March 2, 2007

Missouri Tigers (18-10, 7-8 Big 12) at No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies (24-5, 12-3 Big 12)
Game 28 - March 3, 2007 - College Station, Texas

	GAME CENTRAL: Game Notes  Yahoo! Live Audio
	TIPOFF: 3:01 p.m. CST. ARENA: Reed Arena - College Station, Texas (12,500). TV: ESPN - Plus / (Fred White, play-by-play; Bob Sundvold, analyst); game available to ESPN Full Court subscribers. RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst). RANKINGS:    Mizzou: NR    Texas A&M: No. 6 (Coaches), No. 7 (AP). SERIES: Missouri leads 11-4; Series tied 3-3 in College Station. COACHES:    Mizzou: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 107-51 overall (5th season); 18-10 at Mizzou (1st).    Texas A&M: Billy Gillispie (Texas State '83) 97-56 overall (fifth season); 67-24 at A&M (3rd).

FOR OPENERS

• Mizzou closes out the regular-season on Saturday when it faces No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station … The Tigers are 1-3 vs. Top 25 opposition this season, but did win at No. 18 Oklahoma State on Feb. 17 … The Tigers are 4-1 vs. the Big 12 South, (tops among teams from the Big 12 North) and have won four consecutive vs. the South Division … Mizzou will also be looking for their fourth Big 12 road win of 2006-07.
• Saturday marks the return of former Texas A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins and former Aggie player Marcus Watkins (now a Tiger senior) … The elder Watkins spent six seasons in College Station and A&M senior standout Acie Law played for Watkins as a freshman … Marcus Watkins returns to A&M following a career high 15 points vs. Colorado in his Senior Night at Mizzou.
• The Tigers are not only fighting for their eighth Big 12 Conference win, but are positioning themselves for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City … A win by Mizzou and it could finish no worse than the No. 6 seed in the Tourney … The Tigers can still finish anywhere between fifth and ninth, not too shabby for a program picked 11th and 12th by a number of preseason publications.
• The future appears bright for Head Coach Mike Anderson's Tigers … In addition to this strong finish, Mizzou has zero scholarshipped seniors on this season's roster and will gain the services of highly-touted junior DeMarre Carroll, who is sitting out after transferring from Vanderbilt.
• Among players eligible for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors (non-freshman award), Stefhon Hannah ranks No. 2 in scoring (15.5 points per game), No. 1 in assists (4.7), No. 1 in steals (2.5), No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4-to-1), No. 1 in three-point field goal percentage (.400), No. 1 in field goal percentage (.461), No. 1 in FT percentage (763) and No. 2 in three-point field goals (2.0).
• 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 18 victories on the year … The six-game improvement is the most in the Big 12 Conference this season and Anderson's 18 wins are tied for the most in school history among first-year head coaches at MU.
• As a team, Mizzou leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 4 nationally with 10.4 steals per game and has 290 total steals … The Tigers only had 167 total steals during the entire 2005-06 season … The 290 steals are already No. 3 in Mizzou's single-season records book and the Tigers need just six more thefts to break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86.

MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS

• Head Coach Mike Anderson and the Tigers will look for their second win over a Top 25 foe … Mizzou won at No. 18 Oklahoma State on Feb. 17.
• Mizzou is 4-1 vs. Big 12 South opposition, the best record for any team from the North this season.
• The Tigers are also looking for their sixth win over the last eight games and could finish 8-8 overall after an 0-4 start to Big 12 action.
• Saturday's contest marks the first all-time meeting between Missouri sideline boss Mike Anderson and Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie.
• Overall, Missouri is searching for its 19th win of the year, which would be the most since winning 22 in 2002-03.
• That 19th win by Anderson would set a rookie coaching record at Missouri.
• With Mizzou's win on Feb. 17 at Oklahoma State, the Tigers have now won in each arena since the formation of the Big 12 … Only Kansas can claim that accomplishment along with the Tigers.
• Mizzou needs just six more steals to break the single-season record of 295 set in 1985-86, including the opening round of the Big 12 Championship, Mizzou would need to average just 3.0 steals per game the rest of the way to break that record … On the year, Mizzou is averaging 10.4 steals per game.
• This season's Tigers are No. 5 in single-season three-point field goals and need 21 more treys through the remainder of the season to move into No. 4.
• Missouri's 37.7 percent stroke from three-point range is No. 6 all-time in school history.
• A key statistic for the Tigers continues to be rebounding … Mizzou is 11-1 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 22-of-28 games this year … The Tigers are 18-4 in those games.
• The Tigers have enjoyed 19 double-figure scoring performances from their bench this year, led by freshman Keon Lawrence, who has accomplished the feat nine times off the pine … Leo Lyons has done it five times.
• 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 10.4 steals per game … So far this season the Tigers have 290 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 15.7 steals per game.
• Despite returning just 37.6 percent of its scoring from last season, Missouri is No. 3 in the Big 12 with 77.4 points per game … The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.3).
• Also labeled as undersized, Missouri is averaging 31.5 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 25.8 points per game from its bench through 28 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 717 points, more than doubling last season's total.
• Missouri is scoring nearly 30-percent of its points (20.6-of-77.4) off of opponent turnovers … The Tigers are forcing an average of 19.1 turnovers per game and scoring 20.6 points off of those opponent miscues.
• Speaking of turnovers, Mizzou forces one turnover every four possessions … Overall, Missouri has forced 536 turnovers in 2,090 total possessions for its opposition, that's a percentage of 26.0, which ranks No. 2 nationally … The Tigers also record a steal once every six-plus possessions (14.1 percent), which is No. 3 nationally.
• As a team, this year's squad ranks No. 6 in school history with a 37.7 percent shooting from three-point range (231-of-613) … The Tigers have topped double figures in three-point makes seven times this season … The Tigers topped double figures in three-pointers just twice all of last year.
• Overall, the Tigers have topped 80 points in 10 of 28 games and have won seven of their 17 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. 12 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 in steals per game at 2.5 per outing … He also ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 with 4.7 assists and No. 11 in scoring (15.5).
• Hannah is averaging a team-leading 16.0 points on 49.0 percent shooting from the floor (48-of-98) and 45.8 percent shooting from three-point range (22-of-48) over his last nine games.
• With his 17-point, 10-rebound effort at Nebraska, Hannah became the first player in the Big 12 this season to record a point-assist and point-rebound double-double.
• 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 eight more steals to claim the MU single-season record.
• Hannah has dished 131 dimes this season and is No. 9 in school history for single-season assists … The junior needs just 12 more dimes to move into the single-season Top 5.
• Hannah is just the third Tiger in school history to reach the Mizzou single-season Top 10 for steals and assists in the same year … Hannah joins Lynn Hardy (1985-86) and Anthony Peeler (1989-90).
• Freshman Keon Lawrence is averaging 15.2 points on 54.9 percent shooting (28-of-51) from the floor over his last-five games … Lawrence is also averaging 5.4 rebounds per game, which tops the club during that run.
• Lawrence opened with a career high 24 points against Baylor, which is the eighth-highest scoring total for a Mizzou freshman in school history.
• He followed that with a game-high 18 points at Oklahoma State and his 42 points over two games are the most for an MU freshman since Kareem Rush scored a combined 50 points in games against Texas Tech (31) and Kansas State (19).
• Jason Horton continues to be outstanding protecting the ball this season and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with a 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio … Over his last nine games, Horton has 29 assists and just six turnovers (4.8-to-1).
• Horton needs just six more assists to top the century mark for the third consecutive season … Horton would join Anthony Peeler and Melvin Booker as the lone Tigers to accomplish that feat three consecutive years.
• Horton needs just 12 more assists to move into the Missouri career Top 10.
• Marshall Brown has supplemented his scoring nicely from the free throw line since the start of Big 12 play and is 50-of-69 in league action, which ranks No. 16 in Big 12 games … Brown is scoring 4.0 of his 11.9 points per game (Big 12 scoring average) from the free throw line.
• Kalen Grimes has blocked multiple shots in 13 games this season and has a team-leading 35 swats on the year … Grimes needs just seven more swats to move into the Mizzou single-season Top 10 … Doug Smith (1990-91) and Gary Leonard (1988-89) are tied for 10th with 42 rejections.
• Matt Lawrence continues to be one of the nation's top three-point shooters and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 12 nationally at 45.2 percent.
• Over his last-four outings Lawrence is shooting 58.1 percent from the floor (18-of-31) and 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from beyond the arc.
• As the numbers show, Lawrence is the Big 12's most improved player this season and has upped his scoring average 760-percent from the 1.5 points per game he averaged as a freshman … Lawrence is second on the club with 11.4 points per game and ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with his 2.71 three-pointers per game.
• Lawrence leads the team with 76 3-point makes this year and has shot at least 50 percent from three-point range in 12-of-28 games this year.
• Lawrence needs just five more treys to move into seventh on the Mizzou single-season Top 10 … Mark Atkins is seventh on that list with 81 treys.
• Lawrence was named the nation's No. 1 Surprise Impact Player by ESPN's Stephen Bardo on College Game Night.
• Darryl Butterfield continues to provide a strong all-around presence for Mizzou off the pine and scored a career high 13 points at Nebraska on 6-of-8 shooting.
• Butterfield has been one of the team's most efficient players over the last eight games and is 22-of-36 (61.1 percent) from the floor during that stretch.
• 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 18.6 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 16 games, Lyons is averaging 1.6 steals per game, which is No. 2 on the club … He has recorded multiple steals in nine of Missouri's last 16 contests as well.
• Marcus Watkins scored a career high 15 points on Senior Night vs. Colorado in his first start of the season.
• Watkins was named a Second Team Academic All-Big 12 pick on March 1 and is a 2006 Missouri graduate and is currently working on his graduate degree in finance.

