Jan. 8, 2007
Missouri Tigers (11-3, 0-1 Big 12) vs. Texas Longhorns (11-3, 1-0 Big 12)
Game 15 - Jan. 10, 2007 - Austin, Texas
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
FOR OPENERS
- Mizzou looks to rebound from its last-second defeat to Iowa State when it travels to Austin, Texas, to face the Texas Longhorns ... The Tigers have dropped eight consecutive games to UT dating back to the 1998-99 campaign and will look to snap a road / neutral court losing skid of 10 games, dating back to Jan. 10, 2006 (at Oklahoma) ... Actually, Mizzou hasn't won in the state of Texas since the 2003-04 Big 12 Tournament, a streak Texas natives Marshall Brown (Austin) and Jason Horton (Dallas) would like to end.
- Despite the narrow loss to Iowa State on Saturday, Mizzou is going for its 12th win in just 15 tries ... Last season, Missouri had just 12 wins in 28 games throughout the entire 2005-06 season and return just 37.6 percent of its scoring and 66.5 percent of its rebounding from that club.
- Junior guard Stefhon Hannah continues to lead the nation with 3.7 steals per game ... Hannah has topped five or more steals in a game six times this season ... Hannah now has 52 steals on the year and already ranks ninth on Mizzou's single-season Top 10 steals list ... FYI, the single-season record is 76 held by Lynn Hardy in 1986-87 ... The Big 12 record for steals in a season is 102 by Mexico, Mo., native Cookie Belcher (Nebraska) in 1998-99.
- As a team, Mizzou leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 2 nationally with 12.1 steals per game and has 170 total steals ... The Tigers only had 167 total steals during the entire 2005-06 season ... Missouri needs just 100 more thefts to move into the single-season Top Five and needs just 126 more steals to break the school record of 195 set in 1985-86.
- Despite returning just 37.6 percent of its scoring from last season, Missouri is No. 4 in the Big 12 with 79.5 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.5) and No. 2 in three-point percentage (41.5).
- Overall, the Tigers have topped 80 points in eight of 14 games and have won six of their 11 games by 20-plus points ... Over the previous two seasons combined (2004-05 and 2005-06), Missouri topped 80 points in scoring just 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.
MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS
- Mizzou will look to regain its winning ways when it travels to Austin, Texas, to face the Texas Longhorns.
- The Tigers will look to snap a road / neutral court losing streak of 10 consecutive games ... The Tigers haven't won away from Mizzou Arena since Jan. 10, 2006, at Oklahoma.
- Mizzou will go in search of its first 12-3 start since the 2000-01 season.
- The Tigers are also looking for their first win over Texas since the 1998-99 campaign, Norm Stewart's final season at Mizzou.
- 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.
- ESPN's Jay Bilas paid equal props to Anderson, saying he was in fine shape to win Coach of the Year honors.
- Today's game marks the first Big 12 Conference road game for Head Coach Mike Anderson ... Anderson looks to become the second consecutive Tiger sideline boss to win his initial Big 12 road game.
- With a win vs. Texas, Missouri would record its 1,400th victory as a program ... Missouri is 38th all-time in NCAA Division I Basketball wins and would join Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the only other Big 12 schools to have reached the 1,400 win plateau.
- Ole Mizzou ranks No. 2 nationally with 12.1 steals per game ... So far this season the Tigers have 170 total steals, which is already more than the 167 steals Missouri recorded during the entire 2005-06 season ... In case you were wondering, Virginia Military (VMI) leads the nation with 15.8 steals per game.
- Those 12.1 steals per game would shatter the Big 12 record of 10.8 steals set by Iowa State in 2004-05.
- At their current pace of 12.1 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would shatter the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 363 steals.
- Despite being labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 34.2 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 27.9 points per game from its bench through 14 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 (22.5-of-79.5) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 22.0 turnovers per game and scoring 22.5 points off of those opponent miscues.
