding margin (-0.8), while the Tigers are one spot better, in 11th (-0.2).

For the season, MU is being outrebounded by a slim margin (-0.2 per game). That's still a significant improvement from last season, when MU was outrebounded by 5.0 boards per game (38.5-to-33.5).

CARDIAC KIDS
Missouri has been predisposed to playing tight ballgames of late, as 8 of its previous 12 games have been decided by six points or fewer. MU has fared well in the close ones, as they're 6-3 in games decided by 10 points or fewer for the season.

After playing a total of one overtime period in the last two seasons combined, the basketball gods are making Tiger faithful sweat it out this year.

Jan. 13th's four-overtime affair against Iowa State was historic on several fronts. It marked the most overtimes played in MU and Big 12 history.

MU has also now played seven overtime periods this season -- that's just one five-minute period short of a complete extra game.

The current group of Tigers are now tied for the most extra periods played in one season at MU. The 1982-83 team, which won the Big Eight championship that year, also played seven extra stanzas.

RUSH, GILBERT DYNAMIC DUO
Sophomore Kareem Rush and junior Clarence Gilbert have combined to give Missouri one of the most prolific scoring tandems in the country. The duo is the top scoring combo in the Big 12 Conference, as they enter Saturday's game vs. Texas Tech averaging a combined 40.0 points per game.

Rush leads all Big 12 scorers with his season average of 21.6, while Gilbert ranks 3rd, at 18.4. They had ranked 1-2 in the league (22.3 and 18.5) prior to last week's game at Kansas State, but they were held to a season-low 19 points combined (Rush 12, Gilbert 7).

They're coming off a game in which Gilbert had 25 and Rush chipped in with 21 at Nebraska. It marked the fifth time this season that they have both scored 20 or more in the same game.

The duo scored a whopping 75 points between them in the epic four-overtime win over 18th-ranked Iowa State, with Gilbert going for a Big 12 record 43 points, while Rush chipped in a "quiet" 32.

MU NO. 39 IN POWER RANKINGS
Missouri enters Saturday's game ranked 39th in the Jan. 22nd RPI power poll (www.collegerpi.com). The Tigers have played the 34th-toughest schedule in the land to this point.

MU had been 16th prior to enduring the current three-game losing streak, representing their highest showing this season in the rankings.

Texas Tech enters the game ranked 125th in the power rankings, with a strength of schedule rating of 87th.

Four of MU's six losses have come to teams ranked 25th or higher in the RPI system -- #5 Illinois , #10 Iowa, #20 Syracuse and #25 Virginia.

MORE RANKINGS
Four of MU's six losses on the year have come at the hands of teams which are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 poll, and two of those came in overtime away from home.

Illinois leads the list at #7, followed by #11 Syracuse, #13 Virginia and #21 Iowa as ranked teams that MU has come up short against. Iowa State, currently 17th, finds itself on MU's victim list.

Overall, the Tigers are 1-3 against ranked teams at tipoff. Syracuse was not ranked when MU faced them in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
Missouri has blocked 84 shots in 17 games on the season, and has already surpassed last year's total of 61 for the season (31 games).

Freshman center Arthur Johnson is leading the charge, with 41 blocks. That's an average of 2.3 per game, and puts him on pace to break the MU single-season record of 56 set by former all-American Steve Stipanovich in 1982-83. He already ranks 7th on the MU single-season top-10 blocks chart, and needs just 1 more to tie a pair of former Tigers for 5th.

Missouri ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with an average of 4.67 blocks per game. Last season, the Tigers were dead last, at 2.0 per game.

Missouri is on pace to finish the season with 140 blocks as a team, which would break the MU single-season record of 128, by the 1990-91 team.

IT'S ALWAYS RUSH HOUR AT MIZZOU
Sophomore forward Kareem Rush has established himself as an all-America candidate, as well as a leading candidate for Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honors.

Prior to the beginning of conference play, The Sporting News released its all-American team, and Rush was listed as a first-teamer at small forward. He was also listed as one of 30 mid-season candidates for the prestigious Wooden Award, as announced recently by the Wooden Award Foundation. ABC/ESPN color man Dick Vitale recently named Rush to his all-Rolls Royce team.

