Jan. 15, 2004
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Tigers Travel to Norman to Face Sooners on Saturday
The University of Missouri men's basketball squad takes a trip south to Oklahoma on Saturday to take on No. 13/11 Oklahoma (10-2, 0-1) in a Big 12 matchup. The Tigers (6-6, 1-1 in the Big 12) are coming off of a loss to defending National Champion Syracuse on Monday, 82-68, while the Sooners dropped their latest contest at Oklahoma State, 77-56. The two squads split a pair of meetings last year with the Tigers taking out the Sooners in Columbia on Feb. 26, 2003, 67-52 and then dropping a heartbreaker to OU in the finals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament, 49-47 in Dallas on March. 16, 2003.
The Tigers win over OU last February broke a nine game losing streak to the Sooners over the past five years. However, the Tigers would like to end another current steak of five straight losses to the Sooners in Norman dating back to Feb. 5, 1994, a 104-94 Mizzou win over OU.
Saturday's contest, which will be the 198th meeting between the two squads with the Sooners holding a 109-89 advantage, will be broadcast on ABC-TV with Ron Franklin providing the play-by-play and Jon Sundvold giving his expert analysis. Tiger fans can also listen to the contest on the Tiger Radio Network with the "Voice of the Tigers" Mike Kelly on the play-by-play and former Tiger great Gary Link offering the analysis. Tiger fans can access the radio broadcast of the game via the world wide web at www.mutigers.com.
Quick Hits
* Mizzou is 2-2 in its last four games.
* The Tigers are 4-2 at home, 2-2 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court contests.
* The Tigers carry a 24-14 mark during the month of January under Head Coach Quin Snyder. They are also 19-2 in the month of January at home under Snyder.
* OU is the second of three consecutive Tiger opponents over an eight day stretch to have reached the Final Four in either 2002 (Oklahoma) or 2003 (Texas and Syracuse.)
* The Sooners have won nine of the last 10 in the series and hold a 109-89 advantage all-time.
* Senior Rickey Paulding has averaged 18.7 ppg. over the Tigers' last three games.
* After averaging 8.0 points and 3.3 boards per game against Belmont, Iowa and Iowa State, senior Arthur Johnson has averaged 13.5 pts. and 11 reb. over the last two Tiger contests.
* Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring through 12 games this season and four different Tigers have led in rebounding.
* Coach Snyder is looking for win number 91 at Mizzou on Saturday. He has recorded more wins in his first 145 games at Mizzou than any previous Tiger coach had recorded in as many games in their careers.
* Freshmen Linas Kleiza is leading the Big 12 in rebounding, averaging 9.1 boards per contest. If he can keep that pace going through the rest of the season, he will eclipse Arthur Johnson's Big 12 freshmen rebounding mark of 7.8 boards per game which he set in 2000-01.
* The Tigers are 39-29 under Coach Snyder against Big 12 opponents.
* With his first bucket against Texas A&M, Arthur Johnson became only the fourth Tiger to record at least 1,400 career points and 900 rebounds. The other three are Steve Stipanovich (80-83), Doug Smith (88-91) and Derrick Chievous (85-88).
* Mizzou is outrebounding their opponents by an average of +8.4 rebounds per contest. While it is still early in the season, the largest rebounding margin for a Mizzou squad through an entire season was in 1988-89, when that squad outrebounded its opponents by an average of 7.9 boards per game.
* In the Tigers six wins, Arthur Johnson is shooting 62 percent from the field (38-of-61) and is averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. In Mizzou's six losses, he is shooting 43 percent (24-of-56) and is averaging 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Bottom line, feed the Big Fella and good things happen for the Tigers.
A Look at the Sooners
The Sooners enter Saturdays contest at 10-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12. After rattling off an impressive 10-0 start, OU has fallen on some challenging times on the road, dropping back-to-back contests away from Lloyd Noble to No. 1 UCONN and (RV) Oklahoma State. Freshman point guard sensation Drew Lavender leads the OU scoring threat averaging 12.7 ppg. He has been amazing in the assist department as well, averaging 4.4 assists per game, which ranks fifth on the Big 12 charts. Kevin Bookout and Jabahri Brown are a formidable tandem on the low post, making up 37 percent of the Sooners blocked shots and just under 30 percent of their rebounding so far this season.
Kelvin Sampson is in his 10th year as head man at OU and sports a 224-83 mark at OU. His teams have qualified for NCAA Tournament play every year for the past nine years and five of his last six squads have advanced to the Big 12 Tournament Championship game.
OU Have Got To Be Kidding Me
Things did not look so good for Mizzou with 15:05 left in the Big 12 Championship game last season with Oklahoma, who ended up being the No. 1-seed in the East region of your NCAA Tournament bracket. OU guard Hollis Price nailed his fourth three pointer of the day, extending what had been a 19-point halftime Sooner lead to 22.
