Dec. 8, 2005
Columbia, Mo. -
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Mizzou will look to halt a two-game losing streak Saturday (Dec. 10) when it hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Mizzou Arena ... Mizzou begins a home stand that will see the team play seven of its next eight games in Columbia ... The lone exception will be the Dec. 21 Busch Braggin' Rights Game vs. Illinois in St. Louis, Mo. ... That home stretch concludes with the Big 12-opener vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 7 ... The Tigers are coming off an 82-73 loss at Davidson on Wednesday (Dec. 7), despite a career high 30-point effort from junior guard Thomas Gardner ... Gardner hit eight treys to move into a tie for third all-time in single-game threes at Mizzou, just behind Rickey Paulding's nine threes vs. Marquette in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament (March 22, 2003) and the school-record 12 triples by Clarence Gilbert at Colorado (Feb. 23, 2002) ... The 30 points were also the most by a Big 12 performer on the road this season and third most overall, behind the 35 by Curtis Stinson (Iowa State) vs Mountain State (Nov. 20) and 35 by Joseph Jones (Texas A&M) vs North Texas (Dec. 6) ... Linas Kleiza's 33 points vs. Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on March 12, 2005, in Dallas was the last time a Tiger poured in 30-plus points ... Mizzou is 65-40 in non-conference play under Quin Snyder ... Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is one of 10 Independents in NCAA Division I hoops, but will join the Southland Conference (same Conference as 2005-06 Mizzou opponents Louisiana-Monroe, Northwestern State and Sam Houston State) on July 1, 2006 ... Texas A&M-CC's Josh Washington began his career at Texas Tech and played two minutes vs. the Tigers in Mizzou's 82-73 win at the Hearnes Center on Feb. 9, 2003 ... He went 0-1 from the floor and grabbed one board.
Tiger Trends (Team Quick-Hitters)
l Wednesday's game at Davidson was the 201st of Quin Snyder's career ... Only three coaches, George Edwards (353), Wilbur Stalcup (374) and Norm Stewart (967) have coached more games on the Mizzou sideline than Snyder.
l Mizzou has made at least one three-point field goal in every game under Quin Snyder (201 games) ... The Tigers have made multiple treys in 198 of those 201 games, including double-figure triples (10+) 56 times.
l After ranking 11th in the Big 12 in three-point shooting percentage last season (30.6), the Tigers are tops in the league this year (40.2), including a season-best 9-of-18 (50.0) effort at Arkansas on Dec. 2.
l Over the last two games Mizzou is shooting 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from beyond the arc.
l Mizzou continues to be a strong second-half club, outscoring each of its four opponents by an average of 45.2-to-37.2 (226-to-186) over the final 20 minutes ... That scoring discrepancy has increased to 44.0-to-34.5 over the last four games, thanks to a 54-37 scoring surge against Northwestern State, a 36-27 advantage vs. UMKC, a 37-32 advantage at Arkansas and a 49-42 advantage at Davidson.
l While the Tigers tend to pick up the offensive pace in the second half, their defensive presence has been felt early and often ... So far this season Mizzou is allowing opponents to average just 31.2 points in the first half on just 40.0 percent shooting (62-of-154) from the floor.
l Missouri continues to be tough on opponents from three-point range ... Over their last seven halves of basketball, Mizzou opposition is shooting just 23.6 percent (17-of-72) from three-point range, including 5-of-14 shooting by Arkansas (35.7 percent) on Dec. 2 ... In the second half of the Tiger's 81-72 win against Northwestern State, Mizzou held the Demons to just 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) shooting from bonus distance ... On Nov. 29 against UMKC, the Tigers held the Kangaroos to a 3-of-23 (13.0 percent) success rate from beyond the arc, which included a stretch of 10 consecutive misses.
l Mizzou's defensive effort against UMKC had numerous record book implications ... The 42 points scored by the Kangaroos were the fewest by an MU opponent since a 45-42 win over DePaul on Nov. 24, 1997, in the opening round of the Maui Invitational ... UMKC's 15 first-half points were the fewest in the two-year history of Mizzou Arena ... The 15 total field goals by the Kangaroos were also the fewest in the history of the building and was the lowest total by Tiger opposition since Arkansas-Pine Bluff netted just 11 buckets on Dec. 9, 1998.
l Mizzou showed much better ball-security Wednesday at Davidson ... The Tigers dished out a season high 20 assists on 29 field goals (69.0 percent) and committed a season-low seven turnovers ... Sophomore point guard Jason Horton paved the way with eight assists and just two turnovers.
