HERE'S TO GOOD MOJO
Okay, this is completely meaningless, but when you're working on notes at 3 a.m., you get a little goofy.

Nonetheless, the Tigers should benefit from some good vibes this year in Kansas City, a town which is famous for its barbeque. That's because if you take the first name of MU freshman center Arthur Johnson, and combine it with the last name of fellow Tiger freshman Travon Bryant, you get Arthur Bryant - one of KC's legendary barbeque haunts. That's got to be good for something, right?

MU AT KEMPER ARENA
Missouri has an alltime record at Kemper Arena of 47-23 (67.1%). That includes a 5-4 mark in the Big 12 Tournament, a 29-13 mark in the Big Eight Tournament, a 10-5 mark in the last three years of the old Big Eight Holiday Tournament (1974-78), regular-season wins over LaSalle (1981) and Notre Dame (1982), and a 1-1 record in the 1986-87 BMA Classic (win over Oral Roberts and a loss to Alabama).

Mizzou is playing as the #6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament for the third time in the last four years, including two straight.

The Tigers are 2-2 in Kemper as the Big 12's No. 6 seed, splitting games in 1998 and 2000.

If MU wins Thursday against Texas A&M, it will set up a meeting with a familiar foe - Oklahoma. The Tigers and Sooners have an affinity for post-season meetings in Kansas City of late, as they've hooked up in three of the last four years, with OU eliminating MU in 1998 and 2000, while the Tigers were victors in the inaugural year of the tournament (1997).

Missouri has never lost a first-round Big 12 Tournament game, going 3-0 with wins in 1997, '98 and '00.

Thursday will mark the first post-season meeting between Missouri and Texas A&M.

TIGERS MAKE A GOOD CASE FOR NCAA
While coaches and players try to focus on playing the games, it's the job of us SID-types to trumpet the case for teams being worthy of inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. Well, let the spin cycle begin...

MORE NCAA FODDER
MU's 18th regular-season win was also significant from another historical standpoint. The last 13 times a Tiger team has won at least 18 games during the regular season (not including conference tournament play), they've been invited to the NCAA Tournament.

Not since 1977 has a Mizzou squad with 18 regular season wins been denied an invite to the tournament. The 1976-77 team won 19 regular season games, but alas, was unceremoniously kicked to the proverbial curb.

A SPOT ON THE DANCE FLOOR FOR MU
As the post-season gets underway, the question has been asked whether or not Missouri will be included in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Tiger faithful believe the fact that Missouri has won 18 games against a tough schedule, while playing with four freshmen and a football player in its top nine in the rotation, is pretty impressive. Throw into the mix that MU lost its top player for roughly 1/4th of the season, and the Tigers' accomplishments are really pretty heady.

According to the experts, MU is worthy of such inclusion in the "Big Dance." A sample of several media/website outlets shows that all five list MU as in the tournament.

MISSOURI-A&M HISTORY
Missouri and Texas A&M will meet for the 9th time when they tangle Thursday in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.

MU holds a commanding 7-1 advantage in the series, and has won four straight, including a 97-90 win in College Station on Feb. 17th.

The two teams will hook up for the first time in post-season play, but it won't be the first neutral-court meeting between the two. Missouri downed the Aggies, 81-79 back on Dec. 22, 1969 in the first round of the Sun Carnival in El Paso, Texas. That was the first-ever game between the future conference brethren.

EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. TEXAS A&M
Game #25 - MU 97, Texas A&M 90
Feb. 17, 2001 - College Station, Texas
Clarence Gilbert scored 26 points for Missouri, which held on to beat Texas A&M 97-90. Gilbert made 6-of-13 shots from 3-point range before fouling out. The Tigers shot 40-percent from the 3-point line.

Missouri (17-8, 8-4 Big 12) captured its first road win since Jan. 10, and only the second in league play, while ending A&M's three-game winning streak.

Bernard King scored six unanswered points to pull the Aggies within four with 70 seconds remaining. A&M (9-16, 2-10) trailed by as much as 18 points during the game. King scored a season-high 31 points with five assists. Nick Anderson added 22 points for A&M.

