Dec. 3, 2004
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Tip-off: 1:00 p.m.
Arena: Mizzou Arena (15,061)
TV: Mizzou Sports Network (Dan McLaughlin, play-by-play: Jon Sundvold, analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst)
Rankings: Neither squad was ranked in the AP or ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll
Series: MU leads, 1-0 - Last Meeting: Nov. 29, 2004 - MU 90, OU 85 in Detroit, MI
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 103-66 at MU and overall (6th season).
Oakland Grizzlies: Greg Lampe (Bowling Green '78) 336-240 at OU and overall (21st season)
Mizzou Opens Month of December vs. the Grizzlies of Oakland
The University of Missouri men's basketball squad welcomes the Oakland Grizzlies to Columbia on Saturday for an afternoon matchup at the Mizzou Arena. Mizzou is 3-1 in its new home so far and will face OU as the second game of a five-game home stretch. In fact, the Tigers will play seven of their next eight games in the friendly confines of the Zou through the second week in January. Mizzou is coming off a gritty, 59-55 win over Murray State last Saturday that was highlighted by 10 points in the final five minutes of the game by junior Jimmy McKinney. Not to be outdone, senior Jason Conley also caught fire in the closing minutes as the duo teamed for 19 points in the last 7:35 of the contest to bring the Tigers back from a seven-point second-half deficit.
Saturday's matchup will be broadcast on the Mizzou Sports Network with Dan McLaughlin handling the play-by-play duties and former Tiger great Jon Sundvold providing analysis. And speaking of not being outdone, the dynamic duo of Mike Kelly and former Tiger great Gary Link will pair on the Tiger Radio Network's version of the game. This is the Tigers' first contest on a Saturday this season. Mizzou went 9-3 on Saturday's last season and are 42-20 on Saturday during Coach Quin Snyder's tenure at Mizzou.
Quick Hits
Head coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 104 at Mizzou ... The Tigers lead the all-time series between the two squads, 1-0 ... The Tigers will play seven of their next eight contests at home ... The lone venture from the MSA will be a visit to St. Louis on Dec. 22 for the Busch Braggin' Rights game against Illinois ... Junior Jimmy McKinney has now started 62 straight regular season games for Mizzou, dating back to Dec. 30, 2002 against Valparaiso ... nine of the Tigers' opponents were ranked or receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 ... the Tigers will play three games in the next seven games at the Mizzou Arena ... junior Kevin Young is the only Tiger to have started all six games this season for Mizzou ... he is averaging 5.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.3 minutes of action per game for the Tigers.
About the Grizzlies
Oakland enters Saturday's contest with an 0-4 mark after falling at Texas A&M, 81-63 on Wednesday night. The Golden Grizzlies have played a bear of a schedule so far with games at Xavier, at No. 5 Illinois and at home against Marquette. While Rawle Marshall has been outstanding for OU averaging 21.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest, consistency from behind the arc has been a bit of a concern for the Grizzlies as they are shooting 23.0 percent from three.
Senior Cortney Scott has also been a solid contributor, averaging 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. He leads the squad in field goal percentage at 50.0 percent (24-of-48) and is tied for the team lead in minutes played at 151 (37.8 minutes per game).
Mizzou has faced OU only one other time in school history, opening last season in Detroit with a 90-85 win. In the contest, Jimmy McKinney paced the Tigers' efforts with a career-high 21 points while going 8-of-8 from the free throw line and 6-of-12 from the field.
Series - Tigers lead, 1-0 Last Meeting: MU, 90-85 in Detroit, MI
The Last Time out Against Oakland (11-29-04)
* Sophomore Jimmy McKinney recorded a career-high 21 points (6-of-12 from the field, 8-of-8 from the free throw line) while pulling down three rebounds and handing out five assists in 38 minutes.
* The Tigers dominated the boards, 44-31 including 12 from Linas Kleiza and 11 from Arthur Johnson.
* Mizzou had five players in double figures for the first time since Dec. 14, 2002 against Memphis in Columbia.
* Freshmen Linas Kleiza (16 minutes), Spencer Laurie (five minutes) and Thomas Gardner (19 minutes) made their first appearances as Tigers.
* Senior Arthur Johnson also became only the fourth player in the history of the Big 12 to record 200 career blocked shots. His three blocks on Saturday were a game and season high.
A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. Murray State
The Tigers made a great comeback against the Racers on the strength of 10 second half points from Jimmy McKinney and a nine points from Jason Conley in the final stanza of the game to take a 59-55 win. The win over Murray State put the Tigers at 3-1 at home this season. Below are a couple other notes of note from the contest.
Missouri Team Notes after the Murray State Game
· Senior guard Jason Conley broke a 1:34 scoring drought to put the first points of the game on the board.
· The Tigers scored 11 unanswered points early in the first half, including back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Marshall Brown and sophomore Thomas Gardner. It was Brown's first career start and first three-pointer of his MU career.
