March 8, 2005
Big 12 Guide
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Tip-off: 11:30 a.m. CST
Arena: Kemper Arena (18,278)
TV: ESPN+ (Dave Armstrong, play-by-play; Paul Splittorff, analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play: Gary Link, analyst)
Rankings: Neither team was ranked in either poll
Series: MU leads, 119-94 : Last Meeting: MU, 56-53 on Feb. 19, 2005 in Lincoln, NE
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 115-78 at MU and overall (6th season).
NU: Barry Collier (Butler '76) 70-76 at NU (5th season) and 266-266 overall (16th season)
Tigers Open Play in 2005 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament
The University of Missouri men's basketball squad opens play in the 2005 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Thursday at Kemper Arena. The tournament returns to the hallowed Kansas City arena after two great years in Dallas, TX, and will once again provide the fans of the Midwest with some amazing games over the course of the next four days. The Tigers (15-15 overall, 7-9 Big 12) enter their opening game of the tournament with the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-13, 7-9 Big 12) winners of five of their last seven regular season games. Their latest conquest came last Sunday when they knocked off their third ranked opponent of the season, No. 7 Kansas, 72-68 in Mizzou Arena. In that contest, junior Jimmy McKinney (21 points) and sophomore Thomas Gardner (23 points) both equaled career highs in points and shot a combined 14-of-20 from the field (70.0 percent) as Mizzou defeated the Jayhawks for the first time since the 2003 Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Thursday's contest with Nebraska, which is set for an 11:30 a.m. tip, will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with the `Voice of the Tigers' Mike Kelly handling the play-by-play duties and former Tiger great Gary Link offering his expert analysis. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN Regional TV (KMIZ in Columbia) and ESNPU with Dave Armstrong (play-by-play) and Paul Splittorff (analyst) on the call.
The Tigers, who are the No. 8 seed, are looking to defeat the Huskers, who are the No. 9 seed, for the third time this season. They have faced the Huskers three times in two of the last three seasons. Mizzou has won 11 of the last 13 meeting between the two schools and is 7-1 all-time against the Huskers in conference tournament action.
Quick Hits
The Tigers enter the Big 12 Tournament having won five of their last seven games ... The Tigers are 7-0 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament ... This is their first appearance in the #8/9 contest and the second time they have played in the opening game of the tournament ... Mizzou leads the all-time series with Nebraska 119-84 and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings with the Huskers ... MU is 2-0 against Nebraska in the Big 12 Tournament and 7-1 in conference tournament action vs. NU overall ... The last time Mizzou met Nebraska in the Big 12 Conference tournament was in 2003 when they defeated the Huskers, 70-61 ... The Tigers would go on to lose to Oklahoma in the championship game of that tournament by two points, 49-47 ... The Tigers won their last meeting with the Huskers on Feb. 19 in Lincoln, NE, 56-53 ... That victory represented the Tigers' lone win away from Mizzou Arena this season ... Mizzou finished the regular season at 14-4 at home, 0-3 in neutral court contests and 1-8 on the road this season ... The Tigers were 3-0 this season at home against ranked teams and a respectable 3-3 against ranked teams overall ... They defeated No. 12 Gonzaga at Mizzou Arena on Dec. 30, then topped No. 16 Oklahoma in overtime on Feb. 12 and wrapped up the regular season with a 72-68 win over No. 7 Kansas on Mar. 6, 2004 ... Mizzou played 20 home games this season (including exhibition games), which is a new school record ... The Tigers are 8-1 in day games this season ... Coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 116 at Mizzou ... Sophomore Linas Kleiza has led Mizzou in either scoring, rebounding or in both categories in 22 of the Tigers' 30 games so far this season ... Kleiza has nine double-doubles on the season ... He has averaged 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds against the Huskers this season in their two meetings ... Kleiza has knocked down 65.0 percent of his shots (13-of-20) from the field and has gone 18-of-21 from the free throw line against NU ... Senior Jason Conley has scored in double figures in seven of the Tigers' last 10 games
About the Huskers
The Huskers enter Thursday's game winners of three of their last four games including wins at Iowa State and at home over Oklahoma State. They finished the regular season with a 14-13 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the Big 12.
All-Big 12 Honorable mention honoree and freshman Joe McCray has been outstanding for the folks from the Cornhusker state. He has averaged a team-best 15.3 points per game and has knocked down a team-high 77 3-point field goal attempts on the season. He has played in all 27 of the Huskers games so far and is shooting 40.1 percent (136-of-339) from the field. No other Husker averages in double figures in scoring, but six of them average better than 7.8 points per contest including Jason Dourisseau (9.4 ppg.), who has split time coming off the bench and starting for the Huskers.
Freshman Aleks Maric leads the squad in rebounding pulling down 6.3 boards per contest. In fact, board work has been a specialty of the Husker squad as they average 38.4 rebounds per game, out-rebound their opponents by an average of 5.6 rebounds per game and have four members of their squad that are averaging better than 4.9 boards per contest.