An 81-percent performance from the free throw line sealed the victory for the Tigers. Missouri scored 25 points from the line on 31 attempts as A&M committed 30 fouls.

Missouri's Wesley Stokes, who made a pair of key free throws with 6 seconds left, scored seven of his 12-points from the line. Tajudeen Soyoye scored 16 and Brian Grawer added 12.

Missouri finished with 36 of their 97 points from 3-point range, while shooting 51 percent from the field.

HEAD COACH QUIN SNYDER
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 36-24 in his second season as a head coach. He was named the national rookie coach-of-the-year by Basketball Times last season after leading the Tigers to an 18-13 record and an NCAA appearance.

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 previous 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 in 1998-99 and finished as NCAA runners-up.

YOUTH WELL-SERVED
It's hard to imagine a team in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth having to rely on freshmen more than Missouri, as the Tigers feature four first-year players in their top-eight rotation-wise.

The Tiger cubs are doing rather well, however, and have come of age nicely, especially since Kareem Rush (who's only a sophomore himself) went down with his injury.

Three of the four freshmen - Wesley Stokes, Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson - averaged more points per game in the 7 games without Rush. Stokes nearly tripled his scoring output, going from a 4.7-per game average in the first 21 games to a 12.6-per game clip in the 7.

Paulding is coming off a career high-tying 16-point performance at #10 Kansas. He hit 7-of-9 shots on the day, and silenced the Lawrence crowd with a thunderous putback dunk in the second half that tied the game at 39 apiece with over 16 minutes remaining. He's averaged 10.1 points per game in the last eight games, after averaging 5.9 in his first 21 outings.

Two games ago, at Texas, MU's freshmen led the charge, as the quartet scored 39 of MU's 61 points (63.9%), and 12 of 28 individual rebounds (42.9%) in the game. Stokes led the way again, as he tallied a team-best 17 pts., on the strength of 6-of-10 FGs (including 2-of-2 from 3-pt. land). Paulding added 13 points on the night, which marked his 4th double-figure scoring game in the seven without Rush.

LIFE WITHOUT KAREEM
When MU lost the leading candidate for Big 12 player of the year in Kareem Rush, one national pundit called the Tigers "Toast."

Instead of folding, Quin Snyder's bunch came together to go 4-3 in the seven games without Rush, solidifying itself as an NCAA Tournament-worthy team. MU's only three losses in the stretch were by eight at 12th-ranked Iowa State (without Rush AND second-leading scorer Clarence Gilbert), on a last-second shot to 16th-ranked Oklahoma, and at 24th-ranked Texas.

MU showed a good balance in scoring during Rush's absence. Four Tigers averaged double figures in points in those seven games, compared to just two in MU's first 21 games with Rush.

How did the Tigers do in addition to the individual efforts? Statistically, it was a mixed bag, if you will. MU had worse numbers without Rush in field goal percentage and defensive field goal percentage, but improved in scoring defense, 3-pt. shooting, free throw shooting, rebounding and assists.

KANSAS RECAP
*Playing in its second-straight senior day road game, Missouri went toe-to-toe with the 10th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks for the first 31 minutes, but ran into a buzzsaw late in the game that saw KU pull away to a 75-59 win.

*MU led by as many as seven points int he first half, and the game was later tied at 39 apiece with just over 16 minutes left to go, after a jaw-dropping follow slam by MU's Rickey Paulding. MU was as close as four points, at 53-49 after a Clarence Gilbert three-pointer with 9:02 remaining. But KU scored 18 of the next 22 points to coast to a 71-53 lead with 3:53 left.

*During that game-breaking 5:09 stretch, Missouri went 0-of-6 from the floor (including 0-of-3 from three-point range), while Kansas sank 7-of-12 shots, most of them from point-blank range on transition buckets or offensive putbacks.

*Missouri lost despite holding Kansas to a season-low 7.7% from three-point range. The Jayhawks made just 1-of-13 threes on the day. Kansas compensated by connecting at a healthy 54.4% rate from inside the arch (25-of-46).