The top scorer in the Big 12 Conference (21.6 ppg), Rush is making 30-point performances seem routine. He's already turned in four 30-pt. games this year, including two of his last six outings.

Rush is coming off a 21-point outing at Nebraska Wednesday. He hit 8-of-17 shots on the night (47.1%), his best shooting percentage since Jan. 2 (50.0% vs. Coastal Carolina).

He had a 20-point performance at #13 Virginia last Saturday, with 14 of his points coming in the second half, including a clutch three-pointer with 4:18 left that gave MU a 69-68 lead -- its last of the game.

To underscore his importance to the squad, the Tigers are 0-3 when he plays 21 minutes or fewer, and are 12-3 when he's on the court for 24 minutes or more.

On Jan 13th, Rush had a 32-point game vs. Iowa State, which tied his career high. Rush hit only 13-of-31 shots on the day, but was solid from beyond the three-point line, where he sank 5-of-10 attempts.

Rush had a big momentum play in the fourth overtime, when he hit a turn-around jumper from 8 feet and drew the fifth foul on ISU's Kantrail Horton with 3:59 left. His conventional three-point play gave MU a 106-103 lead, a lead they never relinquished.

Rush had 30 points vs. Nebraska in MU's Big 12 opener, and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line on the night, including a pair of clutch freebies with 1:04 left that provided the final margin in MU's 68-66 win.

Rush turned in an outstanding performance at #22 Iowa, as he tallied a career-high 32 points. He also added 11 rebounds, marking the second double-double of the season.

Rush scored 24 of his points after halftime, and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line, including 8-of-8 in overtime.

Prior to that, Rush had a huge week when he averaged 28.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in leading MU to comeback wins over DePaul and Saint Louis. He scored 31 points in MU's 99-84 win over DePaul, and followed with 25 more vs. SLU, including a gutsy fall away jumper in the lane that gave MU the lead for good, at 71-70 with just 1:33 left in the game.

For his efforts, Rush was named national player of the week by ESPN.com, FoxSports.com, CNN/SI.com and was also named Big 12 Player-of-the-Week.

He leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring currently, and ranks in the league's top-15 in six different categories.

GILBERT MORE THAN A SCORER
Clarence Gilbert draws a lot of attention for his braggadocio on the court and his high-profile shooting efforts. To label him as a one-dimensional player is really unfair, however.

Yes, Gilbert does take his fair share of shots, but consider the fact that he leads the team in assists (67), and ranks 13th in the Big 12 in that category. His assists-per-game average of 3.7 this season currently ranks as the 10th-best single-season average in MU history.

Not bad, considering the fact that he's not even MU's point guard.

Perhaps the most amazing line from his Jan. 13th 43-point game vs. Iowa State is the fact that he turned in 9 assists with no turnovers in a record 56 minutes of play. That means of MU's 38 baskets, he had a hand in 21 of them (12 makes, 9 assists).

Additionally, Gilbert is a superb rebounder for his size, is MU's best defender and is arguably the Tigers' emotional leader.

GILBERT THE GREAT
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert has emerged as one of the Big 12's top scorers this season, and his presence gives MU the luxury of having one of the deadliest 1-2 perimeter scoring combos around.

He rebounded from a season-low 7 points last week at Kansas State to lead all scorers in his last two games (22 pts. at #13 Virginia and 25 at Nebraska).

Gilbert is coming off a 7-of-15 shooting night at Nebraska (46.7%). That's his 3rd-best percentage this season. He sank 7-of-13 from three-point range, which tied his career high for makes, and was just one shy of John Woods' school record for a game.

In case you hadn't heard, Gilbert had a pretty good gameon Jan. 13th in MU's 4-overtime win against Iowa State.

Gilbert tied a Big 12 record by scoring 43 points vs. ISU, and added 9 assists and had zero turnovers in 56 minutes. He set Big 12 and MU records in minutes (56) and field goal attempts (36). His 18 three-point attempts (of which he made 7) were also an MU single-game record. His point total was the 4th-most in MU history, and if the 78.0% free throw shooter had made more of his 12-of-17 attempts from the foul line, he might have surpassed the MU scoring record of 46 points.

