Missouri Plays Final Regular Season Road Game
2/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2001
Up Next
The University of Missouri women's basketball team rounds down the 2000-2001 season with a trip to Lawrence, Kansas, Saturday to play their final road game against the Kansas Jayhawks at 2:00 p.m.
Missouri plays its final regular season game of the year at home against Colorado Wed., Feb. 28 at 7:00 p.m.
The Tigers participate in the Big 12 Tournament March 6-10 in Kansas City, Mo.
Tickets for Missouri women's basketball are available by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or at the Hearnes Center ticket office.
Missouri Coverage
Missouri women's basketball is covered live on KFRU radio. David Lile, Gary Link and Jessica Jenkins offer all the action of Tiger women's hoops on 1400 AM.
Mizzou fans can also log onto the Missouri Tigers' Web site at www.MUTigers.com to get live coverage. Scroll down the left side of the MU Tigers main page and select Audio/Video. On the following page, scroll down and select the women's basketball Internet broadcast option. When the schedule of Mizzou women's basketball games is displayed, just choose the appropriate date and hit Go! (www.broadcast.com/sports/ncaa/Missouri/WomensBasketball/).
Turn on the Radio
The Cindy Stein Show features highlights of recent games, upcoming match-up and player profiles. Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m., Head Coach Cindy Stein dishes Tiger women's basketball live from Johnny's Beanery in Columbia, Mo. Listen on KFRU radio 1400 AM.
Special Promotions
The MU-Colorado game is Fan Appreciation Night where everyone gets into the game for just $3. It is also Girl Scout Night. All Girl Scouts wearing their uniforms will get into the game for just $2.
The final game of the season is senior night. The Tigers bid farewell to their three seniors: Amanda Lassiter, Marlena Williams and Tracy Franklin.
Missouri vs. Kansas
Missouri (17-8, 8-6) begins winding down Big 12 Conference action with a game against Kansas. The Tigers are coming off a 65-62 come-from-behind victory over Oklahoma State. Missouri has made many strides this season including its first two-game sweep over Nebraska since 1990. The Tigers triumph came on the coattails of an 89-84 overtime thriller against Kansas. In conference play, four of Mizzou's losses have been to Top 15 competitors. The Tigers have defeated one ranked team in then No. 12 Texas (68-52).
Kansas is 10-15 with a 4-10 Big 12 Conference record to rank 10th in league standings. The Jayhawks defeated No. Iowa State 69-61 in Allen Fieldhouse last week to claim its second victory over a ranked opponent this season. KU also owns wins over No. 21 Texas (70-60) and Kansas State (78-67, 65-62).
The MU-KU contest will be heavily influenced on the boards. In their game earlier this season, the Jayhawks pulled down 28 rebounds while the Tigers had just 28. Overall, Missouri averages 41.0 rebounds, including 15.3 offensive boards per game. Kansas averages just 35.9 rebounds per contest.
Another contributing factor will be the 3-point shot. In their last match-up, Missouri shot 50 percent from behind the arc knocking down 11-of-22 attempts. Kansas shot just 14 percent making 1-of-7. The Tigers are shooting 36 percent from 3-point range on the season (158-435). The Jayhawks are hitting just 32 percent (65-199).
Scouting the Jayhawks
Kansas has three players averaging in double figures. Jaclyn Johnson leads the team with 15.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. She is shooting 49 percent from the field and tops the team with 21 blocks and 57 steals. Johnson ranks ninth in the Big 12 in scoring and seventh in rebounds.
Brooke Reeves is second on the team with 13.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She leads the Jayhawks shooting 81 percent from the foul line and is second hitting 47 percent from the floor. She has 54 assists and 42 steals. She is 13th in the conference in scoring and 10th in rebounding.
Jennifer Jackson rounds out the trio with 10.2 points per game. She averages 3.2 rebounds and leads team with 82 assists.
The Jayhawks were 20-10 last season with an 11-5 Big 12 Conference record to finish fourth in league standings. Kansas traveled to the NCAA first round where they were knocked out by Vanderbilt in a 71-69 heartbreaker. Marian Washington is in her 28th season as head coach of the Jayhawks.
