March 7, 2003
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Kansas vs. Missouri: Enough Said
Regarded as one of the most storied rivalries in all of college basketball, the Tigers of Old Mizzou welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to the Hearnes Center to round out their regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and Gary Link calling the action, and can be seen across America on CBS with Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg courtside.
The Tigers bring an 18-8 overall record and 9-6 Big 12 mark into the contest and could, with a win over KU and an Oklahoma State loss at Texas A&M, finish alone in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference, guaranteeing them a bye in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas (23-6, 13-2 Big 12) has a chance to grab its second straight undisputed Big 12 championship and the #1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament with a win on Sunday. The Tigers also have a chance to go undefeated at home for only the sixth time since moving to Hearnes in '72-73.
About the Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas enters Sunday's tilt having won three straight games and 10 of its last 11. They have clinched at least a tie for the Big 12 regular-season title, their second in two years.
Three-time Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Player of the Year contender Nick Collison leads the Jayhawks averaging 18.6 points and 9.3 boards per contest. Collison is extremely tough down low and is shooting a sizzling 55 percent from the field and has blocked a team-high 52 shots in this his senior year.
Fellow senior Kirk Hinrich will also be making his final visit to the Hearnes Center. He has also had a great season averaging 17.8 points per game. He has been lethal from three-point land, as he is shooting 43 percent from three (66-152) and 49 percent from the field overall.
Sophomore Keith Langford rounds out the top three scorers for KU averaging 15.4 per ball game. He is also very active on the boards pulling down 4.9 rebounds per game and is second on the team in blocked shots with 25 swats on the year.
Jeff Graves will make his 17th start of the season against Mizzou as the Jayhawks will be playing without sophomore Wayne Simien, who re-dislocated his shoulder in KU's win over Texas A&M on Feb. 26. Simien was also sidelined for the teams' first meeting in Lawrence with the same injury.
Finally!...The Tigers Have Come Back to Columbia
After playing three of its last four contests away from the friendly confines of the Hearnes Center, Mizzou returns home to face its most vaunted rival, Kansas.
The Tigers have really embraced the idea of home sweet home this season, claiming a 14-0 mark at the Hearnes Center so far in 02-03.
This marks the first time Mizzou has been undefeated at home through 14 games since the 1993-94 when that team went undefeated (15-0) at home.
If Mizzou can pull out the upset it would mark only the sixth time the Tigers have finished undefeated at the Hearnes Center since they began playing games there in 1972-73.
Mizzou has been amazing at the Hearnes shooting 47% from the field and 40% from 3-point land. The Tigers are outscoring their opponents by an average 16.9 points per game and are out-rebounding opponents by 8.2 boards per game.
History in the Making
While the MU-KU rivalry needs no added hype or build up this year or any year, the Tigers do have a chance to put some historical events into motion with a win on Sunday.
If Mizzou can take out the Jayhawks and Texas A&M defeats Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Tigers will finish alone in fourth place in the league and a No. 4 seed in the Big 12 tournament, which would be the highest finish by a Quin Snyder-coached team in his four years at Mizzou.
With the fourth seed, the Tigers would have a bye in the first round of the Big 12 tournament next week, something that has not happened since 1998-99.
Rick and Roll
As the Tigers get deeper and deeper into the season, junior Rickey Paulding has gotten deeper and deeper into the zone. The talented high-flyer scored 18 points on Wednesday against Iowa State and went off last Saturday when he scored 23 points, 18 of which came in the second half against Kansas State. Paulding also scored 10 of his 14 points in the second stanza as he led Mizzou to a 67-52 win over then No. 3 Oklahoma on Feb. 26.
Over the Tigers' past four contests, Rick has averaged 19.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest and is shooting a blistering 50.0 percent from the field. He has knocked down 9-of-22 (41 percent) three-point attempts and 18-of-20 free throw (90 percent) attempts during that span.
I Have a Feeling We are Not In Kansas Anymore ...
I know its cliche to use the old Wizard of Oz bit, but eh, we are not reinventing the wheel here. Here's how all active Tigers who have played at least two games against KU have fared against the Jayhawks during their careers:
Arthur Johnson Gms. Ppg. Rpg. 5 9.0 6.8 Rickey Paulding Gms. Ppg. Rpg. 5 16.0 3.0 Travon Bryant Gms. Ppg. Rpg. 5 3.2 4.0 Josh Kroenke Gms. Ppg. Rpg. 3 0.7 1.3 Jeffrey Ferguson Gms. Ppg. Rpg. 2 1.0 1.0
Really Pretty Impressive (R.P.I.)
While it may be putting the horse in front of the proverbial cart or ... maybe its hatching chickens before you count them or ... something like that, its time to once again take a look at the Tigers' chances of making the NCAA Tournament. If they can make it, it would be the fifth consecutive year to make the extremely large dance and the fourth straight year under Quin Snyder.
Following its loss at Iowa State, the Tigers currently boast the 21st best RPI (Rankings Percentage Index, which is a major factor in the at-large selection process for the tourney) in the country and rank 16th in the land in strength of schedule. Take into consideration that Mizzou had the No. 49 RPI in the country and the 73rd toughest schedule in the country last season heading into selection Sunday, and things look good for a return for the tourney.
