Dec. 21, 2001
Complete Release in PDF
Updated Player Bios in PDF
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Looking to to spread holiday cheer among its faithful, the 8th-ranked Missouri Tigers (9-1) take on the 9th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini (8-2) Saturday night in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights Game at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo. Mizzou is coming off its first loss of the 2001-02 season, an 83-65 home setback to then #15 Iowa last Saturday in which MU's 1-2 combo of Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert were held to a total of 18 points in a 5-of-29 combined shooting night. Illinois has won three straight games entering Saturday's top-10 matchup, including wins over Arkansas, Western Illinois and Tuesday vs. Illinois State. The Illini's only losses this season have come to current #2 Maryland and #11 Arizona.
TIGERS LOOKING FOR BOUNCEBACK
Missouri had its 9-game winning streak snapped cleanly by Iowa last Saturday in Columbia, as the Hawkeyes cruised to an 83-65 win in the Hearnes Center.
MU entered the game having not played in 9 days, and the rust showed early, as the Tigers played tight, missing 7 of their first 8 shots and commiting 4 turnovers in the game's first 5 minutes. Iowa built an early 12-4 lead in that time, and the closest the Tigers would get the rest of the way was 5 points.
Mizzou had entered the Iowa game among national statistical leaders in several categories, but was held significantly below its per-game averages in nearly all areas.
HAWKEYES DID A NUMBER ON MU'S 1-2 PUNCH
Mizzou's deadly 1-2 punch of Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert was silenced like never before this season last Saturday by Iowa. The Hawkeyes came into the game with a plan to limit the top scoring duo in the Big 12, and they did just that, holding the pair to a combined season-low 18 points. Rush and Gilbert had been averaging 39.9 points per game combined entering the game.
In its 9-0 start, Quin Snyder's squad had been able to survive an off scoring night from one of its top guns. But they hadn't dealt with both scorers having poor games.
When Rush scored a season-low 11 points on Nov. 21st vs. Iowa (a night after having his nose broken vs. Alabama), Gilbert led the way with a then-season-high 27 points.
On Nov. 24th vs. Xavier in the Wooden Tradition, Gilbert scored a then-season-low 10 points, but Rush was superb offensively, leading the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
12-GAGE JOINS THE TEAM
Quin Snyder got an early Christmas present last week when he learned that MU's all-Big 12 wide receiver, Justin Gage, had decided to join the basketball team once again.
Gage, a 6-foot-4, 208-pound forward, who will suit up Saturday for the Illinois game, will play two sports for the third straight year. He is the only Tiger, along with Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert, to play in each of Quin Snyder's three years at Mizzou.
Gage's decision surprised a lot of people in the Tiger camp, as most thought he would forego basketball after playing two sports for the past two years.
Gage has played in a total of 49 games the past two years for Snyder, and has averaged 2.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. On the gridiron, he has led the football team in receiving each of the past two years, including 74 receptions in 2001 for 920 yards and 5 touchdowns. His receptions mark was just one catch shy of the MU single-season record.
Surprise or not, Gage is a welcome addition to the basketball squad. His numbers don't really tell the story as to how valuable he can be for the Tigers, according to Snyder.
"We're very pleased to have Justin join the team," said Snyder. "He's such an outstanding competitor who has a knack for raising the intensity level not only in games, but in practice every day. He's played an integral role in helping us win games," he said.
NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS
Who was it that said, 'You win some, and you lose a lot'?
Well, just a week after learning that Justin Gage would join the basketball team, MU was dealt a blow this Tuesday when it was informed by the NCAA Staff that junior center Uche Okafor was denied his bid for reinstatement, leaving him ineligible pending an appeal by MU.
Okafor, a 6-foot-11 center from Anambra State, Nigeria, came to MU this fall after playing two years at the College of Southern Idaho, where he established himself as one of the top JUCO centers in the country.
Okafor got caught in the NCAA's recent crusade against foreign student-athletes, however, and MU had to declare him ineligible over the summer due to his involvement with a Russian basketball league a few years back.
Okafor was led to Russia out of his home country in order to eventually get to the United States to play basketball. While he was there, Okafor was convinced to sign a contract to play in a Russian professional league. He did so, but never played a game while there, and never received payment.
After Okafor signed with MU this summer, Mizzou declared him ineligible after the NCAA began its probe of over 60 foreign student athletes in college basketball.