Head Coach Barry Collier is in his 5th season at Nebraska and has led them to a 70-76 mark during that time. He is in his 16th season overall and has gone 266-208 during that time. This marks the second time in three years that the Tigers will open play in the Big 12 Tournament against Nebraska. Mizzou is 2-0 in Big 12 Tournament games against NU all-time.
Series - MU 119-84 - Last Meeting: MU, 56-53 in Lincoln, NE on Feb. 19, 2005
A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. Kansas
Mizzou was 8-of-10 from three point land in the first half and shot 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from the field overall as the Tigers finished the regular season at 14-4 at home. Other notes of note can be found below ...
Missouri Team Notes after the Kansas Game
- Mizzou improves to 15-15 overall and finishes 8th in the Big 12 Conference with a 7-9 league mark.
- The Tigers finish the regular season at 14-4 at home, 1-8 on the road and 0-3 in neutral court games.
- The Tigers finish the regular season at 3-0 against ranked teams at home, 8-1 in day games and 3-0 on Sundays this season.
- Missouri's 72-68 win over No. 7 Kansas handed the Jayhawks their first loss in three games and gave the Tigers their first win over Kansas in five games (dating back to the March 15, 2003 game in Dallas, Texas.) The victory also marked MU's first win over Kansas at home since Jan. 29, 2001.
- The 72-68 MU victory marked Head Coach Quin Snyder's 115th victory at Mizzou.
- Missouri improves to 10-14 all-time at home against the Jayhawks when KU is ranked and MU is not heading into the contest.
- The Tigers went on a 28-10 run to lead the game by as many as 13 points in the first half (14:02-3:44).
- Shooting 8-10 (80%) from behind the arc in the first half, Missouri had its best first half three-point shooting percentage of the season, compared to KU's 4-13 (30.8%).
- Mizzou held KU eight points below their season scoring average, six percent below their season shooting percentage and denied them the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament with the win.
- Sunday's game was the first official sellout at Mizzou Arena (15,061).
Missouri Player Notes after the Kansas Game
- Senior guard Brian Dailey made his first career start in the Missouri lineup and was credited with one steal, the first of the game.
- Missouri forward Marshall Brown tied the game at 12 with a three pointer (13:21) and followed with a steal that was passed off to guard Jason Conley and rebounded by guard Thomas Gardner who put MU ahead for the first time (15-13) at 12:59 with a layup.
- Junior Jimmy McKinney tied his career high point total (21) with a layup with 2:07 left in the game to give Missouri is second lead of the game.
- Sophomore guard Thomas Gardner tied his career high point total (23), previously set Feb. 9, 2005, against UNLV.
- Sophomore Linas Kleiza tied his career high rebound total (14) previously set Nov. 16, 2004 against the University of Houston and recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
- Despite going only 1-of-8 from the field, Kleiza was 12-of-16 from the free throw line.
T-Mac Gets It Done vs. Kansas
No, Tracy McGrady didn't secretly throw on the Black and Gold on Sunday against the Jayhawks, but Thomas Gardner (his teammates call him "T") and Jimmy McKinney (his teammates call him "Mac") did put on quite a performance for the sellout house on Sunday. The dynamic duo combined to go 14-of-20 from inside the 3-point line (70.0 percent) against the Jayhawks and were 11-of-12 from the free throw line. They were particularly impressive in the first half as they combined to shoot 8-of-11 from the field including 5-of-5 from three.
Gardner was outstanding, equaling a career-best with 23 points while pulling down five boards. He was 8-of-13 from the field including 6-of-8 from inside the3-point arc (2-of-5 from beyond) and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws.
McKinney was a blazing 6-of-7 from the field including 3-of-3 from 3-point land on his way to 21 points, which equals a career best. McKinney also knocked down 6-of-6 free throws and handed out four assists as he put together one of the best games of his career.
Red Means Go for Tiger Sophomores
Tiger sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner have had a lot of success against the Huskers during the course of their two-year careers. Gardner has averaged 12.0 points per game against NU in the four game he has faced them including a 7-of-9, 17-point effort against the Huskers at home on Jan. 24, 2004.
While Gardner's numbers have been impressive, nobody has taken the Huskers to task for the Tigers like Kleiza. He is averaging 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in three games played. This season, he has averaged 23.0 points and 8.5 rebounds against the Huskers in their two meetings. He has knocked down 65.0 percent of his shots (13-of-20) from the field and has gone 18-of-21 from the free throw line against NU.
I'm Not Saying, I'm Just Saying
Its a dead lock that the Tigers need to win the Big 12 Tournament in order to grab the Big 12 automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou enters the tourney as the No. 8 seed for the first time in the history of the event. They will be playing in the tourney opener for the second time in three years when they face the Huskers at 11:30 at Kemper Arena. The last time the Tigers faced the Huskers in the opening round, they would go on to come as close as any team has to winning four straight games and taking the Big 12 title before falling just short to OU in the final, 49-47. Mizzou also has the fact that they are 8-1 this season in day games (the bracket is set that all of the Tigers games will be during the day if they advance) and have won three games this season over their first two prospective opponents (Nebraska and Oklahoma.) All positive thoughts or good mojo are welcome at this time.
