Dec. 1, 2005
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State Farm Tiger Classic - Friday, Dec. 2, 2005 - Columbia, Mo.
TIPOFF: 5:00 p.m. CST. NOTE - This is a change from previous schedules!
ARENA: Mizzou Arena (15,061). Opened in 2004. MU is 286-110 (.722) all-time at home.
RADIO: KWWC-FM 90.5 (David Lile, play-by-play/Tonya Mirts, color). Also available online at mutigers.com.
TV: None over-the-air; online via Mizzou All-Access subscription at mutigers.com.
SERIES: Mizzou leads, 1-0. The Tigers beat UAPB, 102-47, in Columbia on Dec. 20, 2001.
RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked.
COACHES:
Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 116-99 at MU (eighth season) and 181-124 overall (11th season).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Danny Evans (Oregon State '83), 0-3 at UAPB and overall (first season).
MIZZOU WOMEN HOST STATE FARM TIGER CLASSIC
With one tournament title already under its belt, the Mizzou women's basketball team (4-2) returns home this weekend to host the 28th annual State Farm Tiger Classic. Mizzou welcomes Alcorn State (1-2), Murray State (0-4), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3), the Tigers' first-round opponent on Friday.
NOTE TIME CHANGE FOR FRIDAY'S GAMES!
Because Mizzou is hosting NCAA Volleyball Championship First- and Second-Round action this weekend at the Hearnes Center, the pairings for Friday's first round of the State Farm Tiger Classic have been flip-flopped. Mizzou and Arkansas-Pine Bluff will now play the 5 p.m. game, while Alcorn State and Murray State will tip off in the evening's nightcap at 7 p.m. Start times for Saturday's games remain unchanged; Mizzou will still play at 7 p.m. on Saturday regardless of Friday's results.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
The Golden Lady Lions are making their second trip to Columbia; Mizzou took a 102-47 decision at the Hearnes Center on Dec. 20, 2001. UAPB is led by first-year head coach Danny Evans, and is coming off of a 6-21 season and a 10th-place finish in the SWAC. UAPB is coming off of a 72-45 loss at Missouri State; guard Whitney Price had a team-high 18 points in that contest, and is averaging 13.3 points in their three games to date.
SCOUTING ALCORN STATE
Alcorn State is the defending SWAC Champions, and were Michigan State's first of five victims en route to the Spartans' trip to the national championship game. The Lady Braves are led by Shirley Walker, who is in her 28th year at ASU. Rasaan Powell leads the Lady Braves with her 14.7 points per game. Alcorn enters this weekend 1-2, and got their first win of the season last Saturday against Florida A&M. This will be ASU's second trip to the State Farm Tiger Classic; the Lady Braves finished fourth in 2003, including a 103-41 first-round loss to Mizzou.
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE
Following their 82-62 loss at Northern Iowa on Wednesday night, Murray State drove through the night to Columbia before getting a practice in Thursday afternoon. The Racers enter 0-4, and their average margin of defeat has been 20.5 points. MSU is playing well offensively, with five players averaging nine or more points per game.
Murray State will certainly cause some roster-watchers to go cross-eyed; the Racers have two starters - unrelated - named Ashley Hayes. Freshman Ashley Nichole Hayes is MSU's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game, while junior Ashley Brooke Hayes averages 9.2 ppg.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Tigers have played five of their first six games on the road, and have fared relatively well away from Mizzou Arena this season, winning both of their neutral-site games, and going 1-2 on the road. They will try to regain a measure of dominance at home, where the Tigers were 5-8 in the inaugural season at Mizzou Arena.
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 69, PITTSBURGH 60
Senior guard LaToya Bond earned Most Valuable Player honors in leading the Mizzou women to their first tournament title on the road in six years, a 69-60 decision over the host Panthers in the final of Sunday's Pittsburgh Thanksgiving Classic.