Missouri asked for immediate reinstatement, but did not get a decision until just this week - nearly five months in the making. Athletic department officials are working on an appeal to the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, and hope to have their case heard by the group before the end of the month.
MU-ILLINOIS SERIES
MU Coach Quin Snyder this week has referred to the Braggin' Rights Game with Missouri and Illinois as the top non-conference rivalry in the country.
While that's certainly a subjective claim, those involved in the series over the years would wholeheartedly agree that the game is a magical one indeed.
The Fighting Illini lead the overall series 19-12, including 12-8 since the series has been contested in St. Louis beginning in 1980.
Missouri, however, has won three of the last four meetings, and seven of the last 10 overall, to draw closer in the series. MU leads 4-3 in games played in the Savvis Center. The Tigers have already won at Savvis once this year, when Wesley Stokes hit an 18-footer at the buzzer on Dec. 3rd to defeat Saint Louis, 69-67.
One sign of a good rivalry is evenly-contested games, and this series has featured just that of late. In the last 9 games, (in which MU leads, 6-3), Missouri has scored a total of 705 points, with Illinois totaling 700.
Six of the last nine games have been decided by 6 points or fewer, and 3 games have gone into overtime. Included in that was the epic 108-107 3-overtime MU win in 1993 that served as a catalyst to Missouri's undefeated 14-0 run through the Big Eight that season.
Last Time Out:
#15 IOWA 83, #2 MU 65
Luke Recker scored a career-high 31 points and played stifling defense as 15th-ranked Iowa upset #2 Missouri, 83-65 in Columbia.
With a standing-room only crowd of 13,545 watching, Missouri shot a season-worst 33.3 percent in the game. Evans' fifth straight double-double and eighth of the season helped Iowa dominate on the boards, with the Hawkeyes holding a 48-35 advantage. Evans also tied for the team lead with five assists and played all 40 minutes. Recker was 10-for-17, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, and 7-for-7 from the line.
Rush, who entered the game as the Big 12 leader in scoring with a 20.2 average, was 4-for-18 for 14 points. He missed all eight shots and had only two points in the first half, a pair of free throws with 3:05 to go, as Iowa took a 39-28 lead.
Rickey Paulding had a career-high 22 points, but Missouri's other big scorer, Clarence Gilbert, also was hounded into a terrible shooting game. Gilbert, who averages 19.7 points and got the winning free throw in the first game against Iowa, was held to four points on 1-for-11 shooting.
It was the first game in nine days for Missouri and the Tigers, coming off final exams, looked tight at the outset by missing 12 of their first 14 shots.
Iowa got 16 points from Recker in the first half and held Missouri to 28 percent shooting (9-for-32) in the first half.
After the Hawkeyes stretched the lead to 58-36 with 13:56 remaining, a 22-point bulge, Missouri briefly awoke a standing-room crowd of 13,545 by whittling the deficit to 15. But this time around, there was no comeback. Missouri, which made a school-record 17 3-pointers in its previous game against Southern, was just 5-for-29 from three-point range against Iowa.
MU-IOWA POST-GAME NOTABLES
LAST YEAR:
#5 ILLINOIS 86, MU 81 (ot)
Frank Williams got the last basket in regulation and scored six of his 18 points in overtime as No. 5 Illinois beat Missouri 86-81.
Brian Cook added a career-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds for Illinois, which ended Missouri's three-game winning streak in the annual neutral-site game, played before a sellout crowd of 22,089. Williams scored on a 10-foot baseline jumper with 38 seconds left to force the extra period and opened the overtime by scoring from the key. He added a three-point play and a free throw and also blocked Clarence Gilbert's 3-point attempt with 44 seconds to go.
Illinois put it away on two free throws by Cory Bradford with 40.8 seconds to go that made it 86-78. Clarence Gilbert had 23 points for Missouri, which finished a run of three ranked Big Ten schools in a five-day span. The Tigers also lost at Iowa in double-overtime on Saturday and won at Indiana on Monday.
Missouri's Kareem Rush scored a season-low 11 points, played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble and fouled out with 4:20 left and Illinois leading 65-64. Rush led the Big 12 with a 22-point average entering the game Illinois led 43-37 at the half and was ahead twice by eight points before Missouri rallied. Wesley Stokes had a 3-pointer and three-point play in a 26-second span to knot it at 56 with 13:19 to go. Then T.J. Soyoye hit two free throws with 12:47 left put the Tigers in front for the first time since midway through the first half.
Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.
Cook dominated with an inside-outside game in the first half and scored 23 points. Cook was 9-for-10 overall and 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and had 10 points in a 17-2 run that turned a 27-21 deficit into a 38-29 lead with 3:44 left in the half.
Illinois went 10-for-11 from the free throw line, while Missouri shot 7-for-13.
Gilbert had 10 points in the half for Missouri, which led by nine points, 22-13, with 12:25 remaining but made only five of its last 17 shots in the half.
THE QUIN SNYDER FILE
In only his third season at Missouri, Head Coach Quin Snyder has his Tigers achieving heights not seen at MU in years.
After getting out to a 9-0 start to the season, Mizzou was perched #2 in the Associated Press top-25 poll. That marked the highest an MU team has been ranked since the 1989-90 season. Additionally, when MU won the Guardians Classic in November with its miraculous comeback vs. Iowa, it gave the school its first in-season tournament championship since 1989.
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Snyder is 47-27 in his third season as a head coach. Snyder guided Missouri to a 20-13 record in 2000-01, including the schools' first NCAA Tournament win since 1995, when MU defeated Georgia in the opening round.
He was named the national rookie coach-of-the-year by Basketball Times after leading the Tigers to an 18-13 record and an NCAA appearance in the 1999-2000 campaign.
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).
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.
MU GETS downright OFFENSIVE ON THE BOARDS
It's certainly way too early to determine much statistically, but in MU's first 10 games, the Tigers appear to be an improved rebounding squad.
A year after ranking 11th in the Big 12 Conference with a rebounding margin of -0.7 per game, the Tigers currently rank 4th in the league with a margin of +9.6 per outing. MU had ranked 1st in the league, and 3rd in the nation, with a margin of +12.1 prior to being outrebounded 48-35 in last Saturday's loss to Iowa.
Despite the loss last week, the Tigers have been especially dominant on the offensive glass, as MU still leads the Big 12 in that category, with an average of 16.90 per game.
In MU's 4 games prior to Iowa, the Tigers enjoyed a rebounding margin of +24.0 per game, including 82-31 on the offensive glass.
Mizzou outrebounded Southern on Dec. 6th by a 53-24 margin, which is the largest single-game rebounding margin under Quin Snyder.
MU has won the rebounding battle in 7 of 10 games this season, and is 7-0 on the year, and an impressive 24-3 under Quin Snyder when outrebounding its opponent.
Last season, Missouri outrebounded its opponent just 11 times in 33 games.
Dec. 3rd at Saint Louis, the Tigers trailed 35-31 at halftime, thanks in large part to SLU's 20-19 rebounding edge in the first half. The second half was a different story, though, as the Tigers controlled the boards by a 24-11 margin in the second half, and won the category 43-31 for the game.
On Nov. 14th, MU had a historic rebounding game in an 86-58 win over Air Force. Missouri held the Falcons to just 12 rebounds in the game. That's right, 12 rebounds total. MU outrebounded Air Force 31-12 on the night, and had more offensive boards (17) than the Falcons had overall (12).
Records show that the 12 rebounds by Air Force is a new record single-game low for an opponent against MU.
Missouri enjoyed a huge 104-49 rebounding advantage in wins over Grambling and Jackson State, outrebounding Grambling 50-23, preceded by a 54-26 edge over Jackson State.
Mizzou was dominant on the offensive glass in those games, holding an eye-popping 46-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
FINDING WAYS TO WIN
In the first two years under Quin Snyder's direction, Missouri fell victim quite often to its dependance on the outside shot. While the 3-pt. shot is still a vital weapon in MU's arsenal, this year's Tigers are showing they have the ability to win games in varied ways - more often than not the trait of a good team.
What's this all mean? That's open for interpretation, certainly, but it should show that Missouri is no longer a one-dimensional team that lives and dies by the long jumper.
GETTING QUALITY WINS
In winning its first 9 games, Missouri has already claimed wins against teams from four of the top conferences in college basketball.
MU has downed Iowa of the Big Ten, Alabama of the SEC, Xavier of the Atlantic 10 and Saint Louis of Conference USA.
Mizzou will have a chance to add the ACC to its list when the Tigers host Virginia in its last non-league game of the regular season in February.