He tallied 23 of his points in the second half alone, including sinking 5-of-8 from the three-point line.

Gilbert had a clutch game at Colorado, where he scored a game-high 22 points. He struggled for most of the night to find his shot, yet he still proved to be the key to MU's win as he scored eight straight Tiger points in less than a minute in the second half to stake MU out to a 64-48 lead with 6:47 left. That personal binge, which included two three pointers, essentially put the game away. He later hit 6-of-6 free throws in the final 3:05 to help seal it up.

The 32.5 points-per-game average vs. CU and ISU, coupled with his 11 assists to just 1 turnover, earned him Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors (Jan. 15). He was also named ESPN national player of the week.

Gilbert previously had a gutty performance against Nebraska (Jan. 6). He tallied 16 points (11 in the second half), and added 4 steals and 3 assists in 36 minutes. Perhaps most important, however, was his harassing defensive effort against NU's Cookie Belcher. Gilbert held Belcher to 8 points (8.5 below his average coming in), and forced him into 7 turnovers in the game.

He had a 23-point outing vs. Illinois. Despite making just 8-of-23 FGs on the night (4-of-13 3-pt. FGs), he was forced to carry the load offensively while his teammate Rush was on the bench with foul trouble. Gilbert did his best to play hero, though, as he hit a runner in the lane with 1:03 left in regulation that gave MU its last lead of the game, at 72-70, before Illinois sent it into overtime.

Gilbert turned in a 32 point outing at #22 Iowa. He hit 5 three pointers on the night, and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists, playing 46 of 50 minutes.

Gilbert had 26 points vs. DePaul, going for 17 second-half points. He hit 6-of-9 3-pt. field goals on the day -- a performance that reminded many of his 27-point outing last year that helped sink then-No. 7 Kansas. He sank 7-of-10 threes in that contest.

He scored 17 points vs. Saint Louis, a game in which he struggled from the floor, connecting on just 5-of-16 FGs. But he was money when the chips were down, as Gilbert made two straight long three-pointers which helped key the Tigers to a comeback win.

His first trey, with 2:44 left, cut the SLU lead to 69-66, and his second bomb just 40 seconds later made it 70-69. He had been 0-of-6 from long range prior to his late-game heroics.

Gilbert currently ranks among league leaders in several categories.

Gilbert, who broke the MU single-season three-point field goal record last season (88 treys) already ranks 3rd on the MU career 3-point field goal chart (171 entering the Texas Tech game), and is on pace to break the career record of 190 set by former Tiger Jason Sutherland. He needs 12 more to tie Melvin Booker for second.

Gilbert earned 3rd-team all-league honors last season as a sophomore. He was tabbed as high as 2nd-team all-league by several publications this fall.

SIR ARTHUR, KING OF SWAT
You can call him A.J., or you can call him Arthur, or you can call him Dock. Whatever you prefer, Tiger opponents are calling Arthur Johnson a handful.

The Detroit, Mich. native is laying claim to Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year candidacy, as he's averaging 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He leads Big 12 freshmen in four categories, including field goal percentage, rebounding, blocks and steals, and is currently 3rd in scoring.

Johnson ranks not only among league leaders in freshmen, but all players.

A.J. is looking to bounce back from his first scoreless outing of the year, as he was shutout at Nebraska. He picked up two early fouls, and played only six minutes in the first half. He tried just one shot on the day.

He previously had a solid performance at #13 Virginia last Saturday, where he scored 14 points, on 7-of-9 shooting. He proved to be vital to MU's success, as the Tiger offense suffered without him in the game. When he picked up his fifth foul with 3:34 left in the game, MU trailed by just two points. Without him patrolling the middle, MU went scoreless until a free throw with 50 seconds left. UVA took advantage to claim an 80-70 lead by that point, however, effectively sealing the game.

A.J. had a monster game at Colorado, as he pulled down an MU freshman record 19 rebounds, which broke the old record of 16 by Gary Leonard in 1986. He might have approached the single-game record of 27 by Bob Reiter (1955), but foul trouble limited him to just 23 minutes of play. He added 9 points, 4 blocks and 1 assist to the cause.