*The Tigers committed 21 turnovers in the game, which reversed a recent trend that had seen them average just 10.8 turnovers in the previous four games.

*KU's inside game was the difference in the second half, as the Jayhawk trio of Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Eric Chenowith combined to score 30 of KU's 45 second half points. They helped Kansas hold a mammoth 28-4 advantage on points in the paint in the second half (MU had led the category, 16-12 in the first 20 minutes).

*MU grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, but could convert them into only six second chance points, while KU converted 18 offensive boards into a difference-making 20 second chance points.

*Spoiled in the loss was a brilliant performance by Tiger freshman Rickey Paulding, who tied a career high with 16 points. He sank 7-of-9 shots on the day, and showed his impressive athleticism with a couple of nice dunks. It marked the 5th time in his last 8 games that the Detroit, Mich. native has scored in double figures.

RUSH MAKES A RETURN
Sophomore forward Kareem Rush, he of the most famous thumb in the Midwest, made his return to the court Sunday at Kansas, after missing the previous seven games due to torn ligaments in his left (shooting hand) thumb.

Rush suffered the injury at Oklahoma State on Feb. 5th, and at the time it was thought to be a season-ending injury. He had surgery on Feb. 7th to re-attach the ligaments, but he made a fast recovery, and was cleared to begin practicing on Feb. 21st (just two weeks after surgery).

Rush played 15 minutes at Kansas Sunday, and naturally looked a bit rusty. He seemed to handle the ball with little problem, given the sizeable splint he's wearing to immobilize his thumb. He grabbed a steal in his first sequence on the court, and led an MU fastbreak attempt.

He displayed his trademark ability to drive past virtually anyone, as he got into the lane whenever he wanted. He had a little difficulty finishing his shots off, however, as he finished an uncharacteristic 1-of-7 from the floor, and ended with just two points on the day.

That broke an impressive streak of 39 consecutive games having scored in double figures, which left him 11 behind the MU record of 50 held by former Tigers Willie Smith and Charles Henke.

GILBERT GETS A GRAND
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert, who was snubbed for all-Big 12 honors by league media - despite the fact that he ranks 4th in the league in scoring (16.6 ppg), 1st in 3-pt. FGs (3.04 p/g), 5th in foul shooting (81.8%), 13th in assists (3.50 p/g) and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56-to-1) - notched a nice career milestone Sunday in Lawrence.

With 19 points on the day, he surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his Tiger career, and became the 32nd MU player to reach the standard. He has 1,009 career points entering tournament play, and needs 8 more to pass former Tiger Ray Bob Carey for 29th place on the school scoring chart.

AN IMPRESSIVE TRIUMVIRATE
The three-headed weapon of Clarence Gilbert, Brian Grawer and Kareem Rush has combined to amass a pretty impressive statistic.

Gilbert (85), Grawer (66) and Rush (54) have combined to nail 205 three pointers this season. That's more than any team in the Big 12 Conference, with the sole exception of Oklahoma, which has made 218 threes as a team, entering tournament play.

Additionally, only two previous Tiger teams have made more threes in a season than the current trio has made: the 1999-2000 team (291), & 1997-98 (214).

MU leads the league, and ranks 23rd nationally, by making 8.3 threes per game.

Individually, Gilbert is 3 made threes away from tying his own single-season MU record of 88, established last season. With 11 attempts at KU Sunday, he broke his own single-season attempts record of 233. He now has 241 trey attempts entering the Big 12 Tournament.

Grawer, who is MU's alltime career leader with 205 treys (8 ahead of Gilbert, who has 197), has made his living from long distance this season. Of his 75 field goals this year, 66, or 88.0%, have been of the three-point variety.

MU NO. 41 IN POWER RANKINGS
Missouri enters Thursday's game ranked 41st in the March 5th RPI power poll (www.collegerpi.com). The Tigers have played the 28th-toughest schedule in the land to this point.

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

Texas A&M enters the game ranked170th in the power rankings, with a strength of schedule rating of 69th.