MU did stake its claim to the SWAC championship, as MU rolled to a perfect 3-0 in games vs. SWAC teams Jackson State, Grambling State and Southern.
PAULDING STEPS UP AS 6TH MAN
Sophomore Rickey Paulding is quickly establishing himself as one of the nation's top 6th-men. That's one of the many subjective claims we make in these propaganda-lined notes, but those who have seen Paulding play this year know just what we're talking about.
The Detroit, Mich. native is currently 3rd on the Tiger squad with an average of 11.2 points per game, up from his freshman scoring mark of 7.0 points per game.
And while he's still MU's human highlight reel (re: countless amazing alley-oop jams throughout the year), his improvement in shooting has been arguably the most impressive part of his game this year.
A year ago, Paulding shot 42.1% for the year, including just 21.4% from 3-pt. range. After working hard in the off-season on his shot, the numbers have gone up to 58.8% from the floor in MU's 1st 10 games, including a solid 41.7% from 3-pt. range. He enters the Illinois game ranking 3rd in the Big 12 with his field goal percentage.
Paulding is coming off a career-high 22-pt. outing last Saturday vs. #15 Iowa, in which he sank 8-of-12 shots on the night. He was one of MU's few bright spots on the night, and scored 10 points in a stretch in the first half that helped pull MU to within 5 points of Iowa, the closest MU would get all night.
IT'S ALWAYS RUSH HOUR AT MIZZOU
Junior forward Kareem Rush was named a pre-season first team All-American by Associated Press, and he's done nothing to hurt his chances of winning the post-season honor, as well.
Rush is MU's leading scorer, and ranks 3rd in the Big 12, with a 19.7 scoring average. That number is down slightly from his sophomore average of 21.1, likely because Mizzou has more scoring options, and opponents are now gameplaning to stop him.
Rush is looking to rebound from an off night offensively, as Iowa held him to just 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-10 from 3-pt. range. In MU's 2 games vs. Iowa this year, he was held to an average of 12.5 points per game, after scoring a career-high 32 points at Iowa last season.
Rush had an efficient outing Dec. 6th vs. Southern, as he tallied 25 points in only 22 minutes of play. He hit 9-of-13 shots, including 4-of-7 from 3-pt. range before being pulled with just over 12 minutes left in the game.
Rush had perhaps his best all-around performance in a Tiger uniform Nov. 24th when he led MU to a solid victory over Xavier in Indianapolis, with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in 39 minutes. He also played excellent defense, holding one of Xavier's top scorers, Romain Sato, to a 4-of-13 shooting night.
He had a 17-point performance Dec. 1st vs. Grambling in a game in which he sat out the final 8 minutes after the game was in hand for MU. He entered the game with 994 career points, and became the 33rd member of MU's 1,000-point club. He's now ranked 29th alltime among Tiger scorers with 1,068 points, and needs 29 more to surpass Byron Irvin for 28th on the chart.
Rush was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Nov. 27th. The league award marked the fifth time the that Rush claimed a Big 12 weekly honor. A pre-season first team All-American, Rush was named Big 12 Player of the Week twice last season, and earned the league Freshman of the Week honor twice during his freshman season of 1999-2000. Rush has now scored in double figures in 54-of-58 games in his Tiger career.
GILBERT movin' on up
Just like George and 'Weezy, senior guard Clarence Gilbert keeps movin' on up.
Instead of a dee-lux apartment in the sky, Gilbert is continuing his ascent up the MU career scoring chart.
He enters Saturday's game vs. #9 Illinois ranking 20th on the MU career scoring chart, with 1,255 points.
He was held to a season-low 4 points last Saturday vs. #15 Iowa, as he couldn't find his rhythym offensively, going just 1-of-11 for the game, including 0-of-8 from 3-pt. range. He previously scored 27 points to lead MU to a win on Nov. 21st vs. Iowa, and scored 32 points against the Hawkeyes last season.
Gilbert was named Big 12 Conference player of the week Dec. 10th for his play in leading MU to wins over Saint Louis and Southern.
Gilbert led MU in scoring each game, averaging 23.5 points for the week. He first had 18 points at SLU, and led the way down the stretch, as he scored 8 of MU's final 13 points in the win. Included in that were 6 consecutive points late in the game, as well as a pair of clutch foul shots with under a minute left.