Series Shorts
The MU-KU series began in 1974 in the Turkey Tournament. As members of the Big Eight Conference, the Tigers and Jayhawks continued the rivalry. Over the past 25 years, Kansas has come to dominate the series 31-25, including a six-game win streak from 1997-2000 before the Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 65-62 last season. Missouri defeated Kansas 89-81 in overtime earlier this year.
Last Time Against Kansas
Rivalries prove the best catalyst for exhilarating competition. The Tiger women's basketball team showed its competitive edge against the Kansas Jayhawks pulling out an 89-84 overtime thriller. The win culminates a game in which Mizzou topped four highs, including a new all-time attendance record with 10,126 fans.
Missouri started the game with a rough first half shooting just 44 percent from the field. Kansas shot 68 percent scoring its first 16 points netting 8-for-8 attempts. Despite the low field goal percentage, the Tigers knocked down 6-for-11 3-pointers to stay in the game. Senior Tracy Franklin led Mizzou in the half reaching double digits sinking a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to go. She ended the period with 11 points and closed the Jayhawks' lead, 44-35.
The Tigers jumped into the second half with their characteristic fire. Mizzou started the period with six unanswered points. The teams battled through a back-and-forth struggle. Despite being down by as much as six points, the Tigers continued their fight. With 36 seconds left in the game, senior Marlena Williams nailed a jumper to tie the game 78-78 and send the contest into overtime.
Missouri dominated the extended game--its first this season. Williams scored six of MU's final points to seal the Tigers' 89-84 victory.
Missouri shot 49 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the game. The Tigers also set a Missouri season record netting 11 3-point field goals. The mark tops their previous record of 10 set against Iowa State (1/17). The win brings Mizzou to 15-7 with a 6-5 Big 12 Conference mark on the year. Kansas is 9-13 and 6-6 in league play.
Missouri had four players score in double figures. Franklin led the Tigers with 24 points setting a new career-high. The feat tops her previous career-high of 18 points against Eastern Illinois earlier in the season. Franklin shot 58 percent from the field netting 7-of-12 shots. She also downed 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
Senior Amanda Lassiter was second on the team scoring 22 points. It marks the 13th 20-point game for the forward and her 22nd in double figures. Lassiter was 4-for-7 from the 3-point arc.
Williams and Kerensa Barr each scored 13 points in the game. The mark is a career-high for Barr. She tied her previous career mark with 12 points against Arkansas. She was 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-2 from 3-point range. MU's starting point guard also played 41 minutes without a single turnover.
Freshman Evan Unrau led the Tigers with seven rebounds. She also scored nine points hitting 100 percent from the floor with 4-for-4.
Missouri Defeats Oklahoma State
Missouri slipped past Oklahoma State with a 65-62 victory. Despite only shooting 31.9 percent in the game, the Tigers pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and forced 13 steals to edge the Cowgirls.
Missouri opened the game with seven unanswered points before Oklahoma State could make a bucket. The first half was neck-and-neck keeping within four points through the period. Missouri scored 11 points from turnovers and 10-second chance points. OSU scored just four-second chance points in the first half, but managed a five-point lead going into intermission.
The game remained close at the beginning of the second half while the Tigers played catch-up. At 13:54 Evan Unrau pulled down an offensive rebound and made a layup to boost Mizzou to a 42-40 lead. Although the Cowgirls tied the score, a fast break layup by senior Tracy Franklin boosted Missouri to a lead it would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Overall, Missouri scored 25 points from turnovers and 19-second chance points. The Tigers had 44 total rebounds and just 12 turnovers while forcing 22 from OSU.
Senior Amanda Lassiter led the Tigers with 20 points, also pulling down six rebounds. Franklin was second with 14 points and topped Mizzou with eight rebounds on the evening. She also had four steals in the game.
In the Record Books
? Senior Amanda Lassiter has set another Missouri record netting 52 3-point field goals in a single season. Julie Helm set the previous record during the 1996-97 season with 32. In conjunction, Lassiter also topped MU's record for 3-point field goal attempts in a single-season with 149 (previously set by Stacy Williams with 100 in 1991-92). She ranks third in MU record books with 87 career 3-pointers.
