Nov. 12, 2005
Columbia, Mo. -
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Missouri (0-0) vs.
Sam Houston State (0-0)
Game 1 - Nov. 14, 2005 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. CST
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 analysis)
Rankings: Neither squad is ranked in the AP or ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll
Series: Mizzou leads 1-0 (Mizzou win 79-56 in Columbia, 1-20-97)
Coaches:
Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89); 116-80 at Mizzou (7th season)
Missouri Southern: Bob Marlin (Mississippi State '81);
116-84 at Sam Houston State (7th season)
Missouri Tigers (0-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup)
Pos. No. Name HT WT YRP/G R/G A/GHometown
F 3 Thomas Gardner 6-5 225 Jr. 10.4 2.6 2.0 Portland, Ore.
F 15 Marshall Brown 6-6 220 So. 5.1 1.9 0.5 Austin, Texas
C 14 Kevin Young6-9 263 Sr. 4.8 4.9 0.2 Kingston, Jamaica
G1 Jimmy McKinney 6-3 212 Sr. 7.2 3.0 2.4 St. Louis, Mo.
G 12 Jason Horton 6-2 190 So. 5.9 2.3 3.2 Dallas, Texas
Sam Houston State (0-0)
(Probable Starting Lineup)
Pos. No. Name HT WT YRP/G R/G A/GHometown
F 55 John Gardiner 6-7 215 Jr. - - - Mesopotamia, St. Vin
F 44 Kelvin Williams 6-4 208 So. 3.3 2.9 0.8Dallas, Texas
F 23 Ryan Bright 6-6 196 So. 8.3 4.5 1.5 Deer Park, Texas
G 31 Chris Jordan 6-4 178 Sr. 11.14.2 3.0 Hitchcock, Texas
G 11 Jejuan Plair 6-1188 Jr. - - - Killeen, Texas
**Statistical averages per 2004-05 season totals
For Openers
Mizzou officially opens its 100th season of intercollegiate basketball this evening when it faces Sam Houston State in the opening round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament ... Mizzou is 79-20 all-time in season-openers and is 5-1 under the direction of Head Coach Quin Snyder ... Snyder's club has won five-consecutive season-openers dating back to a 66-56 defeat to Wisconsin in the NABC Classic in Syracuse, N.Y. (Snyder's first game as head coach at Mizzou) ... In home-openers, Mizzou is 85-14 ... The Tigers have racked up an amazing 32 consecutive wins in home court lid-lifters, dating back to a 77-73 loss to Southern Methodist on Dec. 1,1973 ... At Mizzou Arena, the Tigers are 1-0 in home-openers following a 68-60 win over Brown last season in the Guardians Classic.
Preseason NIT History
Mizzou will participate in the Preseason NIT for the third time in school history ... The last time the Tigers took part in the early-season tourney was during the 1998-99 campaign, when they fell to Missouri State (formerly Southwest Missouri State) by a 72-69 margin at Hearnes ... Prior to that contest, Mizzou advanced to the finals of the Preseason NIT in 1988-89, defeating Missouri State (73-54) and Xavier (83-71) in Columbia and North Carolina (91-81) in New York City, before falling to Syracuse 86-84 in overtime ... Lee Coward had 21 points to pace the Tigers, while Sherman Douglas contributed 21 for the Orangemen.
Tigers Celebrate Century Of Basketball
Tonight's contest opens the 100th season of intercollegiate basketball at Mizzou and the program will be celebrating its rich tradition by honoring a 30-member All-Century Team ... Missouri's 20 All-Americans have already been named to the squad, meaning fans will have the opportunity to vote in their favorite players for the remaining 10 All-Century slots ... Voting can occur either at Mizzou Arena or by mail ... Ballots will appear in Tiger Courtside game programs or can be printed off Mizzou's official website, mutigers.com, and mailed into the Mizzou Athletics Media Relations Office ...Voting runs through Dec. 31, 2005, and the team will be announced Jan. 16, 2006 during the Mizzou-Kansas basketball game at Mizzou Arena ... The team will then be honored in person at the Feb. 12 home game vs. Kansas State.
Getting To Know Today's Foe
Sam Houston State enters the 2005-06 season after racking up an 18-12 mark last year ... The Bearkats return two starters from last season's unit, but All-America forward Joe Thompson has departed ... The Bearkats do welcome back Preseason All-Southland (Second Team) pick Chris Jordan ... The 6-4 guard averaged 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 28 starts a year ago, while shooting 49 percent from the floor ... Also back is Southland Freshman of the Year Ryan Bright ... The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 8.3 points and shot a team-best 41.7 percent from three-point range ... This season SHSU is picked fourth in the Southland, just behind Mizzou's Nov. 20 opponent, Northwestern State (first), Lamar (coached by Billy Tubbs) and Southeastern Louisiana ... Sam Houston State has played one exhibition contest ... The Bearkats defeated Angelo State 71-53 on Nov. 10 ... Bright led the club with 15 points while Jejuan Plair poured in 14.
