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March 15, 2004
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Tigers Face Michigan in First Round of National Invitation Tournament
The University of Missouri Men's Basketball squad (16-13 overall, 9-7 Big 12) will face the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday night in the first round of the 40-team National Invitation Tournament on ESPN. Tip is set for 9 p.m. EST. The Tigers have won seven of their last 10 contests and will face their fourth opponent from the Big 10 this season when the face off with the Wolverines (Illinois, Iowa and Indiana are the other three).
This will be sixth time the Tigers have played in the NIT in school history and the fifth meeting all-time between Michigan and Missouri with the Wolverines holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. However, the two squads have not faced each other since 1976. The Tigers have qualified for post-season play in each of the last seven years and will be competing in NIT for the first time since 1998. Ifthe Tigers advance, they will face the winner of the Oklahoma vs. LSU matchup. TheSooners take on LSU, Wednesday, (March 17) at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Second round games will be played from Mar. 20-23 and dates, times and sites will be announced following the completion of the first round.
ESPN's Ron Franklin and Larry Conley will be on the call for the television broadcast and Mike Kelly and Gary Link will call the action on the Tiger Radio Network.
Plenty of Interesting Sidebars in This One
Tuesday night's contest will pit two high-quality teams anxious to continue their seasons. The Tigers check in with a 16-13 mark overall having played one of the toughest schedules in the country this season while the Wolverines are 18-11 overall including 13-3 at home.
There are also several interesting connections and storylines in this matchup. For instance:
+ Tiger seniors Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding will get one last chance to play in their home state of Michigan. Both are from Detroit, which is just 45 minutes away from Ann Arbor.
+ Tiger Head Coach Quin Snyder and Wolverine Head Coach Tommy Amaker were teammates at Duke during the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons. Amaker was a junior and senior during Snyder's freshman and sophomore years.
+ Michigan sophomore guard Daniel Horton is the older brother of Tiger recruit Jason Horton, who will be on the Mizzou squad next season and play some point guard.
+ If both the Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners advance to face eachother in the second round of the NIT, it will mark the fifth straight year MU and OU will have faced each other in the post season (NCAA, NIT or Big 12 Tournament).
Quick Hits
* The Tigers have now won seven of their last 10 games.
* Michigan leads the series between the two schools, 3-1.
* The Tigers finished the regular season tied for fifth place in the Big 12.
* This is Mizzou's 6th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. The Tigers have registered a 1-5 mark in the event.
* The selection to the NIT ends a five year run of NCAA Tournament appearances by the Tigers.
* Michigan will be Mizzou's fourth opponent from the Big 10 this season. The Tigers have gone 2-1 against the Big 10 with wins at Indiana (63-68) and at home over Iowa (76-56) while dropping a contest with Illinois (71-70) in St. Louis.
* Mizzou head coach Quin Snyder is 7-8 in his five years as head coach against Big 10 schools. He has never faced Michigan.
* Mizzou is 1-0 in the state of Michigan this season. The Tigers dropped Oakland on Nov. 29, 90-85 in their season opener in Detroit.
* Senior Arthur Johnson leads Mizzou in scoring and rebounding averaging 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He has averaged 20.8 points per game over the past 10 games and has shot 56.6 percent from the field during that span.
* Senior Arthur Johnson's career-high 37-point effort against Kansas in the Tigers' final home game was the most points scored by a Big 12 player this season.
* Five Tigers have averaged 10.2 points per game or better over the course of the last ten games, seven of which have been wins.
* Mizzou has gone 10-4 at home, 1-3 in neutral court battles and 5-6 on the road (which eclipses their road mark of 3-7 last season). Mizzou has gone 23-5 over the past two years in the Hearnes Center.
* Senior Arthur Johnson has gone a combined 82-of-145 (.566) from the field over the course of the last ten games. He is also averaging 20.8 points and 7.6 rebounds during that stretch.
* AJ currently ranks 5th on the Mizzou all-time scoring list with 1,733 points. He is the only player in school history to record at least 1,700 career points, 1000 career rebounds and 200 career blocks.
Mizzou's NIT History
5 NIT Appearances * 1-5 NIT Mark Year Rd. Site Opp. W/L Score 1972 1st New York, N.Y. St. John's L 82-81 (ot) 1973 1st New York, N.Y. Massachusetts L 78-71 1985 1st Columbia, Mo. St. Joseph's L 68-67 1996 1st Columbia, Mo. Murray State W 89-85 2nd Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama L 72-49 1998 1st Columbia, Mo. Ala.-Birm. L 93-86
A Look at the Wolverines
Michigan will be making its seventh all-time appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. Under head coach Tommy Amaker, the Wolverines posted an 18-11 mark overall and an 8-8 record in the Big 10 including five wins in their last eight contests of the year. They have been particularly salty at Crisler Arena, putting together a 13-3 mark at home including five of their last six.
