Feb. 26, 2004
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Tip-off: 12:30 p.m. CST
Arena: Bramlage Coliseum (13,500)
TV: ESPN+. Fred White, play-by-play. Paul Splittorf, analyst.
Radio: Tiger Radio Network. Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst
Rankings: Missouri was not ranked or receiving votes in either poll. Kansas State was not ranked or receiving votes in either poll.
Series: MU leads, 111-07 Last Meeting - MU, 62-53 on Jan. 31, 2004 in Columbia.
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 98-59 at MU and overall (5th season).
KSU: Jim Woolridge (Louisiana Tech '77) 49-63 at KSU (4th season) and 278-210 overall (17th season).
Tigers In Search of Sixth Straight Win on Saturday
Coming off of what was one of its biggest wins of the season to date, the University of Missouri basketball squad (14-10 overall, 8-5 Big 12) will face a hungry Kansas State squad (12-12, 4-9 Big 12) on Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas. The Tigers were able to take down their second top 10 opponent of the season on Tuesday when they toppled No. 6 Oklahoma State, 93-92. The win gave Mizzou its fifth straight triumph dating back to Feb. 10, a 77-65 win over Colorado in Columbia.
The senior starters on the Tiger squad were huge on Tuesday against the Cowboys and have really turned it up a notch down the stretch. Rickey Paulding was "off the hook," as the kids say, against OSU. He scored a season-high 31 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field including a sensational 5-of-6 from three. He was money from the free throw line as well, knocking down 8-of-10 free throws and has knocked down 17 of his last 21 free throw attempts over the course of the Tigers' last two contests.
Tiger big men Arthur Johnson and Travon Bryant also loomed large in the win. AJ was clutch throughout the game, hitting 10-of-23 shots and 9-of-14 free throws and swatting five OSU shots. Nine of Arthur's 29 points came in the two extra sessions and he also recorded the 43rd double-double of his career with 13 rebounds. Bryant continued his extremely consistent play, scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting while pulling down eight boards and blocked three shots.
Saturday's contest, which will be broadcast on ESPN+ (KMIZ in Columbia) will tip at 12:47 p.m. CST with Fred White and Paul Splittorf calling the action. Tiger fans can also catch all the action on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and Gary Link breaking down the contest.
Quick Hits
* The Tigers are looking to win six straight games for the first time since beginning the 2002-03 season at 6-0.
* Five different Tigers have led Mizzou in scoring in each game of its five-game winning streak.
* Mizzou is 4-1 against Big 12 South schools and 4-4 against Big 12 North schools so far this season.
* Two of the Tigers three remaining regular season contests are on the road. Two of the three games are against teams ranked in the Top 25.
* Mizzou leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 111-107 and has won eight of the last nine in the series including 20 in a row at home.
* The Tigers check in at No. 37 on the RPI charts and have played the sixth toughest schedule in the country as of Thursday's CollegeRPI.com report.
* The Tigers are in a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 with Colorado.
* The Tigers finish the regular season 2-O - klahoma. The Tigers beat then No. 10 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. in overtime, 79-75 and defeated No. 6 Oklahoma State in double overtime, 93-92. This marks the first time the Tigers have swept the season series with OU and OSU since the inception of the Big 12.
* The Tigers are 10-3 at home and 4-5 on the road (which eclipses their road mark of 3-7 last season) this season and 23-4 over the past two years in the Hearnes Center.
* Freshman Thomas Gardner paced the Tiger scoring attack with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field including 3-of-6 from three the last time the Tigers faced off with KSU on Jan. 31. He also pulled down a career-best six rebounds on the night in the fourth start of his career.
* Senior Travon Bryant has gone 31-of-50 (.620) from the field in the Tigers last seven games while fellow senior Arthur Johnson has gone a combined 49-of-96 (.510) from the field over the course of the last seven games.
* AJ currently ranks 8th on the Mizzou all-time scoring list with 1,618 points. He is second on the Mizzou rebounding charts with 1,039 career boards and ranks fourth on the Big 12 career list.
* Arthur needs just 15 boards to eclipse the Mizzou mark and also to move into second on the Big 12 career boards list. He is the only player in school history to record at least 1,600 career points, 1000 career rebounds and 200 career blocks.
* Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring through 24 games this season and five different Tigers have led in rebounding.
* Coach Snyder is looking for win number 99 at Mizzou on Saturday.
* Snyder is 8-1 against Kansas State in his five years as head coach at Mizzou.
A Look at the Wildcats
Kansas State enters Saturday's contest having lost four of its last six contests, including their latest game at Iowa State, 75-69. While they have had their struggles on the road (1-9 this season), the Wildcats have been extremely tough at Bramlage, registering a 11-3 mark at home. Junior Jeremiah Massey has been a strong force for KSU, averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. He also paces the Wildcats in blocks with 16 rejections. Senior Tim Ellis has also been outstanding for Kansas State, averaging 14.1 points and just over two assists per game. Ten Wildcats are averaging better than 8.4 minutes per game this season. Head coach Jim Wooldridge is in his fourth season at KSU and has recorded a 278-210 career mark in 17 years as a head coach.
Six Would Be Nice, eh?
Mizzou is looking to win six straight games for the first time since beginning of last season. During their current six-game winning streak, the Tigers have put up some pretty dominant numbers. For instance:
+ The Tigers have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 8.2 rebounds per game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 12.6 points per game.
+ Fast starts have been key for Mizzou as the Tigers have outscored their last three
opponents, 217-161 in the first half.
+ Mizzou has shot 47.7 percent from the field including 42.9 percent from three.
