Feb. 16, 2007

Missouri Tigers (15-9, 4-7 Big 12) at No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys (19-6, 5-5 Big 12)
Game 25 - Feb. 17, 2007 - Stillwater, Okla.

	GAME CENTRAL: Game Notes  Live Stats Yahoo! Live Audio
	TIPOFF: 12:47 p.m. CST. ARENA: Gallagher-Iba Arena - Stillwater, Okla. (13,611). TV: ESPN-Plus / (Bob Carpenter, play-by-play; Stacey King, analyst); game available to ESPN Full Court subscribers. RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst); Sirius Ch. 161. RANKINGS:    Mizzou: NR    OSU: No. 18 (AP)/No. 20 (USA Today/ESPN) SERIES: Missouri leads 71-38; Cowboys lead 27-19 in Stillwater. COACHES:    Mizzou: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 104-50 overall (5th season); 15-9 at Mizzou (1st).    OSU: Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State '92) 19-6 overall (1st season); 19-6 at OSU (1st).

FOR OPENERS

• Mizzou will look to build on a 78-71 home win against Baylor, when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to face the 18th-ranked Cowboys in Gallagher-Iba Arena ... The Tigers will look for their first win at OSU in the Big 12 Conference Era and first overall since Feb. 13, 1996 ... Overall, Mizzou has lost five consecutive at OSU, but the Tigers have won three of the last four meetings, including a pair of wins in Columbia and a 60-58 win during the 2003 Big 12 Tournament in Dallas.
• Missouri is looking for its third Big 12 Conference road win of the season, which would be the most since the 2003-04 campaign ... Over the previous two seasons combined, Mizzou won just two Big 12 road games ... The last time Mizzou won back-to-back Big 12 road games came during that 2003-04 season ... The Tigers won at Baylor and at K-State in back-to-back.
• Mizzou is looking for its first win over a ranked opponent this season and first win against a Top 25 foe since winning at No. 22 Oklahoma on Jan. 10, 2006 ... Overall, Missouri is 0-3 vs. ranked opposition this year (at Texas, Kansas twice).
• 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 15 victories on the year ... The three-game improvement is the most in the Big 12 Conference this season (tied with Kansas State).
• As a team, Mizzou leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 4 nationally with 10.7 steals per game and has 256 total steals ... The Tigers only had 167 total steals during the entire 2005-06 season ... Missouri needs just 14 more thefts to move into the single-season Top Five and needs just 40 more steals to break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86.
• Speaking of steals, junior guard Stefhon Hannah has averaged 3.0 steals per game over his last -two outings and now has 65 on the year ... Hannah is already No. 3 in single-season steals at Mizzou and needs just 12 more to claim the school's single-season record outright.
• Among players eligible for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors (non-freshman award), Hannah ranks No. 2 in scoring (16.0 points per game), No. 1 in assists (4.5), No. 1 in steals (2.7), No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44-to-1), No. 1 in three-point field goal percentage (.413), No. 1 in field goal percentage (.469) and No. 2 in three-point field goals (2.1).

MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS

• Mizzou will go searching for its second consecutive road win on Saturday when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to face the OSU Cowboys.
• Saturday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for Head Coach Mike Anderson and his wife Marcheita ... Anderson played collegiately at nearby Tulsa for two seasons, where he met his wife, a Tulsa native.
• The Tigers already own a pair of Big 12 road wins this season (at Colorado and at Iowa State) and a third would be the most for MU since the 2003-04 season.
• Mike Anderson will face the Cowboys for the third time in his head coaching career ... Anderson's UAB Blazers split a pair of contests with OSU, falling 86-73 at No. 5 OSU on Dec. 10, 2004, before claiming a 90-71 win last season.
• Mizzou did come away victorious in its last trip to Oklahoma ... The Tigers claimed a 71-69 win last year at OU ... That MU victory was the lone home defeat suffered by the Sooners last season ... Oklahoma State enters Saturday's game a perfect 14-0 at home.
• That win over No. 22 OU was Mizzou's last win against Top 25 opposition.
• 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 18-of-24 games this year ... The Tigers are 15-3 in those games.
• The Tigers have enjoyed 16 double-figure scoring performances from their bench this year, led by freshman Keon Lawrence, who has accomplished the feat eight times off the pine.
• 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. 4 nationally with 10.7 steals per game ... So far this season the Tigers have 256 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.
• At their current pace of 10.6 steals per game, the 2006-07 Tigers would break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86 ... Missouri is on pace for 318 steals.
• Despite returning just 37.6 percent of its scoring from last season, Missouri is No. 4 in the Big 12 with 77.2 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.2).
• Also labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 32.3 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 25.5 points per game from its bench through 24 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 607 points.
• Missouri is scoring nearly 30-percent of its points (20.8-of-77.2) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 19.5 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 468 turnovers in 1,794 total possessions for its opposition, that's a percentage of 26.1, which ranks No. 2 nationally ... The Tigers also record a steal once every six-plus possessions (14.3 percent), which is No. 3 nationally.
• As a team, Missouri is No. 47 nationally at 37.5 percent shooting from three-point range (196-of-524) ... 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 24 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 and No. 1 in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.7 per outing ... He also ranks No. 4 in the Big 12 with 4.4 assists and No. 11 in scoring (16.0).
• Hannah is averaging a team-leading 18.4 points on 55.2 percent shooting from the floor (32-of-58) and 55.2 percent shooting from three-point range (16-of-29) over his last five games.
• Hannah has topped five or more steals in a game six times this season and has already joined the Mizzou single-season Top Three ... In fact, Hannah needs just 12 more steals to claim the MU single-season record.
• Hannah has dished 108 dimes this season and needs just 14 more assists to move into the Mizzou single-season top 10.
• Hannah and Jason Horton rank No. 9 nationally with a combined 4.1 steals per game.
• The 49 combined points by Hannah (25) and Keon Lawrence were the most for a Tiger backcourt since Thomas Gardner (40) and Jimmy McKinney (19) scored 59 last season vs. Kansas.
• The last time two members of the Mizzou backcourt scored 24+ points in Big 12 game was Clarence Gilbert (43) and Kareem Rush (32) vs. Iowa State on Jan. 13, 2001.
• The 24 points by Keon Lawrence were the most for a Tiger freshman since Kareem Rush scored 31 at Texas Tech Feb. 15, 2000.
• The 24-point effort is tied for the eighth-highest scoring total for a Mizzou freshman in school history.
• Over his last five contests Lawrence is averaging 15.2 points on 27-of-54 shooting from the floor.
• During that stretch Lawrence is 11-of-24 (.458) from three-point range.
• Marshall 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 45-of-59 in league action, which ranks No. 13 in Big 12 games ... Brown is scoring 4.5 of his 13.5 points per game (Big 12 scoring average) from the free throw line.
• Kalen Grimes continues to be a much-improved rebounder and is averaging 8.3 boards over his last three games.
• Grimes is coming off a 16-point, nine-rebound effort against Kansas and has finished one rebound shy of a double-double in two of his last three outings.
• 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 45.5 percent.
• As the numbers show, Lawrence is among the Big 12's most improved player this season and has upped his scoring average 733-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman ... Lawrence is second on the club with 11.0 points per game and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 with his 43.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
• Lawrence leads the team with 61 three-point makes this year and has shot at least 50 percent from three-point range in 9-of-24 games this season.
• Lawrence needs just 11 more treys to move into the Mizzou single-season Top 10 ... Jason Sutherland is 10th on that list with 72 treys.
• 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 five games Horton has 15 assists and just three 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 ... Lyons is averaging an improved 18.5 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 12 games, Lyons is averaging 1.7 steals per game, which is No. 2 on the club ... He has recorded multiple steals in eight of Missouri's last 12 contests as well.