He followed with a sizzling shooting performance against Southern, when he erupted for a season-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting (including 7-of-10 from 3-pt. range).
Gilbert needs 19 points to pass Lee Coward for 19th place on the chart.
Gilbert is on pace to statistically become one of the most productive players in Missouri history. Gilbert is already MU's career leader in three-point field goals (242), and if he matches last season's point total of 529, he would end his career ranking 8th on the alltime school scoring chart. He began the season ranked #28 on the scoring chart with 1,074 points.
Gilbert was 0-of-3 from the three-point line at SLU, breaking a string of 17 consecutive games in which he'd made a trey. The Big 12 leader in threes per game last season (3.11 p/g), Gilbert has made a three pointer in 66-of-73 games dating back to his sophomore season.
Gilbert is averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game. Often taken to task by outsiders for his shot selection in the past, he's looking to shed his image of a gunner, and the numbers point to the fact that he's playing at an alltime best efficiency rate.
Gilbert has improved his numbers from last year, showing that he's working hard to become more efficient with his offensive attack.
Gilbert was the hero vs. #9 Iowa in the NABC Guardians Classic championship game, as he had a 27-point outing. He hit the game-winning free throw after being fouled with just :00.8 seconds left in the game. He was named the tournament MVP for his performances in Kansas City, where he averaged 22.5 points against two ranked teams.
Gilbert's game-winning free throw against Iowa got the headlines, but it was his leadership down the stretch that was really evident, as he helped will his team to the title.
He helped lead MU's improbable comeback win vs. Iowa with a steal, and two baskets in a 45-second stretch. He grabbed a crucial defensive rebound with time running down, and raced down court to draw the foul just before the buzzer that set up his winning free throw.
Against #22 Alabama the night before, he led MU with 18 points, and grabbed a season-high 9 rebounds, including four huge defensive boards in the final two minutes as MU fought off a Crimson Tide charge after Kareem Rush was knocked out of the game.
MORE ON GILBERT
To help illustrate just what a solid overall player Clarence Gilbert has been in his career, consider the fact that he is on pace to end his Tiger career in the top-10 in scoring, 3-point field goals, assists and steals. He would join former All-American Melvin Booker as the only Tiger to rank in the top-10 of each of those categories.
Gilbert was named one of 30 senior players as candidates for the first-annual Senior CLASS Award, to be awarded to the nation's top senior. The award stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, and is being sponsored by broadcaster Dick Enberg and the Kansas City Club.
STOKES GETS RARE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Missouri point guard Wesley Stokes enjoyed quite a week (Dec. 3-9) in MU's wins over Saint Louis and Southern.
Stokes earned national attention on Dec. 3rd when he drained a 17-footer at the buzzer to keep #2 Missouri undefeated with a win at SLU. He followed those heroics by scoring 10 points and dishing out a career-high 11 assists Dec. 6th vs. Southern.
He became just the 8th player in MU history to record double figures in points and assists in a game. The last Tiger to accomplish that feat was Melvin Booker, who had 21 points and an MU-record 13 assists vs. Illinois on Dec. 22, 1993. Booker did have the benefit of three overtime periods to amass his stats, for what it's worth. Stokes' assist total tied for the 4th-most in a single game at Missouri.
A.J. LEADING THE WAY
Sophomore postman Arthur Johnson is becoming one of the best big men in the powerful Big 12 Conference.
Statistics show that the Detroit, Mich. native ranks among Big 12 leaders in 4 different categories.
Johnson leads the Big 12 in blocked shots (2.40) and ranks among leaders in offensive rebounding (3rd - 3.70 p/g), field goal percentage (5th - 57.3%) and total rebounding (9th - 7.6).
He grabbed a season-high 16 boards Dec. 3rd in St. Louis, and added 10 vs. both Grambling and Jackson State. All 10 of his rebounds against Grambling came on the offensive end.
He also scored in double figures in each of those games, making him the first Tiger to record three straight double-doubles since Albert White did so in games 2, 3 and 4 during the 1998-99 season.
Johnson is MU's 4th-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points a game. He scored a career-high 19 points in MU's Nov. 14 win over Air Force.
His 14-point, 16-rebound outing vs. SLU was a key reason why MU won the game, as the Tigers were a season-worst 1-of-10 from three-point range. MU outscored SLU in the paint, 42-28 on the night.