Feb. 5, 2006
Columbia, Mo. -
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Missouri (10-10, 3-6 Big 12) will look to halt its season-long five game losing skid on Tuesday when it travels to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears ... Mizzou has won five of six games vs. the Bears during Head Coach Quin Snyder's tenure including 2-of-3 games played in Waco ... The Tigers will go in search of their second road victory of the season ... Missouri's initial road win came at No. 22 Oklahoma on Jan. 10 ... Senior guard Jimmy McKinney needs just six rebounds to become the fifth player in Missouri history to record 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists ... Fellow senior Kevin Young scored 12 points at Texas Tech over the weekend and will look to reach double figures for the third consecutive game for the first time in his career ... Missouri has played much-improved defense over its last three games (69.0 ppg), but has averaged just 56.4 points during its five-game losing skid ... The Tigers have shot just 36.6 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from three-point range during the stretch ... Junior guard Thomas Gardner continues to pace the Big 12 at 20.0 points per game and needs just four three-point field goals to move into Mizzou's single-season Top 10 ... Gardner has a career high 68 triples already this season, with Mark Atkins (1993-94) and Brian Grawer (2000-01) standing 10th with 71 makes ... Missouri is coming off a 73-55 defeat at Texas Tech on Feb. 4 ... Sixteen first-half turnovers by Mizzou helped the Red Raiders build a 48-26 lead at the break ... Despite the huge deficit, McKinney scored 15 points in the second half to bring the Tigers within eight points (59-51) with 5:09 remaining ... An unheralded statistics regarding McKinney's play during Big 12 action has been his consistent three-point shooting stroke ... The St. Louis, Mo., native is pacing the club with 46.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc, a statistic that would rank second in Conference play with enough makes/attempts.
Gardner Named To Wooden Award Midseason List
College basketball's version of the FDA gave Mizzou junior guard Thomas Gardner its stamp of approval over the weekend when the John R. Wooden Award committee named the Portland, Ore., native to its midseason All-America listing.
l Gardner was one of three Big 12 players named to the grouping, along with Texas representatives LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker.
l Gardner currently leads the Big 12 and ranks among national leaders in scoring (20.0) and three-point field goals per game (3.5).
l Gardner is the first Tiger to be selected to the Wooden Award midseason list since Kareem Rush in 2001-02.
McKinney Closing In On A Milestone
Jimmy McKinney's versatility has the Tiger senior closing in on a milestone ... After scoring his 1,000th career point against Iowa State on Jan. 25, the former Vashon High School standout needs just six rebounds to become the fifth player in Missouri history to record 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists during his Mizzou playing career ... McKinney has already topped 300 assists and currently has 332 heading into today's contest ... Once McKinney tops 400 boards, the St. Louis, Mo., native will join Doug Smith (1987-01), Anthony Peeler (1988-92), Melvin Booker (1990-94) and Greg Cavener (1981-85) as the only Tigers to accomplish the 1,000-point, 400-rebound, 300-assist feat.
Getting To Know Today's Foe
Baylor (1-7, 1-7 Big 12) enters today's contest looking for its second consecutive home-court victory following a 72-70 overtime win against Kansas State on Feb. 1 ... Baylor did drop its most recent contest, a 60-45 decision at Nebraska, despite leading the Cornhuskers 30-23 at the half ... Excellent three-point shooting helped the Bears build that early advantage as they connected on 8-of-13 triples in the opening stanza ... Baylor hit just 2-of-10 threes in the second half however, and were consequently outscored 37-15 down the stretch ... All-Big 12 candidate Aaron Bruce leads Baylor in scoring at 12.1 points per game, but is shooting just 30.1 percent from the floor on the season ... Freshman Henry Dugat is second on the squad at 10.6 points and paces the team with 3.0 assists per game ... Overall, Baylor is shooting just 34.6 percent from the floor and is being outrebounded by an average of 10.5 boards per night.
Mizzou Series With Baylor
Tuesday's game marks the 16th all-time meeting between Missouri and Baylor and the ninth since the two programs began Big 12 Conference play in 1996-97 ... Missouri owns a 9-6 overall lead in the series, but Baylor is 3-2 vs. the Tigers in Waco ... Mizzou has won three consecutive in the series, including last season's 60-53 victory in Columbia ... Each match-up during the Quin Snyder era has been decided by 10 points or less, including a 70-66 Mizzou win in its last trip to the Ferrell Center on Feb. 21, 2004.