Nov. 29, 2006
Missouri Tigers (7-0) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-0)
Game 8 - Nov. 30, 2006 - Columbia, Mo.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
FOR OPENERS
- Missouri and Arkansas resume their exciting regional rivalry this evening when the Tigers and Razorbacks hook up on ESPN2 ... The meeting is the 36th all-time between the two clubs and is the first with both teams coming into the game undefeated since the 1993-94 season, although that was just the second game of the season for for both clubs... Ironically, the last time these two clubs met as undefeated programs (more than two games into the season) was in 1989-90 ... Missouri was an identical 7-0, facing a 5-0 Arkansas team in Fayetteville and Mizzou came away with an 89-88 win ... Current Tiger Head Coach Mike Anderson served as an assistant to Nolan Richardson in that game and current Tiger assistant Matt Zimmerman was the Razorback's head manager.
- The Tigers will look to remain unbeaten on the young season and join Oklahoma State as the lone 8-0 teams (thus far) in the Big 12 Conference ... The Tigers have started 8-0 just six times since 1922-23 ... A win would also make Mike Anderson the first Tiger Head Coach to open his career 8-0 since Craig Ruby in 1920-21 ... Ruby opened his Mizzou coaching career with 17 consecutive wins.
- Mizzou will be looking for its 15th consecutive win at Mizzou Arena against non-conference opposition ... That's the longest non-conference winning streak in the history of Mizzou Arena and longest at home since winning 18 consecutive from 2000-03.
- Despite returning just 37.6 percent of the teams scoring from last season (12-16 overall), Missouri is No. 2 in the Big 12 with 83.9 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point percentage (44.7) and No. 3 in field goal percentage (50.1).
- Not only is Mizzou's high-pressure style paying dividends offensively, but it's paying off in the NCAA statistical rankings as well ... Missouri ranks No. 24 nationally with 22.0 turnovers forced per game, No. 20 with 11.14 steals per game and No. 16 with 19.43 assists per game.
- Leading the way for Mizzou is newcomer Stefhon Hannah ... Hannah ranks No. 1 nationally with 28 total steals and No. 4 nationally with 4.0 steals per game ... He also ranks No. 4 with 42 total assists ... Hannah and Jason Horton are the NCAA's No. 3 assist tandem at 11.0 per game.
GETTING TO KNOW TODAY'S FOE
Arkansas comes into Thursday's contest 5-0 following a three-game tournament championship at the inaugural Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. ... The Razorbacks earned three quality wins, topping Southern Illinois 61-53 in overtime, Marist 73-64 and West Virginia 71-64 in the tournament championship game ... The Razorbacks and Tigers have shared one common opponent this season ... The Hogs defeated Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 18 by a 70-59 margin ... The Tigers faced the Lumberjacks a week later on Nov. 25 and came away with an 85-56 win ... Arkansas is led in scoring by three newcomers ... Junior College All-American Sonny Weems paces the Hogs with 14.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while talented freshman Patrick Beverley ranks second in scoring at 13.6 and paces the team with 3.0 steals per game ... Mississippi State transfer Gary Ervin has been a rock at the point guard position for Head Coach Stan Heath's team and is averaging 5.0 assists per game to complement his 10.6 points ... Missouri native Steven Hill continues to be one of the nation's elite shot-blockers and is averaging 4.6 swats per contest.
THE SERIES WITH ARKANSAS
Today's game marks the 36th all-time meeting between Mizzou and Arkansas, with the Razorbacks holding a slim 18-17 series advantage ... Mizzou leads 9-8 all-time in Columbia, but the Razorbacks have won the last eight meetings in the series, including each of the last five contests held in Columbia ... The last Mizzou win in the series came Dec. 7, 1991, in Fayetteville ... The last Mizzou win in Columbia came on Dec. 18, 1988, with the Tigers holding on for an 83-78 win.
FORMER HOGS NOW WEARING BLACK & GOLD
For the first time in their careers, Head Coach Mike Anderson and assistant coaches T.J. Cleveland and Matt Zimmerman will face their former program when Mizzou and Arkansas lock up on Nov. 30.
- Anderson spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas under Nolan Richardson, including a number of seasons as the Assistant Head Coach, helping the Razorbacks to 12 20-win seasons, four 30-win campaigns and three trips to the Final Four, culminating with the 1994 National Championship.
- Cleveland played for Anderson and Richardson at Arkansas from 1998-2002 and finished his career fifth all-time with 226 steals, while scoring 701 points and guiding UA to three NCAA Tournaments.