Seven of MU's 11 losses have come to teams ranked 25th or higher in the RPI system - #6 Illinois, #8 Kansas, #9 Iowa State, #10 Texas, #18 Syracuse, #23 Oklahoma, and #25 Virginia.

The Tigers are 3-7 currently vs. the top-25 in the RPI, with wins coming over current #8 Kansas, #9 Iowa State and a rare non-conference road win at #19 Indiana.

This fact should loom large in Mizzou's favor come NCAA Tournament selection time: MU's 3 wins against the RPI's top 25 teams puts the Tigers in select company. Only 15 other teams have more than 3 wins against the same group.

MORE RPI FODDER
We've all heard that the NCAA Selection Committe doesn't pay attention to previous years, or histories with the tournament.

That being said, MU appears to be in better shape RPI-wise considering the following facts:

*Last season, MU had 2 wins over top-25 RPI teams (#17 Kansas & #23 Illinois). This season, MU has 3 wins over top-25 teams, and they're higher-quality wins (#8 Kansas, #9 Iowa State and AT #19 Indiana).

*Last season, MU had one "bad" loss (considered outside the top 100 of the RPI), to #143 Winthrop. This season, MU has one loss outside the top 100, but it is to a higher-ranked team (#120 Kansas State).

MORE RANKINGS
Seven of MU's 11 losses on the year have come at the hands of teams which were ranked in this week's Associated Press Top-25 poll.

Illinois leads the list at #4, followed by #7 Iowa State, #9 Kansas, #12 Virginia, #16 Oklahoma, #17 Syracuse and #20 Texas as ranked teams that MU has come up short against. Iowa State (#7), and Kansas (#9) find themselves on MU's victim list.

Overall, the Tigers are 2-7 against ranked teams at tipoff. Syracuse was not ranked when MU faced them in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

GRAWER GOING OUT WITH A BANG
Despite being outsized most every night, MU senior guard Brian Grawer has displayed a grit and determination that made him a fan favorite right off the bat. He will leave MU with his name firmly entrenched among the Tiger record books. He is MU's career leader in three-point field goals, among many other great feats.

In addition to breaking the MU career 3-pt. field goal record this season, Grawer will take several other records with him.

Grawer received a nice award this past week, as he was named a Verizon/Co-SIDA District VII Academic All-American. He and four others from the district will be up for national honors. He was also named first-team academic all-Big 12, and was named Monday to the Big 12 All-Underrated and All-Improved teams by Associated Press.

A SCORING EXPLOSION
It's nothing new for Clarence Gilbert to get hot and score points in bunches. After all, he's been doing that his entire career at MU. But even Gilbert himself had to be slightly amazed at the five-minute stretch he put up against Texas A&M on Feb. 17th in College Station. Gilbert scored 19 of MU's 21 points (and assisted on the other basket) in a first-half stretch that spanned just 5:16. The game was tied 13-13 when he began his personal binge, and moved to a 36-26 MU lead and a :30 second timeout by A&M when it ended.

In all, Gilbert went 7-of-8 from the floor (including 5-of-6 from three-point range), and added one steal and one assist.

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.

CARDIAC KIDS
Missouri has been predisposed to playing tight ballgames, as 16 games this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer. MU has fared well in the close ones, as they're 10-6 in those games 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.

IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
Missouri has blocked 121 shots in 29 games on the season, and freshman center Arthur Johnson himself (with 62 blocks), has by himself surpassed last year's team total of 61 for the season (31 games).

Johnson's average of 2.14 per game, ranks 4th in the Big 12 Conference, and he broke the MU single-season record of 56 set by former all-American Steve Stipanovich in 1982-83 with his second-half block Feb. 19th vs. Oklahoma.

Incredibly, Johnson already ranks 10th on the MU career blocked shot list. He needs five more to pass former Tiger Dan Bingenheimer for 9th on the list.

Missouri ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with an average of 4.14 blocks per game. Last season, the Tigers were dead last, at 2.0 per game.

Missouri is on pace to finish the season with 135 blocks as a team, which would break the MU single-season record of 128, by the 1990-91 team.

