Dec. 22, 2003
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Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. CST
Arena: Savvis Center (19,847)
TV: ESPN 2. Dan Shulman, play-by-play. Dick Vitale, analyst
Radio: Tiger Radio Network. Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst
Rankings: Mizzou was ranked 10th in the latest AP Poll and 14th in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Illinois was ranked 21st in the latest AP Poll and 19 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Series: Illinois leads, 21-12. Last Meeting-IU, 85-70 on 12-23-02 in St. Louis, MO.
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 88-50 at MU and overall (5th season).
Illinois: Bruce Weber (Wisconsin-Milwaukee '78) 6-2 at Illinois (1st season) and 109-56 overall (6th season).
Like We Always Do About This Time of Year
It's that time of year again ... late December ... you can smell it in the air ... feel it in the weather ... and no, we are not talking about any friendly Christmas gathering here. It's the annual battle between the Tigers of Ol' Mizzou and the Illinois Fighting Illini in St. Louis in the Busch Braggin' Rights game at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo.
The No. 10/14 Tigers (4-1 overall, 0-0 Big 12) enter the contest looking for some redemption, having lost their last three against No. 21/19 Illinois (6-2 overall, 0-0 Big 10). Tuesday's contest, which is set to tip at 8 p.m. CST, will mark the sixth time overall and the third straight year that both squads have been ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Dan Shulman providing play-by-play while college basketball authority Dick Vitale brings the analysis. Tiger fans can also listen to the battle on the Tiger Radio Network (which reaches nearly sixty stations state-wide) with the Mike Kelly carrying the play-by-play duties and former Tiger great Gary Link providing the analysis. Fans can also listen to the contest via the world wide web by logging on to the home of Mizzou Athletics on the web, www.mutigers.com.
Quick Hits
* Mizzou went 2-0 on ESPN 2 last year with wins over Memphis and Kansas.
* The last time Dick Vitale called a Mizzou contest was a memorable one as then-sophomore Rickey Paulding scored 14 points for Mizzou and the Tigers grabbed a win vs. Virginia at the Hearnes Center on Feb. 3, 2002, on ABC.
* The Tigers have dropped three straight Braggin' Rights contests to Illinois after winning three straight from 1997-99.
* MU and Illinois have gone to overtime five times in their 33-game series.
* Mizzou had five players score in double figures against UNC Greensboro in its 106-98 win.
* The four Tiger big men (Arthur Johnson, Travon Bryant, Linas Kleiza and Kevin Young) went 24-for-30 from the floor against UNCG totaling 58 points and 22 rebounds.
* Junior transfers Randy Pulley (5 pts in 11 minutes) and Jason Conley (19 pts in 21 minutes) made their Tiger debuts on Sunday against the Spartans
* Coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 89 at Mizzou on Tuesday.
* The Tigers are 46-21 under Coach Snyder against non-conference opponents.
* Freshman Linas Kleiza led the Big 12 in rebounding by almost two rebounds heading into Monday's action. He is averaging 11.2 boards per contest.
* The Tigers will have played only six games before Christmas after Tuesday's game against Illinois. That is the least amount of games a Tiger squad has played prior to Dec. 25, since the 1987-88 season.
* With his next rebound, senior Arthur Johnson will become only the fourth player in Mizzou school history to record at least 1,300 career points and 900 career boards. The other four are Steve Stipanovich (80-83), Doug Smith (88-91) and Derrick Chievous (85-88).
A Look at the Illini
The Illini come into Tuesday's contest winners of three of the their last four games. Four Illini are averaging double figures in scoring, but they will be without their No. 2 scorer and starting point guard Derron Williams on Tuesday after he suffered a broken jaw last weekend. Roger Powell sparks the Illinois attack averaging 14.3 ppg on 64.4 percent shooting.
Sharp shooter and all-around threat Dee Brown is also bringing it for the Illini averaging 11.9 ppg in this his sophomore campaign. Brown is their leading three-point shooter with 18 bombs from three. He is second on assists as well with 29. Forward James Augustine is averaging just under a double-double with 11.9 ppg and 9.4 boards per contest and has also rejected 11 shots in 2003-04.