On Dec. 30 vs. Stetson, Johnson blocked a school-record 8 shots. That shattered the old MU single-game mark of 5, which was held by seven former Tigers. He also added 10 points and 6 rebounds on the day.

He followed that with a 14-point outing vs. Coastal Carolina. He blocked 7 shots during the game, marking the second straight game he surpassed the old school record.

Against 5th-ranked Illinois, A.J. had a solid 15-point, 12-rebound performance vs. the Illini's strong front line, which marked his 4th double-double since being inserted into the starting lineup.

Johnson scored a career-high 16 points and added 10 rebounds vs. DePaul.

A.J. was possibly MU's MVP of the game, as he kept the Tigers in the game during a first half when DePaul led by as many as 10 points. With primary scorers Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert struggling to find the mark, Johnson collected 7 offensive rebounds in the first half, and scored 14 points. He ended the game with 9 offensive boards.

Johnson was a vital cog in MU's comeback win over Rhode Island, scoring 12 second-half points (all 12 coming during a decisive 33-6 run) to lead the charge. He ended with 14 points, and added seven rebounds.

A.J. reported this fall a bit overweight, tipping the scales at over 300 pounds. But he worked hard in pre-season conditioning, and is now down to 265.

STOKES FANS THE FLAMES
After taking awhile to make the typical freshman adjustments, point guard Wesley Stokes has emerged as a valuable reserve.

Stokes had seven points at Nebraska, and previously had a solid game at #13 Virginia, where he tallied 6 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and zero turnovers in 22 minutes.

In his last five games, Stokes is averaging 6.6 points, and has made 73.9% of his free throws (17-of-23).

Stokes had 9 points in MU's big win at Colorado, including 7-of-8 free throws in the game's final four minutes to help seal the win. He contributed with 5 pts. and 2 steals in MU's win against Iowa State.

He of the unmistakeable coiff was possibly MU's MVP in the big win at Indiana.

At Bloomington, Stokes provided a huge spark off the bench, as he scored a career-high 11 points and added an assist and a steal in 15 minutes of play.

Stokes hit 4-of-7 FGs on the night, including a gutsy floater in the lane over IU's 6-foot-9 Jeff Newton with 1:06 left in the game that gave MU a 62-61 lead.

That performance was preceded by an equally-clutch outing in MU's double overtime affair at #22 Iowa. He scored 8 points, with all of them coming after regulation.

Stokes hit 6-of-7 FTs in overtime, including 2-of-2 with just 29 seconds left in the 1st overtime to force a second extra period. He also added 3 assists and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes of action.

He added 9 pts., 4 rebs., 3 steals and 2 asst. in 24 mins. vs. #5 Illinois. Seven of his points came in the second half, as he helped MU rally from an 8-point deficit to force overtime.

The Sporting News recently listed Stokes as having the best hair in college basketball.

GRAWER IN LOFTY STANDING
A quick check of the MU career records shows that Brian Grawer is statistically one of the school's most productive players.

He is the only Tiger in school history to rank among the career top-10 lists in free throw percentage (3rd -- 83.3%), steals (4th -- 178) and assists (9th -- 296).

He is also joined by former Tiger greats Anthony Peeler and Melvin Booker as the only players to rank among the career top-10 lists in three point field goals, assists and steals.

Grawer is coming off a 9-pt. outing at Nebraska, where he hit 3-of-5 from three-point range. That's the 2nd-most treys he's hit in a game this season.

COMEBACK KIDS
In 49 games under Head Coach Quin Snyder, Missouri has shown a propensity to comeback from precarious situations, as the Tigers have already won five games this year in which they've trailed opposition by 10 or more points. In Snyder's rookie season, MU won four games under similar circumstances. Included in that was a huge comeback last year at Nebraska, where MU rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to post an 84-78 win. Missouri scored a whopping 60 points in the second half, compared to just 24 in the opening 20 minutes.

This year, in MU's league opener vs. Nebraska, the Tigers trailed by 10 points with 15:20 left in the game. But MU strung together a 10-0 run that got them back in the game, and held on at the end for the win.

Earlier this season, the Tigers won consecutive games under similar circumstances.