Kleiza Named to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team
Forward Linas Kleiza was recognized for his outstanding sophomore season on Monday as he was named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team. The All-Big 12 honors are selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Kleiza, who was a finalist for Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, has averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game over the course of the regular season. He has led Mizzou in scoring, rebounding or in both categories in 22 of the Tigers' 30 games so far this season. The native of Kaunas, Lithuania, has recorded nine double-doubles (which ranks third in the Big 12) with three double-doubles in the Tigers' last four games. His latest effort was of double-double caliber as he scored 15 points and equaled a career-high with 14 rebounds in the Tigers' win over No. 7 Kansas on Sunday.
Freshman Excelling in Crash Course
All four members of the Tiger freshman class have seen significant playing time this season for the Tigers and have all stepped up and played key roles when Mizzou has been successful. Jason Horton, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes and Glen Dandridge have all been put into the fire of Big 12 Conference play and have gained valuable experience heading into the post season.
Horton has started 23 games and has averaged a team-high 31.9 minutes per contest. He has led Mizzou in scoring in three games this season and has become the first freshman to lead the Tigers in assists (99) since Keyon Dooling handed out 113 dimes in his first year at Mizzou.
Brown has been the Tigers been perimeter shooter from a percentage standpoint. He has knocked down a team-best 40.4 percent of his three point attempts (21-of-52) and has seen action in all 30 games while registering six starts on the season. He has reached double figures in scoring in five games this season.
Grimes and Dandridge have both played key roles off of the bench for the Tigers. Dandridge has knocked down 11 threes on the season and Grimes has pulled down four or more boards in a game five times while playing excellent defense with 18 blocks on the year.
Over the Table and Dreaming
The University of Missouri marketing staff, headed up by marketing guru Frank Cuervo, is kicking around the idea of a new promotion for Tiger men's basketball games. Besides the `Nothing-but-Noodles Kiss Cam' and the Chevy's Fresh Mex `Tiger Trivia' promotion which are both wildly popular, there has been some thought to a promotion that the winner gets to have Tiger senior guard Jason Conley land in their lap after one of his patented leaps over Tiger Row.
Conley ended up amongst the people twice during the Oklahoma contest, running headlong over the table while attempting to create another Sooner turnover. The Tiger faithful were very appreciative of the effort put forth by Conley as he earned a standing ovation both times he sacrificed life and limb.
So keep your eye out for `Crashing into Coop' brought to you by the Missouri Basketball Team.
A Tale of Two Halves - the Bizzarro Edition
The Tigers' roller coaster play was never more evident than in their loss at Texas. After holding UT to only 18.8 percent shooting in the opening stanza, Texas went off in the second half scoring 39 points on 70.6 percent shooting while holding the Tigers to just 26 points as Mizzou dropped its seventh road game of the season.
Mizzou continued its up and down play from half to half against Colorado. After scoring just 18 points and shooting just 27.3 percent in the first half, Mizzou was on fire in the second half knocking down 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) including five three pointers while outscoring the Buffaloes 45-30 to win the contest 63-54.
After shooting just 41 percent in the first half against Nebraska, the Tigers trailed at halftime, 27-21. However, Mizzou was able to turn the switch on once again, shooting 54.2 percent in the second half as they outscored the Huskers 35-26 in the second stanza to grab its first road win of the season.
The Tigers reversed a trend and then reversed their fortunes against Oklahoma. After leading each of their previous three games and then dropping all three, Mizzou trailed by 11 points at half time before mounting an amazing second half comeback to take down the Sooners. After trailing by as many as 15 points, Mizzou used excellent second half defense, holding OU to just 36.8 percent shooting (7-of-19) from the floor while outrebounding Oklahoma by 13 boards. The Tiger's used staunch interior defense in the second stanza, holding OU's Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout to just eight points and three rebounds between the two of them in the second half and overtime periods.
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 et 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.
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.
The talented sophomore was amazing against Kansas, scoring 15 points and pulling down 14 boards, good for his ninth double-double of the season. He was oustKleiza registered the 11th double-double of his career against Texas with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He moved into third on the Big 12 double-doubles list against Colorado when he scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against the Buffs. The native of Kaunas, Lithuania continued to have his way with Nebraska, scoring a game-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Kleiza also had a huge day against No. 16 Oklahoma, tying Thomas Gardner for team-high honors with 18 points while also pulling down 13 boards in the win.
He 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. 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 one the best offensive game of his career against Montana, scoring a then career-best 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. 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 (15.2 ppg.), rebounds (7.4 rpg.) and is fourth on the squad in assists (47).
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
115-78
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.