Oct. 24, 2006
Columbia, Mo. - Braggin' Rights have typically been reserved for Mizzou Basketball's annual tilt with the University of Illinois in St. Louis each of the past 25 holiday seasons, but Head Coach Mike Anderson has added a unique competition for Friday's (Oct. 27) Black and Gold Game.
The first year Tiger coach is pitting reporters Graham Watson (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) and Steve Walentik (Columbia Tribune) against KOMU Sports Director Chris Gervino in a battle for media / coaching bragging rights on the hardwood. Watson and Walentik will serve as guest coaches for the Gold Team, while Gervino, the host This Week in Mizzou Basketball with Mike Anderson, will serve as guest coach for the Black Team.
Both coaching staffs will meet Tuesday (Oct. 24) afternoon at 4 p.m. at Mizzou Arena to draft their respective clubs and will help select line-ups and match-ups throughout the game. Results from Tuesday afternoon's draft will be available on-line at mutigers.com.
"We feel like this is going to be a fun evening of basketball and it will be a unique opportunity for members of our media, who normally cover us from the media section, to come down to the bench and actually be in the hot seat," Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "We are excited Chris, Graham and Steve could be apart of this fun event."
Doors to the annual Black and Gold Game open at 6 p.m. and the contest begins at 7 p.m. Admission is just $5 with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia Area and Coaches vs. Cancer. In addition to the full-length scrimmage, fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite Tigers at a pre-game autograph session on the concourse of Mizzou Arena. Autographs begin at 6 p.m. and feature Tigers players, as well as Head Coach Mike Anderson.
Following Friday's Black and Gold scrimmage, Mizzou opens exhibition play on Nov. 3 against the University of Missouri-Rolla. Tip-time vs. the Miners is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be carried live on the Mizzou Sports Network.
Following a second tune-up against the Lithuania Academy on Nov. 6, the Tigers will open regular-season competition, Nov. 10-12, when they host the John Thompson Foundation Classic at Mizzou Arena. The John Thompson Classic is a four-team, round-robin tournament and there will be two games played each day at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou opens the tourney against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 10, before facing Army (Nov. 11) and Stetson (Nov. 12) to round out competition.
Season and single-game tickets for Mizzou Baskeball are on sale. Fans can contact the Mizzou Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS for more information.
## M I Z Z O U ##