Dec. 28, 2006

Columbia, Mo. -

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University of Missouri Tigers (9-2)
vs.
Southern University Jaguars (1-10)
Game 12 - Dec. 30, 2006 - Columbia, Mo.

Tip-off:
5:36 p.m. CST Arena:
Mizzou Arena (15,061) TV:
Mizzou Sports Network (Dan McLaughlin play-by-play; Jon Sundvold analyst) Radio:
Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst) Rankings:
None Series:
Missouri leads 4-0 overall; last - Missouri won 117-67 in Columbia, 12-6-01 Coaches:
Missouri:
Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 98-43 overall (5th season); 9-2 at Mizzou (1st) Southern:
Rob Spivery (Ashland '72) 324-302 overall (21st season); 20-22 at SU (4th)

For Openers
> After playing a pair of contests away from Mizzou Arena, Missouri opens a three-game home stand on Saturday against the Southern University Jaguars ... Mizzou will be looking for its first win in 27 days, although the Tigers have played just two games during that stretch with finals and the holiday break coming during that span.

> Mizzou will be looking for its 17th 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 2000-2003 ... Mizzou has won 10 consecutive games overall at home dating back to last season's 64-63 win over Nebraska in the regular-season finale ... The 10 consecutive home wins is the nation's 20th longest homecourt winning streak.

> Mizzou will go in search of its first 10-2 start since the 2002-03 season ... That season the Tigers qualified for NCAA Tournament play.

> Despite returning just 37.6 percent of its scoring from last season (12-16 overall), Missouri is No. 4 in the Big 12 with 79.8 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.64) and No. 2 in three-point percentage (42.2).

> Overall, the Tigers have topped 80 points in six of 11 games and have won five of nine 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. 5 nationally with 11.5 steals per game, No. 15 with 21.5 turnovers forced per game, and No. 23 with 17.9 assists per game.

> Leading the way for Mizzou is newcomer Stefhon Hannah ... Hannah ranks No. 2 nationally with 41 total steals and No. 3 nationally with 3.7 steals per game ... Hannah and Jason Horton are the NCAA's No. 7 assist tandem at 9.6 per game and No. 5 nationally with 5.3 steals per game.

Mizzou Quick-Hitters
> Mizzou looks to snap a two-game skid as it hosts the Southern Jaguars Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
> The contest will be the fifth all-time meeting between Mizzou and Southern and the Tigers have actually topped the 100-point plateau in each of those previous four meetings.
> The Tigers have averaged 112.0 points vs. SU and have enjoyed a 33.3 ppg. average margin of victory.
> Overall, Missouri is 19-0 vs. the Southwestern Athletic Conference, with the last meeting vs. a SWAC opponent coming in 2001-02 ... The Tigers actually played three SWAC foes that year, toppling Jackson State, Grambling and Southern.
> Mizzou has won two consecutive games following the holiday break, but over the last seven post-holiday contests the Tigers are just 4-3. > With its 9-2 opening under Mike Anderson, Mizzou is off to its best start since the 2002-03 season.
> Head Coach Mike Anderson was named the No. 1 Immediate Impact Coach in America by Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis.
> Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl named Anderson one of his six most innovative coaches in America.
> Anderson was also listed as the leading candidate for National Coach of the Year by Mike DeCourcy and the Sporting News.
> A win vs. Southern would give Missouri its 1,398th as a program ... Missouri is 38th all-time in NCAA Division I Basketball wins and is currently two 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 two wins shy of his 100th career victory. > Through just 11 games, the Mike Anderson Era Tigers have already set Mizzou Arena records in 17 categories.
> Missouri is averaging 17.5 assists per game through 11 games this season, which is No. 24 nationally ... 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 192nd assist in 2005-06 until the 17th game of the year (vs. Iowa State).
> Perhaps even more impressive is that same comparison with regards to steals ... The Tigers have 126 steals through 11 games (11.5 per game) which is currently tops in the Big 12 and ranks No. 5 nationally ... Last season, Mizzou didn't record its 126th steal until Feb. 7 at Texas, 20 games into the season ... In fact, the Tigers only had 167 steals all of last season and at their current rate of 11.6 thefts per game, Mizzou will eclipse that total on Jan. 6 vs. Iowa State.
> At their current pace of 11.5 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 360 steals, which would be No. 2 in Big 12 history.
> Despite being labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 33.4 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 28.7 points per game from its bench through 11 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 (21.7-of-79.8) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 21.1 turnovers per game and scoring 21.7 points off of those opponent miscues. > As a team, Missouri is No. 14 nationally at 42.2 percent shooting from three-point range (95-of-225) ... 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).

