Feb. 11, 2005
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Tip-off: 12:30 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena (15,061) 1st season
TV: ABC Sports (Dave O'Brien, play-by-play: Jason Williams, analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou was not ranked in either poll. Oklahoma was No. 16 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
Series: OU leads, 109-90 : Last Meeting: MU, 79-75 on Jan. 17, 2004 in Norman, OK
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 110-76 at MU and overall (6th season).
OU: Kelvin Sampson (Pembroke St. '78) 251-97 at OU (11th season) and 427-245 overall (22nd season)
Tigers Return Home for Matchup with Sooners on Saturday
The University of Missouri men's basketball squad (10-13, 2-7 Big 12) returns to Big 12 Conference action on Saturday to take on the No. 16/18 Oklahoma Sooners in an afternoon matchup. The Tigers wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule on Wednesday night when they lost a close contest to UNLV in Las Vegas, 74-71. The Tigers were 8-6 against non-Big 12 teams during the regular season.
In the contest with the Rebels, sophomores Linas Kleiza (24 points, eight rebounds) and Thomas Gardner (23 points, four three pointers) became the first Tigers to both surpass the 20-point barrier in the same game since former Tigers Rickey Paulding (31 points) and Arthur Johnson (29 points) did so against Oklahoma State last year.
The contest will be Mizzou's first appearance on ABC this season and will tip at 12:30 pm CST. Dave O'Brien will be providing the play-by-play while former Duke All-American Jason Williams will be the analyst. The Tiger Radio Network's 60 affiliates around the state of Missouri will also be carrying the game with the `Voice of the Tigers' Mike Kelly offering the play-by-play and former Tiger great Gary Link providing the analysis.
On the year, the Tigers are 6-0 in day games (or games that have started earlier than 6 p.m.), 4-3 on Saturdays and 1-3 on the season against ranked teams. Also of note is the fact that last year's OU-MU game was broadcast on ABC, with the Tigers' prevailing in overtime.
Quick Hits
The Sooners hold a 109-90 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools ... The Tigers last four contests with OU have been decided by an average of 4.3 points per contest ... Mizzou is 10-4 at home, 0-3 in neutral court contests and 0-6 on the road ... The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena after a three-game road swing that spanned over two weeks ... Mizzou is 9-3 when leading at halftime and 1-10 when trailing at the break ... Mizzou is 2-8 vs. Oklahoma under Head Coach Quin Snyder ... However, they have won two of their last three contests with the Sooners ...The Tigers won the last meeting between the two schools on Jan. 17, 2004 in Norman, 79-75 in overtime ... The win was Mizzou's first victory in Norman since 1994 ... Sophomore Linas Kleiza scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the contest as Mizzou held off the Sooners in the win ... Mizzou is 57-31 against the Sooners in Columbia including a 67-52 win over the then No. 3-ranked Sooners on Feb. 26, 2003 ... Freshman Jason Horton led Mizzou in scoring for the first time this season against Texas A&M ... He scored 17 points and knocked down a career-best 5-of-6 three-point field goals against the Aggies ... Mizzou plays three of its next four at home ... Head Coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 111 at Mizzou ... Junior Jimmy McKinney has now started 79 straight regular season games for Mizzou, dating back to Dec. 30, 2002 against Valparaiso ... Mizzou has lost five straight for the first time since the 1995-96 season and has not lost six straight since 1992-93 ... ABC's Jason Williams, who will be the analyst for Saturday's game, was recruited to Duke by Mizzou Head Coach Quin Snyder, who was an Administrative Assistant Coach and then the Associate Head Coach at Duke from 1993-1999 ... the last time Williams was associated with a game involving Mizzou, he was scoring 31 points and dropping nine assists on the Tigers for Duke in the second round of 2001 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
About the Sooners
Oklahoma enters Saturday's contest with an 17-5 record overall and are 6-3 in the Big 12 conference, putting them alone in fourth place in the league. After starting the season at 16-2, the Sooners have dropped three of their last four including a 79-67 setback at the hands of Oklahoma State on ESPN's Big Monday earlier this week.
OU has received outstanding contributions from junior college transfer Taj Gray this season. He has earned Phillips 66 Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Honors four times and leads the Sooners in both scoring (15.6 ppg.) and rebounding (8.9 rpg.)
Senior Kevin Bookout also continues to be one of the top interior players in the league. He is shooting a blazing 62.6 percent from the field which leads the Big 12 by five percent and is also in the top 10 in the conference in rebounding at 6.9 rebounds per game.
Four Sooners average in double figures in scoring for Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, who is in his 11th season at OU and has amassed an impressive mark of 251-97 during his time OU.
Series - OU leads 109-90- Last Meeting: MU, 79-75 on Jan. 17, 2004 in Norman, OK
A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. UNLV
Sophomores' Linas Kleiza ad Thomas Gardner knocked in a combined 57 of the Tigers' 71 points against UNLV. Below are a couple other notes from the contest ...
Missouri Team Notes after the Texas A&M Game
- The Tigers fall to 10-13 overall and are 10-4 at home, 0-6 on the road and 0-3 in neutral court contests on the season.