Coach Bruce Weber is in his first year at Illinois after guiding the Southern Illinois Salukis to a 103-54 mark over the past five seasons. The Tigers faced a Weber-coached squad in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, holding on to a 72-71 win over SIU to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the UNCG Contest
? MU goes to 4-1 on the season, UNC-Greensboro to 4-5 ... this was the first meeting between the two schools.
? Missouri is now 397-68 at the Hearnes Center.
? Quin Snyder goes to 88-50 at Mizzou.
? Missouri scored 100 points for the 49th time in their history ... the Tigers last scored at least 100 points against Southern in 2001, more about that game down in the notes ... Snyder goes to 6-0 when his team scores over 100 points.
? Mizzou has now won 20 games straight vs. non-conference non-ranked teams at home
? The Tigers go to 120-38 when ranked in the top 10 and to 15-5 when ranked No. 10 ... the last time Mizzou was ranked No. 10 was Dec. 29, 2001, the Tigers lost at DePaul.
? Rickey Paulding had four assists in the first 3:03 of the game
? Linas Kleiza scored a career-high 17 points ... he had 14 points and four rebounds in the first half, off 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
? Arthur Johnson moved from 18th to 16th on Missouri's all-time scoring list, passing Charles Henke and Curtis Berry ... Johnson also moved into the top five in all-time rebounding leaders at Mizzou, passing Greg Cavner (1982-85).
? Junior transfer Jason Conley entered the game at the 14:06 mark to a standing ovation ... made his first points in his MU career with 2:10 to go in the first with a three-pointer.
? Junior transfer Randy Pulley made his first appearance as a Tiger and scored with 15:41 to go in the second half.
? At HALFTIME ... Missouri led 52-43 ... 52 is the most points Missouri has scored in the first half since Dec. 6, 2001, when the Tigers defeated Southern University 117-67 ... on the flip side, 43 points is the most the Tigers have given up in the first half since Jan. 18, 2003, in a loss at Oklahoma State ... UNC-G's Jay Joesph led all-scorers with 18 points ... Mizzou's leading scorer, Kleiza, with 14 ... the Tigers went 20-of-30 from the field in the first half (66.7%) ... Travon Bryant and Linas Kleiza combined for 23 points and were perfect from the field (9-9)
? Mizzou broke the lead open within 2:25 in a 11-0 run to make the score 92-76 with 6:02 remaining ... within the run, Paulding scored 9 points.
Chairmen on the Boards
Mizzou's big men continue to impress early in the year. Freshman Linas Kleiza continues to dominate the 21.2 minutes he is in the ball game averaging a Big 12 best 11.2 rebounds and 12.8 points per game. Senior preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Arthur Johnson has also been solid averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest while fellow senior Travon Bryant is shooing 71.8 percent from the field while averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Proof positive of the dominance the Tigers have displayed in the paint and on the boards lies in the fact that they have outrebounded opponents by an average of 14.2 boards per contest as of their win over UNC Greensboro on Dec. 21.
The Deuce Hopes to Bust Loose on the Deuce
Junior guard Jason Conley (#2 on the roster) hopes to make his second act just as impressive as his first on Tuesday when the Tigers play on ESPN2 (or commonly known as the Deuce). He made what you might call a pretty fair debut on Sunday against UNC-Greensboro. Exactly 5:54 into the first half, the native of Silver Spring, Md., came into the contest and put on a show for Tiger fans that they soon won't forget. Besides scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting while also pulling down six boards, Conley did a great job of getting the ball to the post so Tiger big men like Arthur Johnson and Kevin Young could go to work.
An unbelievable athlete with great jumping ability, Coop (that's what his team mates call him) has sat out of competition since the beginning of the winter semester last January as is mandatory for Division I transfers. As has already been well documented, Conley led the country in scoring as a freshmen averaging 29.3 points per contest at Virginia Military Institute. He has worked extremely hard since coming to Mizzou to gain weight (up nearly 15 pounds) while also working to become a better defender.
Move It on Over
The Tigers are playing their final year in the Hearnes Center and will be moving into a state-of-the art arena starting in October of 2004. Mizzou has called Hearnes home for 31 years now and has registered a mark of 397-68 there as of its 106-98 win over UNC-Greensboro. The new building will feature unbelievable player development facilities (weight room, practice gym, players lounge, film room) and will be the finest on-campus basketball facility in the country.
