Feb. 9, 2004
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Tip-off: 6 p.m. CST
Arena: Hearnes Center (13,611)
TV: ESPN 2. Ron Franklin, play-by-play; Jon Sundvold, analyst
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 not ranked or receiving votes in either poll.
Series: Tigers lead, 88-49
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 93-59 at MU and overall (5th season).
Colorado: Ricardo Patton (Belmont '80) 138-110 at CU and overall (9th season).
Tigers Ready for Rematch With Buffaloes
The University of Missouri basketball squad (9-10 overall, 4-5 Big 12) looks to avenge an earlier season loss at the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes (13-7, 5-4 Big 12) when it faces CU on Tuesday in Columbia. The Tigers fell to the Buffs in Boulder on Jan. 28, 83-70 and have dropped their last two contests on the road overall. With their loss on Saturday, the Tigers fell to below .500 for the first time since head coach Quin Snyder's first team in 1999-00 lost its season opener to Wisconsin at the NABC Classic in Syracuse, NY, starting the season 0-1.
However, help may be on the way with a three-game home stretch with contests against CU, UNLV and Iowa State slated over the next two weeks. Mizzou is 6-3 at home this year (20-4 over the past two years) and has won its last two contests in the Hearnes by an average of 15.0 points per game. Add to the fact that the Tigers have not lost to Colorado at home since 1997 and all signs point to a return to the good side of .500.
Tuesday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN 2 (or the "Deuce") with tip set for 6 p.m. CST. Ron Franklin will assume the play-by-play duties while former Tiger great Jon Sundvold will provide his analysis. The contest will also be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network, which is carried on over 50 stations around the state. The Voice of the Tigers Mike Kelly will work the play-by-play side while former Tiger Gary Link provides his colorful analysis.
Quick Hits
* Mizzou has played in front of capacity crowds at the Hearnes Center in each of its last five home games with five home games remaining on its schedule.
*Sunday's game with UNLV is a sellout.
* The Tigers were in seventh place in the Big 12 following Sunday's action. They definitely have a chance to make up some ground with seven Big 12 contests remaining. Their remaining conference opponents have a combined 32-25 league record as of Sunday's action.
* Five of the Tigers eight remaining contests are at home.
* Mizzou leads the all-time series with CU, 88-49. However, Mizzou has dropped its last two contests against the Buffaloes.
* Counter point: The Tigers have lost only twice to CU at the Hearnes Center since 1973:
+ Jan. 7, 1997 87-78
+ Jan. 15, 1973, 81-79 (OT)
* If senior Arthur Johnson can pull down four rebounds against Colorado, he will become only the second Tiger in school history to record at least 1,500 points (he has 1,525) and 1,000 rebounds (he has 997) in his career.
* Senior Travon Bryant has gone 9-of-15 from the field in the Tigers last two games and has averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the last two contests.
* Freshman Linas Kleiza will not be available off of the bench on Tuesday. He suffered a separated shoulder the last time the Tigers faced the Buffaloes and will be out for at least another five days. He is averaging 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
* Senior Arthur Johnson has went a combined 25-of-42 (.595) from the field over the course of the last four games.
* Freshman Thomas Gardner is averaging 16.5 ppg., during the Tigers last two home games.
* AJ currently ranks 10th on the Mizzou all-time scoring list with 1,525 points and is second on the Mizzou rebounding charts with 997 career boards. He needs just 57 boards to eclipse the Mizzou mark and also to move into second on the Big 12 career boards list.
* Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring through 19 games this season and five different Tigers have led in rebounding.
* Coach Snyder is looking for win number 94 at Mizzou on Tuesday.
A Look at the Buffaloes
The Buffaloes are coming off of an exciting 82-81 win over Kansas State in Boulder on Saturday. Guard Jason Obazuaye hit a jumper with 3.8 seconds left to move the Buffs to 13-7 on the year and 5-4 in the Big 12, putting them in fifth place heading into Monday's action. Senior big man (7'0" - 270 lbs.) continues to put up big numbers for the Buffaloes averaging a team-high 16.8 points while grabbing 8.4 boards per contest. He also has recorded a Big 12 best 52 blocks on the year. Fellow senior Michele Morandis has also been lighting it up. He is second on the squad averaging 15.9 points per game and led the Buffaloes to their win over Mizzou on Jan. 28 with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the contest. Junior Lamar Harris continues to be a sparkplug on the boards averaging 8.6 rebounds per contest while also pitching in with 8.1 points per contest. The Buffs have won three of their last four, but are only 1-3 on the road in the Big 12 and 4-4 away from the Coors event Center overall.