? Missouri set a new single-game attendance record when 10,126 fans came out to support the Tigers against Kansas. The mark tops MU's record set last season when 6,227 fans cheered for Mizzou against Oklahoma.
? The Tigers tied a single-game team record for 3-point field goals made for the second time this season with 11 against Kansas. The mark tops their previous record when they knocked down 10-of-25 shot from 3-point range against the Cyclones.
? The Tigers set a season single-game team record with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska. The standing record was set in 1983-84 when Missouri had 14 blocked shots against Iowa State.
? Senior Tracy Franklin looks to set a new record in 3-point field goal percentage this season. She is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range. She has netted 42-of-99 3-point attempts this year and ranks eighth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage. The record is held by Sandi Prophete who shot 41 percent (13-31) during the 1987-88 season.
Seeing Double
Evan Unrau has posted four double-doubles in her inaugural year on the Mizzou squad. She scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against No. 12 Texas shooting 80 percent from the field (8-of-10) and 100 percent from the foul line.
The forward also recorded double-double games this year with 16 points and 20 rebounds against Texas A&M, 15 points and 10 rebounds against Southern Illinois and with 14 points and 13 rebounds against Illinois State.
Senior Amanda Lassiter has also posted four double-double games in 2000-2001. She led the day in MU's 68-52 victory over Texas with 22 points and 10 rebounds. She also recorded doubles against Arkansas (22-11), Kentucky (19-10) and San Diego State (31-11).
Looking at Lassiter
Senior Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 20.0 points and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. Lassiter has scored in double digits in all 25 games this season including setting a career-high with 31 points against San Diego State. She owns 15 games scoring 20-or-more points including 10-of-15 conference games. She recorded 21 points against Texas Tech, 22 points against Texas and Kansas, 28 points against Colorado, 21 and 20 points against No. 7 Iowa State and 27, 25 points versus Nebraska and 20 points against Oklahoma State
The forward is second on the team with 164 rebounds, including a team-high 129 defensive boards. She also tops the Tigers with 80 steals to rank seventh in Mizzou season record books. She is also second with 63 assists on the year.
Blocking Report
Lassiter has 58 blocks this season to lead the team and top the Big 12. Her six blocks against Nebraska set the Big 12 Conference 2000 single-game high. Lassiter set the Missouri single-game high with seven against Western Kentucky last year and set the single-season blocked shots record as a junior with 69. She moves up as Missouri's third all-time blocker (127) to top Nikki Smith who had 125 blocks from 1992-95. Her season mark also ranks third in season-blocked shots, just 11 away from her record high. Lassiter is the only athlete appearing in the Top 10 who has played under three years. She is averaging 2.3 blocks per game.
In the NCAA
Lassiter continues to top the charts as one of the country's finest players. According to the latest NCAA statistics released Feb. 20., the senior is ranked 10th in the nation in blocked shots, is 21st in overall scoring and 23rd in steals.
Watching Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams is taking the Big 12 Conference by storm. In the Tigers' last game against Baylor, she scored a career-high 34 points to lead the team. It is the first +30 point game for the senior. She was 12-for-21 from the floor including 2-for-4 from 3-point range. She also had a perfect game at the foul line hitting 8-of-8. Williams also had five rebounds, two blocks and three steals against the Bears.
In four other league games this year she has posted season highs in points and rebounds. She scored her previous career-high 24 points against Colorado hitting 10-of-19 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point range. She also had five assists in the game. Against Iowa State, Williams led the team with 20 points to record her third highest career mark. She scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Texas A&M and had season-highs with eight rebounds and five steals against Texas.
The senior sparked Missouri's 65-60 come-from-behind victory over Kansas State scoring four points, two rebounds and an assist in two minutes of play. Before fouling out with 41 seconds left in the game, Williams scored 10 points, had six rebounds and three assists. Against Kansas, Williams scored six of the last 11 overtime points to help the Tigers defeat the Jayhawks 89-84.