What You May Not Know About Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State is located in Huntsville, Texas, a town of 34,500, positioned 70 miles north of downtown Houston ... The University is named for "Texas' Greatest Hero" Sam Houston, who is buried in Huntsville ... The University has an enrollment of 15,367 ... The nickname Bearkat was coined in the 1920's and got its origin from a local saying "Tough as a Bearkat" not from a local animal.
Mizzou Getting Familiar With Southland
Mizzou will play its first of two games against members of the Southland Conference this evening ... Following tonight's game, the Tigers will face Southland favorite Northwestern State on Nov. 20 ... Missouri will later face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 10 ... Although the Islanders are currently an Independent, the program will become a full member of the Southland on July 1, 2006 ... The Tigers are 8-1 all-time vs. the Southland, including a 79-56 win over Sam Houston State on Jan. 20, 1997 ... Mizzou is also 3-0 vs. Texas State (formerly Southwest Texas State), 1-0 vs. Texas-San Antonio, 1-0 vs. Nicholls State and 2-1 vs. Lamar.
Braggin' Rights Begin Now For Mizzou's Horton, Sam Houston's Kelvin Williams
While neighboring-state Braggin' Rights (Mizzou vs. Illinois) come under fire Dec. 21 in St. Louis, personal Braggin' Rights become the order of business for former prep teammates Jason Horton and Sam Houston State's Kelvin Williams ... Both players enjoyed standout high school careers at Dallas' Cedar Hill High School.
Sam Houston State Makes Return To Mizzou
Although the Tigers and Bearkats didn't lockup last season, Sam Houston State did play a pair of games on Mizzou's home floor during the 2004-05 Guardians Classic ... SHSU lost its opening-round game to Houston 72-69, but defeated Brown 92-79 in its second-round affair.
Tigers Ink Lawrence, Morrison In Early Signing Period
Head Coach Quin Snyder and the Tigers made a splash in the early signing period when they inked one of the nation's premiere junior college players, Ty Morrison (Phoenix, Ariz. / Redlands CC / Trevor Browne HS), and rapidly rising high school star Keon Lawrence (Newark, N.J. / Weequahic) to national letters-of-intent on Wednesday (Nov. 9).
l A 6-7, 220-pound forward, Morrison is ranked No. 1 nationally among two-year players by Van Coleman and No. 3 nationally by Rivals.com ... A standout for Steve Eck at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla., Morrison averaged 10.1 points and 5.6 boards as a freshman for Redlands after earning All-State honors four consecutive seasons in Arizona.
l Lawrence is a 6-2, 180-pound point guard that lit-up the Jersey Shore Summer League, scoring 48 and 43 points against competition that included Detroit Pistons reserve guard Horace Jenkins, Louisville's Taquan Dean and Villanova's Mike Nardi ... An All-Newark Pick by the Newark Star-Ledger, Lawrence has averaged better than 23 points each of the last two seasons and was listed among the Top Five Juniors in the state of New Jersey.
Zero To 60 In No-Time Flat
Hot starts fueled Mizzou to a pair of easy exhibition wins over Bemidji State (105-56) and Missouri Southern (87-61).
l The Tigers opened preseason play by outscoring Bemidji State 57-33 in the opening period and used an incredible 25-7 run to turn a 11-5 deficit into a 30-18 advantage.
l Just six days later against Missouri Southern, Mizzou rushed to a 12-0 lead in the game's initial 3:03 and extended that advantage to 25-5 by the 10:00 mark before cruising to the win.
Shooting Exhibition
Mizzou burned up the nets in its two exhibition victories, shooting 55.4 percent (67-of-121) over its two games from the floor and 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from three-point range.
l In the opener against Bemidji State, the Tigers hit an impressive 35-of-55 shots (63.6 percent) from the floor and 7-of-12 shots (58.3 percent) from three-point range in the 49-point win ... The Tigers opened the game by hitting 62 percent of its field goals in the first half (19-of-29), but actually saw those numbers improve in the second frame, hitting 17-of-26 shots (65.4).
l Mizzou continued that hot-shooting against Missouri Southern, hitting 50 percent (18-of-36) of its field goals and 4-of-9 treys in the opening stanza to race to a 46-19 lead at the break.
Tigers Lockdown The Perimeter
Mizzou locked down the perimeter in its two exhibition wins, allowing Bemidji State and Missouri Southern to shoot a combined 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from three-point range.
l After Bemidji State opened the game 3-of-4 from the perimeter, Mizzou held the Beavers to just 1-of-15 shooting (6.7 percent) the rest of the way, resulting in the 49-point win.
l Missouri Southern endured the same fate as Bemidji State, struggling to a 4-of-15 success rate (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Playing Beyond Their Years
It was just the exhibition season, but Mizzou's newcomers quickly dispelled any notion of early-season jitters ... Mizzou rookies Marcus Watkins and Leo Lyons both averaged double figures over the two contests, with Watkins averaging 11.0 and Lyons pouring in 10.5 ... Lyons also ranked second on the club with 6.5 rebounds per game thanks to an 11-point, seven board night vs. Missouri Southern ... Fellow freshman Matt Lawrence has yet to miss a three-pointer in his Missouri career ... Lawrence opened 2-of-2 from bonus distance vs. Bemidji State and hit his lone attempt in the win over Missouri Southern.