WITH A MISSOURI WIN:

• Missouri would secure either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship … A Mizzou win at A&M and a Texas Tech loss at Iowa State gives MU the No. 5 seed.
• The Tigers would have their second road win at a Top 25 opponent … Mizzou won at No. 18 Oklahoma State on Feb. 17, 75-64.
• The Tigers would have their first win over a Top 10 club since defeating No. 7 Kansas, 72-68, on March 6, 2005.
• Mizzou would have its first road win vs. a Top 10 foe since beating No. 4 Kansas, 81-74, on Feb. 20, 1994.
• The Tigers would finish at .500 (8-8) in Big 12 Conference play, the best league finish since the 2002-03 season (9-7).
• The Tigers would improve to 6-2 over their last eight Big 12 contests and improve to 4-4 in league road games.
• The four Big 12 road wins would be the most at Mizzou since the 2001-02 season
• Mizzou would record its 19th win of the year, the most since winning 22 games in 2002-03.
• Head Coach Mike Anderson would claim his Mizzou rookie coaching-record 19th win of the year … The previous record for wins by a first-year head coach was 18 by Quin Snyder in 1999-2000.
• Anderson would be just one wins shy of recording his fifth consecutive 20-win season … Anderson enjoyed four consecutive 20-win campaigns during his tenure at UAB.
• Missouri would be just one win shy of its 21st 20-win season in program history.
• The Tigers would improve seven games on their 2005-06 win total of 12 … The seven-game improvement would be the most at Mizzou since the 1993-94 season … The Tigers won 19 games in 1992-93 and then won 28 in 1993-94 … The seven-game improvement would be the most for a first-year head coach at Mizzou … The previous record was five by Walter Meanwell, who improved five games during his first season in 1917-18.

MORE ABOUT THE AGGIES
   Despite a hard-fought, double-overtime loss at No. 15 Texas on Wednesday, No. 6 Texas A&M enters as one of the nation's elite clubs and is led by senior All-America Acie Law IV … Law has been at the forefront of Big 12 Player of the Year consideration and paces A&M with 18.1 points per game … The senior also leads the club with 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals per outing … Law has seen his per-game averages increase in Big 12 play and is tops on the club with 20.9 points on 50.2 percent shooting from the floor … Joseph Jones is averaging 13.6 points overall this season and his 6.7 rebounds paces a talented A&M front line … Josh Carter, the brother of Illinois' Warren Carter (former Tiger foe this season), is third on the club with 12.3 points per game and is a Big 12-best 52-percent shooter from three-point range this season.