On Dec. 9th, Missouri led Saint Louis for a grand total of just 2 minutes, 20 seconds in the game -- 47 seconds in the first half and the final 1:33 of the game. SLU led by 10 points with 10:44 remaining in the game, and had the Tigers down by eight (69-61) with just 4:14 left. But MU out-excecuted the Billikens down the stretch, and outscored them by a 16-4 count the rest of the way.

Earlier that same week, Missouri rebounded from a 10-point first half deficit to DePaul, and went on to a solid 99-84 win. Previously, MU cameback from a 14-point second-half deficit against Rhode Island, followed by a comeback from a 10-point deficit the next game vs. Valparaiso.

IOWA STATE RECAP
Due to the incredible nature of Missouri's 112-109 quadruple overtime win against Iowa State on Jan. 13th, here's a recap of the noteworthy happenings on that historic day:

TIGERS, CYCLONES SET NCAA MARK
Okay, just one more note about that MU-ISU game, then we promise we'll leave it be already.

It has been discovered that MU and ISU broke an NCAA record when they combined to score a total of 77 points in the four overtime periods. Missouri had 40 points, to ISU's 37.

That broke the old record of 75, set by Cleveland State (39 pts.) vs. Kent State (36) on Dec. 23, 1994. That was also a quadruple-overtime affair.

BRYANT FINDING HIS WAY
Freshman center Travon Bryant has had a crash course in Division I college basketball since joining the team in late December. And he's shown signs lately that he's coming along quite nicely.

Bryant is coming off a solid six-point game at Nebraska, where he was a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor. He added 4 rebounds in 21 minutes, and now leads the team in field goal percentage on the season, at 61.5% (16-of-26).

Bryant had a breakout performance at Colorado on Jan. 10th, when scored 12 points and added 9 rebounds vs. the Buffs, and was a key to MU's big road win.

Showing he's getting more and more comfortable with every day, the Long Beach, Calif. native added 1 block and 1 assist in a very efficient 15 minutes.

He followed with another stellar performance vs. ISU, as he hit the Cyclones for 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. More importantly, he gave MU 31 minutes off the bench, which proved invaluable in the 60-minute marathon.

Bryant had a tough last week, as he went scoreless in 13 minutes at Virginia, and was held to 3 points Kansas State (on 1-of-6 FGs), but grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

He's made just 7-of-24 free throws so far (29.2%), but one look at his nice shooting stroke, and there's no doubting he'll improve on those numbers when he begins to feel more comfortable on the floor.

A McDonald's All-American out of Long Beach Jordan High, Bryant signed with MU last spring. He attended Maine Central Institute for the first semester, and after receiving a qualifying test score, joined the team at the conclusion of the first semester. His first practice with the team was Dec. 20th at Vashon High School in St. Louis, as the Tigers prepared for their next-day battle with 5th-ranked Illinois.

OH RICKEY, YOU'RE SO FINE
Freshman forward Rickey Paulding is a very quiet and humble young man. After helping lead MU's comeback win over Valparaiso with a career-high 16 points, he didn't want to go to the interview room after the game because he was timid about speaking in front a group of people.

Paulding acquitted himself just fine in the interview room, as he did on the court. You wouldn't know he was a shy person by the way he attacks the rim. The high-flying rookie is one of the Big 12's most exciting finishers around the basket, and continues to develop into a vitally important player off the bench for the Tigers.

Paulding had an outstanding performance at Colorado last week, when he scored 9 points and added 2 assists in 16 minutes of play. His point total was his highest output since scoring 13 points vs. Saint Louis on Dec. 9, and broke a spell in which he had scored a total of 2 points in his previous 2 games.

Paulding also had a landmark of sorts in Boulder, as he connected on the first three-point shot of his career. He entered the game having gone 0-for-20 from beyond the stripe, but he got the collar off his neck when he buried a trey as the shot clock expired with 15:30 left in the game to give MU an 8-point lead. The entire Tiger bench and team was so excited for him, that they forgot to get back on defense, as the Buffs scored a quick transition basket.

Paulding had a stellar performance Dec. 9th vs. Saint Louis, when he scored 13 points in 15 minutes and added a team-high 6 rebounds.

