Dec. 2, 2006

Columbia, Mo. -

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University of Missouri Tigers (8-0)
vs.
Evansville Purple Aces (4-2)
Game 9 - Dec. 3, 2006 - Columbia, Mo.

Tip-off:
12:06 p.m. CST
Arena:
Mizzou Arena (15,061)
TV:
MSN (Chris Gervino play-by-play; Jon Sundvold analyst)
Radio:
Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings:
Evansville: None; Missouri: None
Series:
Missouri leads 1-0 overall; Missouri won 68-53 in Lahaina, Hawaii on 11-24-89

Coaches:
Missouri:
Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 97-41 overall (5th season); 8-0 at Mizzou (1st) Evansville:
Steve Merfeld (UW-La Crosse '84) 44-76 at Evansville (5th season)

For Openers
> The University of Missouri will look to remain unbeaten on the 2006-07 season and push its record to 9-0 when it hosts Evansville on Sunday at Mizzou Arena ... The contest will be Mizzou's final home game for 27 days, as the Tigers play back-to-back contests at Purdue on Dec. 9 and in St. Louis vs. Illinois in the Busch Braggin' Rights Game on Dec. 19.
> The Tigers will look to remain unbeaten on the young season and join Oklahoma State as the lone 9-0 teams (thus far) in the Big 12 Conference ... The Tigers have started 9-0 just six times since 1922-23 ... A win would also make Mike Anderson the first Tiger Head Coach to open his career 9-0 since Craig Ruby in 1920-21 ... Ruby opened his Mizzou coaching career with 17 consecutive wins.
> Mizzou will be looking for its 16th 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 its scoring from last season (12-16 overall), Missouri is No. 3 in the Big 12 with 84.1 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 1 in three-point field goals (9.88) and No. 2 in three-point percentage (45.9).
> Overall, the Tigers have topped 80 points in six of eight games and have won five of eight games by 20-plus points ... Over the previous two seasons combined (2004-05 and 2005-06), Missouri topped 80 points in scoring and identical six times ... Over the previous three seasons (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06) Mizzou won just four (total) games by 20-plus point margins.
> 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. 10 nationally with 11.9 steals per game, No. 16 with 22.3 turnovers forced per game, and No. 18 with 19.3 assists per game.
> Leading the way for Mizzou is newcomer Stefhon Hannah ... Hannah ranks No. 1 nationally with 34 total steals and No. 2 nationally with 4.3 steals per game ... He also ranks No. 4 with 48 total assists ... Hannah and Jason Horton are the NCAA's No. 4 assist tandem at 10.9 per game.

Mizzou Quick-Hitters
> Missouri wraps up its school-record nine game homestand to start the season on Sunday when it hosts Evansville at Mizzou Arena.
> The Tigers are one of only four remaining unbeaten teams in the Big 12 and will be looking for their first 9-0 start since 2001-02.
> Mizzou is also one of just 27 teams still undefeated nationally.
> Head Coach Mike Anderson looks to remain as one of only six unbeaten first-year head coaches in the country.
> A win versus Evansville would give Missouri its 1,397th 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 three wins shy of his 100th career victory.
> Through just eight games, the Mike Anderson Era Tigers have already set Mizzou Arena records in 17 categories.
> The Tigers are coming off an 86-64 win over Arkansas, which marked the team's third consecutive win by 20-plus points ... Missouri hasn't won three consecutive games by 20-plus points since the 1991-92 campaign ... The Tigers haven't won four consecutive games by 20-plus points since 1987-88.
> Missouri is averaging a robust 19.3 assists per game (154 total) through eight 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 154th assist in 2005-06 until the 13th game of the year (vs. Oklahoma).
> Perhaps even more impressive is that same comparison with regards to steals ... The Tigers have 78 steals through eight games (11.9 per game) which is currently tops in the Big 12 ... Last season, Mizzou didn't record its 95th steal until Jan. 16 against Kansas, 15 games in to the season.
> At their current pace of 11.9 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 357 steals. > Overall, Mizzou is No. 10 nationally with 11.9 steals per game.
> The Tigers have achieved a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in six of eight 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 at +6.8.
> 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 29.4 points per game from its bench through eight games, including a season high 49 points vs. Lipscomb ... Last season, Missouri's reserves averaged just 11.9 points per game.
> Missouri is scoring nearly 30-percent of its points (23.8 of 84.1) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 22.3 turnovers per game and scoring 23.8 points off of those opponent miscues.
> As a team, Missouri is No. 9 nationally at 45.9 percent shooting from three-point range (79-of-172) ... The Tigers have topped double figures in three-point makes five 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 eight games Missouri's offensive improvement has been staggering ... The Tigers rank No. 3 in the Big 12 in scoring (84.1), No. 2 in three-point percentage (45.9), No. 2 in three-point makes (9.9), No. 2 in assists (19.9) and No. 1 in turnover margin (+6.8).

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. 4 nationally with 10.9 assists per game ... The duo also leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 3 nationally with a combined 6.1 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 4.3 steals per game and ranks No. 2 with 6.0 assists ... Hannah also ranks No. 14 in scoring (14.3) and No. 10 in three-point makes (2.0).
> Hannah has been outstanding in his last four games and is averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 assists and 6.0 steals.
> Horton is No. 9 in the Big 12 with 4.9 dimes per game and No. 5 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.44-to-1) ... He also ranks No. 11 with 1.9 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 973-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is tops on the team and ranks No. 12 in the Big 12 with 14.6 points per game ... He also ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 9 nationally with 3.50 treys per game and his 53.8-percent shooting touch from downtown ranks No. 3.
> 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 11.4 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds as a junior.
> Freshman Keon Lawrence continues his marvelous rookie campaign and his 8.8 points per game is the most by a Tiger freshman guard since Kareem Rush averaged 14.7 in 1999-2000 ... Lawrence's 52.0 percent shooting stroke would rank fourth in the Big 12 with enough attempts, although his 1.63 treys per game is enough to rank No. 15 in the Big 12 and No. 2 among freshmen.
> Leo Lyons is becoming one of Mizzou's most consistent performers and is averaging 8.2 points and 6.4 rebounds over his last five 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.

