Nov. 6, 2001
Columbia, Mo. -
TIGERS CLOSE EXHIBITION SEASON TONIGHT VS. ILLINOIS ALL-STARS
The University of Missouri men's basketball team closes its 2001-02 exhibition season tonight when they host the Illinois All-Stars. In just one week, the Tigers tip-off the regular season when they play host to first and second round play in the first-ever NABC Guardians Classic.
The tournament is set for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week (Nov. 13/14), and the Tigers will host Tennessee-Martin on the first night (8:00 p.m.), with the first game featuring Air Force vs. Yale (5:30). The winners will meet Wednesday at 8 p.m. for the right to advance to Kemper Arena the next week for tournament semifinal and final play (Nov. 20/21).
Tickets remain available for the Columbia portion of the event, with seats open in B, C and upper deck areas. Please contact the MU Athletic Ticket Office at 884-PAWS (1-800-CAT-PAWS), or stop by the ticket office at the Hearnes Center for more details.
ABOUT THE ILLINOIS ALL-STARS
Former Missouri standout Byron Irvin returns to the Hearnes Center tonight as head coach of the Illinois All-Stars. His team is a group of former collegiate players from the Chicago area and the state of Illinois.
The group is 0-2 in the pre-season entering Tuesday's game, after losing 116-68 at Iowa on Nov. 1 and dropping an 88-77 decision at DePaul Sunday.
Irvin was a star guard for Missouri for two seasons (1987-88 and 1988-89), and he averaged 16.6 points per game in his short career here. Irvin scored 708 points as a senior, which is the 4th-highest single-season point total in Tiger history. He went on to play for Portland and Washington during a solid NBA career, after being picked as the No. 22 overall selection in the 1989 NBA Draft.
MU GETS TOP-10 RANKING
It's official, Missouri is a top-ten team, according to both key national polls. The pre-season Associated Press top-25 poll was released Monday, and MU found itself perched at number eight, just one spot below its No. 9 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today poll, which came out last week.
It is the first time since 1995 that MU has started the season ranked (#14 prior to the 1995-96 season). The #8 ranking equals the highest an MU team has received to begin the season, matching the 1987-88 squad, which was ranked eighth in the initial poll. That squad went 19-11 and was not ranked at the end of the season after falling to Rhode Island in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
MORE RANKING RANTINGS
The last time MU was ranked in the A.P. top ten came in February of 1995, when the Tigers were ranked No. 9 prior to enduring a four-game losing streak that dropped them to No. 23 by the end of the 1994-95 season.
The highest MU has ever finished a season in the rankings in the A.P. poll is No. 5, accomplished by the 1981-82 and 1993-94 teams. The first squad began the season ranked 16th and won the third of four consecutive Big Eight Conference titles for Norm Stewart, and finished the year with a 27-4 record. The '93-94 team started the year unranked but eventually climbed to as high as No. 3 after going a perfect 14-0 in the Big Eight. That squad finished with a record of 28-4.
Here's a look at MU's history of being ranked in the pre-season A.P. poll:
Preseason Final Highest Final Season Ranking Record Ranking Ranking 1987-88 8th 19-11 8th N/A 1980-81 11th 22-10 11th N/A 1989-90 11th 26-6 1st 11th 1988-89 14th 29-8 3rd 6th 1995-96 14th 18-15 11th N/A 1981-82 15th 27-4 1st 5th 1982-83 15th 26-8 6th 10th 1976-77 20th 21-8 20th N/A 1990-91 20th 20-10 23rd N/A
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri got its exhibition season underway last Saturday, as the Tigers defeated the EA Sports All Stars by a 93-82 count before an announced crowd of 7,288 at the Hearnes Center.
The Tigers were led by pre-season All-American Kareem Rush, who scored 30 points and added 10 rebounds on the day. Sophomore Arthur Johnson turned in a double-double of his own, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Najeeb Echols was impressive with 12 rebounds and seven points in his Tiger debut.
Quin Snyder's outfit enjoyed a balanced scoring effort, as seven other Tigers scored at least four points in the game. Sophomore Travon Bryant led the next wave, with nine points, while fellow sophomore Rickey Paulding added eight.
Mizzou outshot the All Stars 47.2 to 38.8 percent from the floor, and won the battle of the boards by a whopping 54-36 margin.