Feb. 16, 2006
Columbia, Mo. -
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Missouri (11-11, 4-7 Big 12) will look to put the events surrounding the past week behind them as they travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face No. 22 Kansas on CBS ... Mizzou will look for its first three-game winning streak over the Jayhawks since the 1989-90 seasons ... Mizzou won four consecutive during that stretch ... Missouri will look for its first win in Lawrence Jan. 24, 1999, Norm Stewart's final game at Allen ... Missouri snapped a six-game losing skid last Sunday under interim head coach Melvin Watkins ... With his designation as head coach on an interim basis, Watkins officially became the first Black head coach in school history ... Prior to coming to Missouri in 2004, Watkins served six seasons as head coach at Texas A&M and two seasons at the helm of his alma mater, UNC-Charlotte ... Today's game marks Mizzou's first appearance on CBS ... The Tigers are 10-18 all-time on the network, including last season's 72-68 win over No. 7 Kansas in Columbia ... The Tigers are 1-2 on national television this season, with that one win coming against Kansas 89-86 in overtime ... In Mizzou's 74-71 win over Kansas State, the Tigers topped the 70-point mark for the first time in seven tries ... During the six-game skid, Missouri was averaging just 57.5 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting ... Marshall Brown led a group of four Tiger players in double figures, scoring 18 points on 5-of-8 FG shooting and 8-of-10 FTs ... Missouri improved to 4-1 when four players reach double figures ... Included in those four wins was the initial meeting vs. Kansas when Thomas Gardner led the way with a career high 40 points, which was the fifth highest scoring effort in Big 12 history ... Speaking of Gardner, the junior needs just 48 points to reach 1,000 for his career ... The last juniors to top 1,000 tallies were Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson in 2002-03 ... With his team-high six rebounds at Baylor, senior guard Jimmy McKinney became the fifth player in Missouri history to record 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists.
Gardner Among Mizzou's Best vs. Kansas
Anthony Peeler's 73 points in two regular-season games vs. Kansas in 1991-92 are the most ever for a Tiger vs. the Jayhawks, but Thomas Gardner's 40-point outburst vs. Kansas on Jan. 16 puts the Portland, Ore., native in position to quickly move up the MU charts vs. its arch rival ... Overall, 15 Tigers have scored more than 40 points in two regular-season games vs. Kansas since 1950, including Gardner ... The Tiger junior needs just 10 more tallies vs. Kansas on Saturday to become one of eight MU players to tally 50 points in two games vs. KU.
Missouri's Top Regular-Season Scoring Efforts vs. Kansas
Tiger Points Year
Anthony Peeler 73 1991-92
Kim Anderson 60 1976-77
Derrick Chievous 55 1986-87
Willie Smith 55 1974-75
Arthur Johnson 52 2003-04
Al Eberhard 52 1972-73
Willie Smith 51 1975-76
Thomas Gardner 40 2005-06
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 (19.8) and three-point field goals per game (3.41).
l Gardner is the first Tiger to be selected to the Wooden Award midseason list since Kareem Rush in 2001-02.
Family Affair
A Rush will once again roam the hardwood along with the Missouri Tigers, but this time it's in an opposing uniform ... Kansas freshman Brandon Rush, the younger brother of former Tiger great and current Charlotte Bobcat Kareem Rush, will make his second appearance against Missouri this afternoon and enters the contest leading KU with 14.3 points per game ... A native of Kansas City, Mo., Rush attended Mt. Zion Academy in North Carolina, where he teamed with current Tiger sophomore Glen Dandridge.
Here is a list of Kareem Rush's career accomplishments in three seasons at MU.
Kareem Rush Career Records At Missouri
Rank Category Statistic
1st Career 3-Point FG Pct. 43.9
1st Consec. Games with a trey 40
2nd Career 3-Point Field Goals 226
2nd Career 3-Point FG Attempts 536
4th Career Scoring Average 19.4
10th Career FG Attempts 1,235
11th Career Points 1,584
Kareem Rush Honors
** First Round NBA Draft Pick, 2002
20th overall, Toronto (to Los Angeles)
** First Team All-Big 12, 2000-01
** First Team All-Big 12, 2001-02
** HM All-American, 2000-01
** HM All-American, 2001-02
** Big 12 Freshman of the Year, 1999-00
McKinney Hits Mizzou Career Milestone
Jimmy McKinney's versatility has the Tiger senior listed among the school's all-time greats ... After scoring his 1,000th career point against Iowa State on Jan. 25, the former Vashon High School standout recorded his 400th career rebound at Baylor to become just the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists during his Mizzou playing career ... McKinney joined 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
Kansas (18-6, 9-2 Big 12) enters today's game on an eight-game winning streak with its last loss coming against Mizzou on Jan. 16, 2006, in Columbia ... Freshmen Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers lead the Jayhawks in scoring at 14.3 and 10.7 points per game respectively, while a total seven Jayhawks average better than 6.5 points per outing ... Kansas is one of the nation's top defensive clubs and is holding opponents to just 60.8 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting from the floor ... Only two clubs have topped the 80-point barrier vs. Kansas this season, but Mizzou was one of those two clubs (Iowa State scored 85) during an 89-86 overtime win at Mizzou Arena ... Since that game however, Kansas has been near flawless and has had just one game decided by fewer than 10 points (59-58 win over Oklahoma) ... Kansas has also won four consecutive at Allen Fieldhouse since suffering a 59-55 loss to Kansas State on Jan. 14.
Mizzou Series With The Kansas
Saturday's game marks the 255th all-time meeting between Kansas and Missouri with the Jayhawks holding a 161-93 series advantage ... In Lawrence, KU leads 82-32 and has won six consecutive dating back to a 71-63 Tiger win on Jan. 24, 1999 ... Mizzou has won two consecutive overall in the series and will look for its first three game winning streak vs. KU since the 1989-90 seasons ... Tiger interim head coach Melvin Watkins is 0-6 all-time vs. Kansas, with each of those meetings coming during his tenure at Texas A&M (1998-04).