Last Time Out Against the Buffaloes
The Tigers have lost two straight to the Buffaloes in Boulder, but still lead the series with CU, 88-49 ... The game, which was not televised, is the only Tiger game this year to not be televised ... Senior Arthur Johnson led Mizzou with 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half. He was 9-of-12 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line ... He also pulled down six boards on the night ... Freshman Thomas Gardner started the third game of his career ... He scored 11 points (all in the first half) on 4-of-8 shooting including 3-of-6 from three ... Senior Travon Bryant reached double figures in scoring for the ninth time this season ... He scored 13 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while handing out five assists ... He canned 3-of-4 three-point attempts and also had a block on the night ... The Tiger bench outscored the CU bench on the night, 15-7 ... Freshman Linas Kleiza highlight the MU reserves performance scoring 10 points before leaving the contest late in the game with a separated right shoulder ... You could argue that the game was won at the free throw line as the Buffaloes hit 23-of-36 from the free throw line while the Tigers were just 3-of-6 from the line ... After turning the ball over nine times in the first half, Mizzou gave the ball up only three times in the second stanza for a total of 12 giveaways ... CU turned the ball over 16 times, marking the first time the Tigers have turned the ball over less than their opponent and lost (they are now 5-1 on the year when that happens.)
Facts, Figures and Other Points of Interest Following the Nebraska Game
+ Mizzou head coach Quin Snyder and Nebraska head coach Barry Collier, along with their staffs, wore sneakers with their suits at the game to promote the National Coaches vs. Cancer Awareness program, which has helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research in the past nine years.
+ Mizzou falls to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12. They are now 6-3 at home, 3-5 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court games. The Tigers have now lost three of their last four and two straight on the road
+ The loss marked the first time the Tigers have lost to Nebraska since Jan. 24, 2001 in Lincoln, a streak of six games.
+This marks the first time since head coach Quin Snyder's first season at Mizzou that one of his squads has been under .500. The 1999-2000 squad dropped their season-opener in the NABC Classic to Wisconsin to fall to 0-1 on the year marking the only other time that has happened.
+ The Tigers out-shot the Huskers, 46.5 percent to 45.8 percent from the field. Mizzou is now 7-4 when they out-shoot an opponent.
+ Mizzou also outboarded the Huskers, 28-26. The Tigers are now 8-5 when out rebounding an opponent this season.
+Senior Rickey Paulding led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points. This is the ninth time Paulding has paced the Tigers in scoring.
+ Junior Jason Conley scored 12 points and pulled down nine boards on the day. The 12-point effort is his best scoring output since his Tiger debut when he scored a career-best 19 points. He also set a career-mark with his nine rebounds and equaled a career-high with 23 minutes of work off the bench for the Tigers. He also knocked down a career-best 6-of-6 free throw attempts.
+ Senior Travon Bryant was second on the squad in scoring on the day with 15 points. He was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field including 1-of-1 from three. He also canned 4-of-4 free throw attempts on the day while grabbing four rebounds.
+ Mizzou took a season-low 43 shots from the field and equaled a season-low with 20 field goals made (46.5 percent).
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 15.5 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in five of the Tigers' 19 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 11th on the all-time Mizzou scoring charts with 1,514 points following his 16-point effort against Nebraska. He will now be chasing No. 10 Arthur Johnson, who scored 1,525 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 168 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. 2) 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 ESPN 2, 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' 19 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.
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 231 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. 231 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 7.3 boards per contest. He needs just 57 more boards to pass former Tiger great Doug Smith on the chart.
He also currently ranks 10th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,525 points after his 10-point effort against Nebraska. He will now be chasing No. 9 Kareem Rush (00-02, 1,584 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).
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 401-70 there as of its 62-53 win over Kanas 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.
Sam Fleury
University of Missouri Media Relations
Room 330B Hearnes Center
O-(573) 884-2437
C-(573) 268-8612
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