The Detroit, Mich. native was a key to MU's comeback win vs. Valparaiso, as he ended the game with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (including 2 rim-rocking dunks). He also sank 4-of-5 free throws and added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist to the cause.

Through 16 games, Paulding is averaging 6.6 points a game, which is 6th-best on the squad.

T.J. LOOKING FOR BOUNCEBACK
Senior center Tajudeen Soyoye has had a solid overall season for the Tigers, showing an improving game from last season.

The 6-foot-9 center/forward is averaging 7.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and has played well together with freshman Arthur Johnson. That combo has helped MU claim an advantage on the boards in 7-of-16 games this season, a year after MU won the battle of the boards just 8 times in 31 games.

He enters Saturday's game at Virginia looking to catch a rhythm offensively, however. Soyoye was held scoreless Tuesday at Kansas State for the first time this season. He didn't get off a single shot attempt in 19 minutes of play. He's averaging just 3.0 points in conference play, compared to 9.1 in non-conference action.

T.J. was held to 4 points vs. Nebraska, but added 7 rebounds and played the role of hero in the waning seconds of MU's 68-66 win. With MU clinging to its 2-point lead, Nebraska had the ball in its own court with 1.7 seconds left for an inbounds pass. Soyoye guarded NU's inbounds man, John Robinson, and promptly stole the pass to seal the Tigers' comeback win.

T.J. turned in an outstanding game vs. Indiana on Dec. 18th, when he grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and added 5 points. Seven of his boards were of the offensive variety. Five of those came in the final 11 minutes of the game, and they led to five all important second-chance points for the Tigers in their five-point victory.

At Iowa, Soyoye scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. That marked the first double-double of the season for the Lagos, Nigeria native.

Soyoye has improved dramatically from the foul line. His season free throw percentage of 75.0% is up significantly from a mark of 63.1% last season. Included in his total is a perfect 9-of-9 effort from the charity stripe vs. Texas-Pan American.

REBOUNDING REPORT
Missouri struggled mightily last season to hold its own on the boards. Playing with a lineup that featured a front line of 6-foot-9, 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-6, MU was vastly undersized virtually each time out.

That disadvantage was difficult to overcome, and MU found itself outrebounded by a 5.0 margin per game. The Tigers were outrebounded in their last nine games last season, including a huge 55-30 deficit in the NCAA Tournament against North Carolina.

This year, the Tigers aren't exactly mammoth in size, but in the early going, rebounding is the area in which the Tigers have likely improved most.

MU ranked last in the Big 12 last season in rebounding, with a per-game average of 33.5. Through 16 games this season, the Tigers rank 3rd in the league with an average of 41.8 entering Saturday's contest.

Mizzou is outrebounding opponents by a +1.6 margin through 16 games, and last Saturday held their own vs. Iowa State, as the Cyclones outrebounded MU by only two (50-48). ISU entered the game outrebounding their opponents by a Big 12-best margin of 13.7 per game.

MU also had an impressive performance on the glass vs. the tall and athletic DePaul Blue Demons back in December.

The Tigers outboarded DePaul by a 38-26 margin, including an eye-popping 20-to-9 advantage on the offensive end. The Tigers turned those rebounds into 27 second-chance points. The Tigers enter Saturday's game as the top offensive rebounding team in the Big 12 (15.4 p/g).

On Nov. 25th vs. Valpo, the Crusaders jumped out to a 10-point lead, and held a massive 26-12 rebounding edge in the first half. But the Tigers regrouped to get control of the game in the second half -- largely due to a 24-14 advantage on the glass after intermission.

RECRUITING COUP
Quin Snyder and his staff has put together what experts believe is one of the nation's top recruiting classes for next year. Four of the nation's elite prep players signed with Missouri during the early period.

The class of Najeeb Echols (Chicago, Ill.), Jeffrey Ferguson (Benton Harbor, Mich.), Duane John (Toronto, Ontario), and Robert Whaley (Benton Harbor, Mich.) has been ranked as high as fourth-best in the nation, according to HoopScoop.

Here's a brief look at each of them.

