Jan. 27, 2004
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Tip-off: 8 p.m. CST
Arena: Coors Event Center (11,064 )
TV: No Television Coverage
Radio: Tiger Radio Network. Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst
Rankings: Missouri was not ranked or receiving votes in either poll. Colorado was note ranked or receiving votes in either poll.
Series: Tigers lead, 88-48 Last Meeting: CU, 89-68 in Boulder, 2-22-03
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 92-56 at MU and overall (5th season).
Colorado: Ricardo Patton (Belmont s'135-109 at CU and overall (9th season).
MU Faces CU in Boulder on Wednesday
The University of Missouri basketball team takes to the road on Wednesday to face the Colorado Buffaloes in a Big 12 Conference matchup. The Tigers (8-7 overall, 3-2 in the Big 12) are coming off of their most convincing win of the season, a 72-51 victory over Nebraska on Saturday in Columbia while CU dropped its latest contest at Kansas, 78-57 on Sunday. The Tigers, who are winners of two of their last three, have defeated the Buffaloes nine of the last ten times the two have met. However, CU took the latest game in the series in February of last season in Boulder.
Senior Rickey Paulding continues to the lead the Tiger attack, averaging 16.4 ppg., while shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field over the course of the past four games. He led Mizzou with 19 points in the win over Nebraska and has averaged 21.8 ppg., over the last four games. Freshman Thomas Gardner also registered one of his best efforts of his young career against the Huskers, equaling a career-high with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field including 3-of-5 from three.
The contest, which is set for 8 p.m. CST (7 p.m. Mountain), will not be shown on television. It is the only Tiger contest of the season not to be shown on television. However, the game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with the Voice of the Tigers Mike Kelly and former Tiger great Gary Link bringing Tiger fans all of the action.
Quick Hits
* The Tigers are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since wins over Coppin State (12-2-03) and at Indiana (12-6-03)
* After playing three of their last four at home, the Tigers will take to the road for three of their next four games.
* The Tigers are 5-3 at home, 3-2 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court contests.
* The Tigers carry a 26-15 mark during the month of January under Head Coach Quin Snyder. They are also 20-3 in the month of January at home under Snyder.
* The Tigers lead the all-time series with CU, 88-48 and split the series with the Buffs last season.
* Senior Rickey Paulding has averaged 21.8 ppg. over the Tigers' last four games. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring averaging 16.4 ppg. He has been even more impressive in Big 12 play averaging 18.6 ppg., in conference action.
* Paulding has led Mizzou in scoring each of its last four games and in eight of the Tigers' 15 contests so far this season. He has reached double figures in scoring in nine of the Tigers last 10 contests.
* The Tigers have already recorded as many road wins this season (3) as they did all of last season, when they went 3-7 away from Hearnes.
* Freshman Thomas Gardner, who equaled a career high on Saturday with 17 points, is averaging only 5.1 points per game overall. However, he has really picked up his game in Big 12 play, averaging 9.4 ppg.
* Senior Arthur Johnson ranks second in the Big 12 in double-doubles. With his 16-point, 11-rebound effort against OU, he now has recorded five double-doubles on the year and 41 for his career.
* AJ currently ranks 11th on the Mizzou all-time scoring list with 1,468 points and is in fourth on the rebounding charts with 973 rebounds. He needs just 81 boards to eclipse the Mizzou mark and also to move into second on the Big 12 career boards list.
* Rickey is right on AJ's heels on the scoring chart with 1,466 points, putting him in 12th.
* Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring through 15 games this season and four different Tigers have led in rebounding.
* As of Monday's CollegeRPI.com report, the Tigers have played the 10th toughest schedule in the country.
* Coach Snyder is looking for win number 93 at Mizzou on Saturday. He has recorded more wins in his first 148 games at Mizzou than any previous Tiger coach had recorded in as many games in their careers.
* The Tigers are 41-30 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).
A Look at the Buffaloes
The Buffaloes enter Wednesday's contest with a 10-6 mark overall and a 2-3 record in the Big 12. Senior big man David Harrison leads the squad in points per game (15.7), and blocks (45) and is second on the squad to Lamar Harris (9.1 rpg.) in rebouding (8.2 rpg). The 7'0", 270-lb., monster leads the Big 12 in double-doubles with six and also leads the Big 12 in blocks. He is shooting 61.2 percent from the field. He is not a one man band by any stretch of the imagination though. Michele Morandis is averaging 14.7 points per game and leads the squad with 48 assists. Long-range marksman Blair Wilson also cracks double-digits in scoring averaging 12.0 points per contest. He has knocked down 38.3 percent of his three point field goal attempts and leads the squad with 41 threes made on the year.
Head coach Ricardo Patton is in his ninth year as the leader of the Buffaloes and checks in with a 135-109 record. CU is 6-3 this season at Coors Event Center including 1-1 against Big 12 foes at home.
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the Nebraska Game
+ The 21-point margin was the largest margin of victory for the Tigers this season. The previous amount was their 20 point win over Iowa.
