A check of the records shows that Rush is MU's first 1st-team all-conference selection in seven years. Melvin Booker, who earned 1st-team all-Big Eight honors in 1993 & 1994, was the last Tiger to earn such acclaim.

After averaging 23.5 points per game in the Big 12 Tournament -- all while wearing a splint on his left (shooting) hand -- he was named to the All-Tournament team.

MU's SPOT ON THE DANCE FLOOR
As the NCAA Tournament gets underway, the numbers game left several deserving teams at home. Missouri was considered a "bubble" team by some pundits, but by virtue of MU's awarding of a nine seed, that appears to not be the case.

Just what did the selection committee see in Missouri?

Tiger faithful believe the fact that Missouri won 19 games against a tough schedule, while playing with four freshmen and a football player in its top nine in the rotation, was pretty impressive. Throw into the mix that MU lost its top player for roughly 1/4th of the season, and the Tigers' accomplishments were really pretty heady.

History pointed to MU's inclusion, as well, as the Tigers finished 9-7 in Big 12 Conference play this season. In the previous four years of the Big 12, 20-out-of-21 NCAA-eligible teams which went at least 9-7 in league play have received NCAA bids. The only exception was Nebraska, in 1998-99, when the Huskers were snubbed despite going 10-6 in league play and 18-11 during the regular season. NU's RPI was 47th that year, with a schedule strength of 48.

For what it's worth, Jerry Palm, he of the collegerpi.com fame, got 33 out of 34 at-large bids correct in his pre-selection Sunday picks. Fortunately for Missouri, the only one he missed was (drum roll please) -- Missouri.

HEAD COACH QUIN SNYDER
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 37-25 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.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Missouri took the 6th seed in the Big 12 Conference to Kansas City, Mo., looking to make some noise and secure an NCAA Tournament bid.

MISSOURI 77, TEXAS A&M 62
The Tigers certainly made noise during an opening-round 77-62 win over 11th-seeded Texas A&M. Mainly junior guard Clarence Gilbert, who scored a game-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a scintillating 8-of-11 from three-point range. His eight treys tied an MU single-game record.

Perhaps most pleasing to Tiger fans in the win was the fact that sophomore all-everything talent Kareem Rush looked like he was rounding into his old All-American form. Rush scored 16 points in 26 minutes, and hit 4-of-6 from three-point range. That was a far cry from his 1-of-7 outing just four days earlier at Kansas, when he was held to a season-low two points.

Mizzou rolled out a 16-0 scoring run early in the first half to assert control on the Aggies. The Tigers led by as many as 23 points in the second half, and cruised to the victory. MU was a torrid 14-of-19 from three-point range vs. the Aggies, for a Big 12 Tournament record 73.7% effort. In contrast, the Tigers were just 11-of-29 from inside the arch (37.9%).

Freshman center Arthur Johnson added 11 points and eight rebounds to the cause.

#16 OKLAHOMA 67, MISSOURI 65
For the second time in three weeks, Oklahoma downed Missouri with a last-second shot. This time, it came from Nolan Johnson, who converted a baseline runner with just 3.5 seconds left to give the Sooners a 67-65 win. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Tigers, who led 65-63 with less than a minute left, but couldn't hold on for the big win.

With MU leading 65-63, Johnson drew a foul with 13 seconds left and went to the line for two shots to tie the game. The 84 percent foul shooter made the first, but missed the second. Normally, a missed free throw by an opponent is a welcome sight, but when MU's T.J. Soyoye and Kareem Rush went for the ball together and collectively knocked it out of bounds, Tiger hearts sank. OU suddenly had the ball under their own basket with a chance to win.

Sure enough, Johnson converted his runner with time running out to give OU a 66-65 lead. MU tried a full-court pass to no avail, and had to foul. OU converted 1-of-2 ensuing foul shots to make it 67-65, and that's how it ended when an improbable last-second chuck was no good once again for the Tigers. Missouri really outplayed the Sooners all night, as MU outshot OU (48.1% to 45.3%) and handily won the battle of the boards (41 to 27). But 17 Tiger turnovers (to just 6 for OU) proved costly, as MU couldn't hold on to a lead that reached as much as 10 points in the first half. A bright spot in the game was the play of Rush, who looked like the first-team All-American he had began to establish himself as this season prior to being injured. Rush scored a game-high 31 points, showing no ill-effects of his injured thumb. He sank 12-of-19 shots on the night, including 5-of-7 from long distance. Soyoye also played his most inspired game in awhile, as he notched his 4th double-double of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

MORE BIG 12 NUMBERS
Missouri was stroking the ball quite nicely in Kansas City, as the Tigers shot an even 50.0% as a team in the two games (50-of-100). What's even more impressive, though, is the fact that MU shot 55.0% (22-of-40) from three-point range.