NAJEEB ECHOLS

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound small forward is considered one of the nation's top prospects, and has been ranked as high as No. 20 in the country by ESPN.com. He averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists per game as a junior at Chicago Whitney Young High School, and led his school to second place in the Chicago Public League playoffs. An all-state special mention in 2000, Echols will attend Chicago's Morgan Park this season.

Echols chose Missouri over Illinois, DePaul and Houston primarily, and also considered Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Michigan, UCLA and Cincinnati, among others. He is the son of Jim and Shirley Echols.

JEFFREY FERGUSON
Jeffrey Ferguson, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward from Benton Harbor, Mich., is considered among the nation's top-50 prospects by most recruiting analysts. Ferguson averaged 12.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 block per game as a junior at Benton Harbor High School. Ferguson helped lead Benton Harbor to a Big 8 Conference title and a Class A championship last season.

Ferguson is a Toronto native who moved to Benton Harbor for high school. He selected the Missouri program over Michigan State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Stanford and Michigan, among others. He earned first-team all-conference honors as a junior, and was selected honorable mention all-state. He is the son of Ms. Carol Ferguson.

DUANE JOHN
Mizzou picked up Canada's top prep player when John, of Toronto, Ontario, signed a national letter of intent to attend Mizzou.

John is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound forward who was rated by many analysts as the top prospect in all of Canada. He averaged 32.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and three assists as a junior at Boylen High School in Toronto. He was named to the Toronto Sun's All-Star Team, and later averaged 18.3 points a game this summer playing AAU basketball for Team Toronto Elite, under coach Rowan Russell.

A native of the West Indies, John moved to Canada prior to high school, to be with his mother, Aldona Fosu. He chose Missouri over Michigan State, Syracuse, Louisville and Pittsburgh, among others. He moved to Homestead, Fla. over the summer, and will attend Berkshire High School for his senior season.

ROBERT WHALEY
Whaley is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward who is considered by many recruiting services as one of the nation's top prospects, and is ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 10 prep player in the country. He averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, 3.2 assists and 3.1 steals per game last year at Benton Harbor, and helped lead his team to a Big 8 Conference title and a Class A district championship. He received honorable mention on USA Today's high school all-American team.

Whaley plays at Benton Harbor for Head Coach Paul Wilhite and Assistant Coach Lou Harvey, who is the father of MU Associate Head Coach Tony Harvey. He picked Missouri over Michigan State, Michigan, Kentucky, Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Connecticut. He is the son of Ms. Sonya Whaley and John Barnes.

POLLING DATA
The Sports Illustrated college basketball season preview issue had Missouri well-represented.

For beginners, the magazine has Missouri ranked No. 22 in its pre-season poll.

Secondly, and more interestingly, the magazine conducted an informal poll among Big 12 Conference players this summer, and several Tigers won their own election, of sorts.

Head Coach Quin Snyder was voted as the "Opposing Coach You'd Most Like to Play For." We won't mention who was named the "Opposing Coach You'd Least Like to Play For."

Senior guard Brian Grawer was named as the best shooter in the league.

Junior guard Clarence Gilbert was named as the biggest trash-talker in the league. Since he's from the state of Florida, Gilbert is going to ask for a hand re-count.

NEW ARENA APPROVED BY CURATORS
Missouri received some rather exciting news on Nov. 9th, when the MU Board of Curators approved a presentation by Chancellor Richard Wallace to build a new arena, which will house the Tiger men's and women's basketball teams.

Wallace's proposal called for a $75-million facility to be built, most likely in time for the 2004-05 season. He announced a $25-million donation by an anonymous donor to go toward the arena - the largest gift ever in the history of the University.

That $25 million, along with $2 million more already raised for the arena, gives MU $27 million up front to help fund the arena. Dr. Wallace then asked the Curators to seek $35 million from the Missouri Legislature in general obligation bonds. Other donations/gifts, up-front seat payments and interest income would make up the remaining $13 million for the project.

The Board voted a unanimous 9-0 in favor of the project, and the next step is to get the appropriations from the state.

The arena would be located South of the Hearnes Center, and would seat anywhere from 15,000-to-17,000 people. The Hearnes Center would remain open to house the needs of MU Olympic sports such as volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and indoor track and field.