Then Mizzou seemed to decide that they had enough. The Tigers would go on a 23-3 run the rest of the way, not allowing the Sooners (who had shot a blistering 54 percent in the first half) to score a field goal in the final 15:05 of the contest. The Sooners would go 0-for their next 15 shots and would shoot only 15.0% from the field, including 10.0% (1-of-10) from three.
Despite Mizzou's best efforts, the Sooners would hold on to the 49-47 win with some clutch free throw shooting.
Mizzou split the season series with OU, 1-1, but the Tigers proved they could play with some of the best competition in the country, holding OU to just 32.0 percent shooting ( Mizzou shot 42.0% in those games) and outscored the Sooners, 66-49 in the second half of those two games.
I know its not good to live in the past, but the Tigers need to rekindle that toughness and urgency as they head into the teeth of the Big 12 schedule.
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the Syracuse Game
* With the loss Mizzou goes to 6-6 on the season, Syracuse goes to 12-1
* THE SERIES - SU leads 5-1 ... this was the first visit by Syracuse to Columbia ... Mizzou lost at SU last season, and has went 1-3 in neutral site games vs. Syracuse.
* HEARNES - Mizzou is now 399-69 at the Hearnes Center, 816-269 all-time on their home court.
* VS. RANKED OPPS - Syracuse came into the contest ranked No. 19 in the AP poll ... Missouri falls to 42-44 when not ranked and hosting a ranked team at home and 9-12 when that opponent is non-conference.
* STAT TRACK - Missouri's 18.5% shooting from beyond the arc, its worst shooting percentage in a game from three-point land since Feb. 20, 2003, in a 89-68 loss at Colorado (15%).
INDIVIDUAL FEATS
* With his eight point effort against Syracuse, senior Arthur Johnson now has 1,426 career points and ranks 12th all-time in Mizzou history ... during this game, Johnson passed John Brown (71-73) on the list who ended his career with 1,421 points. Up next for Johnson will be former Tiger great Rickey Frazier, who registered 1,448 points during this career from 1980-1982.
* Rickey Paulding goes to 14th all-time in scoring at Mizzou with 1,404 career points, passing Willie Smith (74-76) and Larry Drew (77-80) ... Paulding led the Tigers in scoring with 25 ... he will now be chasing John Brown in 13th (1,421 points) and guess who ... Arthur Johnson with 1,426 points in 12th.
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 Monday's Associated Press Poll, 10 (Oklahoma, Kansas, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, Illinois, Texas Tech, Memphis, Oklahoma State and Iowa State) 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) began with the new year when the Tigers faced (RV) Iowa on Jan. 3 (W, 76-56), lost a tough one at (RV) Iowa State where they are 0-5 under coach Quin Snyder, lost to defending national champion #17 Syracuse, travel to #13 Oklahoma and face #18 Texas ... all in a 20-day span.
Like the TNT Network, We Know Drama
Sorry ABC, but that one was just to good to let slip by. The Tigers have made some breathtaking comebacks and have experienced some heartbreaking losses so far this season. Seven of the Tigers' 12 games have been decided by five points or less with the Tigers carrying a 3-4 mark in those contests. The average margin of victory or loss for Mizzou has been 6.45 points per contest after its 14-point loss to Syracuse.
Prior to their 20-point blowout win against Iowa on Jan. 3, the Tigers lost three games in seven days by a total of seven points to wrap up 2003, a year the Tigers would be just as soon forget. They faced a 21-point deficit to Illinois in the first half, only to storm back and lose by one and were down by as many as 15 to Memphis, only to have their comeback come up just short, losing by two to the Tigers.
Blocks, Boards and Ball Handling
Mizzou has been dominant in the low post so far this season. They have registered 59 blocked shots (compared to their opponent's 31) and are outrebounding their opponents by 8.4 boards per contest.
On the flip side, the Tigers continue to work on valuing the basketball. They are averaging a Big 12 worst 15.3 turnovers per contest. However, they have made marked improvement in the turnover area, averaging only 11.3 giveaways per contest over the past four games, including only nine against Syracuse.
That Strong, Quick and Flyin' Kid Sure Plays Some Mean Basketball
Freshman Tommy Gardner (he prefers Thomas, but hey, a "The Who" reference in basketball notes only comes along so often) had a breakout game at Iowa State. The athletic guard who has brought a high-level of emotion to the Tiger lineup this season got off to a flying start, scoring Mizzou's first six points on a monster dunk (on which he was fouled and canned his free throw) and a three from the right wing in the game's first two minutes.
