Feb. 3, 2005
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Tip-off: 6:00 p.m. CST
Arena: Reed Arena (12,500)
TV: Mizzou Sports Network (Chris Gervino, play-by-play; Norm Stewart, analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst)
Rankings: Neither team was ranked in either poll
Series: MU leads 11-2 : Last Meeting: MU, 74-68 on Mar. 11, 2004 at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 110-74 at MU and overall (6th season).
Texas A&M: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83) 14-5 at TAMU (1st season) and 44-37 overall (3rd season)
Tigers Travel to College Station to Face Aggies on Saturday
The University of Missouri men's basketball team goes in search of its third Big 12 Conference win on Saturday when it travels to College Station, TX, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Tigers (10-11 overall, 2-6 Big 12) have an 11-2 advantage in the all-time series over the Aggies (14-5 overall, 3-5 Big 12) including a 6-1 mark under the watch of Tiger Head Coach Quin Snyder.
Mizzou is coming off of an emotional loss in one of the toughest environments in the country on Monday night at Kansas. In front of a rowdy crowd of 16,300, Mizzou built an 11 point lead at 41-30 with 19:17 left in the second half, but could not hang on, dropping the contest 73-61. In the defeat, senior Jason Conley had a great night, scoring a season-best 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. He was 2-of-3 from the three point line and knocked down a perfect 6-of-6 free throws. Sophomore Linas Kleiza also reached double figures in scoring off of the bench for MU. He had 11 points marking the 18th time he has reach double figures in scoring this year.
Saturday's contest, which is the second of three straight road games for the Tigers, is set to tip at 6 PM on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and Tiger great Gary Link calling all of the action. Chris Gervino and Tiger coaching legend Norm Stewart will also be broadcasting the contest on the Mizzou Sports Network.
On the year, the Tigers are 7-5 on MSN, 4-2 on Saturdays and 3-2 when Gervino is handling the play-by-play duties for MSN.
Quick Hits
The Tigers hold an 11-2 lead in the all-time series between the two schools ... Mizzou is 10-4 at home, 0-3 in neutral court contests and 0-4 on the road ... Mizzou is 9-1 when leading at halftime and 1-10 when trailing at the break ... Mizzou is 6-1 against Texas A&M under Head Coach Quin Snyder ... The Tigers are 3-2 all-time in College Station ... Sophomore Linas Kleiza has connected on 40 of his last 48 free throw attempts (83.3 percent) over the course of the last seven games ... Senior Jason Conley has scored in double figures in each of the Tigers' last three road contests ... Freshman Glen Dandridge has knocked down a three in four straight contests for the Tigers ... After playing 14 of their first 21 games at home, the Tigers are in the middle of a three game road stretch and will then play three of their next four at home ... The three-game road swing marks the first time a Tiger squad has played three straight true road games since 1996 when Mizzou faced Oklahoma State, Maryland and Kansas on the road over an eight day stretch from Feb. 13-21 ... Head Coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 111 at Mizzou ... Junior Jimmy McKinney has now started 77 straight regular season games for Mizzou, dating back to Dec. 30, 2002 against Valparaiso ... He started on Monday night in Lawrence despite battling a sprained left wrist ... McKinney and fellow junior Kevin Young are the only Tigers to start all 20 games this season ... Missouri Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins was the Head Coach at Texas A&M for six seasons from 1998-2004 ... His son, Marcus, played his freshman and sophomore seasons for the Aggies before transferring to Mizzou this season ... Freshmen Jason Horton and Marshall Brown are both from the state of Texas and senior Jason Conley was born in Texas ... This will be the Tigers' lone meeting with the Aggies this season barring a pairing in the Big 12 Tournament ... The Tigers have never lost four straight games under head coach Quin Snyder.
About the Aggies
First year head coach Billy Gillispie has the Aggies out to a good start at 14-5 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12. TAMU is coming off of a tough 69-65 road loss in Norman, OK, on Tuesday night despite a team-high 18 points and nine boards by junior Antoine Wright. Wright paces the Aggie attack averaging 17.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. He also leads the squad in three-point field goals made with 38 and has played a team-high 32.2 minutes per contest. Acie Law and freshman Joseph Jones have also played integral roles for TAMU as Law leads the Aggies in assists (93) and Jones pulls down 7.5 boards per contest, tops on the squad.
The Aggies have been particulary staunch on the defensive end so far this season, holding their opponents to just 60.5 points per game and 37.6 percent shooting from the field. They have also been outstanding on the glass, outrebouding their opponents on average by an amazing margin of +7.9 rebounds per contest.
Gillispie has a career record of 44-37 overall and is in his third year as a head coach.