- Zimmerman is a 1990 graduate of Arkansas and got his start in coaching while in Fayetteville, serving as Head Manager at UA from 1987-90. The St. Vinvent, Ark., native also spent seven seasons coaching at the prep level in Arkansas, before moving on to be an assistant coach at UAB.
- While he's not on staff at Mizzou, former Arkansas Head Coach Nolan Richardson has been a visible supporter of Tiger Basketball since Anderson's arrival in Columbia and cheered on his former rivals at Mizzou Madness (Missouri's Midnight Madness event) and the season-opener against North Carolina A&T.
ANOTHER BORDER BATTLE
One beauty of college basketball is its visible, nationally-televised rivalry games and Mizzou is fortunate enough to play four of those “marquee rivalry” games each year ... Tonight's game vs. Arkansas is the first of those heated contests.
- Tonight's affair will be the 36th all-time meeting between Mizzou and Arkansas, with the Razorbacks holding a slight 18-17 series advantage.
- Mizzou's next rivalry game comes Dec. 19 in St. Louis at the annual Braggin' Rights Game vs. Illinois.
- The final two rivalry games come Jan. 15 and Feb. 10 when the Tigers hook up with the Kansas Jayhawks ... Mizzou and Kansas will be meeting for the 256th and 257th times in series history.
WITH A MISSOURI WIN:
- The Tigers push their non-conference homecourt winning streak to 15 games.
- The Tigers will start 8-0 for the first time since 2001-02 and for just the sixth time over the last 84 years of college basketball (1922-23).
- The Tigers would join Oklahoma State as the only 8-0 teams in the Big 12 Conference.
- Mike Anderson will be the first first-year head coach at Missouri to start 8-0 since Craig Ruby in 1920-21, a stretch of 86 years.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson will have beaten his former employer ... The last time that happened at Mizzou was Jan. 12, 1983, when Norm Stewart's Tigers defeated Northern Iowa 91-62 in Columbia.
- Mizzou will improve to 12-2 in November home games at Mizzou Arena.
- Will give the Tigers an opportunity to go 9-0 for the first time since 2001-02 ... The Tigers have started 9-0 just three times since 1982-83 and just five times since 1921-22 ... Ironically, that 1921-22 team was coached by Craig Ruby and started 13-0.
|
TOP ASSIST TANDEMS |
|||
| Player, Team | Games | Apg. | Comb. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennan Jones, NW St. | 6 | 8.0 | 12.6 | |
| Luke Rogers, NW St. | 6 | 4.6 | ||
| Sean Singletary, UVA | 4 | 7.5 | 11.3 | |
| J.R. Reynolds, UVA | 4 | 3.8 | ||
| Stefhon Hannah, MIZZOU | 7 | 6.0 | 11.0 | |
| Jason Horton, MIZZOU | 7 | 5.0 | ||
|
||||
HANNAH/HORTON COMBO NO. 3 NATIONALLY
Stefhon Hannah and Jason Horton not only lead the Big 12 Conference with a combined 11.0 assists per game, but the duo is ranked No. 3 nationally as well ... Only Northwestern State's Kennan Jones and Luke Rogers (combined 12.6) assists per game and Virginia's Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds have more combined assists than Hannah and Horton.
INSTANT SUCCESS
Very few junior college newcomers have made more of an impact on their new clubs than Mizzou's Stefhon Hannah ... The junior guard is quickly becoming one of the most talked about newcomers in the Big 12 Conference and has recorded league single-game highs for assists (13 vs. Coppin State) and steals (7 vs. Stephen F. Austin).
- Hannah's 28 total steals (through seven games) leads the nation and is six more total steals than the Nebraska Cornhuskers (22 steals) have as an entire team.
- His 6.0 assists per game rank second in the Big 12, and the Chicago, Ill., native is averaging 11.0 assists over his last two contests.
MIZZOU, Mike Anderson IN RARE COMPANY
There were 62 coaching changes made in NCAA Division I basketball last season and of those 62 head coaches starting new jobs, just six remain undefeated ... Mizzou's Mike Anderson is one of those half-dozen.
- In fact, the new coaches in the Big 12 Conference can puff out their chests a little, as Anderson is joined by Iowa State's Greg McDermott, Nebraska's Doc Sadler and Oklahoma State's Sean Sutton.
- North Carolina State's Sidney Lowe and Washington State's Tony Bennett are the only remaining unbeaten first-year head coaches.
MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS
- Missouri wraps up a stretch of playing three games in five days this evening when it hosts Arkansas on ESPN2.
- The Tigers are one of only four remaining unbeaten teams in the Big 12 and will be looking for their first 8-0 start since 2001-02.
- Mizzou is also one of just 34 teams still undefeated nationally, including Arkansas.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson looks to remain as one of only six unbeaten first-year head coaches in the country.
