March 1, 2007

Irving, Texas - It's been a whirlwind couple of days for Mizzou senior Marcus Watkins. Following a career-best 15-point, six-rebound effort in a 91-82 Senior Night win over Colorado, Watkins added to his list of accolades by earning Second Team Academic All-Big 12 honors from the league office on Thursday.

A 2006 graduate of Mizzou, Watkins is currently working on his graduate degree in finance and is averaging 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 22 games for the Tigers this season. Despite those averages, Watkins exploded in his final regular-season home game, hitting 5-of-10 shots, while grabbing six boards and recording a pair steals in the win over the Buffaloes. Watkins scored seven points in the game's first five minutes and added eight second-half points to lead Mizzou to its 18th win of the season.

A total of 10 student-athletes were named First Team Academic All-Big 12 picks (3.2 GPA and above), while 12 others were named to the Second Team after posting a GPA between a 3.0 and 3.19.

Mizzou returns to action on March 3, 2007, when it travels to No. 6 Texas A&M for a 3 p.m. showdown with the nationally-ranked Aggies. The Tigers are fighting for Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship seeding on Saturday and could finish as high as No. 5 in the league championship with a win on Saturday.

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