Individually, Kareem Rush shot 62.1% from the floor (18-of-29), including an eye-popping 69.2% from three-point range (9-of-13). His 23.5-per game average landed him a spot on the all-tournament team.

Clarence Gilbert averaged 19.5 points in the two games, and shot a solid 52.0% from the floor. He was also better from farther away, as he sank 52.4% (11-of-21) three pointers in the two games.

Other standouts included Soyoye, who averaged 9.0 points and 8.5 rebounds and shot 63.6% from the floor (7-of-11), and freshman center Arthur Johnson, who averaged 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while connecting on 70.0 percent of his attempts.

YOUTH WELL-SERVED
It's hard to imagine a team 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 during the absence of Kareem Rush (who's only a sophomore himself) when he 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.

When MU played at 12th-ranked Iowa State on Feb. 11th, the Tigers went to battle without the services of the Big 12's top scorer in Rush, as well as the league's 3rd-leading scorer in Clarence Gilbert, who was serving a one-game disciplinary suspension.

Stokes, Paulding and Johnson all started, and held their own in the hostile Ames, Iowa environment. Early on in the first half, Travon Bryant got on the floor, giving MU four freshmen on the court. Paulding ended with 15 points, Stokes 12 and Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds as the Tigers hung in the game before falling by just eight points.

RUSH MAKES A SPLASH
Sophomore forward Kareem Rush, he of the most famous thumb in the Midwest, made his return to the court March 4th 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).

He served notice in the Big 12 Tournament that he's not just back to playing, but that he's back to the form that had him on several people's All-American list in the middle of the season.

Rush is coming off a scintillating 31-point game vs. Oklahoma. He sank 12-of-19 field goals on the night, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. All in spite of the fact that he's still wearing a somewhat cumbersome splint to protect the injured thumb on his shooting hand.

He opened the tournament with a 16-point outing vs. Texas A&M. In all, he shot 62.1% with the splint in his hometown of Kansas City, and made 69.2% of his three pointers in the two games (9-of-13), and averaged 23.5 points.

Rush played 15 minutes in his return at Kansas, 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.

THE 500 CLUB
Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert both surpassed 500 points for the season in Friday's game vs. Oklahoma. With his 31-point night, Rush enters the NCAA Tournament with 508 points (21.2 ppg), while Gilbert is right behind him with 503 points (16.8 ppg).

That makes the duo the first Tiger combo to reach 500 points since Doug Smith (635 pts., 19.8 ppg) and Anthony Peeler (522 pts., 15.8 ppg) did the trick in the 1989-90 season.

Additionally, Gilbert now has 102 assists on the season (an MU team best), which puts him in select company.

GILBERT GETS A GRAND
Junior guard Clarence Gilbert, who was snubbed for all-Big 12 honors by league media -- despite the fact that he ranked 4th in the league in scoring, 1st in 3-pt. FGs, 5th in foul shooting, 13th in assists and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio during the regular season -- notched a nice career milestone March 4th 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 now has 1,048 career points entering NCAA play, and needs 4 more to pass former Tiger Derek Grimm for 28th 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 (96), Grawer (67) and Rush (63) have combined to nail 226 three pointers this season. That's more than any team in the Big 12 Conference, with the sole exception of Oklahoma, which has made 234 threes as a team, entering NCAA play.

Additionally, only one previous Tiger teams has made more threes in a season than the current trio has made: the 1999-2000 team (291).

MU leads the league, and ranks 23rd nationally, by making 8.5 threes per game.

Individually, Gilbert has broken his own single-season MU record of 88, established last year. With 11 attempts at KU March 4th, he broke his own single-season attempts record of 233. He now has 262 trey attempts entering the NCAA Tournament.

Gilbert overtook Grawer for the lead on the MU alltime career chart. He now has 208 career treys, to 206 for Grawer.

Grawer has made his living from long distance this season. Of his 76 field goals this year, 67, or 88.2%, have been of the three-point variety.

Rush leads MU with a three-point field goal percentage of 44.4%. He is MU's career leader in 3-pt. percentage, with a career mark of 43.6% (109-of-250).

MU NO. 47 IN POWER RANKINGS
Missouri enters Thursday's game ranked 47th in the March 11th RPI power poll (www.collegerpi.com). The Tigers have played the 40th-toughest schedule in the land to this point.