+ The Tigers have won two of their last three games.
+ MU has now won six straight games over Nebraska and nine of the last ten against the Huskers.
+ Mizzou took great care of the ball on the day, committing only nine turnovers. That equals their second lowest turnover total of season.
+ After falling behind by one point at 44-43 with 9:33 left in the second half, Mizzou used a 29-2 run the next 7:58 to take the game over. In that stretch, the Tigers went 10-of-16 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
+ Senior Rickey Paulding led the Tigers in scoring for the fourth straight game with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. He now has 1,466 career points and is in 12th place on the Mizzou all-time scoring list been behind team fellow Tiger Arthur Johnson. Johnson had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting and now has 1,468 career points putting him in 11th place. Both Detroit natives are now chasing No. 10 on the list, Jevon Crudup, who has 1,498 career points.
+ Freshman Thomas Gardner equaled a career high with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field including 3-of-5 shooting from three.
+ After going only 19-of-31 from the free throw line against Texas, the Tigers were awesome from the free throw line on Saturday going 16-of-18 from the stripe.
No. 400
After further review of the record books, the crack research staff in the MU media relations office (please hold your applause) gathered that Saturday's 72-51 win over Nebraska was the Tigers' 400th win at the Hearnes Center. The first win in the hallowed halls came back in 1972, a 87-75 win over Ohio on Nov. 25th. It should also be noted that Tiger radio analyst Gary Link was part of the Tiger family for both the first and 400th win at the Hearnes.
They are now 5-3 at home this season and 19-4 at home over the past two years.
Youth of the Tiger Nation
The Tigers continue to get great production from several underclassmen on their roster. Freshman Linas Kleiza is coming off of a eight-point, eight-rebound effort against Nebraska, marking the ninth time he has led Mizzou in rebounding. He is also chipping in with 11.1 points per game off of the Tiger bench. Fellow freshmen guard Thomas Gardner played his most energetic and emotional game of the year for the Tigers on Saturday. He scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field including 3-of-5 shooting from three. The Portland, Ore., native hit a huge three against Nebraska as the first half ran down to give Mizzou a 30-29 lead and completely change the momentum of the game. The two sparkplugs teamed to score 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting including 4-of-6 from three while also pulling down 13 of the Tigers' 34 boards against NU.
The final freshmen on the squad, Spencer Laurie, is beginning to run the point for Mizzou like an experienced veteran. He played 19 quality minutes handing out one assist while blocking the first shot of his young career and grabbing a steal.
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 16.4 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in five of the Tigers' 15 contests and in three of the Tigers' last four games. 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 12th on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,466 points following his 19-point effort against Nebraska. He will now be chasing No. 11 Arthur Johnson, who has scored 1,468 career points.
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 164 career treys.
In Order to Be the Best ...
... you have to beat the best. The Tigers have definitely put that adage to the test this year with one of the toughest schedules in the country. As of Monday's Associated Press Poll, seven (Oklahoma, Kansas, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma 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 (L, 70-65) where they are 0-5 under coach Quin Snyder, lost to defending national champion #17 Syracuse (L, 82-68), travel to #13 Oklahoma (W, 79-75 in OT) and faced #16 Texas (L, 75-69 in OT) ... all in a 20-day span.
Like the TNT Network, We Know Drama
Sorry MSN, 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. Eight of the Tigers' 15 games have been decided by five points or less and three of them have went to overtime. The Tigers are 4-4 in games decided by five points or less this season. The average margin of loss for Mizzou has been 6.7 points per contest.
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.
Balancing Act
The Tigers have been extremely balanced on the offensive end of the court so far this year. Five Tigers are averaging between 16.4 and 10.2 points per contest with senior Rickey Paulding taking top honors following the Tigers contest with Nebraska. Seven different players have led Mizzou in scoring over the course of the first 15 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 226 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. He needs to average around 3.3 blocks per game during the rest of the regular season to become the Big 12 all-time swats leader.
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. 225 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 7.6 boards per contest following his two-rebound effort against Nebraska. He needs just 81 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.
He also currently ranks 11th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,468 points after his 10-point effort against Nebraska. He will now be chasing No. 10 Jevon Crudup (91-94, 1,498 points).
Last season, Johnson became only the fourth Tiger since the 1949-50 season to lead the team in rebounding in three straight campaigns.
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 16-point, 11-rebound effort against Oklahoma, he recorded his 41st career double-double, putting him alone in 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. 41 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2001-Present
5. 40 Raef LaFrentz, KU, 1994-98
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).
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. Kleiza has certainly been impressive in his young 14-game career for Mizzou. He is averaging 11.1 points (third on the squad) and an amazing 8.7 rebounds, which is fifth in the Big 12. The power forward from Kaunas, Lithuania has recorded double-doubles in three 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. He was also close against OU, scoring 13 points and pulling down nine boards in the Tigers 79-75 win over the Sooners.
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 23.4 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 400-70 there as of its 72-51 win over Nebraska. 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.