Tiger Tidbits (Individual Notes)
> Jason Horton and Stefhon Hannah are one of the Big 12's top backcourt tandems and rank No. 7 nationally with 9.6 assists per game ... The duo also leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 5 nationally with a combined 5.3 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 (No. 3 nationally) with 3.7 steals per game and ranks No. 3 with 5.3 assists ... Hannah also ranks No. 11 in scoring (15.3) and No. 8 in three-point makes (1.9).
> Hannah joins Ohio State standout Mike Conley, UCLA's Darren Collison and Georgia's Sundiata Gaines as the only players in America to rank among the top 45 in both steals and assists.
> Horton is No. 9 in the Big 12 with 4.3 dimes per game and No. 4 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.47-to-1).
> As the numbers show, Matt Lawrence is among the Big 12's most improved players this season and has upped his scoring average 800-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is second on the club with 12.0 points per game ... He also ranks No. 23 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.492) and No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 56 nationally with 2.82 treys per game.
> Lawrence leads the team with 31 three-point makes this year and has shot better than 50 percent from three-point range in 5-of-11 games this season.
> 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 10.4 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds, which also ranks No. 13 in the Big 12.
> Freshman Keon Lawrence continues his marvelous rookie campaign and his 7.7 points per game is the most by a Tiger freshman guard since Jimmy McKinney averaged 8.6 in 2002-2003.
> Leo Lyons earned the first start of his career Dec. 19 vs. Illinois and responded with nine points, seven boards and a block in 27 minutes vs. the Illini.
> The Lyons appearance marked the first change in Mizzou's starting line-up this season.

More About The Southern Jaguars
Southern enters its Dec. 30 contest with Mizzou coming off a 62-47 home win against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 16 ... The Jaguars will be playing their first game in two weeks and open Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Texas Southern on Jan. 2 following their game in Columbia ... An NCAA Tournament qualifier last season, Southern opened the year with 10 consecutive losses, but have played the likes of Georgia, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Florida, all on the road this season ... Southern is led by Deforrest Riley-Smith ... The 6-foot-6 senior wing is averaging 12.9 points, a team-leading 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.2 assists per game ... Sophomore guard Steffon Wiley is second on the club with 8.0 points, but is shooting just 38.8 percent from the floor ... Turnovers could be a factor for the Jaguars on Saturday, as they enter their contest with Mizzou averaging 20.6 miscues per game.

The Series With Southern
Mizzou enters its Dec. 30 contest 4-0 all-time vs. the Southern Jaguars and will be facing Southern for the first time since the 2001-02 season ... In Missouri's four meetings, the Tigers own a 33.3 ppg. average margin of victory and have topped 100 points in each contest ... In fact, the Tigers are averaging 112.0 points per game in the previous four meetings ... Saturday's game will mark Missouri's 20th vs. a Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent ... Mizzou is 19-0 all-time vs. the league.

Coaching Connections
Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson, Director of Basketball Operations, Jeff Daniels, and Southern Head Coach Rob Spivery are very familiar with one another ... Spivery served as a volunteer assistant coach for Nolan Richardson at Tulsa in the early 80s and later became the head coach at Montevallo in 1985-86 ... Spivery then hired Daniels as one of his assistants at Montevallo and Daniels later replaced him as head coach after Spivery left in 1995-96 to become the head coach at his alma mater, Ashland ... Spivery later spent nine seasons at Alabama State as the head coach before taking over at Southern in 2005-06.