Tigers Tidbits (Player Quick-Hitters)
l Kevin Young continues to be one of the Big 12's top rebounders ... Young is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.4 points and 9.6 rebounds and ranks second in the league with his 9.6 boards per game ... The Kingston, Jamaica, native has yet to have fewer than seven rebounds in a contest this year and his 5.4 offensive rebounds per game paces the conference.
l Young has also provided a consistent scoring presence and has topped double figures in points twice in five games... Entering the year, Young had just one career double figure scoring effort.
l Marshall Brown has also reached double figures in scoring three times this season, including a career high 20 points in the season-opener against Sam Houston State ... With his 10-point night at Arkansas, Brown reached double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
l Jason Horton continues to be one of the Big 12's top-four assist-men ... Horton is averaging 5.8 dimes a game and has a 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ... The Dallas native also ranks sixth among Big 12 performers with 2.2 steals per game.
l Also, has there been a more improved perimeter defender in the Big 12 than Horton thus far? The sophomore held UMKC's Quinton Day (Southern Cal transfer) 20.5 points below his season average of 27.5 points in Mizzou's 60-42 win on Nov. 29 and held Arkansas point guards Eric Ferguson (1-of-5), Dontell Jefferson (1-of-1) and Sean McCurdy (0-of-0) to a combined 2-of-6 shooting and six total points.
l Thomas Gardner reached double figures in points for the ninth consecutive game following his career high 30-point night at Davidson ... Gardner has led the Tigers in scoring four times this season and 11 times over his career.
l The Big 12's leading scorer (21.2 ppg.) connected on eight three-pointers vs. the Wildcats, the fourth-highest single-game total in the NCAA's this year ... He has now made at least one three-pointer in 13 consecutive games, the longest three-point streak of his tenure.
l Gardner now leads the Big 12 with 3.8 three-point field goals per game and ranks third with his 47.5 percent shooting accuracy from bonus distance.
l Gardner's 12 rebounds vs. the Kangaroos tied a career high ... His 17-point, 12-rebound double-double was also the second of his career ... His first was a 19-point, 12-board effort against Brown in the 2004-05 season-opener.
l Freshman Matt Lawrence has yet to miss a three-pointer as a collegian and is now a flawless 4-of-4 from bonus distance this season ... The St. Louis native made his first career trey on Nov. 29 vs. UMKC and nailed two more triples in front of 17,427 screaming fans at Arkansas en route of a career high six points ... Lawrence added a fourth trey at Davidson.
l It's not just shooting where the 6-foot-7 freshman has been flawless ... Lawrence also has three boards, two steals and an assist without committing a turnover in 6.0 minutes per game.
l Senior Jimmy McKinney poured in a season high 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting in his 100th consecutive game as a Tiger (vs. Davidson) ... McKinney hit a career high seven field goals and added a season best six boards.
l Nicknamed "Rock" by his teammates, the former Vashon High School standout missed his first game as a Tiger because of a fractured frontal sinus, but has been a "Rock" for Mizzou ever since, failing to miss a game.
l McKinney's next three-pointer will also mark the 100th of his career ... Only 15 Tigers have more than 100 career triples, including teammate Gardner (104).
Getting To Know Today's Foe
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters this afternoon's contest with a 5-2 record following an 86-62 home win over Trinity on Dec. 6 ... The Islanders were led in scoring by talented "Big Man" Chris Daniels, who scored a career high 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting off the bench ... Daniels, a native of San Antonio, Texas, is Texas A&M-CC's top scorer (16.2) and rebounder (6.2) and has the size (7-0, 265-pounds) that is making NBA scouts take notice (three will be in attendance Saturday) ... The Islanders are 2-2 away from home this season, dropping a 73-67 decision at Tulsa (Nov. 26) and a 95-75 contest at Missouri State (Dec. 3), but won 77-59 at Texas-San Antonio (Nov. 30) and 59-47 over Big East representative South Florida in a neutral-court game in Springfield, Mo. ... Cedric Smith (12.6), Josh Washington (10.9) and Josh Ervin (10.1) round out the double-figure scorers for Texas A&M-CC, who average 85.1 points per game, while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from three-point range ... Looking for another "Wow" factor from the Islanders? ... Last season this team won 73-58 at Baylor, 70-67 at Florida State, 85-79 vs. TCU and 71-67 vs. Old Dominion.