RUSH HOUR BACK IN AN ARENA NEAR YOU
Prior to his well-documented thumb injury, Mizzou sophomore forward Kareem Rush had established himself as an all-America candidate, as well as a leading candidate for Big 12 Player-of-the-Year honors. His injury was originally predicted as a season-ending blow, but MU got good news when he was cleared to play last Sunday at Kansas.

Rush returned to action Sunday, and played 15 minutes vs. the Jayhawks. He showed the ability to handle the ball and get to the lane for scoring opportunities, but he was rusty on his shot, as Rush went an uncharacteristic 1-of-7 from the floor. He ended with a season-low two points, which broke a streak of 39 consecutive games having scored in double figures.

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 (21.0 ppg), Rush has made 30-point performances seem routine. He's turned in four 30-pt. games this year.

Rush had 21 points and seven rebounds at Oklahoma State. He injured his left thumb with 1:50 left in the game, but stayed in to finish as MU tried for the comeback win.

Rush had arguably the best performance of his young career on Jan. 29th vs. Kansas, as he notched his fourth double-double of the year, with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Rush scored 18 of his points in the second half, including 8-of-9 free throws to help seal the win. He was named Big 12 Player-of-the-Week for his efforts - his 2nd time earning the honor this season.

Rush had a 23-point outing Jan. 27th vs. Texas Tech. He hit the game-winning three-pointer with 33 seconds left to give MU a 64-62 lead, and later notched a steal with time running out to preserve the win. Rush hit 4-of-6 three-pointers on the day, and hit 9-of-15 from the floor overall.

On Jan 13th, Rush had a 32-point game vs. Iowa State, which tied his career high. He 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 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.

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.

CLEARANCE, CLARENCE
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert has emerged as one of the Big 12's top scorers this season, and assured everyone with his performance recently at Texas A&M that he's ready to lead the Tigers into the postseason.

Gilbert had an outstanding overall performance at A&M, with 26 points, 6 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes off the bench. As mentioned earlier, he went ballistic in the first half, scoring 19 points in a 5 minute, 16 second stretch.

He followed with a game-high 16-point performance in MU's narrow loss to #16 Oklahoma. He made 4-of-10 3-pt. FGs on the night, but went just 1-of-9 inside the arch, as his efforts to get inside the lane just wouldn't fall for him. He ended 5-of-19 overall.

Gilbert returned to the starting lineup last Sunday at Kansas, after coming off the bench for a five-game stretch. He led MU with 19 points at KU, and hit 5-of-11 three-pointers in 34 minutes.

He came off the bench for the first time this season vs. Colorado (Feb. 14) and scored 8 pts. and added 3 rebs. and 3 assists in 26 minutes. He took only 7 shots on the night and passed up several open shots, which prompted Head Coach Quin Snyder to joke after the game, "I told Clarence that I was going to suspend him again if he didn't start shooting the ball."

Gilbert had a solid night at Oklahoma State, where he scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting in Stillwater. That marked the third time this season he connected at 50 percent or better in a game.

Gilbert had a 7-of-15 shooting night at Nebraska (46.7%) on Jan. 24th. He sank 7-of-13 from three-point range, which tied his career high for makes, and was just one shy of the 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.

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, who broke the MU single-season three-point field goal record last season (88 treys) ranks 2nd on the MU career 3-point field goal chart (197 entering the A&M game), and is now 8 behind current leader Brian Grawer. He needs four more treys to break his own single-season record (has 85 this season coming into post-season).

GRAWER LEADS THE CHARGE
When Kareem Rush went down with a thumb injury, everyone wondered where MU's points would come from. Everyone except senior guard Brian Grawer. In the seven games MU was without Rush, Grawer stepped up his scoring role immensely, and averaged 15.1 points per game - more than double his output of 7.1 points per game in the first 21 games.

He's looking to find his touch after going just 2-of-13 combined in losses at Texas and at Kansas.

Grawer closed his home career by scoring a game-high 18 points Feb. 24th vs. Baylor as he nailed 6-of-14 three-point attempts. He also contributed his typical 3 assists, 2 steals and zero turnovers in a stellar 36-minute performance playing before his entire family.