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

Georgia enters the game ranked 27th in the power rankings, and the Bulldogs own the distinction of playing the nation's No.-1 ranked schedule.

Seven of MU's 12 losses have come to teams ranked 18th or higher in the RPI system -- #6 Illinois, #9 Texas, #12 Kansas, #13 Iowa State, #15 Oklahoma, and #18 Syracuse.

The Tigers are 3-7 currently vs. the top-25 in the RPI, with wins coming over current #12 Kansas, #13 Iowa State and a rare non-conference road win at #16 Indiana.

One fact probably loomed large in Mizzou's favor in terms of being selected for the tournament: MU's 3 wins against the RPI's top 25 teams puts the Tigers in select company. Only 17 other teams have more than 3 wins against the same group.

MORE RANKINGS
Nine of MU's 12 losses on the year have come at the hands of teams which are ranked in this week's Associated Press Top-25 poll.

Illinois leads the list at #4, followed by #10 Iowa State, #12 Kansas, #13 Oklahoma, #16 Virginia, #17 Syracuse, #18 Texas and #24 Iowa as ranked teams that MU has come up short against. Iowa State (#10), Kansas (#12) and Indiana (#20) find themselves on MU's victim list.

Overall, the Tigers are 2-8 against ranked teams at tipoff. Syracuse was not ranked when MU faced them in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout in November, nor was Indiana when MU won there on Dec. 18th.

CARDIAC KIDS
Missouri has been predisposed to playing tight ballgames, as 18 games this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer. MU has fared well in the close ones, as they're 11-7 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 125 shots in 31 games on the season, and freshman center Arthur Johnson himself (with 63 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 four 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 needs four more blocks to break the MU single-season record of 128, set by the 1990-91 team.

RUSH HOUR BACK IN FULL FORCE
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 he beat the odds by returning to action in time for MU's regular-season finale March 4th at Kansas.

After looking a little rusty at Kansas, Rush looked like his old self last week in Kansas City, as he averaged 23.5 points per game in MU's two Big 12 Tournament games. He was named to the all-Tournament team after scoring 16 vs. Texas A&M and 31 vs. #16 Oklahoma.

Rush's numbers were simply amazing, given the fact that he's still limited with the splint. He hit 62.1% of his shots from the floor (18-of-29) and an even more amazing 69.2% from three-point range (9-of-13).

Rush played 15 minutes in his return March 4th 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 (21.2 ppg), Rush has made 30-point performances seem routine. He's turned in five 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, he 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.

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 vs. Texas A&M that he's capable of leading the Tigers in the postseason.

Gilbert had a brilliant game last Thursday in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament vs. Texas A&M, as he scored 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He nailed 8-of-11 three-pointers on the night in MU's 77-62 win, which tied the school record for most threes made in a game. He also shut down Bernard King of A&M, and held him to just six points on 3-of-10 shooting. King entered the game as the Big 12's 3rd-leading scorer, at over 18 points per game.

Gilbert also had an outstanding overall performance at Texas A&M on Feb. 17th, 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 (Feb. 19th). 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.

Gilbert returned to the starting lineup March 4th 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.

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.

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 11 points total in MU's last four games. He's made 3-of-18 from the floor combined in those games.

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). He's since been passed by Clarence Gilbert, but stands just two behind.

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 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 -- 83.7%), steals (3rd -- 192) and assists (8th -- 325).

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 prior to the Big 12 Tournament, he averaged 10.1 points per game while facing the daunting task of replacing all-American candidate Kareem Rush in the starting lineup.

With Rush back in the starting lineup, Paulding has returned to his reserve role. He scored 5 points in 16 minutes vs. Texas A&M last Thursday, and had 3 points and 4 rebounds Friday vs. Oklahoma.

Paulding was anything but quite March 4th 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 scored in double figures in three straight games, and five of the eight game he played as a starter. He had a 13-point game at Texas (Feb. 26), which followed an 11-point performance Feb. 24th vs. Baylor.

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.

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 last week to the Big 12 All-Freshman team by the Associated Press. He was also named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by league coaches.

Stokes combined with fellow guard Brian Grawer to spearhead the Tiger scoring attack recently, 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 averaged just 2.5 points per game in MU's two Big 12 Tournament games, but he took a total of just five shots. He notched a team-best six assists in the two games, and had just 2 turnovers in the process.

Stokes came off the bench March 4th 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 17 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 finished as the runner-up in Big 12 Freshman-of-the-Year voting to Jake Sullivan of Iowa State. Johnson certainly had a claim to the award, with averages of 8.9 points and 7.8 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.

