Jan. 8, 2004
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Tiger Face Aggies on Saturday in Big 12 Home Opener
The University of Missouri men's basketball squad (5-5 overall, 0-1 in the Big 12) entertains Texas A&M on Saturday at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers are coming off of a tough loss at Iowa State on Wednesday, 70-65, while A&M is opening the Big 12 portion of its schedule on Saturday.
The breaks have not exactly been going Mizzou's way so far in the 2003-04 season and Wednesday's contest was certainly no exception. The loss in Ames marked the sixth time a Tiger contest has been decided by five points or less so far this season, with Mizzou going 2-4 in those games. The Tigers did receive unbelievable production from two freshmen on Wednesday as guard Thomas Gardner sprang for a career-best 17 points in 13 minutes in what was only the second start of his career while Linas Kleiza dumped in nine points and pulled down a team-high six boards.
Saturday's contest, which is set to tip at approximately 12:30 on ESPN Regional (or + as noted on the schedule, KMIZ in Columbia), will be called by long-time play-by-play guru Dave Armstrong and former Tiger great Jon Sundvold. The Tigers will be playing on ESPN Regional for the third time this season, carrying a 1-1 mark in those contests. The contest can also be heard on the Tiger Radio Network around the state of Missouri with Mike Kelly providing the play-by-play and former Tiger great Gary Link providing his expert analysis.
Quick Hits
* This is the second of a three-game-in-five day stretch for the Tigers. The first contest of that stretch was a 70-65 loss at Iowa State to open Big 12 play.
* The Tigers carry a 23-13 mark during the month of January under Head Coach Quin Snyder. They are also 18-1 in the month of January at home under Snyder.
* Mizzou owns a 9-2 advantage over the Aggies all-time. The Tigers have never lost to A&M at home and have won by an average of 24.5 points in four meetings in Columbia.
* Mizzou is 3-1 at home this year, 2-2 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court battles.
* Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring through 10 games this season and four different Tigers have led in rebounding.
* After playing six of their first ten games away from home, the Tigers will play five of their next seven contests in the Hearnes Center.
* Coach Snyder is looking for win number 90 at Mizzou on Saturday.
* Freshmen Linas Kleiza is leading all Big 12 freshmen in rebounding averaging 8.8 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 check in with the #59 RPI and the 30th toughest schedule so far this season as of last Monday's report.
* The Tigers are 38-29 under Coach Snyder against Big 12 opponents.
* The 5-5 start is the Tigers' worst start since 1984-85 when that squad started 5-5.
* With his first of 10 rebounds against Illinois, senior Arthur Johnson became only the fourth player in Mizzou school history to record at least 1,300 career points and 900 career boards. The other three are Steve Stipanovich (80-83), Doug Smith (88-91) and Derrick Chievous (85-88). He now has 1,399 points (14th on the Mizzou Career scoring list) and 931 rebounds (5th on the Tiger Career rebounding list).
* With his next point, Arthur Johnson will become only the 19th player in Big 12 history to record 1,400 points in his career.
* Mizzou is outrebounding their opponents by an average of +10.9 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.
A Look at the Fightin' Aggies
The Aggies open the Big 12 portion of their campaign in Columbia against the Tigers. Winners of four of their last five, the Aggies are coming off of an 89-63 win over Long Island on Tuesday. Sophomore Antoine Wright leads the Aggie scoring attack, averaging 15.3 ppg., and has handed out 27 assists so far this season. Senior Jesse Wright (who played with senior Arthur Johnson at Pershing High School in Detroit back in the day) has also put up solid numbers averaging 13.1 points and 5.7 boards per contest. Fellow senior Andy Slocumb (who checks in as the tallest player on the Aggie roster at 7'0") is averaging a team-best 8.7 boards per game and is shooting a team-best 57.7 percent from the field (45-of-78).
While the Tigers do lead the series with the Aggies, A&M owned the bragging rights in 2003, as they took out the then 21st ranked Tigers in College Station on Feb. 12, 2003, 73-71. Head coach Melvin Watkins is in his fifth season as head coach at A&M with a 46-81 mark. He is 1-4 against Quin Snyder and the Tigers.
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the Iowa State Game
+ Mizzou falls to 5-5 on the year and 0-1 in the Big 12 Conference
+ The Tigers were outrebounded for the first time this season on Wednesday night by the Cyclones, 33-32.
+ Mizzou is now 2-2 on the road, 0-2 in neutral court games and 3-1 at home.
+ Freshman Thomas Gardner, who made his second career start on Wednesday, recorded a career-best 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field (4-of-5 from three).
+ The Tigers have now lost five straight contests in Ames, Iowa, and five of their last seven overall.
+ With his 10 points and four boards against Iowa State, Arthur Johnson now has scored 1,399 career points and pulled down 931 rebounds. He still ranks 14th on the Mizzou scoring charts and 5th on the all-time rebounding list. He also extended his lead on the all-time Mizzou shot blocking charts with he three-block effort. He now has 216 career blocks.