The Weight has Been Lifted By a Pulley
While the writer is by no way an expert in Physics (C- in high school in case you were curious), I do know that a huge weight was lifted off of junior point guard Randy Pulley when he was certified for competition earlier this month. The pass-first guard played 11 minutes in his debut as a Tiger and scored four points on two driving layups in the second half while also playing effective man defense and pushing the ball up the court on offense. Pulley averaged over 12 points and five assists per game in 2002-03 for Barton County Community College.
He's From the Lou and He's Proud
Forgive me for that one, but I couldn't resist.
Sophomore Jimmy McKinney, who graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis, makes his annual trip back to the Savvis Center as the point guard of the Tigers on Tuesday. If you will harken back to last year, McKinney had a huge game in his return to St. Louis, scoring a then career-high 15 points.
After taking over the point guard spot midway through the season last year for Mizzou, sophomore Jimmy McKinney (#1 in your program) has made it quite clear that he will do what ever it takes for the Tigers to be #1 come spring time. The multi-tooled guard, whose natural position is more of a shooting guard, is capable of impacting a game in any of several ways.
He had an extremely solid outing against UNC Greensboro on Sunday scoring 10 points and handing out five assists while seeing time at both the point and shooting guard positions. After leaving the contest with early foul trouble, McKinney was rock solid in the second half against Indiana scoring six points while committing no turnovers. McKinney had a solid outing against Coppin State with 10 points including 4-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. He made his desire to win quite evident against Oakland, sharing team-high honors with senior Rickey Paulding with 21 points (15 of which came in the second half). McKinney was 6-for-12 from the field including 1-of-2 from three, while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. After struggling through five turnovers in the first half, he was outstanding in the second stanza, committing only one turnover. McKinney finished the night with five assists and three rebounds in a team-best 38 minutes of playing time.
The Lithuanian Domination Tour
Coming to a Big 12 town near you in the not-so distant future will be the Lithuanian Domination tour starring National Freshman of the Year candidate Linas Kleiza. While it is a might early to be throwing around award nominations, Kleiza has certainly been impressive in his young four-game career for Mizzou. He is averaging 12.8 points (fourth on the squad) and amazing 11.2 rebounds, which leads the Big 12 ... by more than a rebound and a half. The power forward from Kaunas, Lithuania has recorded double-doubles three of his first five games as a Tiger. Lenny was unbelievable against UNCG, scoring a career-best 17 points while pulling down nine boards. He also had against Gonzaga, when he scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in 26 minutes before fouling out late in the contest.
While all of the those numbers and statistics are certainly impressive, the thing that has resonated the most with Linas has been the fact that he is putting up these numbers coming off the bench in only 22.3 minutes per game. Kleiza has also provided a huge emotional lift for the Tigers as he plays with a huge amount of fire and intensity.
The Somewhat Calm before the Storm
As noted in the Quick Hits segment of this gathering of random thoughts and info, the Tigers will have played the fewest game prior to Christmas (6) since the 1987-88 squad. While the games the Tigers have played have been anything but calm (they have been decided by an average of 6.8 points per contest and one of those went to overtime), the Tigers schedule will definitely pick up after Dec. 25 ... right after Dec. 25 ... as Mizzou travels to Memphis on the 27th, welcomes Belmont on the 30th and then faces Iowa on Jan. 3 in Hearnes before beginning a whirlwind Big 12 schedule.
Pontificating about Paulding
Senior Preseason All-American Rickey Paulding registered his best outing of the season, a 23-point outing against Gonzaga on Dec. 13. The high-flying swingman scored 18 of the 23 in the second half and overtime including a long three with a hand in his face with 11 seconds left to send the contest to the extra period.
Paulding is fourth on the squad in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in two of the Tigers' five contests. He earned All-Big 12 second-team honors last season and was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team. He was named to both the Wooden and Naismith Awards this season and also earned a preseason All-American nod from the Associated Press. He ranks 22nd on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,288 points following his nine-point effort against UNC Greensboro.
Paulding was awesome in his hometown going 6-for-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line sharing team-high honors with Jimmy McKinney with 21 points on the night against Oakland in Detroit on Nov. 29.
