Feb. 24, 2004
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| TIPOFF: 7:05 p.m. CST | ||||
| ARENA: Devaney Center (13,500). Opened in 1976. MU is 162-180 (.474) alltime on the road, including 15-25 (.375) vs. unranked Big 12 opponents. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400, KLIK-AM 1240 (David Lile, play-by-play/Kerensa Barr, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| SERIES: Nebraska leads, 31-25, and is 17-7 in Lincoln. Mizzou has won the last three games a the Devaney Center, however, including a 74-53 decision last year. | ||||
| RANKINGS: Both teams are unranked. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 97-77 at MU (sixth season) and 162-102 overall (ninth season).
Nebraska: Connie Yori (Creighton '86), 24-28 at NU (second season) and 219-168 overall (14th season). |
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STRETCH RUN BEGINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN LINCOLN FOR MU WOMEN
The Missouri women's basketball team (13-11, 4-9 Big 12) heads down the home stretch of the final three games of the regular season needing wins to improve its position for both the postseason, as well as the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament.
? ? ? The Tigers are coming off a pair of heart-breaking top-10 losses at home last week, including a double-overtime thriller vs. No. 8 Kansas State that saw senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau erupt for a career-high 40 points in nearly 50 minutes on the floor.
? ? ? Currently at 4-9 in the league, the Tigers are sitting in ninth place, two full games behind both Nebraska and Iowa State - Mizzou's next two opponents. If the Tigers were to win both games and finish the season tied with both, Mizzou would win the three-way tiebreaker.
MORE ON NEBRASKA
Alexa Johnson, who was NU's representative on the Big 12 All-Star team that represented the United State at the World University Games along with MU's Cindy Stein and Evan Unrau, continues to lead the Huskers in scoring (11.6 ppg), while Keasha Cannon-Johnson leads the rebounders (8.4 rpg). Nebraska has lost two straight on the road at Kansas State and Iowa State, yet has won its last two home games to Kansas and Oklahoma State. Texas is the only team to win at the Devaney Center this year.
UN-BELIEVABLE: 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 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds a game. Unrau leads the Big 12 in rebounding, and is third in scoring. In addition, the forward leads the league with 12 double-doubles, including seven in Big 12 play. For the latest on Unrau, please refer to page 2.
? ? ? Unrau put on the best display of her talents on Sunday in a thrilling double-overtime performance vs. No. 8 Kansas State, scorching the Wildcats for a career-high and near school-record 40 points. She added 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals, and had just ONE turnover in playing all but the final 1.2 seconds of the 50-minute game.
? ? ? On top of her scoring and rebounding prowess, Unrau is ranked among the Big 12's top players in NINE of the 12 categories the league office tracks weekly, making her arguably the Big 12 Conference's MVP (Most Versatile Player). That is TWO more categories than any other player in the league; Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde, Colorado's Randie Wirt, UT's Tiffany Jackson and Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon are ranked in seven. Here are Unrau's league ranks:
* Scoring 3rd 18.3 ppg * Rebounding 1st 9.2 rpg * Assists 15th 3.08 apg * Free-Throw Pct. 15th 77.0% * 3-Point FG Pct. 8th 40.8% * 3-Point FG Made/Gm. 8th 1.67 3fgpg * Assist/TO Ratio 13th 1.28 * Off. Rebounds 1st 3.79 orpg * Def. Rebounds 5th 5.46 drpg
LAST TIME OUT: #8/8 KANSAS STATE 93, MIZZOU 90 (2OT)
Despite a career day from Evan Unrau, the Missouri women's basketball team dropped a double-overtime thriller to No. 8 Kansas State, 93-90, Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center. Unrau set a new career-high with 40 points, while also grabbing a game-high 15 boards and dishing off four assists before fouling out with 1.9 seconds left - the only part of the 50-minute game that she didn't play - and departing to a standing ovation. The scoring total is just one off Renee Kelly's 1986 school record, and ties the third-highest total in the eight-year history of the Big 12 Conference.
CLOSE HOME LOSSES HAVE TIGERS SAYING, 'WHAT IF?'
It's always too late to play "What If...", but it bears noting that "if" the Tigers would have won their five home Big 12 games against Kansas, Nebraska, #11 Colorado, #9 Texas Tech and #8 Kansas State - games Mizzou lost by an average of 3.6 points, and games in which the Tigers did not have their normal starting lineup - then the Tigers would currently be alone in third in the Big 12 with a 9-4 record. More importantly, the resultant winning percentage would have propelled Mizzou all the way to a current No. 9 in the WBCA RPI.
STRONG SCHEDULE HELPING TIGERS
Mizzou is listed at No. 42 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. 6 in the country by the WBCA.
? ? ? MU's only non-conference losses were to SMS, who leads the Missouri Valley and is just outside both polls this week, and UW-Green Bay, who leads the Horizon League. Two other Tiger opponents - Austin Peay (Ohio Valley) and Miami [Ohio] (Mid-American) - also lead their respective conferences.
RANK-AND-FILE THIS
The Tigers have lost seven games at the Hearnes Center this season. Six have come in Big 12 play, and six to teams that have been ranked at some point this season (Southwest Missouri State, Nebraska, Colorado, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas State). Five of the seven losses were by a total of 18 points. That included a span in which the Tigers faced five consecutive ranked teams at home.
? ? ? Although five straight games at home against ranked teams is a challenge, it likely won't match the difficulty faced by the 2001-02 squad. That team, which went 14-15, including 9-6 at Hearnes, had six games in an eight-game home stretch against ranked teams - all Big 12 opposition. MU's only win in that span came in its last home win over a ranked team until Jan. 28: Jan. 9, 2002, against then-No. 10 Texas Tech.
FROM ROAD WORRIERS TO ROAD WARRIORS
While Mizzou's struggles on the road have been documented, it should be noted that when the Tigers win away from Hearnes, they're winning big - particularly in the last two years. Here is the listing of MU's largest margins of victory on the road in the eight years of the Big 12:
* 31 at Iowa State 1/19/03 * 27 at Kansas 1/24/04 * 25 at Oklahoma State 2/14/04 * 25 at Oklahoma 2/15/97 * 21 at Nebraska 2/8/03 * 19 at Iowa State 2/7/04