The Ultimate Warrior
Coaches and teammates call sophomore forward Marshall Brown "The Warrior" for his hard-nosed style of play on the court ... Brown lived up to the monicker during Mizzou's two exhibition wins, averaging 16.5 points and a team-best 8.5 boards ... Brown narrowly missed a double-double in the preseason finale vs. Missouri Southern, tying for game-high scoring honors with 19 points (8-of-11 shooting) to go with nine boards ... While it won't count towards his career totals, the nine rebounds are the most for Brown as a Tiger, as were the 19 tallies ... Brown opened exhibition play with 14 points and eight boards vs. Bemidji State.
A Prelude Of What's To Come?
It was just the preseason, but Thomas Gardner looked to step into the role of Mizzou's go-to-scorer ... The junior averaged 20.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting (15-of-27) in Missouri's two wins and showed a more complete all-around game, which culminated his a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. Missouri Southern.
l Gardner opened the preseason with a 22-point outburst against Bemidji State, which marked the fourth time the Portland, Ore., native has topped the 20-point barrier during his Mizzou career ... The swing-man swished home 8-of-14 shots in the contest en route to the 22 tallies, 16 of which came in the opening 20 minutes to help fuel the Tiger rout.
l Gardner topped 20 points twice as a sophomore with 23 points at UNLV and 23 at home vs. Kansas ... He initially scored 20 points as a freshman in a home win vs. the Runnin' Rebels.
Tigers To Play Nov. 17 On ESPN2 With NIT Win Over Sam Houston State
Officials from ESPN confirmed that a Mizzou win over Sam Houston State on Nov. 14 in the opening round of the Preseason NIT would result in a date, time and network shift for the Tiger's second round match-up vs. Drexel or Princeton ... The second round contest was originally slated for Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. on the Mizzou Sports Network, but now the Tigers will entertain a nationally-televised audience on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.
Braggin' Rights Game Moved To ESPN2
The Dec. 21 Mizzou-Illinois Braggin' Rights Game has been moved from ESPN to ESPN2 ... The game time will remain at 7 p.m. (CT) ... This year's match-up marks the 25th meeting between the two foes in St. Louis, Mo., with Illinois owning a 16-8 series advantage.
Tigers Have Tough Slate
With the release of the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll it became clear just how difficult Mizzou's 2005-06 schedule is ... The Tigers have scheduled contests against four teams currently ranked in the Top 25 (No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 17 Illinois and No. 23 Iowa State) and could face No. 1 Duke, No. 12 Memphis, No. 14 Alabama or No. 18 UCLA in the final rounds of the Preseason NIT in Madison Square Garden in New York City ... The Tigers also have scheduled games against No. 29 Kansas, No. 31 Texas Tech, No. 35 Oklahoma State and No. 49 Texas A&M.
Returning Production Much Improved From One Year Ago
A year ago at this time, a number of question marks hovered around the Tigers as the loss of a talented senior group left Mizzou with just 39 percent of its scoring and 47 percent of its rebounding coming back ... Those numbers have flipped in favor of the Tigers at the start of the 2005-06 season however, as nearly 60 percent of Missouri's scoring (1306-of-2188) and rebounding (689-of-1148) returns for Quin Snyder's seventh season ... The Tigers also welcome back 65 percent of their steals (134-206), 67 percent of their assists (275-of-408) and 74 percent of their blocked shots (53-of-72) from last season's postseason-qualifying squad.
Televised Tigers: Every Mizzou Contest This Season On Television
The Tigers will have plenty of tube time this season as each of Mizzou's games this year will be carried live on the Mizzou Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+ and CBS ... Starting with the exhibition season, MSN will broadcast 18 Tiger contests, while ESPN will carry the Jan. 16 game at Kansas ... Mizzou could appear on ESPN2 five times this season, three of which could occur in the Preseason NIT ... The Tigers' Feb. 18 date at Kansas will be on CBS.
These Guys Have Seen It All
Head Coach Quin Snyder has assembled one of the Big 12's more veteran coaching staffs, as he, associate head coach Melvin Watkins and assistant coach Jeff Meyer have a combined 30 years of experience as head coaches at the collegiate level ... Snyder is entering his seventh season on the sidelines at Mizzou, while Watkins spent a combined eight years at North Carolina-Charlotte (1996-98) and Texas A&M (1998-04) ... Meyer is the most seasoned Mizzou coach having enjoyed 16 years as head coach at Liberty (1981-97).