- The Tigers used their seventh different starting line up of the season on Wednesday starting freshmen Jason Horton and Marshall Brown, sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner and junior Jimmy McKinney.
- After trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, the Tigers tied the contest at 67-67 with 1:15 left in the contest, only to lose, 74-71.
- The Tigers equaled a season low with only seven turnovers on the night including only two turnovers in the second half.
- The game at UNLV concludes a three-game road swing and also was the Tigers final regular season non-conference contest. They finished the regular season with an 8-6 record in non-conference games.
- The Tigers still lead the all-time series with the Runnin' Rebels, 3-2.
- Head Coach Quin Snyder is now 110-76 during his six years at Mizzou.
- The Tigers led the contest at halftime, 37-31. They have led each of their last three contests at the break but have dropped all three. Prior to the three-game roadie, Mizzou had been 9-0 when leading at half on the year.
- Mizzou has now lost five straight games (its longest streak every under head coach Quin Snyder). They have also dropped eight of their last nine games.
- The Tigers now return home for three of their next four contests. They welcome Oklahoma to Mizzou Arena for a 12:30 p.m., tip that will be broadcast regionally on ABC Sports.
Missouri Player Notes
- Sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner scored 24 and 23 points, respectively. This marks the first time this season that two Tigers have exceeded the 20-point barrier in the same contest. In fact, the last time that occurred was against No. 6 Oklahoma State on Feb. 6, 2004 in Columbia when Rickey Paulding scored a game-high 31 and Arthur Johnson registered 29 on the night.
- With his 24 points and eight boards, sophomore Linas Kleiza led Mizzou in both scoring and rebounding for the seventh time this season. He has recorded eight or more boards 10 times this season.
- Kleiza was 9-of-17 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. The nine field goals he made equals a career-best he set against Montana earlier this season
- Sophomore Thomas Gardner's 23 points was a career-high, eclipsing his previous career mark of 20 points he set against UNLV last season in Columbia.
- Sophomore Thomas Gardner's eight field goals equals a career-best and his 20-field goal attempts was a career-high.
A Tale of Two Halves
Mizzou has gotten off to great starts in each of the last three games, grabbing leads after the first 20 minutes in all three contests. They outscored Kansas, Texas A&M and UNLV by a combined total of 107-93 and have shot 48.2 percent (41-of-85) in the opening stanzas.
However, Mizzou has struggled mightily in the second half of each contest and has been outscored by a combined total of 144-87 while allowing the Jayhawks, Aggies and Rebels to shoot a combined 59.0 percent from the field (49-of-83).
A Repeat Performance (Part 2)?
The Tigers are looking to duplicate their gritty overtime win over the Sooners from a year ago on Saturday. In last year's game, sophomore Linas Kleiza scored 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds and former Tiger Rickey Paulding scored nine of his 23 points in overtime to lead Mizzou to the win. The Tigers have won two of their last three against OU and in both wins, OU has been ranked in the Top 15 (No. 3 in 2003 and No. 11 in 2004).
Laurie Will Seek Medical Redshirt
Tiger guard will not return this season
University of Missouri guard Spencer Laurie will seek a medical redshirt due to reoccurring complications with injuries to his right knee and ankle, it was announced by Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder. Laurie had surgery on a partially torn meniscus on Dec. 28 and also suffered a high ankle sprain prior to the Tigers' semifinal appearance in the Guardians Classic earlier this season.
What Can Brown Do for You? (The Remix)
I guess we could have gone with `there's a new Marshall in town,' or something Clarence Gilbert-esque like that, but we will stick with what has worked so far in the notes this season. Much like UPS, who uses the slogan of `What can brown do for you?,' freshman Marshall Brown continues to deliver for Mizzou. He leads the Tigers in three-point field goal percentage (44.7 percent - 17-of-38) and is averaging 17.4 minutes per contest. He has scored seven or more points in eight of the Tigers' last 14 games.
Brown knocked down 5-of-7 shots on the night including two highlight reel dunks in the first half against Texas A&M on his way to 11 points in the fifth start of his career.
Making the fourth start of his career, Brown had a solid outing at Kansas going for seven points while also pulling down five boards. Brown showed off his outstanding leaping ability early in the second half when he took an ally oop from fellow Texan Jason Horton on a baseline-out-of-bounds play that put Mizzou up by eight over KU.
Brown was amazing against Colorado, knocking down 3-of-3 shots from the three point line. He also pulled down a career-best eight rebounds in only 16 minutes of playing time due to foul trouble
The super-athletic forward scored a career-best 12 points in 22 minutes of action to lead Mizzou in scoring for the first time in his career against Texas Tech.
Bench Marks
The Tigers who have come off of the bench for Mizzou have played a key role this season. When the Tigers' bench has outscored the opponent's bench, they are 8-5. Mizzou's bench has averaged 20.5 points per contest compared its opponent's mark of 16.7 points per game. The Tiger bench dominated KU's reserves to the tune of 25-2. In the loss to Texas Tech, Mizzou's bench scored 31 of the Tigers' 62 points.
