March 6, 2006
Columbia, Mo. -
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Missouri (12-15, 5-11 Big 12) will look for its second consecutive win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers following a thrilling 64-63 win over Barry Collier's club in the regular-season finale at Mizzou Arena on March 5 ... The victory helped give the Tigers the No. 11 seed in this week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament, setting up the rematch and putting Mizzou in the "No. 6 vs. No. 11 Game" ... Including this week's tourney, Mizzou has now played in the "6-11 Game" six times since the start of the Big 12 Tournament, although this will be the Tigers' first appearance as the No. 11 seed ... Mizzou is 8-0 all-time in opening-round games and 1-0 as the lower seed ... In 1997, Norm Stewart's Tigers raced to the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game, which included an opening-round win over No. 7 Nebraska by a 78-72 margin ... Mizzou and the Cornhuskers will be meeting in the opening round of the Big 12 Tourney for the fourth time and for the third time in four seasons ... Mizzou is 3-0 vs. Nebraska in Big 12 Tournament play ... The No. 11 seed is 1-9 in the Big 12 Tournament, but No. 11 Colorado defeated No. 6 Texas in last season's affair ... The last time Mizzou finished the Conference season and opened Conference Tournament play with the same opponent was in 1984-85 when the Tigers played Kansas State on March 2 in Columbia to close the regular season (69-54 loss) and opened the Big Eight Tourney vs. the Wildcats with a 68-50 win on March 6 ... Thomas Gardner needs 22 points on Thursday to become the first Tiger since Kareem Rush (21.1 in 2000-01) to average 20.0 points for the season ... Gardner ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 at 19.9, but has topped the 20-point plateau 16 times ... A group of four Tigers have topped 20 points 17 times in a season, with the last being Rush in 2001-02 ... Gardner's Big 12-leading total of 3.44 three-point field goals per game is a Mizzou record and third in Big 12 history ... Gardner needs seven treys at the Big 12 Tournament to become just the third Tiger with 100 treys in a single season ... Clarence Gilbert (twice) and Rush are the others ... Jimmy McKinney is the Big 12's top senior scorer in League action at 13.8 points per game.
Postseason Honors For Gardner, McKinney
Two members of Mizzou's backcourt, Thomas Gardner and Jimmy McKinney, were named to the All-Big 12 Team earlier this week by the Conference Coaches, with Gardner earning Third Team honors and McKinney recognized as an Honorable Mention pick ... Gardner was also cited for his vast improvement this season when he was named to the Big 12's "All-Improved Team" by the League Media.
l Gardner finished the regular-season No. 1 in the Big 12 in three-point makes (3.44), No. 2 in scoring (19.9) and No. 4 in three-point percentage (40.4).
l His scoring numbers (19.9) nearly doubled his sophomore-year production of 10.6 and his 40.4 percent three-point shooting this season is remarkably improved over his 27.0 percent success rate from beyond the arc as a sophomore.
l McKinney is the Big 12's leading senior scorer at 13.8 points and has reached double figures in 12-of-16 Big 12 games ... McKinney also became just the fourth player in Mizzou history to record 1,100 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists.
Better Late Than Never ... Gardner Delivers
With 13 of 27 games decided by nine points or less, Missouri has had a "crunch time" in a number of its outings this season and Thomas Gardner, the Big 12's No. 2 scorer, has stepped up to the challenge ... Gardner is averaging 8.2 of his 19.9 points in the final 12:46 of Missouri's 27 games this season and has scored 10-plus points in the final 12:46 10 times this season.
l Gardner's best late-game effort came in the dramatic come-from-behind win against Kansas, when he poured in 18 points over the final 11:34 (plus the overtime) to lead Mizzou to an 89-86 win.
l TG also tallied 16 points in the final 12:46 at Iowa State on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range ... Gardner scored five points in the first half vs. the Cyclones put exploded for 19 tallies over the final 20 minutes in Mizzou's near miss at Hilton.
l One of his more dramatic performances came in the final 2:53 of the regular-season finale against Nebraska, when he scored 11 consecutive Tiger points and brought Mizzou back from a 59-51 deficit and into a 62-61 lead ... Gardner hit two three-pointers, converted on three consecutive free throws (fouled on a trey) and hit a left-handed runner to get Mizzou the win.
The Best Of Gardner's Late-Game Heroics
Opponent Gardner's Points / Time
Kansas 18 points in the final 11:34
Iowa State 16 points in the final 12:46
Nebraska 11 points in the final 2:53
Oklahoma State 10 points in the final 9:39
Baylor 11 points in the final 12:15
Sam Houston 10 points in the final 6:27
NW State 10 points in the final 6:13
Eastern Illinois 10 points in the final 8:27
Texas A&M-CC 17 points in the final 11:27
Davidson 14 points in the final 11:54
Getting To Know Today's Foe
Nebraska (17-12, 7-9 Big 12) enters today's contest coming off a 64-63 defeat to the Tigers on March 5 ... It was Nebraska's sixth loss in its last eight tries... The Cornhuskers were once again led offensively by Wes Wilkinson and sophomore Aleks Maric ... Wilkinson scored 17 points and hit 4-of-6 treys, while Maric added 16 points and nine rebounds ... Overall, Wilkinson leads the team in scoring (12.1), thanks to his outstanding three-point accuracy (44.3 percent) ... In Big 12 play, however, Maric has led the Huskers, scoring 12.9 points and grabbing 9.4 rebounds per night ... Those 9.4 boards lead the League ... Senior wing Jason Dourisseau has also shown an improved scoring punch since the start of Big 12 play and ranks third on the club with 10.8 points per night and grabbed 12 boards in the last meeting with Mizzou.
Mizzou Series With The Cornhuskers
Mizzou leads the all-time series with Nebraska 121-85, including a 64-63 win last Sunday in Columbia ... Mizzou is 13-9 vs. the Huskers in Conference Tournament play, which includes a 4-3 mark in the Big Seven Tournament, a 1-5 mark in the Big Eight Holiday Tournament, a 5-1 mark in the Big Eight Postseason Tournament and a 3-0 mark in Big 12 Tournament history ... In Dallas, Mizzou is 1-0 vs. Nebraska, with that win coming on March 13, 2003, by a 70-61 margin ... Missouri has won 10 of the last 12 in the series and is 17-6 vs. Nebraska since Big 12 play began during the 1996-97 season ... Tiger Head Coach Melvin Watkins is 3-4 all-time vs. Nebraska.