Williams has scored in double figures in 9-of-15 conference games, including two +20 point games against Colorado and Iowa State. She has 17 double-digit games on the year. Williams is second on the team averaging 12.7 points per game. She also has 15 blocked shots.
Unrau Update
Evan Unrau has scored in double figures in six games, including her career- high 18 points against then No. 12 ranked Texas. She also scored 16 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line against the Panthers. She pulled down a season-high 11 defensive boards against Arkansas and had nine offensive boards against Illinois State.
Unrau leads the Tigers shooting 57.2 percent from the field netting 79-of-138 attempts. The freshman has 12 games on the season shooting 60 percent or above, including perfect games against Eastern Illinois and Kansas (4-for-4). Unrau was 7-of-8 against Southern Illinois and also owns five perfect games from the free throw line.
Bringing Down the Boards
Unrau recorded a career best 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards against Texas A&M. That marked the first time a Mizzou player has had 20 rebounds in a single game since the 1998 season when Kesha Bonds had 23 boards against Colorado. Unrau leads the Tigers with 71 offensive and 178 total rebounds on the season. She has six double figure rebound games to date and tops the charts averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.
Barr Brief
Starting point guard Kerensa Barr recorded her sixth double-digit game of the season and her second back-to-back scoring career-high points. Against Nebraska (2/13), she set a career mark with 17 to top her previous high of 13 points scored against Kansas (2/10). Barr has three consecutive game in double figures as she also scored 11 points against Kansas State (1/20). She also tied her season-high with seven rebounds against the Wildcats. Barr also scored 15 points against Baylor and led the team with nine rebounds and five steals.
The sophomore leads the Tigers with 118 assists on the year. Barr is ranked 10th in Missouri's all-time season assists charts (Joni Davis is ninth with 119 assists during the 1984-85 season). Barr averages 4.72 assists per game and hit her season-high with nine against No. 7 Iowa State (1/17). She has 218 career assists to date.
Barr is fifth on the team averaging 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 50 offensive rebounds and 49 steals.
Franklin Forecast
Guard Tracy Franklin was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 12-18. She led the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory over Kansas with a career-high 24 points, topping her previous career-high of 18 points against Eastern Illinois earlier in the year. The 5-10 senior guard shot 58 percent from the field, netting 7-of-12 shots in the game including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Against Kansas State, Franklin scored 15 points while playing 37 minutes without a single turnover.
Franklin also hit season marks against Southern Illinois pulling down 11 rebounds and grabbing nine steals. In conference play, she has slowly emerged from a slump. She scored eight points against Colorado and hit her seventh double-digit game of the year against Iowa State with 11 points (1/17). Against Nebraska, she scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds. In her second match-up against the Cyclones, Franklin scored eight points and grabbed two steals. The senior was second on the team with 11 points against No. 10 Oklahoma and 15 points against Kansas State (2/7).
Franklin is third on the team averaging 10.2 points per game. She tops the charts hitting 42-of-99 shots from 3-point range to lead the team shooting 42 percent from behind the arc. Franklin also leads the Tigers with a .806 free throw percentage. Her nine steals against SIU set a Big 12 Conference 2000 season single-game record.
Bright Spot
Natalie Bright is proving her versatility in her new role on the Tigers' squad this year. The junior started 28-of-30 games she played in last season to average 7.3 points and come in second on the team with 86 assists.
This year, Bright has come off the bench as one of the key contributors. Against Iowa State (1/17) the junior rejuvenated the team's efforts hitting two key 3-pointers. She scored eight points and had two steals. Against Texas, she again revamped the Tigers with five points and three rebounds in 14 minutes of play.
Bright hit double figures against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Texas Tech. She had a perfect game against the Panthers hitting 4-for-4 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Against the Lady Raiders, Bright downed 3-for-4 from the field (2-for-3 from 3-point range) and 5-for-5 at the foul line.
The junior has started two games this season against Nebraska and Iowa State (1/31). She scored four points for the Tigers with six rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Huskers. Bright scored nine points and pulled down four boards against the Cyclones.