+ Five Tigers have averaged 9.4 points or better over the past four games including Arthur Johnson (18.6 ppg.), Jason Conley (15.0 ppg.), Rickey Paulding (17.4 ppg.), Jimmy McKinney (9.4) and Travon Bryant (11.4 ppg.)
+ The Tigers have forced 84 turnovers and nabbed 45 steals.
Several Tigers have kicked it in the keester over the course of the past five games. Senior Arthur Johnson has averaged a team best 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while knocking down 51.4 percent of his shots. He has also blocked nine shots. Rickey Paulding has also been amazing, scoring 17.4 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from three (12-of-24).
Roomates Jason Conley and Travon Bryant continue to make their presence felt. Conley has canned 14 threes over the course of the past five games and has shot 56.9 percent from the field. Bryant has been the Tigers leading field goal percentage guy all year and the last five games have been no exception. He has hit 62.9 of his shots and has been en fuego from the free throw line, hitting 11-of-13 from the stripe.
And lets not leave out freshman Thomas Gardner and sophomore Jimmy McKinney. Both have led the Tigers in scoring at least once this season and have combined to average 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest over the past five games. McKinney has also averaged just over four assists.
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the OSU Game
* TEAM RECORDS - The Tigers move to 14-10 and 8-5 in the Big 12, the Tigers have won five in-a-row and are fourth in the Big 12 Standings ... the Cowboys fall to 21-3, 11-2 in the Big 12, breaking an eleven game win streak
* OVERTIME! - The last game to go overtime for the Tigers was January 20, 2004, when the Tigers took Texas to overtime in a 75-69 loss
* DOUBLE OVERTIME!! - This is the first Missouri game to have multiple overtimes since the four overtime game with #16 Iowa State in the Hearnes Center, January 13, 2001 ... the Tigers won that game 112-109 ... overall this is the Tigers' 18th game with multiple overtimes ... the Tigers are also 9-0 at home when going more than one overtime
* FYI - Can you believe that this is the fourth double-overtime game in the MU-OSU series, Missouri holds the advantage in those games, 3-1 ... against no other team have the Tigers had so many multiple overtime games ... two have occurred at the Big 8 tournament ... on February 26, 1984, the Tigers won 65-64 in the Hearnes Center over the Cowboys in double-overtime
* STAT TRACK - Free-Throws in the two-overtimes OSU - 8-12 (67%), MU - 9-13 (69.2%) ... more free-throws were shot in the two overtimes than the two regulation halves combined
* FOUL OUTS - OSU's Terrence Crawford with 30.3 seconds remaining in double-overtime
* SIMILAR DATES/SIMILAR OCCURRENCES - On February 26, 2003, the unranked Tigers defeated #3 Oklahoma 67-52 ... the last time Missouri's student section flooded the floor
* COACH Q - Tiger Coach Quin Snyder moves to a 98-59 all-time record at Missouri, with three regular season games remaining, Coach Q could pass the 100 win mark in only his fifth season
* HALF-AND-HALF - The Tigers move to 11-2 this season when they lead at halftime ... Snyder is 73-15 in his career when leading at the half
INDIVIDUAL FEATS
* Rickey Paulding scored 31 points, a season high
* Arthur Johnson scored a season-high 29 points; his previous high was 23 vs. UNLV
* AJ also had a season-high in rebounds with 13
* AJ now has 43 career double-doubles, one shy of Drew Gooden (Kansas) on the all-time Big 12 list
* AJ with five blocks, moves to 240 career blocks
* AJ moves into eighth all-time on the Missouri scoring list, with 1618, passing Jon Sunvold (80-83, 1597pts.)
* Paulding moves into ninth all-time with 1,601, passing Kareem Rush (00-02) and Sunvold
* Paulding also passed Brian Grawer to third all-time in Missouri history with 503 three-point field goal attempts
Lovin' Life at the Line
After finishing eighth in the Big 12 in free throw shooting last year and shooting 66.2 percent from the line, the Tigers have made a concerted effort to become more efficient at the charity stripe. That effort has paid off in a major way as the Tigers are shooting a much improved 71.9 percent as a team, which ranks third in the Big 12.
Senior Rickey Paulding provided the latest example of the Tigers' improved accuracy from the free throw line against Baylor, hitting 9-of-11 free throw attempts on the day. He is shooting 76.9 percent from the line on the year. Freshman Thomas Gardner has also been money from the free throw line, hitting at a 96 percent clip (23-of-24). Since going 1-of-2 in the Tigers season opener against Oakland, Gardner has knocked down 23 straight. In fact, five Tigers are shooting better than 75.0 percent from the free throw line this season.
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 15.9 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in seven of the Tigers' 24 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 is in 9th on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,601 points following his 31-point effort against Oklahoma State. He will now be chasing No. 8 Arthur Johnson, who has scored 1,618 points.
Rick is now alone in sixth on the Mizzou all-time three point field goals made list with 181 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 last Monday's (Feb. 15) Associated Press Poll, nine (Oklahoma, Kansas, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State, Memphis and Illinois) of the Tigers 2003-04 opponents are ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes.
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. Ten of the Tigers' 24 games have been decided by five points or less and four of them have went to overtime. The Tigers are 6-4 in games decided by five points or less this season.
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.
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 240 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.
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. 240 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 first part of March. Johnson is averaging 7.5 boards per contest. He needs just 15 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.
He also currently ranks 8th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,618 points after his 29-point effort against Oklahoma state. He will now be chasing No. 7 Clarence Gilbert (99-02, 1,685 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 29-point, 13-rebound effort against Oklahoma State, he recorded his 43rd career double-double, putting him 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. 43 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).
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 405-70 there as of its win over Oklahoma State. 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.