· Recording a layup in the paint with 3:01 left on the clock, junior Kevin Young ended 7:53 of action without a Tiger basket. The basket was the first since Linas Kleiza scored with 10:54 on the clock.
· The Racers of Murray State closed in on the Tigers through 9:33 of play, racking up 21 points with four points coming off of six MU turnovers.
· Kleiza helped keep Missouri on top of Murray State entering halftime with his final jump shot at the buzzer. Kleiza totaled seven points coming off the bench, but had foul trouble in the first half and only saw eight minutes of action.
Notes from the Second Half
· Mizzou trailed for the first time of the game with 13:35 left in the game, but only for 43 seconds as Kleiza tied things up with a two-pointer.
· The Tigers' largest deficit was seven points at 7:53 left in the second half with MSU leading 46-39.
· MU regained the lead on a three-pointer by junior Jimmy McKinney, making it 50-48 at the 4:57 mark in the second half. Senior Jason Conley also caught fire in the closing minutes as the duo teamed for 19 points in the last 7:35 of the contest to bring the Tigers back from a seven-point second-half deficit.
· With 59 points, it was Missouri's lowest scoring game in the new Mizzou Arena.
· Mizzou now moves to 3-3 on the season, and 3-1 at Mizzou Arena
Sometimes You Eat the Bear, and Sometimes the Bear Eats You
While we are not sure if this is relevant or not, two of the Tigers next three opponents have Grizzly Bears as mascots. In fact, the Tigers have faced or will face four opponents this season that either have Bears or Grizzlies as their mascots. Here is a look at the mascot animals the Tigers feature on their schedule this season.
Bears (or Grizzlies): 4
Birds: 3 (Blue Jays, Jayhawks and Eagles)
Cats: 3 (Cougars, Wildcats {2})
Razorbacks: 1
Bulldogs: 1
Buffaloes: 1
Longhorns: 1
Going Back for Seconds
So far this young season, the Tigers have definitely played their best basketball in the second half of games. In fact, Mizzou has been outscored 201-177 in the first stanza of contests by its opponents, but has then flipped the script on them in the second half, scoring 217 points while holding the opposition to 194 points.
Living Large With Lenny
Linas Kleiza (otherwise known as Lenny to his teammates) has recovered fully from a shoulder separation he experience half way through last season and it looks as though he will be shouldering a major part of the Tiger offense this season. The All-Big 12 Honorable mention recipient has been amazing offensively so far this season and continues to improve on defense.
While Kleiza has struggled a little in the last two contests, he still leads the Tigers efforts with 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest in the first six contests of the season. He is shooting 36.9 percent from the field so far and has handed out 14 assists. Kleiza just missed a double-double against Murray State when he scored nine points and recorded a team-high seven boards.
Kleiza flirted once again with the fifth double-double of his career against Houston when he went for nine points and nine boards. The Kaunas, Lithuania, native had his best night as a Tiger in the scoring column against Davidson when he scored 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting including four three pointers.
Kleiza recorded the fourth double-double of his career against Houston, scoring 19 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. He just missed another double-double in the season opener with 17 points and nine rebounds against Brown..
Houston ... They Had A Problem
After shooting only 34.8 percent from the field in the opening round of the Guardians' Classic against Brown, the Tigers' sharpshooters came out in full force on Tuesday against Houston. Mizzou shot a rather warm 50.0 percent from the field in the contest including 12-of-23 from three. The 12 three-point field goals was the Tigers best three-point field goal production since last season when they knocked down 13 bombs in the route of UNLV in February.
Tigers Deliver in Second Half Against Brown
In UPS' latest advertising campaign, they pose the question "What can brown do for you?" We will tell you exactly what Brown did for the Tigers ... and no postage is necessary. What the Bears did for the Tigers was give them their first look at an extended zone while also mounting a discipline, poised attack to climb within one point at 33-32 at halftime.
However, after allowing Brown to shoot over 50 percent in the first half, the Tigers held BU to only 30 percent field goal shooting in the second stanza. The Tigers were extremely active in the passing lanes, forcing the Bears into 22 turnovers (14 of which came in the first half) and scored 23 points off of those turnovers.
The Tiger offense also kicked into gear in the second half with Thomas Gardner scoring 13 of his 19 points in the contest. Gardner was 5-of-8 in the stanza and also pulled down eight boards on his way to recording a career-high 12 rebounds on the night.
Where Were You When ...
While we are not sure who ordered the first batch of nachos from the concession stand or who was the first to christen the men's room ... we do have a list of "firsts" that took place against Central Missouri State on Nov. 4 at the Mizzou.
* The first point and first free throw in Mizzou Arena history came at 19:27 of the first half when sophomore forward Linas Kleiza knocked down his first shot from the charity stripe.