Rick is now seventh on the Mizzou all-time three point field goals made list with 149 career treys. He needs four more threes to pass former Tiger Mark Atkins (93-94, 152 threes).
Big Fellas Putting Up Big Numbers
I don't think I am telling any of the Tigers upcoming opponents anything they don't already know, (not that they or anyone else reads these things anyway!) but the key to the Tigers' success in the early stages this season has been the play of senior big men Arthur Johnson (15.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg.), Travon Bryant (13.8, 6.6) and freshman spark plug Linas Kleiza (12.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg). While it is very early for this sort of note, Kleiza led the Big 12 in rebounding at press time and the Tigers are the only school in the conference to have three players rank in the top 10 in the league in board work.
AJ, Tra and Lenny (thats what his teammates call him) rank two, three and five respectively in scoring for Mizzou and make up just under two thirds of the Tigers rebounding. They scored 46 of the Tigers' 63 points in their win over Indiana and pulled down 32 of their total of 46 rebounds. Johnson and Bryant have each recorded a double-double this year while the new kid in class (Kleiza) has three double-doubles to his credit.
32 Minutes and 45 seconds of Trepidation; 7 Minutes 15 Seconds of Triumph
After struggling mightily through the first 33 minutes of play at Indiana, the Tigers were able to put together a tremendous comeback in the final 7:15 of play. When Indiana sophomore guard Bracey Wright nailed a three with 7:14 left in the contest, the Tigers found themselves down by 14 at 56-42.
The next seven minutes was a crazy ride as Mizzou would go on a 21-2 run from that point on, getting seven points from Linas Kleiza, all six of Jimmy McKinney's points in the contest, six points from Travon Bryant and a layup from Rickey Paulding to give Mizzou a 63-58 win. After allowing IU to shoot 53.8% in the first half, the Tigers allowed the Hoosiers to score only 19 points on 21.7% shooting in the second stanza while holding IU's leading scorer (Wright) to only three points in the second half.
In Order to Be the Best ...
... you have to beat the best. The Tigers are definitely putting that adage to the test this year with one of the toughest schedules in the country. As of last Monday's Associated Press Poll, 10 of the Tigers 2003-04 opponents are ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes.
You don't have to look to far down the Tigers schedule to see the toughest stretch (if the entire thing isn't tough enough) begins with the new year when the Tigers face (RV) Iowa at home on Jan. 3, go to Iowa State where they are 0-4 under coach Quin Snyder, welcome defending national champion #19 Syracuse to Hearnes, travel to #8 Oklahoma and face #11 Texas ... all in a 20-day span.
A Quick Check of the Polls
While the only poll that truly matters doesn't come out until the second week in April, its never to early to track how the Tigers are doing in the rankings.
Date USA Today Coaches Associated Press Poll
Preseason #6 #5
Nov. 23-30 #6 #5
Dec. 1-7 #5 #4
Dec. 8-14 #4 #3
Dec. 15-21 #14 #10
Lean, Mean and on the Scene
Since coming to Mizzou at over 300 lbs. his freshman year, senior Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Arthur Johnson's weight (which was a svelte 255 at the beginning of this season) has gone down while his numbers have gone up. The explosive big man with feather-soft touch around the basket already owns Mizzou's all-time shot blocking mark with 206 career swats. With his two block effort against Coppin State, he became only the fifth player to record 200 or more career blocks in Big 12 conference history. Here's a quick look at where he needs to go to grab that mark
Big 12 All-Time Blocked Shots Leaders1. 264 Chris Mihm, UT-1998-00
2. 243 Nick Collison, KU, 1999-03
3. 242 Eric Chenowith, KU, 1997-01
4. 206 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2000-present
5. 202 Venson Hamilton, NU, 1997-99
If all goes according to plan, he will also become the Tigers all-time leading rebounder right around Feb. 2, which just happens to be the Tigers yearly trip to Kansas to face the Jayhawks. Johnson is averaging 8.0 boards per contest following his six board performance against UNC Greensboro. He needs just 154 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.
