Dec. 19, 2005

Columbia, Mo. -

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Mizzou looks for its first three-game winning streak of the season when it travels to St. Louis, Mo., to face nationally-ranked Illinois (11-0) in the 25th Annual Busch Braggin' Rights Game on Dec. 21 at the Savvis Center ... This will mark the 36th all-time meeting between the two clubs, which began their series 73 years ago to-the-day (Dec. 21, 1932) ... Illinois has won five consecutive match-ups with Missouri's last win coming on Dec. 21, 1999, by a 78-72 margin ... Illinois was ranked No. 15 nationally in that contest, while the Tigers entered unranked ... This will mark Missouri's final game away from Mizzou Arena until Big 12 Conference play ... Mizzou's next road date will be Jan. 10, 2006, at Oklahoma ... Mizzou will be looking for its first win away from Columbia (0-2) this season and first since a March 10, 2005, win over Nebraska in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. ... Mizzou is coming off a 72-63 home win over Furman on Sunday (Dec. 18) ... Thomas Gardner topped the 20-point plateau for the fifth time in seven tries and continued his hot shooting with a 3-of-5 effort from beyond the arc ... After starting the game 0-of-9 from the floor, Jimmy McKinney made two critical back-to-back jumpers to give the Tigers a lead they wouldn't relinquish ... The Braggin' Rights Series once again serves as a homecoming for several Tigers ... Kalen Grimes (Hazelwood Central), Matt Lawrence (Layayette) and Jimmy McKinney (Vashon High School) are each St. Louis, Mo., natives ... Mizzou is 67-40 in non-conference play under Quin Snyder and 1-5 vs. Illinois ... Against Top 10 opposition the Tigers are 8-16 under Snyder, with the last win coming March 5, 2005 vs. No. 7 Kansas (72-68) ... The last Top-10 win away from Columbia was over No. 6 Kansas (68-63) on March 15, 2003, in Dallas at the Big 12 Tournament.

Tiger Trends (Team Quick-Hitters)
l Wednesday's game vs. Illinois will be the 204th 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 (203 games) ... The Tigers have made multiple treys in 200 of those 203 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 third in the league this year (40.0), thanks to 43.4 shooting (33-of-76) over the last four games.
l Mizzou continues to be a strong second-half club, outscoring its opposition by an average of 43.7-to-36.8 (306-to-258) over the final 20 minutes ... The Tigers have shot better than 50 percent from the floor in the second half of four of those games, including 56.0 percent (14-of-25) in the win over Furman on Sunday.
l The Tigers are one of the Big 12's top offensive rebounding clubs ... Mizzou ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 14.7 offensive caroms and have out-rebounded its foes on the offensive glass in consecutive games.
l Mizzou has shown much better ball-security over the last three games, committing just seven turnovers at Davidson, 10 in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and 14 vs. Furman ... Conversely, Missouri has dished out 45 assists compared to the 31 miscues giving the team a solid 1.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
l The Tigers continue to excel at getting to the free throw line ... Mizzou has shot 164 free throws compared to the 116 by its opponents and have scored 14 more points at the charity stripe despite 61.0 percent shooting as a club.
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.

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 9.0 points and 8.4 boards and ranks third in the league with his 8.4 caroms per game ... The Kingston, Jamaica, native also leads the Big 12 with 4.7 offensive rebounds per game.
l Young has provided a consistent scoring presence as well and has topped double figures in points twice in seven games... Entering the year, Young had just one career double figure scoring effort and narrowly missed his third with nine points vs. Furman.
l Marshall Brown has 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 assist-men ... Horton is averaging 5.0 dimes a game and has a 1.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
l The Dallas native is among the League's top thieves as well, ranking third with 2.6 steals per game including a career high five vs. Furman.
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 ... In addition to his five steals vs. Furman, Horton held point guard Tony Carter to two points on 0-of-4 shooting.
l Thomas Gardner reached double figures in points for the 11th consecutive game following his 20-point effort vs. Furman on Sunday ... Gardner has led the Tigers in scoring six times (out of seven games) this season and 13 times over his career.
l Gardner also carries a streak of three consecutive 20-point games ... The last Tiger to score 20 in four consecutive was Kareem Rush during the 2001-02 campaign vs. Virginia (26), Iowa State (27), Baylor (29) and Nebraska (30).
l Gardner currently leads the Big 12 with a pair of 30-point contests, including a 30-point night at Davidson on Dec. 7 ... Gardner hit eight treys vs. the Wildcats, the fourth-highest single-game total in the NCAA's this year and the third highest single-game total in school history ... He has now made at least one three-pointer in 15 consecutive games, the longest three-point streak of his tenure.
l Gardner leads the Big 12 with 3.9 three-point field goals per game and ranks ninth nationally in that category, while his three-point percentage of 50.0 ranks third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally.
l Over the last three games Gardner is shooting 16-of-28 (57.1) from bonus distance.
l Gardner's 12 rebounds vs. UMKC 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 is near perfect from three-point range this season ... The St. Louis native is 4-of-5 from bonus distance, including a 2-of-2 effort in front of 17,427 screaming fans at Arkansas en route of a career high six points ... Lawrence made his first career trey vs. UMKC and added a fourth at Davidson.
l It's not just shooting where the 6-foot-7 freshman has been near flawless ... Lawrence also has six boards (four offensive), two steals and two assists without committing a turnover in 7.8 minutes per game.
l Senior Jimmy McKinney is heating up offensively and is averaging 14.0 points over his last three games ... McKinney opened the run with 16 points at Davidson, before scoring a season high 19 vs. Texas A&M-CC on a career best 12-of-14 foul shooting.
l While the Tigers have struggled from the line as a team, McKinney sure hasn't ... The senior leads the Big 12 in free throw shooting at 86.7 percent (26-of-30).
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 hit his 100th career three-pointer vs. Texas A&M-CC ... Only 15 Tigers have more than 100 career triples, including teammate Gardner (112).
l Freshman Leo Lyons narrowly missed his first career double-double after recording career highs of eight points and eight boards vs. Furman on Sunday ... Lyons also added a career high two blocked shots.

