Jan. 29, 2007

Dallas, Texas - Mizzou junior guard Stefhon Hannah (Chicago, Ill. / Hyde Park HS / Chipola CC) was named the Big 12 Conference's Rookie of the Week for the third time this season after leading the Tigers to back-to-back wins at Colorado (79-65) and at home against Texas Tech (71-58) last week.

Hannah averaged team-leading numbers of 14.5 points and 4.5 assists during Mizzou's two-game stretch, which was highlighted by the 13-point win over Bob Knight and Texas Tech on Jan. 27. Against the Red Raiders, Hannah led Missouri with 15 points, a career-high tying six rebounds and a game-high four assists to knock off the Big-12 leading Red Raiders. Texas Tech entered the contest after beating No. 5 Kansas and No. 6 Texas A&M.

Hannah opened the week with a 14-point, five-assist effort at Colorado. The win vs. the Buffs marked Mizzou's first win of the Big 12 season and halted a 12-game losing skid in games away from Mizzou Arena.

The Big 12-leader (and No. 3 nationally) with 3.1 steals per game, Hannah has led Mizzou to a surprising 13-6 record this year. Last season, Mizzou finished just 12-16 and returned just 37 percent of its scoring from that unit. With the win over Texas Tech, Mizzou joined Oklahoma State in becoming the first Big 12 Conference teams to eclipse their 2005-06 win totals.

The Big 12 Rookie of the Week award is Hannah's third of the year. The three honors are the most for a Tiger in Big 12 Conference history and are tied for the fifth most by a Big 12 student-athlete in a single season. Texas A&M's Clifton Cook won the award five times in 1998-99, while Texas' P.J. Tucker (2003-04), A&M's Antoine Wright (2002-03), Iowa State's Marcus Fizer (1997-98) and Texas freshman Kevin Durant (2006-07) have won the award four times.

Mizzou returns to action on Jan. 31 at Kansas State. Game time between the Tigers and Wildcats is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Manhattan and the game will be televised on both ESPN-Plus and ESPNU.

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