Feb. 10, 2004
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| TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST | ||||
| ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,611). Opened in 1972, and in its final season as Mizzou's basketball venue. MU is 279-99 (.738) here alltime, including 31-29 (.517) in Big 12 Conference play. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| SERIES: Baylor leads, 7-3, including 2-1 in Columbia. Mizzou's last win in the series came at the Hearnes Center on Jan. 8, 2000. | ||||
| RANKINGS: MU is unranked. Baylor is ranked No. 18 in Monday's Associated Press poll, and No. 20 in Tuesday's Coaches' Poll. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 96-74 at MU (sixth season) and 161-99 overall (ninth season).
Baylor: Kim Mulkey-Robertson (Louisiana Tech '84), 89-31 at BU and overall (fourth season). |
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MIZZOU WOMEN RESUME KILLER HOME SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY VS. BAYLOR
The Missouri women's basketball team (12-8, 3-6 Big 12), fresh off a solid 19-point win at Iowa State, entertains its third straight (out of five total) ranked opponent Wednesday when the Baylor Bears (17-5, 5-4) travel to Columbia.
? ? ? The Tigers are coming off their second straight strong performance at Hilton Coliseum, registering a 81-62 win over Iowa State, and are currently tied for eighth place in the Big 12.
MORE ON BAYLOR
The Bears are coming off a tough 3-point loss at home to Texas Tech as the Lady Raiders swept the season series by a total of four points. The Lady Bears lost their last road contest by 20 at Kansas State on Jan. 27; BU is 2-2 in Big 12 road games this year.
? ? ? Head Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson has three players - Sophia Young, Steffanie Blackmon and Emily Niemann - scoring in double figures, and a fourth, Jessika Stratton, averaging 9.5 ppg. In Big 12 play, all four are scoring in double figures.
? ? ? Young also leads the Lady Bears in rebounding at 8.1 rpg, and is shooting a solid 59.6 percent from the field. Stratton leads the team by averaging just a shade under four assists a game.
Evan Unrau: THE BIG 12'S MOST VERSATILE PLAYER
Senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) is the engine that pulls the Tigers' train, leading the team with her scoring and rebounding averages of 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game. Unrau leads the Big 12 in rebounding, and is third in scoring. In addition, the forward leads the league with nine double-doubles, including in four of her last six games.
? ? ? On top of her scoring and rebounding prowess, Unrau is ranked among the Big 12's top players in eight of the 12 categories the league office tracks weekly, making her arguably the Big 12 Conference's MVP (Most Versatile Player). No one in the Big 12 is ranked in more categories; UT's Tiffany Jackson is also ranked in eight, while Colorado's Randie Wirt and Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde are ranked in seven. Here are Unrau's league ranks:
? ? ? Unrau was selected to Street & Smith's preseason women's All-America team, and the four-year starter continues to impress this season. Unrau was one of 50 players listed by Street & Smith's, and one of 30 players given Preseason Honorable Mention All-America status by the magazine. Ten others were each named to the "Terrific 10" and High Honorable Mention lists.
? ? ? Last year, Unrau became Mizzou's second First Team All-Big 12 Conference selection in the seven-year history of the conference. She led the Tigers in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg) in leading Mizzou to postseason play for the fourth straight year.
LAST TIME OUT: MU 81, IOWA STATE 62
MyEsha Perkins had a career night at Hilton Coliseum Saturday night to lead Missouri to a Big 12 season-high scoring output in an 81-62 win at Iowa State. Perkins set career highs with 18 points and seven assists; she also had two rebounds.
STRONG SCHEDULE HELPING TIGERS
Mizzou is listed at No. 36 as of Tuesday in the RPI coordinated by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and despite the Tigers' recent struggles are by no means out of the running for postseason play. Much of that is due to MU's strong schedule, which is ranked No. 9 in the country by the WBCA.
? ? ? MU's only non-conference losses were to SMS, who leads the Missouri Valley and is ranked No. 23 in this week's AP poll, and UW-Green Bay, who leads the Horizon League. Two other Tiger opponents - Austin Peay (Ohio Valley) and Miami [Ohio] (Mid-American) - lead their respective conferences, and another (Tulsa/Western Athletic) is third.
? ? ? In the Big 12 Conference race, just two games separates eighth-place Mizzou from fifth. Four league squads have five or six losses, including the 3-6 Tigers.
MORE RPI RUMINATIONS
It's always too late to play "What If...", but it bears noting that "if" the Tigers would have won their three home Big 12 games against Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado - games Mizzou lost by an average of 3.3 points - then the Tigers would currently be tied for fourth in the Big 12 with a 6-3 record. More importantly, the resultant winning percentage would have propelled Mizzou all the way to No. 13 in the WBCA RPI.