Feb. 8, 2007

Kansas Jayhawks (20-4, 7-2 Big 12) at Missouri Tigers (14-8, 3-6 Big 12)
Game 23 - Feb. 10, 2007 - Columbia, Mo.

	GAME CENTRAL:
	Game Notes  Yahoo! Live Audio   Mizzou All-Access
	TIPOFF: 2:45 p.m. CST. ARENA: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061). TV: ABC / (Brad Nessler, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst); game available to ESPN Full Court subscribers. RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Chris Gervino analyst); Sirius Ch. 119. RANKINGS:    Mizzou: NR    Kansas: No. 8 (Coaches), No. 9 (AP) SERIES: Kansas leads 163-93; Jayhawks lead 61-55 in Columbia. COACHES:    Mizzou: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 103-49 overall (5th season); 14-8 at Mizzou (1st).    Kansas: Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85) 299-133 overall (14th season); 92-28 at Kansas (4th).

FOR OPENERS

• Mizzou will look for its third consecutive win over Kansas at Mizzou Arena on Saturday, when the Tigers host the Jayhawks at 2:45 p.m. in an ESPN on ABC telecast ... The Jayhawks have never won at Mizzou Arena (0-2), including last season's thriller, which saw the Tigers battle back from a 74-67 deficit with just 34 seconds remaining ... Thomas Gardner's career high 40 points highlighted the 89-86 overtime win for the Tigers.
• Saturday's contest nearly marks the 100th anniversary of Mizzou vs. Kansas Basketball ... The hardwood hatred began nearly 100 years ago (to the day - technically 99 years and 11 months) on March 11, 1907 in Columbia ... The Tigers won that initial meeting 34-31 and then toppled the Jayhawks one day later on March 12 by a score of 34-12.
• Missouri will be looking for its fourth win vs. a Top 25 foe inside Mizzou Arena over the past three seasons ... The Tigers are 3-1 all-time vs. Top 25 teams, including a 72-68 win over No. 7 Kansas in 2004-05 ... The Tigers also toppled No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 16 Oklahoma in 2004-05 when the clubs were ranked ... Mizzou's lone Top 25 home loss was to No. 7 Texas last season, 66-53.
• Despite returning just two starters and 37 percent of its scoring from last season's 12-16 club, Mizzou has already surpassed last season's win total and has 14 victories on the year ... The 14 wins for Anderson are already the sixth highest win total for a first year head coach in Mizzou history and the Tigers' two road wins have already eclipsed the one road win Mizzou enjoyed throughout the 2005-06 campaign.
• As a team, Mizzou leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 2 nationally with 11.0 steals per game and has 243 total steals ... The Tigers only had 167 total steals during the entire 2005-06 season ... Missouri needs just 27 more thefts to move into the single-season Top Five and needs just 53 more steals to break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86.
• Saturday's contest is part of the Midwest Ford Dealer's MU-KU Border Showdown and is worth 1.5 points in the standings ... Mizzou currently leads the Border Showdown 8.5 - 5.5.

MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS

• Mizzou looks for its second consecutive win on Saturday when it hosts arch-rival Kansas in an ESPN on ABC telecast for ESPN's Rivalry Week.
• Missouri is coming off a 77-55 win at Iowa State, which was Mizzou's largest win at ISU since a 55-17 win in Ames on Jan. 10, 1920.
• It was actually Mizzou's largest margin of victory on the road in conference play since beating Kansas by 25 (91-66) on Feb. 1, 1989.
• The Tigers look to remain perfect vs. the Jayhawks inside Mizzou Arena after enjoying a 72-68 win in 2005 and a thrilling 89-86 OT win last season.
• Mizzou is 13-9 all-time on ABC, with its last win coming against Oklahoma on Feb. 12, 2005, by a 70-66 margin in overtime.
• Saturday's contest marks the third all-time meeting between Missouri sideline boss Mike Anderson and Kansas coach Bill Self ... Self and the Kansas Jayhawks defeated Anderson and the UAB Blazers in the Sweet Sixteen in 2003-04, before earning an 80-77 win in Lawrence earlier this season.
• Three of the last four Mizzou - Kansas match-ups have been decided by four points or less.
• A key statistic for the Tigers continues to be rebounding ... Mizzou is 9-1 when outrebounding its opposition ... That lone loss came at Kansas on Jan. 15 when the Tigers outrebounded the Jayhawks 43-42, but fell 80-77.
• Mizzou's bench continues to play a key role this season and has outscored its opposition's bench in 17-of-22 games this year ... The Tigers are 14-3 in those games.
• The Tigers have enjoyed 16 double-figure scoring performances from its bench this year, led by freshman Keon Lawrence, who has accomplished the feat eight times, including a career high 18 points vs. Nebraska.
• Those 18 points were the most for a Tiger freshman guard since Kareem Rush poured in 20 at Kansas on March 5, 2000.
• 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.
• With its 79-65 win at Colorado on Jan. 24, Missouri recorded its 1,400th victory as a program ... Missouri is 38th all-time in NCAA Division I Basketball wins and joined 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 11.0 steals per game ... So far this season the Tigers have 243 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 16.3 steals per game.
• Those 11.0 steals per game would break the Big 12 record of 10.8 steals set by Iowa State in 2004-05.
• At their current pace of 11.0 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 330 steals.
• Despite returning just 37.6 percent of its scoring from last season, Missouri is No. 3 in the Big 12 with 77.3 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.2).
• Also labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 32.4 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 26.5 points per game from its bench through 22 games, including a season high 49 points vs. Lipscomb ... Last season, Missouri's reserves averaged just 11.9 points per game.
• If you simply take raw scoring numbers Mizzou's bench scored 334 point through 28 games last season ... So far this year, Tiger reserves have accounted for 582 points.
• Missouri is scoring nearly 30-percent of its points (20.8-of-77.3) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 20.1 turnovers per game and scoring 20.8 points off of those opponent miscues.
• Speaking of turnovers, Mizzou forces one turnover every four possessions ... Overall, Missouri has forced 438 turnovers in 1,630 total possessions for its opposition, that's a percentage of 27.0, which ranks No. 2 nationally ... The Tigers also record a steal once every six-plus possessions (14.9 percent), which is No. 3 nationally.
• As a team, Missouri is No. 43 nationally at 38.5 percent shooting from three-point range (180-of-468) ... 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).
• Overall, the Tigers have topped 80 points in nine of 22 games and have won seven of their 14 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 four seasons (2002-06) Mizzou won just eight (total) games by 20-plus point margins.

TIGER TIDBITS (Individual Notes)

• Stefhon Hannah continues to be one of the nation's top newcomers and ranks No. 8 nationally in steals per game at 2.7 per outing ... He also ranks No. 4 in the Big 12 with 4.6 assists and No. 12 in scoring (15.4).
• Hannah has topped five or more steals in a game six times this season and has already joined the Mizzou single-season Top 10 ... In fact, Hannah needs just seven more steals to move into the Mizzou single-season Top Three.
• Hannah dished his 101st dime vs. Iowa State and needs just 21 more assists to move into the Mizzou single-season top 10.
• Hannah and Jason Horton rank No. 9 nationally with a combined 4.3 steals per game.
• Marshall Brown has been Mizzou's top scorer in Big 12 play and ranks No. 12 in Big 12 action with 15.1 points per game.
• Brown recorded career highs in back-to-back games, initially scoring 24 points at Texas, before dropping in 28 in the first meeting with Kansas State, which is the highest scoring total by a Tiger this season.
• Brown has supplemented his scoring nicely from the free throw line since the start of Big 12 play and is 40-of-49 in league action, which ranks No. 7 in Big 12 games ... Brown is scoring 4.5 of his team-leading 15.1 points per game (Big 12 scoring average) from the free throw line.
• Keon Lawrence has been one of Mizzou's top scorers over the last five contests and ranks second on the club with 11.8 points per game during that stretch.
• Lawrence is shooting 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three and is a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line during that span, while dishing out eight assists.
• Lawrence made his first career start at Iowa State and responded with eight points and three steals in the 22-point win for Mizzou.
• Matt Lawrence continues to be one of the nation's top three-point shooters and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 27 nationally at 46.0 percent.
• As the numbers show, Lawrence is among the Big 12's most improved player this season and has upped his scoring average 747-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is second on the club with 11.2 points per game and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 39 nationally with 2.64 treys per game.
• Lawrence leads the team with 58 three-point makes this year and has shot at least 50 percent from three-point range in 9-of-22 games this season.
• Lawrence needs just 14 more treys to move into the Mizzou single-season Top 10 ... Jason Sutherland is 10th on that list with 72 treys ... His .464 three-point percentage would rank No. 6 in school history.
• Lawrence was named the nation's No. 1 Surprise Impact Player by ESPN's Stephen Bardo on College Game Night.
• Jason Horton has been outstanding protecting the ball this season and ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 with a 2.2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ... Over his last three games Horton has 12 assists and just two turnovers.
• Darryl Butterfield made his first career start on Feb. 3 vs. Nebraska, and responded with 10 points, six boards and two steals in 17 minutes of action.
• Kansas City, Kan., native Leo Lyons has provided a big lift inside for the Tigers since the start of Big 12 play and is averaging 7.1 points and 4.0 boards during that stretch ... Lyons is also averaging an improved 20.4 minutes per game during league action after averaging 16.5 minutes per game in non-conference competition.
• One reason for Lyons' increased playing time has been because of his defense ... Over his last 10 games, Lyons is averaging 1.9 steals per game, which is tops on the club ... He has recorded multiple steals in eight of Missouri's last 10 contests.
• Freshman J.T. Tiller has seen increased playing time since the start of Big 12 play and is averaging 4.6 points and 0.9 steals during that stretch.