Bright is shooting 40 percent from the field overall and 37 percent from 3-point range. She averages 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She also has 56 assists on the season and five blocks.
Tigers Got Game
Missouri (17-8) are rounding down Big 12 Conference action toting an 8-6 record. The Tigers got off to its best conference start in history this season taking wins over Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Nebraska.
In conference action, the Tigers are 6-1 on the home court defeating then No. 12 Texas (68-52), Texas A&M (69-61), Kansas State (65-60), Kansas (89-84 OT), Nebraska (83-55) and Oklahoma State (66-62). Missouri has suffered four of its conference losses on the road, falling to Texas Tech (82-64) in Lubbock, Colorado (98-90) in Boulder, Iowa State (68-67) in Ames and Oklahoma (82-62) in Norman. The Tigers' only home loss this season was to Iowa State, 73-63 (1/31). Mizzou's 83-55 victory over Nebraska in the Hearnes Center is their largest margin of victory over a Big 12 team this season.
The Tigers averages 76.8 points per game with a +9.4 scoring margin.
Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 41.0 rebounds per game, including a season-high 59 boards against Texas A&M. Freshman Evan Unrau recorded 20 rebounds in the game, including 11 offensive boards.
The Tigers are keeping their opponents to just 39.5 rebounds per contest for a +1.4 rebounding margin. Missouri owns a season mark against the Texas Longhorns with 33 defensive rebounds. The Tigers pulled down 26 offensive boards against Texas A&M for the season-high.
Assist Average
The Tigers have dished out 401 assists so far this season to average 16.0 assists per game to top their opponents who only average 12.4 assists per outing. In their first five games this season, the Tigers out assisted their opponents 94-42. Missouri recorded 26 assists against Eastern Illinois (11/17) and 24 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (12/30).
Block Breakdown
Missouri is topping the charts with 109 blocks on the year to average 4.4 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 68 blocks this season. The Tigers have recorded 13 games in 2000-2001 with five or more blocks, including their season-high 12 blocks against Nebraska. Missouri has also knocked down six blocks against Pepperdine, Lipscomb, Illinois State, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State.
Colorado leads the conference with 131 blocked shots, Texas A&M is second with 113 and Missouri comes in third. In their match-ups against Texas A&M and Colorado, the Tigers bested both the Aggies (5-to-3) and Buffaloes (6-to-4).
Conference Season Highs
Missouri is currently in fifth-place in the Big 12 Conference with an 8-6 league record. Oklahoma leads the pack with a 13-1 conference record. Iowa State and Texas Tech are tied for second going 11-3. Colorado is fourth going 10-4. Baylor and Texas are tied in sixth with 7-7 records.
? The Tigers set a 2000-2001 season high hitting 42 field goals against Eastern Illinois. That mark ranks second in conference season records.
? Missouri had a season mark with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska to rank second in the league.
? Missouri went 14-for-14 from the free throw line against Kentucky to lead the Big 12 in single-game free throw percentage.
Tigers in the NCAA
In the most recent NCAA statistics released Feb. 20, Mizzou was 23rd in the nation with 6.4 3-point field goals made per game. Senior Amanda Lassiter also tops the charts as the country's 10th leading blocker. She is also 21st in overall scoring and 23rd in steals.
Victory Margin
The Tigers' 96-43 win over Lipscomb tops the season as MU's largest margin of victory. The biggest margin an MU team has won by is 98 points versus Bethany College in 1977.
Mizzou has defeated seven teams this year by more than 20 points, including a 47-point triumph over Eastern Illinois and a 35-point win over Kentucky. The Tigers recorded their largest margin of victory over a Big 12 opponent when they trampled Nebraska 83-55 for a 28-point win.
Missouri is repeating history opening this season with seven 20+ wins. In 1999-2000, the Tigers also recorded seven victories scoring 20-or-more points over their opponents.
Off the Bench
Missouri is relying heavily on the production of its bench this season. The MU bench corps has scored 471 of its 1,919 season points to average 18.8 points per game. In comparison, only 16.2 points per game were scored by the opponent's substitutions.