WITH A MISSOURI WIN:

• The Tigers would have their first win in Stillwater during the Big 12 Conference era.
• Mizzou would improve to 5-7 in Big 12 Conference play and equal its Big 12 win total from the entire 2005-06 campaign.
• The Tiger would improve to 5-3 in their last eight Big 12 contests following their 0-4 start to league play.
• Mizzou would secure its first winning season since 2003-04 ... The Tigers currently have 30 games on their schedule, counting the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.
• The Tigers would improve four games on their 2005-06 win total of 12 ... The four-game improvement would be the most at Mizzou since the 2001-02 season ... The Tigers won 20 games in 2000-01 and then won 25 in 2001-02 ... The four-game improvement would be the second highest for a first-year head coach at Mizzou ... Walter Meanwell improved five games during his first season in 1917-18.
• Mizzou would have back-to-back Big 12 road wins for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
• Head Coach Mike Anderson would have his 16th win as head coach at Mizzou, which would be the fourth most for a first-year head coach in school history.
• Anderson would be just two wins shy of tying the school record for wins by a first year head coach ... Quin Snyder won 18 games in 1999-00.

MORE ABOUT THE COWBOYS
   Oklahoma State (19-6, 5-5 Big 12) enters Saturday's game coming off an 83-54 defeat at Texas on Feb. 12 ... Despite the tough road loss, OSU has been perfect at home this season and is 14-0 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena ... The Cowboys have been outstanding in close ball games this year and are 9-1 in games decided by six points or less ... Conversely, Mizzou is 0-5 when games are decided by five points or less ... Overall, OSU is led by one of the nation's top scoring duos, Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry ... Boggan ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in scoring with 21.0 points per game, while Curry ranks No. 4 with 18.2 points per night ... Boggan is also among the Big 12's top rebounders and ranks No. 4 with 8.0 boards ... Sophomore Terrel Harris is third on the club with 10.9 points per game and ranks among the league's top 3-point shooters at 48.1 percent (37-of-77).

SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA STATE
   Saturday's contest marks the 110th all-time meeting between old Big Eight Conference rivals Mizzou and Oklahoma State ... The Tigers own a 71-38 all-time series lead, which dates back to a 31-23 Tiger win in Stillwater on Jan. 8, 1926 ... Overall, Oklahoma State holds a 27-19 lead in Stillwater and has won five consecutive dating back to a 63-59 Mizzou win on Feb. 13, 1996, during the final season of Big Eight play.

	HANNAH'S BIG 12 RANKS
	Rank	Category	Total
	1.	Assists	4.50
	1.	Steals	2.71
	1.	Assist/TO Ratio	1.44
	1.	3-Point FG Pct.	0.413
	1.	FG Pct.	0.469
	2.	Scoring	16.0
	2.	3-Point FG/Gm.	2.1

HERE'S YOUR BIG 12 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
   With his consistent performance throughout the year, junior college transfer Stefhon Hannah is solidifying himself as the leading candidate for Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year recognition. A transfer from Chipola Community College, Hannah ranks among the Big 12's top non-freshman newcomers in seven statistical categories including:

FORMER TEAMMATES NOW BIG 12 FOES
   Former Chipola Community College Indians Stefhon Hannah and Mario Boggan will renew their acquaintance on Saturday when Hannah leads his 15-9 Tigers to Stillwater, Okla., to face Boggan's 19-6 Cowboys.
   Hannah and Boggan have been two of the Big 12's top performers this season after teaming to lead Chipola to a 33-4 overall record and a No. 4 finish at the National Junior College Athletics Association National Tournament in 2005 ... Both Hannah and Boggan were named First Team All-Panhandle Conference picks that season and had Chipola ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA rankings for most of the 2004-05 campaign ... The Indians finished the year ranked No. 5.
   During that 2004-05 season, Hannah averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals, while Boggan recorded norms of 20.5 points and 9.2 boards.