A.J. had a strong Big 12 Tournament, as he averaged 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in MU's two contests. He had 11 points and 8 rebounds vs. Texas A&M, and shot 70.0% for the tournament (7-of-10 FGs). He was also a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line, improving his season percentage to 51.5%.

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.

T.J. BREAKING THROUGH OFFENSIVELY
There's no one on the Tiger team who works harder than senior forward Tajudeen Soyoye. That's why it's been so frustrating for those in the program who know his work ethic to see him struggle offensively since the start of league play.

Soyoye, who had a solid non-conference season (averaging 8.8 ppg), just couldn't get things to go his way in Big 12 play. He was averaging just 3.5 ppg in MU's 11 league games prior to the Feb. 17th game at Texas A&M.

He might have found his groove in College Station, however, as T.J. came up with a season-high 16 points vs. the Aggies. He made 5-of-9 shots on the day, and added a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.

Soyoye, who has started all 58 games of his two-year career, followed up with a solid Big 12 Tournament, as he averaged 9.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. He shot 63.6% from the floor, and notched the 3rd double-double of his season with 10 points and 11 rebounds Friday vs. 16th-ranked Oklahoma.

Soyoye continues to be one of the more improved foul shooters around. He has made 23-of-26 foul shots in his last 10 games, and has raised his season mark to 77.7%, a year after making just 63.1% of his foul shots.

12-GAGE PLAYS A KEY ROLE
Sophomore forward Justin Gage might not have big numbers, but he gives much more to the team than his 1.9 point and 2.2 rebound per game averages would indicate.

Gage, who wears #11 in basketball but is #12 in football (thus the 12-Gage reference), where he was MU's leading receiver last season, played more on the wing during Kareem Rush's absence, and his numbers went up considerably. In the 7 games, Gage averaged 3.3 points per game, after averaging just 1.0 points in his previous 12 games.

Gage was a near-hero vs. Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament Friday night as he drove the lane and hit a runner to give MU a 65-63 lead with less than one minute left in the game.

Gage scored 7 pts. at Texas A&M, matching the seven he scored Feb. 14th vs. Colorado. He also grabbed a season-high 4 rebounds last at A&M.

Gage made several big plays late in MU's win over Kansas State on Feb. 7th.

His first big play came with 1:14 left in the game, and MU trailing by five points. MU's Brian Grawer missed a three-pointer, and KSU's Quentin Buchanan grabbed the rebound. Just when things started looking bad for the Tigers, Gage quickly stole the ball from Buchanan underneath MU's basket, and was fouled as he tried to score.

A 40.0% foul shooter coming in, Gage calmly sank both shots to pull MU to within three, at 66-63 with 1:10 left. He later set up the game-winning three-pointer by Brian Grawer when he stepped in front of K-State's Larry Reid and drew a charge with 51 seconds left and KSU holding a 66-65 lead. Grawer hit a three-pointer on MU's ensuing possession which proved to be the game winner.

His was limited to 10 minutes due to foul trouble at Iowa State, but he still managed four points, including a huge three-pointer (his first of the season) in the game's final three minutes that pulled MU to within six points.

Gage had battled injuries around the beginning of the calendar year, as he missed seven games. He sprained a knee at Kansas State on Jan. 16, and missed MU's next three games. His first game back was against Kansas on Jan. 29th, but he re-aggravated the knee when he drew a charge late in the game on KU's Kirk Hinrich. He did not play at Oklahoma State.

Earlier in the year, he suffered a broken nose in practice, and missed a three-game stretch from Dec. 30 through Jan. 6.

He is second on the team in charges taken, with 4 for the season.

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 while he's had his typical freshman ups and downs, there's no question that he has the ability to be a huge contributor.

Bryant had a solid game Saturday vs. Baylor, as he scored 4 points and added 3 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. He had a nice 17-foot jumper in the first half which quelled a Baylor run, displaying a nice perimeter touch that he hadn't exploited to this point.

Bryant played 10 minutes in last Monday's loss to Oklahoma, and scored 4 points (on 2-of-4 FGs) and added 1 rebound.

Bryant played 12 minutes Feb. 17th at Texas A&M, and had 4 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a solid day.

Bryant played well at Oklahoma State, as he grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 3 shots while scoring 3 points in 20 minutes.

Previously, Bryant had a solid game vs. #3 Kansas, as he contributed 4 points and 5 rebounds in a 9 minutes off the bench.

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.

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 was held to 3 points at Kansas State (on 1-of-6 FGs), but grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

He's made just 8-of-27 free throws so far (29.6%), 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.