Below is a look at MU's RPI standings since 1993-94. In a related note, the Tigers are the only one of two teams that is ranked in the RPI Top 25 that is not ranked in the Associated Press or ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Cincinnati is the other at No. 23 in the RPI)
MISSOURI's RPI STANDING AS OF MARCH 7th
Season RPI Record SOS Eventual NCAA Seed 2002-03 21 18-8 16 ??? 2001-02 49 20-10 73 #12 West 2000-01 42 17-10 38 #9 East 1999-00 32 17-10 16 #9 South 1998-99 28 20-7 74 #8 West 1997-98 49 16-13 17 NIT 1996-97 100 12-16 28 None 1995-96 88 16-13 77 NIT 1994-95 17 18-7 22 #8 West 1993-94 2 22-2 23 #1 West
Last Time Against KU
No. 21 Missouri Falls to No. 12 Kansas, 76-70
Ricky Clemons had 19 points for the Tigers
Feb. 3, 2003.
The Tigers outrebounded Kansas 38-29, had 10 3-pointers while the Jayhawks had just two and forced Kansas point guard Aaron Miles into six turnovers while holding him to a single field goal. Yet the 12th-ranked Jayhawks still found a way to beat No. 21 Missouri 76-70.
The difference was Missouri had 20 turnovers and Kansas just 12 - and Kansas had seniors Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich.
The 6-foot-9 Collison, working outside as well as near the basket, had 22 points while Hinrich, often running point guard as Miles sat on the bench, had 24 points and eight assists.
The Jayhawks also got three key free throws from Michael Lee in the final seconds to win their 15th straight conference home game.
Travon's Tearing It Up
Junior Travon Bryant continues to come off of the bench and provide a major spark for Mizzou. In the six games he has come off of the bench, he is averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 boards per contest. He has also recorded 10 blocks and is shooting 49.2 percent from the field in those games. In the games that he has started, he is averaging 7.8 points and 5.9 boards per game.
Travon is coming off of probably the best game of his career at Mizzou, as he powered in a career and team-high 18 points against Iowa State. He was 5-of-8 from the field (1-of-1 from three) and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in the contest.
Bryant also gave a great effort against Oklahoma when he went for 14 points (just a point shy of his career best of 15) and pulled down six boards, while blocking two shots. He was a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point land and had two huge dunks in the second half to bring the Tiger faithful to their feet.
Kroenke and Kiernan Earn Academic All-Big 12 Honors
Date: Mar. 6, 2003
Columbia, Mo. - Junior guard Josh Kroenke and senior guard Ryan Kiernan of the University of Missouri basketball team were named to the Academic All-Big 12 First-team, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
Kroenke, a consumer family economics major from Columbia, has had a fine season for Mizzou, averaging 3.1 points per game and is shooting a blistering 45 percent from beyond the three-point arc, which leads the team.
Kiernan will be honored on Sunday prior to the Kansas game, as one of three seniors on the Tiger squad. He has seen action in 12 games for Mizzou so far this season and is a native of St. Charles, Mo.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the men's basketball academic all-league squad consisted of 10 first-team members combined with five others on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better grade-point average, while the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 grade point average or higher either cumulative or in the two previous semesters, and must have participated in 60 percent of his team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are eligible.
Down Right Defensive
Mizzou played some of its best defense of the season on Feb. 26 against Oklahoma. The Tigers held the Sooners to just 27.3% from the field and 21.7% from three. The last time an opponent shot this low against Missouri was on December 9, 1998, when the Tigers held Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11-of-60 (18.3%). The Sooners could manage only 15 field goals against the staunch Tiger defense.
One of Mizzou biggest concerns was OU's backcourt of Hollis Price, Quannas White and Ebi Ere. The talented group was averaging 42.7 points per game between them, but the Tigers were able to hold them to 27 points and just 7-of-35 shooting form the field.
The Tigers held OU to the second fewest points (52) that a Big 12 opponent had scored against MU and the fourth fewest points an opponent had scored overall this season against MU.
Motown Mojo
There is no question that when Mizzou is in need of some instant offense, the ball goes to either juniors Rickey Paulding or Arthur Johnson. The talented twosome rank one and two respectively on the Tiger squad averaging 16.9 and 16.2 points per contest.
The two talented natives of Detroit, Mich., had huge nights against Oklahoma as they combined for 34 of Mizzou's 67 points. Johnson recorded his league-leading 15th double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Paulding scored 10 of his 14 points against OU during the second half, six of which came during a 1:04 stretch from 9:02-7:58.
Paulding continued to be awesome in the Tigers' next two contests against Kansas State and Iowa State, averaging 20.5 points per contest, including a game-high 23 points against Kansas State.
"Clark...that there is an RV"
Pardon the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation reference, but some element of humor needed to be injected into this not-so-funny situation.
For the second straight week, Mizzou remains on the outside looking in at both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Poll. However, they are still in the RV (receiving votes) category heading into their matchup with Kansas. Mizzou is receiving 98 votes in the AP poll and 36 votes in the ESPN USA Today Coaches Poll.
News and Random Thoughts
The Tigers are the only team in the conference to have two players ranked in the top 10 in 3's per contest (2nd, Clemons, 3.13, 9th, Paulding, 2.08) ... junior Arthur Johnson now ranks 26th on the MU all-time scoring list with 1,142 career points ... he had three boards against Iowa State and now ranks 10th on the MU rebound charts with 784 career caroms ... fellow junior Rickey Paulding became only the 35th player in school history to reach the 1,000-career points mark at MU against Nebraska; he now has 1,087 career points putting him in 30th place on the all-time scoring list ...yada-yada-yada.