Getting To Know Today's Foe
Evansville enters today's game 4-2 and is on a run of four consecutive wins following a 75-57 win over Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 29 ... In fact, the Purple Aces are just eight points from being an undefeated 6-0 ... Evansville dropped the season-opener 67-64 at Lipscomb and fell 74-69 at home to Miami (Fla.) before rattling off the four consecutive wins ... Senior forward Matt Webster leads three Aces in double-figures with 15.8 points per game ... The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game ... Evansville native Kyle Anslinger is second on the club at 11.0 points per game and is 12-of-29 from three-point range. > Evansville and Mizzou have shared one common opponent this season, Lipscomb ... The Purple Aces fell 67-64 at Lipscomb on Nov. 13, while the Tigers defeated Lipscomb 66-45.
> Evansville sophomore Shy Ely is the cousin of Mizzou Women's Basketball assistant coach Eric Ely.

Mizzou Series History With Evansville
Today's game marks just the second meeting between Missouri and Evansville ... The Tigers and Purple Aces had their only other meeting in on Nov. 24, 1989, in Lahaina, Hawaii, with the Tigers coming away with a 68-53 win.

With A Missouri Win
> The Tigers push their non-conference homecourt winning streak to 16 games.
> The Tigers will start 9-0 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 9-0 teams in the Big 12 Conference.
> Mike Anderson will be the first first-year head coach at Missouri to start 9-0 since Craig Ruby in 1920-21, a stretch of 86 years.
> Anderson's 9-0 start would be the second fastest for a first year head coach in Big 12 history ... Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie went 11-0 to open his Texas A&M career in 2004-05.
> Mizzou would open the month of December with a win after going 8-0 in November.
> Mizzou would improve to 2-0 vs. Evansville and 44-17 all-time vs. the Missouri Valley.
> Will give the Tigers an opportunity to go 10-0 for the first time since 1991-92 ... The Tigers have started 10-0 just twice since 1982-83 and just four times since 1921-22.

Hannah - Horton Combo No. 4 Nationally
Stefhon Hannah and Jason Horton not only lead the Big 12 Conference with a combined 10.9 assists per game, but the duo is ranked No. 4 nationally as well ... Only Ohio State's Mike Conley and Jamar Butler (combined 12.2), Northwestern State's Kennan Jones and Luke Rogers (combined 12.6) assists per game and Davidson's Jason Richards and Stephen Curry (combined 11.1) have more combined assists than Hannah and Horton.

Player, Team	Games	Apg.

Mike Conley, Ohio State	7	6.6

Jamar Butler, Ohio State	7	5.6

			12.2
Kennan Jones, NW St.	6	7.7
Luke Rogers, NW St.	6	4.4
			12.1
Jason Richards, Davidson	8	7.5
Stephen Curry, Davidson	8	3.6
			11.1
Stefhon Hannah, Missouri	7	6.0
Jason Horton, Missouri	7	4.9
			10.9

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 34 total steals (through eight games) leads the nation and is more total steals than Big 12 clubs Kansas State (33) and Oklahoma (31) entering the weekend.
> Over his last three games, Hannah is averaging 6.0 steals per game and those 18 total steals in three games is a school record ... Reggie Smith had 15 steals during a three-game stretch in 1992-93.
> His 6.0 assists per game rank second in the Big 12, and the Chicago, Ill., native is averaging 9.3 assists over his last three 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 five remain undefeated ... Mizzou's Mike Anderson is one of those five.
> In fact, the new coaches in the Big 12 Conference can puff out their chests a little, as Anderson is joined by 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.

400 Shots A Day, 400 Shots A Day
Matt Lawrence is the most improved player in the Big 12 ... period ... and that's not just SID speak, the numbers back it up ... After averaging 1.5 points as a freshman, the 6-foot-7 sophomore has seen his per-game scoring averages soar to a team-leading 14.6 points per game this season ... That's an improvement of 13.1 points per game, but more importantly, it's a 973-percent improvement from his 2005-06 totals.
> How did Lawrence improve so rapidly? Well, the St. Louis native remained in Columbia most of the summer and averaged 400 shots per day in preparation for play in Mike Anderson's system.
> Through eight games, Lawrence already has three 20-point performances, which is the most by a Tiger sophomore since Linas Kleiza scored 20 point in nine games in 2004-05 ... Kleiza went on to become a first round NBA draft pick following that sophomore season.
> Other notable improvements around the Big 12 include Oklahoma's Longar Longar (2.1 to 11.8, 562-percent improvement) and Austin Johnson (3.0 to 11.8, 393-percent improvement) as well as Texas' A.J. Abrams, who has seen his scoring average improve from 6.4 points to 19.6 (306-percent improvement).

The Microwave
It doesn't take freshman guard Keon Lawrence long to heat up on the basketball court ... After suffering a stress fracture in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot on Oct. 30, the freshman was scheduled to miss the next 4-6 weeks while the injury healed ... Lawrence needed just 11 days to return to action and immediately made his presence felt in the opener, burying his first career three-point attempt just 2:31 seconds after checking into his first collegiate contest.
> That accelerated return has been symbolic of the quick impact Lawrence makes for the Tigers once he steps on the floor ... On average, Lawrence needs just 3:11 to score his first points upon entry into the game and has hit a three-pointer for his first points in 5-of-8 games.