He also currently ranks 16th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,343 points after his powerful 18-point performance against UNC Greensboro and has a good shot at moving into the top five on the chart. He will now be chasing No. 15 Al Eberhard (71-74, 1,347) and No. 14 Willie Smith (74-76, 1,387).
Last season, Johnson became only the fourth Tiger since the 1949-50 season to lead the team in rebounding in three straight campaigns and can become the first Mizzou player to lead the squad in boards for four straight years if he can be the leader of the pack once again this year. Stay tuned.
More On AJ
And if you just can't get enough info on the big fella they call "Doc," he is also creeping up on the Big 12 career double-doubles mark. With his season-opening 19-point, 11-rebound effort against Oakland, he recorded his 37th career double-doubles, putting him in a three-way tie for fifth place on the conference charts. A look at that chart follows:
Big 12 All-Time Double-Double Leaders1. 47 Chris Mihm, UT, 1998-00
2. 46 Venson Hamilton, NU, 1997-99
3. 44 Drew Gooden, KU, 1999-02
4. 40 Raef LaFrentz, KU, 1994-98
5. 37 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2001-Present
37 Stephane Pelle, CU, 1999-03
37 Nick Collison, KU, 1999-03
Happy to Be at Home in the Hearnes
Mizzou began its 31st and final season at the Hearnes Center when it faced Coppin State. The Tigers have experienced great success at the Hearnes registering a 397-68 (.853) record since the 1972-73 season. Five Tiger squads have gone undefeated in the Hearnes Center and 14 teams have lost one game or fewer including last year's squad, which went 14-1 at home. From 1988-90, the Tigers went 31-0 at the Hearnes Center.
Next year, Mizzou will move into a new state-of-the art arena, which will be located just southwest of the Hearnes. The new 15,000-seat building is on schedule for completion on Oct. 1, 2004.
I Did Not Know That. Did You Know That Ed?
Pardon the tribute to Johnny Carson, but did you know that there have been 16 schools that have participated in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments? Five of the 16 are Big 12 schools - Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas. The other schools are Duke, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Arizona, Stanford, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Gonzaga.
In a related note, this year's senior class of Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Josh Kroenke and Travon Bryant have played in the most NCAA Tournament games of any Tigers in school history with eight post-season tilts under their belts.
Head Coach Quin Snyder
With a 2003-2004 team poised to be among the nation's elite, Quin Snyder has proven that success can come quickly with hard work and determination. On the brink of his fifth season as head coach of the Missouri Tigers, Snyder is leading a team that has been ranked as high as number three in the nation in preseason polls. Missouri's 15th head coach, Snyder has enjoyed impressive runs in the NCAA Tournament for four straight years. In fact, the 2002-2003 season was witness to a 22-win campaign that ended with an overtime loss in the NCAA Tournament to eventual Final Four contender, Marquette.
This season, Snyder's squad promises to offer even more excitement, with a powerful returning group, highlighted by the electrifying duo of Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson, along with a host of new recruits. Given the excitement Snyder has generated in such a short span of time at the helm, it is not surprising that many people are waiting with anticipation for this season to begin and predicting great things for the Tigers. It is easy to see why expectations are high when you consider all of the following ...
* Missouri returned four starters from last year's team, and in all, returns over 80 percent of its scoring, 98 percent of its blocked shots, and over 90 percent of its rebounding from last season.
* All of last season's impressive junior class, featuring Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant and Josh Kroenke will be returning for their senior campaign and will join a number of exciting newcomers.* A fifth straight top-25 recruiting class has been added to the roster this fall.
* Mizzou continues to be a fixture on national and regional television broadcasts. With every game but one on television, Snyder's Tigers continue to create unprecedented exposure for the program.
* The program will be the direct benefactor of a new, state-of-the-art $75 million arena which athletic officials plan to have open in time for the 2004-05 season.
* Snyder signed a contract extension, which will keep him a fixture on the Tiger sidelines through at least the 2005-06 season.
* And while Mizzou's on-court achievements constantly grab the headlines, what takes place in the classroom remains at the top of Snyder's priority list. An academic All-American himself during his playing days at Duke, Snyder is quite proud of the fact that in his four years at MU, seven scholarship players have exhausted their eligibility and all seven have graduated. In addition, this past season saw the men's basketball team achieve the highest GPA in 15 years.