* The first field goal, a two-point shot, in Mizzou Arena history came at 18:25 of the first half, courtesy of senior guard Jason Conley.
* The first dunk in Mizzou Arena history came at 17:24 in the first half, when sophomore forward Linas Kleiza slashed through the lane and raised for a two-handed flush.
* The first points of freshman forward Marshall Brown's career came at 15:36 of the first half when he converted a layup after being fouled. The first free throw of his career came moments later as he completed the three-point play.
* The first opponent point in Mizzou Arena history came at 16:40 of the first half, when senior forward Mike Suggs sank the second of two free throws. It was also the first points of Suggs' Mules career.
* The first opponent field goal in Mizzou Arena history came 13:23 of the first half, by junior forward Dwight Williams.
A Peek at the Mizzou Arena
On September 21, 2002, a new and exciting phase for Missouri Basketball began with the groundbreaking for a brand new, $75 million state-of-the-art facility. The new arena is an imposing place to play for opposing teams and provides unbelievable options for the Tigers when it comes to player development. In addition to more seating, with a capacity of 15,061, there are a host of other exciting additions:
Ø 26 Luxury Suites
Ø State of the art training room
Ø Expanded locker room facilities complete with film room and player lounge
Ø Practice gym
Ø Basketball office complex
Ø Box office and team store
Ø Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame
Mizzou Arena houses all the up-to-date technologies desired in a modern sports facility. Both men's and women's basketball programs have video game film viewing theaters; all coaches offices and meeting rooms have cable TV hook-ups and both private (suites, clubs) and public (concession stands, retail store) areas throughout the arena have direct-game and cable televisions in place. Adjacent to the west side truck dock are dedicated and secured television production and satellite truck parking areas with permanent patch-in panels. The audio-video room within the arena is also linked to Missouri's two major sports venues - the Hearnes Center and Memorial Football Stadium. The arena contains a center-hung scoreboard-video board as well as 30" high video ribbon board located above the luxury suites where the lower and upper seating bowl transition occurs.
New Editions
No, I am not going to break into a rendition of "Cool it Now" or "Candy Girl" (as much as you all would enjoy that) but Mizzou has two members of its staff that are beginning new editions of their careers. And like the group "New Edition," you might say that the newest members of the Tiger coaching family are old school.
Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins joined the Tigers in July after six years as head coach at Texas A&M and a two year stint as head coach at UNC-Charlotte. Watkins has brought a wealth of experience and energy to the Tiger bench. The other new face on the Tiger bench is assistant coach Jeff Meyer, who most recently was an assistant at Butler University for three years. Meyer brings 25 years of coaching experience to Mizzou including 16 years as a head coach at Liberty University. He also joined the Tiger bench in July.
Coach Quin Snyder
6th Year at MU
103-66
In his sixth year at the helm of the Mizzou basketball program is Quin Snyder. Missouri's 15th head coach, Snyder has built a program that has joined the upper echelon of college basketball. With a focus on developing players academically, physically, skillfully and socially, Snyder's squads have enjoyed trips to the post season in each of the last five seasons including four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou has averaged exactly 20.0 wins per contest during Snyder's five-year tenure at Mizzou. The intense competitor the Tiger players call "Coach Q" won his 100th career game last season when Mizzou defeated Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament. He became the fourth coach in Mizzou school history to reach the 100-win plateau and Snyder will have a great opportunity to add to that total with a contract that will keep him as a fixture on the Tiger bench through 2007-08.
Heading into 2004-05, Mizzou returns several of its top players from a year ago including senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Thomas Gardner and Linas Kleiza. Snyder and his staff have also gathered a sixth straight Top 25 recruiting class to augment the already talented roster. Mizzou has moved to a new state-of-the-art home this season, the Mizzou Arena, which holds around 15,000 rowdy Missouri fans and gives the Tigers an unbelievable opportunity to build on the foundation of success that has been established.
Given the success and excitement Snyder's squads have generated in his five years at the helm, it is not surprising that Tiger fans are looking for big things from Mizzou in 2004-05. In 2003-04, Snyder led the Tigers to wins over Top 20 teams such as Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. He also saw his second recruiting class of Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant and Josh Kroenke complete outstanding careers at Mizzou. Johnson and Paulding both jumped into the Top 10 on the Tiger scoring charts and Johnson finished his career as the Tigers' all-time leader in blocked shots and rebounds. That outstanding class also finished their career having played in the most NCAA Tournament contests of any class in school history with eight.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Snyder, 37, attended Mercer Island High School in the state of Washington. A two-time state player of the year, Snyder led the team to the 1985 state championship. During this time, Mercer Island achieved a No. 1 ranking in USA Today's high school polls. Snyder was named a McDonald's All-America player, being the first ever chosen from the state of Washington.
Snyder and his wife, the former Helen Redwine, a native of Charlotte, N.C, have one son, Owen Redwine Snyder, born on December 25, 2002.