- As a team, Missouri is No. 13 nationally at 41.5 percent shooting from three-point range (112-of-268) ... 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)
- Stefhon Hannah continues to be one of the nation's top newcomers and leads the country in steals per game at 3.7 ... He also ranks No. 4 in the Big 12 with 4.9 assists, No. 9 in scoring (16.1) and No. 8 in three-point makes (2.1).
- Hannah has topped five or more steals in a game six times this season and has already joined the Mizzou single-season Top 10.
- Hannah has been sizzling from three-point range over his last four games, shooting 11-of-21 (52.3) from bonus distance during that stretch.
- Hannah and fellow newcomer Keon Lawrence rank No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12 with 5.2 steals per game and are the top steal tandem nationally among a pair of newcomers.
- Jason Horton and Hannah are one of the Big 12's top assist tandems and rank No. 17 nationally with 8.6 assists per game.
- Matt Lawrence continues to be one of the nation's top three-point shooters and ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 14 nationally at 53.0 percent.
- Lawrence has been especially deadly over his last three games and is 15-of-20 (65.0) from beyond the arc during that stretch.
- As the numbers show, Lawrence is the Big 12's most improved player this season and has upped his scoring average 873-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is second on the club with 13.1 points per game and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 28 nationally with 3.14 treys per game.
- Lawrence leads the team with 44 three-point makes this year and has shot better than 50 percent from three-point range in 7-of-14 games this season.
- Lawrence was named the nation's No. 1 Surprise Impact Player by ESPN's Stephen Bardo on College Game Night.
- Like Matt Lawrence, Kalen Grimes is among the Big 12's most improved players and ranks No. 8 in the Big 12 with a scoring increase of 6.3 points per game this season ... Grimes has upped his season averages from 2.6 points and 2.6 boards as a sophomore to 8.9 points and a team-leading 6.4 rebounds, which also ranks No. 11 in the Big 12.
- Jason Horton is on a run of 24 consecutive starts, which is the longest starting streak on the team this season ... Fellow junior Marshall Brown has started 22 consecutive game to rank second on the club.
- Brown, a native of Austin, Texas, is coming off a team-high 19-point performance against Iowa State on Jan. 6 ... Prior to that breakout performance, Brown had only reached double figures in one of his last five games.
- Leo Lyons has made four consecutive starts and continues to play much-improved basketball during that stretch ... Lyons is also averaging an improved 19.5 minutes per game during that run, compared to the 15.9 minutes he averaged in his nine games as a reserve.
- Freshman J.T. Tiller has seen increased playing time over his last six games and is averaging 14.5 minutes during that run, with increased averages of 5.4 points, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
MORE ABOUT THE LONGHORNS
One of the nation's most talented clubs is also one of the country's youngest ... Led by freshman Kevin Durant, Texas enters its Big 12 Conference home-opener 11-3 overall (1-0 in Big 12 play) following a 102-78 road win at Colorado on Jan. 6 ... The Longhorns fought off an early CU rally and outscored the Buffs 51-30 in the second half to claim the 24-point road win ... Durant paced Texas with 37 points and 16 boards ... The 37 tallies by Durant were the most-ever by a Big 12 freshman, as he hit 13-of-23 field goals in 35 minutes ... Durant leads the Big 12 in both scoring (22.6) and rebounding (10.7), while fellow Longhorn, A.J. Abrams, leads the Big 12 with 3.86 three-point field goals per game ... Freshman D.J. Augustin leads the Big 12 with 6.57 assists per game ... Overall, Texas has been flawless at home, racing to a perfect 8-0 start at the Erwin Center.
MIZZOU SERIES VS. TEXAS
Wednesday's game with Texas will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the Tigers and the Longhorns ... It also marks the 12th meeting since the two clubs joined the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97 ... Texas owns a 10-8 series advantage, but have won eight consecutive over Mizzou dating back to the 1998-99 season, Norm Stewart's final on the sidelines in Columbia ... The Longhorns have won three straight over the Tigers in Austin and own a 4-2 series lead vs. Missouri in Austin ... The first meeting between the two clubs came on Jan. 1, 1923, in Columbia with Missouri earning a 37-18 win.