Tigers Set School Record for Team GPA in Fall Semester
The University of Missouri men's basketball team continues to achieve both on and off the court this season
With final grades now set for the 2004 fall semester at Mizzou, the reports show that the men's basketball team has established a record for its team grade point average. Bryan Maggard, MU's Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services, says that the Tiger men's team came in with a cumulative team GPA of 2.91 this past fall - which was the highest single semester mark in recorded history for an MU men's basketball squad.
According to Maggard, four Tiger cagers had GPAs of over 3.0 on the standard 4.0 scale, and two will earn a place on the coveted Dean's List.
The achievement comes on the heels of the 2004 NCAA Graduation Report, which shows that the Missouri men's basketball team led the Big 12 Conference in graduation rates, at 67%. The next-best rate in the league belonged to Colorado (40%), followed by Texas Tech and Kansas (33%) and Nebraska (20%). The rates represent students who enrolled in 1997-98 and graduated within six years.
At the Line with Linas
At the risk of totally jinxing the progress the Tigers made from the free throw line of late, we offer this intriguing analysis of the Tigers' free throw shooting, in particular in regard to sophomore Linas Kleiza. The Tigers knocked down a season-high 90.0 percent (18-of-20) from the free throw line against OSU after entering the contest shooting just 64.1 percent on the season.
They were spurred by Kleiza's remarkable 13-for-13 shooting from the stripe, setting a then career best for free throws made in a game. Linas has made a living at the free throw line this season, getting to the charity stripe 148 times already. Kleiza has hit 108 of those attempts, good for 73.0 percent accuracy. He has been particularly impressive the past 14 games, knocking down 82-of-104 attempts (78.8 percent) and has averaged juat under seven trips to the line per game during that stretch.
Shouldering the Load
Linas Kleiza has recovered fully from a shoulder separation he experienced half way through last season and he has shouldered a major part of the Tiger offense this season. The All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention recipient has been amazing offensively so far this season and continues to improve on defense.
Kleiza returned to the Tiger starting lineup after a three-game hiatus against UNLV. He scored a game-high 24 points and also pulled down eight rebounds against the Rebels and knocked down 9-of-17 shots.
He registered his fifth double-double of the season against Kansas State in Columbia, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 rebounds on the night .
Kleiza put together an amazing effort against Nebraska in Columbia, scoring a career-best 31 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He also knocked down 15-of-17 free throws against the Huskers on his way to his fourth double-double of the season.
Despite four turnovers against Texas Tech, Kleiza was able to record his third double-double of the season against the Red Raiders, scoring 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
After struggling to just four points in the first half against Kansas State, Kleiza scored 10 of his team-high 14 points while also pulling down eight rebounds against KSU. The offensive juggernaut reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season against Oklahoma State when he dumped in 24 points while going a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line. Kleiza scored 25 (of Mizzou's 64) points, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out three assists against Illinois.
After scoring just three points in the opening half against Indiana, Kleiza poured in 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half including 12 free throws in the win.
He had the best offensive game of his career against Montana, scoring a career-best 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Kleiza recorded the fifth double-double of his career against Arkansas with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. He broke out of mini-scoring funk with 13 points, nine boards and nine assists against Oakland while turning the ball over just one time, something he has been focusing on improving all season. He is definitely Mizzou's most versatile player as he leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg.), rebounds (7.1 rpg.) and is third on the squad in assists (42).
The Youth of the Tiger Nation
The freshmen on the Tiger roster have started to really assert themselves on the court for Mizzou. Over the course of the last 16 games, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes, Jason Horton and Glen Dandridge have combined to score 27.0 percent of the Tigers points (311-of-1151) and all four of them have set or equaled career highs in points during that stretch.
Horton was amazing at Texas A&M, knocking down 5-of-6 three point shots on his way to 17 points against the Aggies. Brown and Dandridge both started their second straight games at Kansas and combined to score 12 points on the night. Dandridge made his first career start in the Tigers' home contest against Kansas State. He knocked down a three and equaled a career best by playing 16 minutes in the contest. He has now hit a three in three straight contests for Mizzou and has nine threes on the season.
Brown was outstanding against Colorado, knocking down 3-of-3 three point attempts and pulling down eight rebounds against the Buffs. He scored a career-best 12 points in the Tigers loss to Texas Tech. He knocked down two threes and was also 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Horton equaled a then career high with 12 points for the second straight game against Iowa State. He and Brown had great outings against American. Horton scored a career-best 12 points while Brown chipped in with nine as the Tigers took out the Eagles. The foursome was great against Gonzaga, combining for 16 points and 10 rebounds. Horton scored six points and handed out three assists and recorded no turnovers in 37 minutes while running the Tiger offense. Dandridge and Grimes also had solid nights. Dandridge scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting while also recording a steal, a block and an assist in seven minutes of playing time while Grimes set a career-best with six rebounds.
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
110-76
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.
In 2004-05, Mizzou returns several of its top players including senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Thomas Gardner and Linas Kleiza. Snyder and his staff 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.