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 ninth nationally in three-point field goal makes per game (3.9).
l Gardner ranks third in the Big 12 and among the top 25 nationally in three-point accuracy (50.0 percent), a number that has risen dramatically over the past three games due to his 16-of-28 (.571) three-point shooting vs. Davidson (8-of-14), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-of-9) and Furman (3-of-5).
l The Portland, Ore., native has hit multiple treys in all-seven contests this year, including that career-best 8-of-14 effort on Dec. 7 at Davidson, which is the fourth highest three-point field goal total in college hoops this season and the third highest three-point total in school history.
l Gardner followed that up with a 5-of-9 effort from bonus distance in the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi helping him to his second consecutive 30-point outing.
l One final note about Gardner's three-point shooting is his drastic improvement ... Last year he shot just 27.0 percent from three on 53-of-196 shooting and shot below 33.3 percent 19 times ... This year, Gardner has yet to fall below 33 percent shooting in a game and has shot better than 50 percent four times.

Rock-Solid Play For McKinney
Teammates call him "Rock" and Jimmy McKinney has been just that for the Tigers over his 3-plus seasons in Columbia ... The selfless guard has done it all for head coach Quin Snyder and the Tigers and now the former Vashon High School standout is providing career high scoring numbers (11.1 ppg) to go with his outstanding all-around play.
l McKinney is on pace to become just the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 points (needs 128), 400 rebounds (needs 57) and 300 assists (reached 300 vs. Furman).
l He currently ranks second on the team with his 11.1 ppg. average, bolstered by solid back-to-back games vs. Davidson (16) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19).
l Against Davidson, McKinney hit 7-of-15 shots en route to 16 points ... Just to show how unselfish McKinney has been throughout his Mizzou career, those 15 field goal attempts were a career high for a player then-competing in his 100th consecutive game.
l The senior then responded with a 19-point game vs. Texas A&M-CC, including the game-winning tip-in with :09 seconds remaining and the Tigers trailing 81-80 ... While the last-second bucket proved to be the difference, it was his career-best 12-of-14 free throw shooting that kept Mizzou in position for the win.
l Speaking of free throws, the St. Louis, Mo., native leads the Big 12 with 86.7 percent shooting on the year.

Gardner Digging His Leading Role
Taking on a larger role following the departure of key players is nothing new for Thomas Gardner ... Last season, the 6-foot-5 wing played alongside NBA draft pick Linas Kleiza and senior Jason Conley, but still managed to rank third on the team with 10.4 points per game ... This season, minus both standouts, Gardner has seen his scoring totals more than double (22.3), virtually duplicating the performance he turned in as a high school junior.
l Prior to signing at Mizzou, Gardner played on the same high school team with former Kansas Jayhawks Aaron Miles and Michael Lee, but saw his stock soar following their departure and his ascent into a leadership role for Jefferson High School in Portland, Ore.
l So far this season Gardner is the Big 12's leading scorer (22.3 ppg.) thanks to back-to-back 30-point nights at Davidson (Dec. 7) and Texas A&M-CC (Dec. 10) ... Gardner also leads the Conference with 3.9 three-point makes per game, ranks third in three-point percentage (50.0) and ranks 12th in overall field goal percentage (49.1).
l In recording that first 30-point night at Davidson, Gardner hit 8-of-14 treys, five of which came during a 21-point, second half surge ... The eight triples are tied for third all-time at Mizzou, just behind the nine makes by Rickey Paulding (vs. Marquette on March 22, 2003 in the NCAA Second Round) and 12 by Clarence Gilbert 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 Gardner became the first Big 12 performer with two 30-point efforts when he dropped 30 on Texas A&M-CC on Dec. 10 ... Gardner hit 11-of-22 field goals, including 5-of-9 three-pointers to lift Mizzou to the win ... Just to show he wasn't all about scoring, Gardner also chipped in a career high four steals, including the game-clinching theft in the final :05 seconds.
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.