+ Rickey Paulding continues to make a charge on the scoring charts as well. He now has 1,363 career points, putting him in 16th on the chart.
+ The Tigers have committed more turnovers than their opponents in nine of their ten contests so far this year. They had 15 turnovers to Iowa States' 10 mishandles on Wednesday night.
+ The loss in Ames marked the sixth time a Tiger contest has been decided by five points or less so far this season, with Mizzou going 2-4 in those games.
Like the TNT Network, We Know Drama
Sorry ESPN+, 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. Six of the Tigers' 10 games have been decided by five points or less with the Tigers carrying a 2-4 mark in those contests. The average margin of victory or loss for Mizzou has been 6.6 points per contest after its tough five-point loss at the hands of Iowa State in Ames.
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.
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 on Wednesday nigh. 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. Wednesday's outburst was only his second start of the season, the other coming last Saturday against Iowa, where he scored only three points. He doubled his season scoring average on Wednesday from 2.0 ppg., to 3.9 ppg.
Balancing Act
The Tigers have been extremely balanced on the offensive end of the court so far this year. Five Tigers are averaging between 14.3 and 10.6 points per contest with senior Rickey Paulding taking top honors following the Tigers contest with Iowa State. Seven different players have led Mizzou in scoring over the course of the first nine games and four different Tigers have led in rebounding.
Blocks, Boards and Ball Handling
Mizzou has been dominant in the low post so far this season. They have registered 52 blocked shots (compared to their opponent's 30) and are outrebounding their opponents by almost 11 boards per contest.
On the flip side, the Tigers continue to work on valuing the basketball. They are averaging a Big 12 worst 16.1 turnovers per contest. However, they did make a marked improvement in their latest home game against Iowa, when they recorded a season-low eight turnovers against the Hawkeyes, two of which came in the final two minutes when Mizzou had the game in hand.
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 fierce competitor has really turned it on in the Tigers' last four contests, averaging 11.3 points per contest and is shooting 40 percent (15-of-38) from the field and 40 percent (9-of-23) from three while also pulling down 4.8 boards per contest.
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 nine-game career for Mizzou. He is averaging 11.6 points (fourth on the squad) and amazing 8.8 rebounds, which is fourth in the Big 12. The power forward from Kaunas, Lithuania has recorded double-doubles in three of his first 10 games as a Tiger and just missed his fourth and fifth double-doubles in the Tigers' contests with Belmont and Iowa when he went for a career best 18 points while pulling down nine boards in both games.
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.
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 Nebraska) 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 Saturday (W, 76-56), lost a tough one at Iowa State on Wednesday where they are 0-5 under coach Quin Snyder, will welcome defending national champion #17 Syracuse to Hearnes, travel to #6 Oklahoma and face #18 Texas ... all in a 20-day span.
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 397-69 there as of its 76-56 win over Iowa. 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' 10 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 12.1 ppg., through ten games in 2003. His rebounding numbers are also up from 5.8 boards per contest in 02-03 to 7.1 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) this season and has already recorded three double-doubles year. He is shooting 60 percent from the field (47-of-79) and a Big 12 best 61 percent from three (11-of-18).
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 92 career blocks, 18 of which have come in the Tigers' first 10 contests this year.
Pontificating about Paulding
Senior Preseason All-American Rickey Paulding continues to be one of the fiercest competitors in the Big 12 Conference. His game-high 21-point, 10-board effort against Belmont marked the second double-double of his career, the other coming in a 19-point, 11 rebound effort against Nebraska in last year's Big 12 Tournament opening round.
Paulding leads the squad in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in three of the Tigers' 10 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 16th on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,363 points following his 15-point effort against Iowa State.
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 156 career treys.
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 (13.1 ppg., 7.2 rpg.), Travon Bryant (12.2, 7.1) and freshman spark plug Linas Kleiza (11.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg). While it is very early for this sort of note, Kleiza leads all Big 12 freshmen in rebounding.
AJ, Tra and Lenny (thats what his teammates call him) rank two, three and four 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, Bryant and Kleiza have all recorded three double-doubles in the year heading into the Texas A&M contest.
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 216 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 LeadersIf all goes according to plan, he will also become the Tigers all-time leading rebounder right around the middle of February. Johnson is averaging 7.2 boards per contest following his three rebound performance against Iowa. He needs just 122 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.1. 264 Chris Mihm, UT-1998-00
2. 243 Nick Collison, KU, 1999-03
3. 242 Eric Chenowith, KU, 1997-01
4. 216 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2000-present
5. 202 Venson Hamilton, NU, 1997-99
He also currently ranks 14th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,399 points after his powerful four-point performance against Iowa and has a good shot at moving into the top five on the chart. He will now be chasing No. 13 Larry Drew (1977-80, 1,401 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 14-point, 12 rebound effort against Memphis, he recorded his 39th career double-double, putting him alone in 5th place 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
5. 39 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2001-Present
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.