Series - MU leads, 11-2- Last Meeting: MU, 74-68 on Mar. 11, 2004 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. Kansas
The Tigers led by as many as 11 points (41-30 with 19:17 left in the contest) over KU in Allen Fieldhouse, but the Jayhawks shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half and knocked down 15-of-26 free throws (15 made equaled the number the Tigers shot for the entire game) to ice the contest and take the win. Below are a couple more notes of note from the contest ...
Missouri Team Notes after the Kansas Game
- Missouri falls to 10-11 on the season and 2-6 in the Big 12. They are 10-4 at home, 0-4 in road games and 0-3 in neutral court contests.
- This is the only the fourth time the Tigers have fallen below .500 during Coach Quin Snyder's six year tenure at Mizzou. They have never been more than one game under .500 during that time.
- Coach Snyder is now 110-74 in his six years at Mizzou.
- The No. 6 Jayhawks were the fourth ranked opponent and the third top-10 squad Mizzou has faced this season. They are 1-3 against those opponents.
- The loss was Mizzou's first of the season after leading at halftime (they were up 36-28 at the break).
- The Tigers had been 9-0 to this point in the season when leading at the half.
- The Tigers have now dropped six of their last seven contests and six straight at Kansas.
- Mizzou led by as many as 11 points at 41-30 with 19:14 left in the second half.
- The Tiger bench out-scored KU's bench, 25-2.
- The contest featured two ties and four lead changes.
- Mizzou knocked down 9-of-15 free throws compared to KU's 21-of-30 tally from the line.
Missouri Player Notes after the Kansas Game
- Senior Jason Conley scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.
- Conley was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and 2-of-3 from three point range.
- Conley is a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line over the course of the Tigers last three games.
- Conley also recorded a game-high three steals, two of which he turned into dunks.
- The 20 point performance by Conley is a season high for him. It is also his first 20-point effort of the season (obviously) and the third 20+ point game of his career at Mizzou
- 24 vs. Baylor (2004) - W
- 20 vs. Kansas State (2004) - W
- 20 vs. Kansas (2005) - L
- Sophomore Linas Kleiza was the other Tiger to reach double figures in scoring with 11 points. He also handed out three assists on the night.
- Conley and Kleiza combined to score 31 of the Tigers' 61 points on the night and pull down 10 of their 30 boards.
- Freshman Glen Dandridge made the second start of his career with his second straight appearance as a starter.
- Freshman Jason Horton played 36 minutes on the night. He has played at least 30 minutes in 12 of the Tigers 21 games. He scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting on the night.
- Junior Jimmy McKinney started his 77th straight start for Mizzou despite a sprained left wrist he suffered in the first half of the Tigers' game with Kansas State.
- McKinney and fellow junior Kevin Young continue to be the only Tigers to have started all 21 games so far this season.
The Deuce is Loose
Senior Jason Conley had a tremendous game at Kansas and with his high-flying dunk with 19:17 left in the contest, he staked the Tigers to their biggest lead of the night at 41-30. Despite the eventual loss to the Jayhawks, Conley scored a team-best 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field including two threes. He also pulled down four boards and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line despite the 16,300 Jayhawk fans that were in attendance. In fact, Conley has been able to deal with opposing crowds quite well over the course of the Tigers' last three road games. He has reached double figures in all three contests and has knocked down 16-of-26 shots (61.5 percent) while averaging 15.3 points per game away from Mizzou Arena.
The Mac Strikes Back
Junior guard and captain Jimmy McKinney scored the Tigers' first seven points on Saturday night against Kansas State. After not reaching double figures in scoring during a stretch that spanned the Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and K-State game in Manhattan, McKinney has been on a bit of a tear of late with a 13-point effort at home against Nebraska and a 14-point effort against Kansas State. McKinney has been a fixture in the Tiger line up since coming to Mizzou, as he has made 77 straight appearances in the Tigers' starting five.
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 (44.1 percent - 15-of-34) and is averaging 16.2 minutes per contest.
Making the fourth start of his career, Brown had a solid outing at Kansas on Monday night going for seven points while also pulling down five boards. Brown showed off his rediculous 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. Brown has scored seven or more points in seven of the Tigers' last 12 games and has connected on a team-best 48.4 percent (15-of-31) three-point attempts on the season.
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 21.2 points per contest compared its opponent's mark of 15.5 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 134 times already. Kleiza has hit 98 of those attempts, good for 73.1 percent accuracy. He has been particularly impressive the past 12 games, knocking down 72-of-90 attempts (80.0 percent) and has averaged around eight 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.
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 (7.3 rpg.) and is third on the squad in assists (41).
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 14 games, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes, Jason Horton and Glen Dandridge have combined to score 27.6 percent of the Tigers points (281-of-1017) and all four of them have set or equaled career highs in points during that stretch.
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 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
110-74
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.