SERIES WITH A&M
   Mizzou and Texas A&M square off for the 16th time in series history and for the 13th time since the start of Big 12 Conference play … The Tigers own an 11-4 series advantage overall, but A&M has won back-to-back games in the series, including a 54-51 win in Columbia last season … In College Station, the series is tied 3-3 and A&M has won two consecutive, including a 73-71 win on Feb. 12, 2003, a game in which current Mizzou Associate Head Coach, Melvin Watkins, led the Aggies to the victory.

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE
   Former associates, teammates and players will meet on Saturday, when Tiger Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins and Tiger senior Marcus Watkins face Texas A&M … Watkins directed the Aggies' program from 1998-2004 and is credited with recruiting current A&M standouts Acie Law and Joseph Jones to College Station … His son, Marcus Watkins, wore the Maroon and White for two seasons and graduated from A&M Consolidated High School.

SENIOR-NIGHT SENSATION
   Marcus Watkins is no stranger to excelling on Senior Night … Coming into his Senior Night vs. Colorado, Watkins' career high as a Tiger came in last season's home finale, when he scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting vs. Nebraska … Watkins eclipsed that total on Wednesday, however, hitting 5-of-10 FG's en route to a career high 15 points and six boards. A unique twist to this note will come on Saturday when Watkins' heads to his former collegiate home, Texas A&M, for its Senior Day celebration … Watkins began his career at A&M playing for his father, current Tiger Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins, and will look for his third consecutive Senior Day explosion.

PICK YOUR POISON
   With Marcus Watkins' 15-point effort on Senior Night vs. Colorado, the Tigers have now had 10 different players reach double-figures in scoring this season. Stefhon Hannah paces Mizzou with 24 double-figure scoring efforts in 28 games, while sophomore Matt Lawrence (16) and freshman Keon Lawrence (14) round out the top three. Last season, Mizzou had just seven players reach double figures in scoring and in 2004-05, the Tigers had just eight.

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 eclipse its win total from the entire 2005-06 season … With its 71-58 win over Texas Tech back 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 18 wins following their 91-82 win against Colorado on Feb. 28, making Mizzou the most improved team in the Big 12 Conference (six-game improvement).
   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.

	HANNAH'S BIG 12 RANKS
	Rank	Category	Total
	1.	Assists	4.7
	1.	Steals	2.5
	1.	Assist/TO Ratio	1.4
	1.	3-Point FG Pct.	0.400
	1.	FG Pct.	0.461
	1.	FT Pct.	0.763
	2.	Scoring	15.5
	2.	3-Point FG/Gm.	2.0

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 eight statistical categories (right).

ROAD WARRIORS
   The road was a place of horrors for Mizzou basketball over the previous two season, and including neutral-site contests, the Tigers were just 3-33 in games away from Mizzou Arena … What a difference a year has made.
   After starting the 2006-07 season 0-4 away from Mizzou Arena, the Tigers have won three of their last five road games, including their first win at Iowa State since 1998-99 and first win at Oklahoma State since the start of the Big 12 Conference.
   Mizzou's margin of victory in those three Big 12 road wins is an incredible 15.6 points per game, which includes a 22-point win at Iowa State (77-55), a 14-point win at Colorado (79-65) and an 11-point win at No. 18 Oklahoma State (75-64).

BREAKING DOWN THE BRACKET
   With a group of six teams fighting for position at the 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championship, it's surprising how many seeding options still remain for the Tigers … With tie-breakers, the Tigers could still finish anywhere between No. 5 - No. 9 in the Big 12 standings.
   With a win at Texas A&M and a Texas Tech loss at Iowa State, the Tigers could finish in the No. 5 spot and face Colorado.
   With a loss at A&M, Mizzou will most likely have to wait until Monday evening's Oklahoma State at Nebraska contest to know its Big 12 Championship predicament.