WITH A MISSOURI WIN:

• Mizzou would run its home winning streak to three over Kansas.
• The Tigers would have three consecutive home wins over Kansas for the first time since the 1995-98 seasons.
• The Tigers would remain perfect at Mizzou Arena against its Big 12 rivals.
• Missouri would improve three games on its 2005-06 win total of 12 victories.
• Anderson would also have his 15th win as head coach at Mizzou, which would be the third most for a first-year head coach in school history.
• Mizzou would be just one win 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.
• The Tigers would improve to 4-6 in Big 12 play leading into a Feb. 14 contest with Baylor.

MORE ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
   Kansas enters Saturday's contest 20-4 and 7-2 in Big 12 Conference play following a 97-70 win over Kansas State on Feb. 7 ... The Jayhawks had five players reach double figures and outrebounded the Wildcats 46-24 en route to the 27-point win ... Brandon Rush led Kansas with 18 points and the Jayhawks shot 55.9 percent from the floor to earn the victory ... On the season Rush leads KU with 14.3 points per game and has seen his scoring average jump to 15.9 ppg. in Big 12 action ... Mario Chalmers is second on the club with 11.6 points, but freshman guard Sherron Collins has taken on a greater scoring burden with 12.6 ppg. in Big 12 play ... Sophomore Julian Wright paces KU with 8.0 rebounds per game, while Russell Robinson leads Kansas with 4.6 assists per night.

SERIES WITH KANSAS
   Saturday's game marks the 257th all-time meeting between Kansas and Missouri with the Jayhawks holding a 163-93 series advantage ... In Columbia, KU holds a slight 61-55 series lead and the Tiger have won each of the last two meetings in Mizzou Arena ... Saturday's game marks the 100th year of Mizzou - Kansas Border Wars, with the initial contest coming nearly 100 years ago (to the day) on March 11, 1907 in Columbia ... Mizzou won that contest 34-31.

IT'S GOTTA BE THE SHOES
   The University of Missouri Basketball Coaching Staff will sport basketball sneakers on the sideline of Saturday's game vs. Kansas to help raise awareness for the Coaches vs. Cancer fight against cancer ... In the 13 years since being founded in 1993, Coaches vs. Cancer has helped generate more than $23 million in direct support for the American Cancer Society.

• Former Missouri sideline boss Norm Stewart, who will be in attendance for Saturday's game, is a member of the Coaches vs. Cancer Council.

IF YOU BUILD IT …
   Fan support is picking up for 2006-07 Mizzou Basketball and the Tigers have played in front of back-to-back sellouts at Mizzou Arena ... The Tigers enjoyed crowds of 15,061 in games vs. Texas Tech and Nebraska and will enjoy a third consecutive sellout Saturday when arch-rival Kansas comes calling to Mizzou Arena.

• Missouri enjoyed just two sellouts combined during its first two seasons at Mizzou Arena, the 2005 meeting with Kansas and the 2006 contest against the Jayhawks ... With the three sellouts this season, the Tigers have already surpassed that total.
• One final note about sellouts at Mizzou Arena, Mizzou is 3-1 in those contests, including a 72-68 win over Kansas in 2005 and 89-86 in OT in 2006.

LET'S KEEP IT IN PERSPECTIVE
   There have been a number of outstanding coaching jobs in the Big 12 Conference this season and Head Coach Mike Anderson has already helped Mizzou top its win total from the entire 2005-06 season ... With its 71-58 win over Texas Tech on Jan. 27, Mizzou earned its 13th win of the year, surpassing the 12-16 overall mark the Tigers had last season ... Currently the Tigers are up to 14 wins following their 77-55 win at Iowa State on Feb. 6.

• While Anderson isn't the lone first-year coach in the Big 12 to eclipse his program's win total from last season, his accomplishment could be considered more impressive than most ... Consider this, Missouri returned just 37 percent of its scoring from last season, while, Kansas State, returns 79 percent and Oklahoma State returns 76 percent ... Oklahoma returns 45 percent, while Nebraska returns 42 percent and Iowa State returns 35 percent.