T-For-3
Thomas Gardner is off to a torrid start from three-point range this season as the junior leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th nationally with 3.8 treys per game.
l Gardner also ranks third in the Big 12 and among the top 50 nationally with his 47.5 percent three-point accuracy, which was bolstered by an 8-of-14 shooting night from beyond the arc at Davidson on Dec. 7.
l The eight triples are the fourth highest single-game total in Division I basketball this season and are the second highest total for a player on the road in college basketball.
l The Portland, Ore., native has made multiple triples in all five contests, including four against Northwestern State ... Gardner made treys in the first minute of each half vs. the Demons to get the Tigers off to quick starts, while his two remaining threes immediately answered NSU three-pointers to keep Mizzou within striking distance in the come-from-behind win.
l Against Sam Houston State, Gardner rebounded nicely from an 0-of-3 start to hit back-to-back treys in the final 0:56 seconds to give Mizzou a last-second shot at forcing overtime.
l Gardner's improvement over the past season has been nothing short of dramatic ... Last year Gardner shot just 27.0 percent from three on 53-of-196 shooting.
Sometimes The Numbers Do Lie
Mizzou's improving defensive play may be even better than the numbers indicate ... So far this season the Tigers are holding foes to 42.1 percent shooting from the floor and just 30.2 percent from three-point range, but when the Tigers get into their half-court defense (taking out all fast-break opportunities and points), those numbers improve drastically, with opponents shooting just 38.7 percent on the year ... Over the last three and a half games, Mizzou's half-court defense has held Northwestern State, Arkansas, UMKC and Davidson to just 38.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Tigers Enjoying Second-Half Surge
The Mizzou offense has excelled throughout the second half of its five games this season as the Tigers are averaging 45.2 points on 48.2 percent (77-of-160) shooting ... Missouri has topped the 50-point plateau in the second half twice already and has outscored each of its five opponents by combined 40 points (8.0 average) over the final 20 minutes ... Mizzou scored a season high 54 points in the second half of its win over Northwestern State ... The 54 tallies were the most scored by the Tigers in a half since a Nov. 19, 2004, game vs. Davidson ... Mizzou also scored 54 second-half points in that game as well.
Gardner Digging His Leading Role
The Tigers are just getting settled into the 2005-06 campaign, but Thomas Gardner is showing why he can be counted on to provide some needed offensive firepower following the departure of Linas Kleiza to the NBA ... Gardner is tops among Big 12 Conference performers at 21.2 ppg., which included a career-best 30-point night at Davidson on Dec. 7 ... He also leads the Conference with 3.8 three-point makes per game, ranks third in three-point percentage (47.5) and is 13th in overall field goal percentage (48.1).
l Gardner hit 8-of-14 treys vs. Davidson, five of which came during a 21-point, second half surge ... The eight triples are tied for third all-time in a single game at Mizzou, just behind the nine makes by Rickey Paulding (vs. Marquette on March 22, 2003 in the NCAA Second Round) and Clarence Gilbert's 12 treys at Colorado (Feb. 23, 2002) ... The 30 tallies are also the most by a Big 12 performer on the road this season and third overall regardless of venue.
l The Portland, Ore., native has scored 20-plus points in three of five games this season, including a then-career high 25 points in the 81-72 win over Northwestern State (Nov. 20) ... So far, the 6-foot-5 wing is accounting for 30.0 percent of the team's scoring and his 5.2 rebounds per game ranks second on the club.
l Gardner has reached double figures in all five games this season and has a career best stretch of nine consecutive games in double figures, dating back to a March 6, 2005, win over Kansas.
l Gardner recorded his second career double-double, a 17-point, 12-board effort in the 60-42 win over UMKC ... His second have tomahawk dunk vs. the Kangaroos was No. 2 on ESPN's Plays of the Day for Nov. 29.
Young & The Relentless (On the Glass)
Kevin Young continues to be the Big 12's top offensive rebounder ... The 6-foot-9, 270-pounder is averaging 5.4 offensive caroms per game, including a career high nine offensive boards in the win over Northwestern State ... Young added seven offensive boards vs. UMKC, six of which came in the second half ... Of his 18 field goals this season, 11 have come following offensive rebounds and nine of his 16 free throw attempts have come after fouls on offensive-putback attempts.