- Anderson is also off to the best start of his career as a head coach ... Anderson's UAB Blazers opened the year 4-0 in 2004-05.
- A win versus Arkansas would give Missouri its 1,396th as a program ... Missouri is 38th all-time in NCAA Division I Basketball wins and is currently six wins shy of 1,400 ... Kansas, Texas Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the only other Big 12 schools to have reached the 1,400 win plateau.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson is reaching a coaching milestone of his own ... Anderson is just four wins shy of his 100th career victory.
- Anderson is the first Tiger Head Coach to start his career 7-0 at Mizzou since Craig Ruby (1920-21).
- Through just seven games, the Mike Anderson Era Tigers have already set Mizzou Arena records in 15 categories.
- Today's game marks the eighth of nine consecutive regular-season contests at Mizzou Arena ... Missouri doesn't play its first road game of 2006-07 until Dec. 9 at Purdue.
- The nine consecutive home games to start a season is a school record ... The previous mark was seven, set in 1909-10.
- Missouri is averaging a robust 19.4 assists per game (136 total) through seven games this season ... The school record for assists per game throughout a season is 19.0, which came in 1988-89.
- To put the team's assist production in perspective, Mizzou didn't achieve its 136th assist in 2005-06 until the 12th game of the year (vs. Oklahoma State in the Big 12-opener).
- Perhaps even more impressive is that same comparison with regards to steals ... The Tigers have 78 steals through seven games (11.1 per game) which is currently tops in the Big 12 ... Last season, Mizzou didn't record its 78th steal until Jan. 7 against Oklahoma State, 12 games in to the season.
- At their current pace of 11.1 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 319 steals.
- The Tigers have achieved a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in five of seven games this season ... The Tigers had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in just seven total games all of last season ... Mizzou also leads the Big 12 in turnover margin.
- Despite being labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 34.9 points per game in the paint, including a season best 50 tallies in the opener against North Carolina A&T.
- Another improved area for the Tigers has come in bench production ... Missouri is averaging 29.5 points per game from its bench through seven games, including a season high 49 points vs. Lipscomb ... Last season, Missouri's reserves averaged just 11.9 points per game.
- Missouri is scoring 30-percent of its points (24.1 of 83.9) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 22.0 turnovers per game and scoring 24.1 points off of those opponent miscues.
- As a team, Missouri is shooting 44.7 percent from three-point range (67-of-151) and has topped double figures in three-point makes four times this season ... The Tigers topped double figures in three-pointers just twice all of last year (at Davidson and at home vs. Kansas).
- Through six games Missouri's offensive improvement has been staggering, the Tigers rank No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring (83.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (50.1), No. 2 in three-point percentage (44.4), No. 2 in assists (19.4) and No. 1 in turnover margin (+6.57).
TIGER TIDBITS (Individual Notes)
- Jason Horton and Stefhon Hannah are one of the Big 12's top backcourt tandems and lead the conference and rank No. 3 nationally with 11.0 assists per game ... The duo also leads the Big 12 with 6.0 steals per game.
- No junior college newcomer has made a bigger impact for his club this season with his all-around game than Hannah ... Hannah leads the Big 12 with 4.0 steals per game and ranks No. 2 with 6.0 assists ... Hannah also ranks No. 18 in scoring (13.3) and No. 14 in three-point makes (1.7).
- Hannah narrowly recorded triple doubles in back-to-back games and is averaging 12.0 points, 11.0 assists and 6.0 steals over his last two games.
- Horton is No. 6 in the Big 12 with 5.0 dimes per game and No. 6 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.50-to-1) ... He also ranks No. 9 with 2.0 steals per game.
- As the numbers show, Matt Lawrence is the Big 12's most improved player this season and has upped his scoring average 933-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is tops on the team and ranks No. 15 in the Big 12 with 14.0 points per game ... He also ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with 3.29 treys per game and his 50.0-percent shooting touch from downtown ranks No. 4.
- Like Lawrence, Kalen Grimes is among the Big 12's most improved players and has upped his season averages from 2.6 points and 2.6 boards as a sophomore to 12.1 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds as a junior.
- Freshman Keon Lawrence poured in a career high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range against Lipscomb ... The last Tiger freshman to score 17 was Jason Horton at Texas A&M in 2004-05 ... The last Tiger freshman to score more than 17 points was Thomas Gardner (2003-04) who scored 20 against UNLV at the Hearnes Center.
- Leo Lyons is becoming one of Mizzou's most consistent performers and is averaging 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds over his last four contests.
- Marshall Brown tied a career high with 21 points vs. Coppin State and narrowly missed his second career double-double by adding eight boards.