Mizzou in the Rankings
For five weeks this season, the Tigers received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. After defeating No. 12 Texas, Missouri received 18 votes from AP writers. Following a come back victory over Kansas State, and their 65-60 triumph over Nebraska, the Tigers received 13 votes. With losses to two ranked teams last week, MU made the Top 50 garnering just two votes. With two more come-from-behind victories over Kansas State and Kansas the Tigers received six votes from AP writers. Missouri fell out of the polls after losing to Baylor last week.
The Tigers come in 48th in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index, which ranks teams according to strength of schedule versus that of their opponents. Missouri was 63rd at the beginning of the season, and climbed into the 35th slot after their one-point loss to ISU. There are seven Big 12 schools ranked in the Top 50.
Tigers vs. Ranked Opponents
Missouri's 13-point triumph over then No. 12 Texas was the largest winning margin over a ranked team since the 1995-96 season when the Tigers defeated No. 20 Kansas 86-66. In the last six seasons, Missouri has claimed seven victories over ranked opponents, all in the Hearnes Center.
Hitting the Three
The Tigers have shot 40 percent or above from 3-point range in 13 of their 25 games. Missouri hit a season-high 57 percent from the 3-point arc against San Diego State when the Tigers downed 8-of-14 attempts. Missouri shot 50 percent from the arc against Kansas setting a new MU record with 11 field goals made (22 attempted). Tracy Franklin leads the team shooting 42 percent from 3-point range (42-of-99). Natalie Bright is second for Tigers shooting 37 percent (15-of-40). Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 52 3-point field goals made and 149 shots attempted (35 percent).
Topping Ten
Four Tiger athletes routinely hit double figures, including Amanda Lassiter who is 25-for-25. She scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego State. Marlena Williams owns 17 double-digit games, including two +20-point and one +30-point games. She scored a career-high 34 points against Baylor, scored 24 points against Colorado and 20 points against Iowa State (1/31). Tracy Franklin has 11 double figure games and freshman Evan Unrau posts six. Franklin and Unrau hit career-highs with 24 points against Kansas and 18 points against then No. 12 Texas, respectively.
Making the Grade
The Tiger women's basketball team is proving they can get it done on and off the court. Junior Christa Millham, an elementary education major, was one of 25 Missouri athletes to post an athletic department-high with a 3.82 grade point average for the 2000 fall semester. Joining Millham in the spotlight, seven other athletes were named to the Student-Athlete Dean's List: Kerensa Barr, Tracy Franklin, Amy Loftus, Tracy Lozier, Wendy Okeson, Evan Unrau and Terianne Wolford.
Tiger Cheering Section
The Missouri women's basketball program is on the rise and fans are taking notice. The Tigers began selling season tickets for the first time last year and recorded over 500 season purchases in 1999-2000. Midway through this season, Missouri has upped its season ticket numbers to over 800 holders. The Tigers average 2,379 fans to rank 37th in the nation in women's basketball attendance.
Missouri has boosted its season high during Big 12 Conference play. In the home opener against Texas, 2,422 fans populated the Hearnes Center for Toy Day. Missouri had its third-largest crowd of the year when 2,062 fans cheered on the Tigers in their win over Kansas State. Missouri hit a new season-high against Iowa State (1/31) with 2,654 spectators.
Mizzou set a school record against Kansas on Saturday when 10,126 fans cheered the Tigers to an overtime victory over the Jayhawks. The previous record was set at 6,227 last year against Oklahoma. The record is the nation's 45th largest crowd attending an NCAA Division I women's basketball game this season.
Strength of Schedule
The 2000-2001 Missouri schedule is ranked in the top third of NCAA Division I schools by the WBCA/Summerville Women's Basketball pre-season poll.
Overall, the Tigers take on five teams ranked in the Top 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll. The Tigers face No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 20 Colorado and No. 21 Texas in Big 12 Conference action.
In the Associated Press poll, Oklahoma (8th), Iowa State (10th)Texas Tech (15th), Colorado (16th), Texas (22nd) and Baylor (24th) represent the Big 12 Conference.