Grawer scored 14 points at Texas A&M on Feb. 17th, and became MU's alltime 3-pt. king with his first of four treys. That bomb from the left corner gave him 191 career three pointers, which gave him sole possession of the career lead, moving him past former leader Jason Sutherland (190).

Grawer had a brilliant performance at #12 Iowa State, when he sank 8-of-13 three-point field goals and ended with 24 points. The eight treys tied the MU single-game record held by John Woods (vs. UAB in 1998), and was the fourth-most in Big 12 history.

In the previous game, Grawer stole the show in MU's 70-66 come-from-behind win over Kansas State.

In MU's first game without the services of Kareem Rush, and a sick Clarence Gilbert who scored just 2 points (he was averaging 17.7 ppg coming in), the Tigers were in desperate need of someone picking up the scoring slack.

Grawer did just that, by shooting his way to a season-high 22 points, on the strength of a 6-of-12 night from three-point range. His biggest one of the night came with just 17 seconds left in the game, and MU trailing by one. His 23-footer settled home perfectly, and gave MU a 68-66 lead.

On Jan. 29th, Grawer tallied 14 points vs. #3 Kansas. He nailed 4 three pointers on the night (in 7 attempts), and scored 11 of his points in the second half.

Grawer is showing that he's regaining the stroke from long range that saw him rank 3rd in the NCAA as a sophomore in three-point percentage (49.6%).

The St. Louis native has made 42-of-94 three-point field goals in his last 12 games (44.7%), and his season total of 66 is 19 more than he made all of last season, when he struggled behind the stripe (shot a career-low 32.8%).

Grawer has scored in double figures 12 times this season, including 6-of-7 games during the Rush absence.

A quick check of the MU career records shows that 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 - 83.6%), steals (3rd - 190) and assists (9th - 321).

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.

OH, RICKEY, YOU'RE SO FINE
Freshman slasher Rickey Paulding is one of the more quiet guys on the Missouri team, and sometimes he can get a lost in the shuffle.

But with MU's recent hits to the roster, he's been thrust into the spotlight more than ever. The Detroit, Mich. native has responded with flying colors in MU's last 8 games, as he's averaged 10.1 points per game while facing the daunting task of replacing all-American candidate Kareem Rush in the starting lineup.

Paulding was anything but quite Sunday in MU's game at Kansas. He tied a career high by scoring 16 points, on the strength of 7-of-9 shooting. He was MU's only player to shoot better than 50.0% from the floor in a game that saw Mizzou shoot just 32.1% as a team.

Paulding silenced the Jayhawk crowd twice with impressive dunks. The first came in transition in the first half, but the last was the capper. With over 16 minutes left in the game, he grabbed an offensive rebound and went up with one hand for an emphatic slam over KU's 7-foot center Eric Chenowith to tie the game at 39 apiece.

He's now scored in double figures in three straight games, and five of the last eight since entering the starting lineup. He had a 13-point game at Texas (Feb. 26), which followed an 11-point performance Feb. 24th vs. Baylor.

On Feb. 19th, Paulding had a 5-point, 3-rebound outing vs. Oklahoma. He was held to 1-of-7 shooting on the night, but his one make was an exciting alley-oop slam on a pass from fellow freshman Wesley Stokes. Paulding was fouled on the play, and consequently completed the three-point play with his free throw.

Paulding started his second straight game Feb. 11th at #12 Iowa State, and scored 15 points (one shy of his career best) and added five rebounds and a career-high 3 assists in 37 minutes of play. He had an important 3-point play that was MU's first score after ISU jumped out to a 10-0 lead right off the bat.

On Feb. 7th vs. Kansas State he scored 10 points and added 5 rebounds and 2 assists in his first career start. Paulding hit 3-of-6 shots on the night, including a career-best 2-of-2 from three-point range.

Prior to the Rush injury, Paulding had been MU's top reserve this season.

Paulding had 3 points in a limited 7 minute-stint at Oklahoma State, hitting 3-of-4 free throws on the night. He went 0-of-3 from the floor, after having made 6-of-10 from the floor in his previous three games.