HOMECOMING FOR BROWN
Mizzou junior Marshall Brown is going home ... A native of Austin and a product of Lyndon Baines Johnson High School, Brown has made 22 consecutive starts for Missouri dating back to last season and ranks third on the team with 8.9 points per game.
- The Jan. 10 contest marks Brown's second trip to Austin since his arrival in Columbia ... In his initial homecoming, Brown scored five points and grabbed five boards in 20 minutes of action.
- The 6-foot-6 forward is coming off one of his best games of the season in the 66-65 loss to Iowa State ... Brown scored 19-points, grabbed six boards and had two steals in 26 minutes.
STEALING "THE SHOW"
Mizzou Basketball has truly become The Hottest Show in the Midwest (better known as “The Show”) under Head Coach Mike Anderson and the main attraction to Tiger Basketball has been Mizzou's outstanding defensive efforts ... Missouri ranks No. 2 nationally with 12.1 steals per game and junior college transfer Stefhon Hannah is the ring-leader with an NCAA-leading 3.7 thefts per game.
- Mizzou has recorded double-figure steal totals in 10-of-14 games, including 20 thefts vs. Southern, which is No. 2 all-time in Mizzou single-season history and tied for the top steal total in the Big 12 ranks this season.
- The Tigers have had an individual record four or more steals 11 times this year, led by Hannah's seven steals vs. Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 25, 2006 ... Keon Lawrence (twice), Hannah (seven times), Matt Lawrence (once) and Jason Horton (once) have all enjoyed at least four steals in a game this season.
WITH A MISSOURI WIN:
- Missouri would equal its win total from the entire 2005-06 season.
- Mizzou would have its 1,400th win in program history.
- Mizzou would snap a 10-game road / neutral-court losing skid that dates back to its initial road game of the 2005-06 Big 12 season, Oklahoma on Jan. 10, 2006 ... Interestingly enough, Mizzou's last win away from Mizzou Arena came exactly one year ago (on game day).
- Mizzou would win in the state of Texas for the first time since the 2003-04 season ... Mizzou's last Lone Star win came March 11, 2004, in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament vs. Texas A&M.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson would earn his 101st career victory and help the Tigers start Big 12 play 1-1.
- Mizzou would be 12-3 for the first time since 2000-01 ... Mizzou has been 12-3 just five times over the past 16 seasons.
- Mizzou would snap an eight game losing skid to the Texas Longhorns ... Mizzou hasn't defeated Texas since Feb. 27, 1999, in Austin ... Norm Stewart was the last Tiger head coach to defeat Texas.
- Anderson would also have his 12th win as head coach at Mizzou, which would be the sixth most for a first-year head coach in school history.
- Anderson will be the first first-year head coach at Missouri to start 12-3 since George Bond in 1922-23, a stretch of 84 years.
- Mizzou would be just four wins shy of securing its first winning record since the 2003-04 season ... The Tigers currently have 30 games on their schedule, counting the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.
|
TOP STEALERS |
|
| Player, Team | SPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Travis Holmes / Chavis Holmes, VMI | 5.7 | |
| Jerel McNeal / Dominic James, Marquette | 5.5 | |
| Paul Gause / Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall | 5.4 | |
| Stefhon Hannah / Keon Lawrence, MIZZOU | 5.2 | |
| Sundiata Gaines / Mike Mercer, Georgia | 5.1 | |
| Ibrahim Jaaber / Brian Grandieri, Penn | 4.8 | |
|
||
HANNAH, K-LAW FOURTH IN STEALS
The Stefhon Hannah and Keon Lawrence backcourt duo ranks among the nation's leaders in steals ... The duo is averaging a combined 5.2 thefts per game, which is tied for fourth in the country ... Here is a look at the top steal duos in America.