With A Missouri Win
> Head Coach Mike Anderson would earn his 99th career victory and would have an opportunity for win No. 100 vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 2.
> Anderson would also have his 10th win as head coach at Mizzou, which would be the eighth most for a first-year head coach in school history. > The Tigers would snap a brief two-game losing streak.
> Mizzou would have its first win in 27 days, although the Tigers have only had two games during that stretch.
> Mizzou would push its non-conference, homecourt winning streak to 17 games.
> The Tigers would push their overall homecourt winning streak to 11 games, the 20th longest homecourt winning streak in America.
> The Tigers would start 10-2 for just the second time over the last decade ... Mizzou opened 10-2 during the 2002-03 season.
> Mike Anderson will be the first first-year head coach at Missouri to start 10-2 since George Bond in 1922-23, a stretch of 84 years.
> Anderson's 10-2 start would be the second fastest for a first year head coach in Big 12 history ... Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie went 11-1 in his first 11 games at A&M in 2004-05.
> Mizzou would move to 2-2 the month of December after going 8-0 in November.

It's Not Just The Name On The Jersey
Parity in college basketball is at its height and Mizzou's strong non-conference schedule reflects that ... While games vs. Illinois, Arkansas and Mississippi State get the hype, the Tigers have faced the toughest schedule in the Big 12 thus far according to the most recent RPI rankings.
> Thanks to Davidson's most recent tournament victory at Arizona State and Army's strong 9-3 start to the season, Missouri's strength of schedule is at No. 42, which is No. 1 among Big 12 Conference teams.
> In fact, among BCS Conference teams, Mizzou's strength of schedule is actually the 16th toughest slate this season per the latest RPI rankings ... Here's a look at strength of schedules around the Big 12 Conference.

Rk.	Team	Rating

42	Missouri	.5667

59	Oklahoma State	.5485

77 	Nebraska	.5415

78	Texas Tech	.5412

103	Oklahoma	.5311

113	Kansas	.5260

120	Kansas State	.5227

162	Texas	.5011

196	Texas A&M	.4847

265	Iowa State	.4565

290	Colorado	.4398

308	Baylor	.4139

Mizzou's 10 Game Winning Streak At Mizzou Arena Among The Nation's Best
With three consecutive home games next on the Tiger's schedule, Mizzou will have an opportunity to build upon its current 10-game, homecourt winning streak ... The streak dates back to last season's 64-63 win over Nebraska in the regular-season finale.

Rk.	School 	Stk. 	Next

1. 	Gonzaga 	47 	1/6 vs. Loyola Marymount

2. 	Connecticut 	29 	1/2 vs. S. Florida

3. 	Air Force 	23 	1/6 vs. UNLV

4. 	BYU 	20 	12/28 vs. Liberty

	Memphis 	20 	12/28 vs. Lamar

6. 	G. Wash.	19 	1/3 vs. Fordham

7. 	NW State 	18	1/11 vs. Texas A&M C.C.

	UAB 	18 	1/10 vs. C. Florida

9. 	Texas 	17 	12/28 vs. Centenary

10. 	Washington 	16 	1/4 vs. Arizona

11. 	Butler 	15 	1/6 vs. Wright State

	Lipscomb 	15 	1/7 vs. Stetson

	Ohio State 	15 	12/30 vs. Coppin State

14.	Bradley 	14 	12/30 vs. Evansville

	Texas A&M 	14 	12/28 vs. Grambling

16. 	Michigan 	13 	12/28 vs. Army

	Missouri St.	13 	1/7 vs. Wichita State

	Winthrop 	13 	1/6 vs. VMI

19. 	Belmont 	12 	12/28 vs. Rice

20.	Missouri	10	12/30 vs. Southern