Paulding had 5 points in 13 minutes on Jan. 29th vs. #3 Kansas, and hit 1-of-2 from three-point land.

He's finding his stroke from the foul line, as he's hit 15-of-20 free throws (75.0%) in his last 9 games.

STOKES FANS THE FLAMES
Freshman point guard Wesley Stokes has emerged as an invaluable cog in the Tiger attack. League writers have taken notice, as he was named Monday to the Big 12 All-Freshman team by the Associated Press.

Stokes has combined with fellow guard Brian Grawer to spearhead the Tiger scoring attack of late, as he averaged 12.6 points per game in MU's 7 outings without the services of Kareem Rush, after averaging 4.7 points a game in his first 21 contests.

Stokes came off the bench Sunday at Kansas, after starting six straight games. He played 23 minutes in Lawrence, and contributed with 8 points and 1 assist.

Previously, Stokes had a solid game at Texas (Feb. 26), as he led MU with 17 pts. and added 3 steals in 28 minutes of play. He went 6-of-10 from the floor, including a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range.

Stokes has warmed up from three-point land of late, as he's made 19-of-40 treys (47.5%) in his last 15 games, after making just 3-of-17 (17.7%) in his first 14 outings.

Stokes was held to 5 points Feb. 24th vs. Baylor, but he ran the MU offense crisply, as he notched a game-high 6 assists (just one shy of his career high), and he added a career-best 6 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Stokes had 12 points on Feb. 17th at Texas A&M (on the strength of 7-of-9 FTs), and added a career-high 7 assists with just one turnover in 30 minutes. He was held to four points last Monday vs. Oklahoma (on 2-of-7 FGs), but stepped up in crunch time, as he hit a floater on the right baseline with 17 seconds left to forge a 61-61 tie prior to OU's last-second win.

Stokes scored 19 points Feb. 14th vs. Colorado, on the strength of a 14-of-16 performance from the foul line. He hit 7-of-8 freebies in the game's final three minutes to help seal the win.

That followed a solid performance at #12 Iowa State, where he had 12 pointsand added career highs in rebounds (6) and assists (5) in his first career start.

Stokes turned in a heroic performance in MU's 70-66 win over Kansas State on Feb. 7th. The dynamic rookie scored a career-high 19 points on the night - an invaluable feat considering the fact that MU was without Kareem Rush for the first time, and got only 2 points from Clarence Gilbert, who entered the game with a 17.7 scoring average.

Stokes picked up the scoring slack mostly from long range, as he nailed a career-high 5-of-8 three pointers. He had made 9 treys in 21 games prior to his feat that night.

Stokes had 9 points in MU's win at Colorado, including 7-of-8 free throws in the game's final four minutes to help seal the win.

At Indiana, 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.

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.

DOCK BLOCK
You can call him A.J., or you can call him Arthur, or you can call him Dock (his middle name). Whatever you prefer, Tiger opponents are calling Arthur Johnson a handful.

The Detroit, Mich. native laid claim to Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year candidacy during the regular season, with averages of 8.9 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.

He's looking to get untracked offensively, as Johnson has been held to an average of 4.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the last two outings at Texas and at Kansas. He's made just 3-of-15 shots in those two games, many of them doing everything but going down for him.

A.J. recorded his 6th double-double of the season Feb. 24th vs. Baylor, as he notched 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. He came off the bench for the first time since Nov. 25th, which broke a string of 22 consecutive starts.

Johnson had 10 points and 8 rebounds Feb. 19th vs. OU. Eight of his points and all of his rebounds came in the second half. Six of his rebounds were on the offensive glass, and led to six of his 10 points on the night.

A.J. notched his 5th double-double of the season Feb. 14th as he scored a career-high 17 points and added 11 rebounds vs. Colorado.

He had a strong performance at #13 Virginia, 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.

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.

MU MAKES HISTORY AT INDIANA
MU became just the 9th non-conference team to claim a win at Indiana's Assembly Hall when the Tigers claimed a 68-63 win on Dec. 18th.