Gardner would go on to score 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field (4-of-5 from three) in only 13 minutes of action. That outburst was only his second start of the season, the other coming against Iowa, where he scored three points.
Gardner came off of the bench against Texas A&M and continued the fireworks show scoring eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from the free throw line. He has had an incredible week, averaging 12.5 points per game after averaging only 2.0 points per game through Mizzou's first nine games of the year. He is now averaging 4.4 points per game and is shooting 91 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line.
Balancing Act
The Tigers have been extremely balanced on the offensive end of the court so far this year. Five Tigers are averaging between 15.3 and 10.8 points per contest with senior Rickey Paulding taking top honors following the Tigers contest with Texas A&M. Seven different players have led Mizzou in scoring over the course of the first 12 games and four different Tigers have led in rebounding.
King Arthur's Court
Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Arthur Johnson is on a mission. The objective: to leave the Hearnes Center in April as one of the best big men in school history. He has certainly had a remarkable career here at MU and continues to work his way up several career charts. The explosive big man with feather-soft touch around the basket already owns Mizzou's all-time shot blocking mark with 218 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. 218 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 the middle of February. Johnson is averaging 7.8 boards per contest following his 8-rebound effort against Texas A&M. He needs just 100 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.
He also currently ranks 12th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,426 points after his eight point, 10-rebound effort against Syracuse. He will now be chasing No. 11 Ricky Frazier (71-73, 1,421 points).
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 19-point, 12-rebound effort against Texas A&M, he recorded his 40th career double-double, putting him alone in a tie for 4th on the Big 12 All-Time Double-Double leaders list. 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
40 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2001-Present
Reading Up on the Rick
Senior Preseason All-American Rickey Paulding continues to be one of the fiercest competitors in the Big 12 Conference.
Paulding leads the squad in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in four of the Tigers' 12 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 watch lists this season and also earned a preseason All-American nod from the Associated Press. He ranks 14th on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,404 points following his 25-point effort against Syracuse.
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 alone in sixth on the Mizzou all-time three point field goals made list with 159 career treys.
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 has played in the most NCAA Tournament games of any Tigers in school history with eight post-season tilts under their belts. Also of note, in each of Coach Quin Snyder's first four years, the Tigers have been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by an eventual Final Four Team (2000-North Carolina, 2001-Duke, 2002-Oklahoma and 2003-Marquette).
And the Award for Best Supporting Act Goes To ...
... the University of Missouri bench against Iowa on Saturday. The boys off the bench scored 37 of Mizzou's 76 points on 12-of-26 shooting on the day. Paced by Freshman of the Year candidate Linas Kleiza's 18 points and nine boards, the Tiger bench made its biggest impact of the year so far. Senior Josh Kroenke hit two huge threes, junior Randy Pulley handed out a career-best five assists and senior Arthur Johnson blocked two shots in only 13 minutes due to foul trouble.
Return of the Mac
After getting off to a flying start to the season with 21 points against Oakland in Mizzou's season opening win, sophomore Jimmy McKinney averaged only 9.2 points per contest over the next five Tiger contests shooting only 29 percent from the field. However, the firey competitor has really turned it on in the Tigers' last five contests, averaging 11.5 points per contest and is shooting 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field, 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from three and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the free throw line.
The Lithuanian Domination Tour Rolls On
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 12-game career for Mizzou. He is averaging 11.2 points (fourth on the squad) and amazing 9.1 rebounds, which leads the Big 12. The power forward from Kaunas, Lithuania has recorded double-doubles in three of his first 12 games as a Tiger and just missed his fourth, fifth and sixth double-doubles in the Tigers' contests with Belmont, Iowa and Syracuse when he went for a career best 18 points while pulling down nine boards in both the IU and BU games and dumped in nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds against Syracuse.
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 22.8 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.
Thanks for the Memories ... Here's to Many More
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 399-69 there as of its 82-68 loss to Syracuse. The 15,000 seat, $75 million 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.
Tra is Taking Over
Through the Tigers' 12 contests so far this season, no Tiger has shown as much improvement and explosiveness on both the offensive and defensive ends as senior Travon Bryant. The 6-9 power forward from Long Beach, Calif., has raised his scoring average from 8.9 ppg., last season to 11.3 ppg., through 12 games in 2003-04. His rebounding numbers are also up from 5.8 boards per contest in 02-03 to 6.6 per game this season. He has recorded career-highs in points (19 vs. Illinois), rebounds (12 vs. Illinois) and threes (3-of-4 vs. Illinois) and has already recorded three double-doubles this year.
Travon has worked unbelievably hard to improve on the defensive end as well. He currently ranks sixth on the Mizzou all-time blocks charts with 94 career blocks, 20 of which have come in the Tigers' first 12 contests this year.
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 national 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.
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 ...
* 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.