Sophomore Lester Abram leads the Michigan scoring attack, scoring 13.4 points per contest. He is one of five Wolverines averaging better than 8.0 points per contest, is one of nine Michigan players that plays more than 13.5 minutes per game and is one of five players to average between 4.1 and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
Daniel Horton, who is the older brother of Mizzou recruit Jason Horton out of Cedar Hill, Texas, is the Wolverines biggest three-point shooting threat, having knocked down a team-best 55 triples. Head coach Tommy Amaker is in his third year at Michigan. The 18-11 mark Michigan put up this season is its best so far under Amaker.
Tiger Accolades Continue To Accumulate
Several Tigers have received recognition for their efforts during the 2003-04 season both on and off the court. Below is a quick list of those accolades:
All-Big 12 Second Team-Associated Press
Big 12 All-Defensive Team
All-Big 12 Second Team-Associated Press
Finalist for CLASS Award (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School)
Big 12 All-Reserve Team
Big 12 All-Newcomer Team
Academic All-Big 12 First Team
2003-04 Freshman All-America Team by Rivals.com
Board Out of His Mind
Tiger senior Arthur Johnson has grabbed more boards than a carpenter during his four year career at Mizzou. The powerful native of Detroit, Mich., became Mizzou's all-time leading rebounder on Mar. 3, with his last of eight boards on the night, to go along with 24 points. Johnson, who is already Mizzou's all-time leading shot blocker with 245 career blocks, now has 1,073 career rebounds, surpassing former Tiger great Doug Smith's mark of 1,053. He is averaging 7.4 boards per contest this season and is on pace to lead Mizzou in total rebounds for the fourth straight year.
With his eight rebound effort, he also moved into second on the Big 12 all-time charts. He is fighting tooth and nail with Texas' James Thomas, who has 1,057 career boards after Saturday's action, in hopes that he can reach former Kansas Jayhawk Nick Collison, who pulled down 1,143 career boards. Here is a look at the Big 12 all-time rebound leaders:
1. Nick Collison, KU (1999-03) 1,143
2. Arthur Johnson, MU (2000-present) 1,073
3. James Thomas, UT (2000-present) 1,070
4. Stephane Pelle, CU (1999-03) 1,053
5. Chris Mihm, UT (1998-00) 945
A Look at the Last 10
When the Tigers' dropped to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12 after losing at Nebraska, they were in desperate need of a spark. A return home to the Hearnes Center to face Colorado on Feb. 10, ignited a six game winning streak that has since come to an end. Despite the end of the streak, the improvements have been evident in several categories over the past eight games. For instance:
First 19 games Last 10 Games Record 9-10 7-3 FG% .434 (474-1093) .470 (280-596) 3-pt FG % .321 (117-365) .405 (85-210) FT% .702 (301-429 .729 (151-207) Arthur Johnson PPG 13.5 20.8 Arthur Johnson RPG 7.3 7.6 Jason Conley PPG 3.4 13.3 Jason Conley 3-pt FG % .185 (5-27) .411 (23-56) Rickey Paulding 3-pt FG% .305 (32-105) .426 (20-47)
Reading Up on the Rick
Senior Preseason All-American Rickey Paulding has been one of the fiercest competitors in the Big 12 Conference throughout his illustrious career.
Paulding is second in scoring on the Tiger squad, averaging 15.3 points per contest while breaking the 20-point barrier in seven of the Tigers' 29 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 1,663 points following his nine-point effort against Kansas. He will now be chasing No. 8 Clarence Gilbert (1999-02, 1,685 points).
Rick is now alone in fifth on the Mizzou all-time three point field goals made list with 187 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 Mon., Mar. 8's 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 are receiving votes.
Like the TNT Network, We Know Drama
Sorry to the ESPN family, 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. Eleven of the Tigers' 29 games have been decided by five points or less and four of them have went to overtime. The Tigers are 6-5 in games decided by five points or less this season.
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 245 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 Leaders
1. 264 Chris Mihm, UT-1998-00
2. 245 Arthur Johnson, MU, 2000-present
3. 243 Nick Collison, KU, 1999-03
4. 242 Eric Chenowith, KU, 1997-01
5. 202 Venson Hamilton, NU, 1997-99
He also currently ranks 6th on the all-time scoring charts with 1,733 points after his 24-point outburst against Kansas last Friday. He is now be chasing No. 4 Steve Stipanovich, 1980-83, 1,836 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 Leaders
1. 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
Thanks for the Memories ... Here's to Many More
The Tigers played their final game in the Hearnes Center on Sunday and will be moving into a state-of-the art arena starting in October of 2004. Mizzou called Hearnes home for 32 years now and registered a mark of 405-72 there as of its two point loss at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks. 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.