Dec. 6, 2007

Missouri Tigers (5-3) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1)
Regular Season Game 9 - December 8, 2007 - Columbia, Mo.

	GAME CENTRAL: Game Notes  (395 kb) Mizzou All-Access   Yahoo!
	TIPOFF: 3 p.m. CST. ARENA: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061). TV: ESPN2 (Dave O'Brien play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes analyst). RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst). RANKINGS:    Mizzou: NR/NR    Purdue: NR/NR SERIES: Purdue leads 8-2 all-time, Boilermakers lead 2-1 in Columbia. COACHES:    Mizzou: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 112-56 overall (6th season); 23-15 at Mizzou (2nd).    Purdue: Matt Painter (Purdue '94); 61-37 overall (4th season); 36-32 at Purdue (3rd).

FOR OPENERS

• Missouri will look to snap a two-game losing skid on Saturday, when it hosts the Purdue Boilermakers in a nationally-televised ESPN2 broadcast at Mizzou Arena … Saturday's game is the second consecutive nationally-televised game for Mizzou and fourth nationally-televised game this year.
• The Tigers will look to continue their home court dominance in non-conference play during the Mike Anderson era … Missouri is 15-0 at home in non-conference action under Anderson, including a 4-0 mark this season … Overall, Missouri sports a 22-game non-conference home court winning streak dating back to the 2005-06 campaign, which is the longest non-conference winning streak since the Tigers won 27 consecutive from 1987-1990 … Mizzou's last non-conference loss at home came against Sam Houston State in the 2005-06 season opener.
• Mizzou Arena has been a terror dome for non-league opponents during the Anderson era … In running their record to 15-0, the Tigers are averaging a 27.0 ppg. margin of victory vs. non-conference foes at home, including quality wins over Arkansas, Davidson and Mississippi State last season.
• Saturday's contest will mark the end of a grueling stretch of games for the Tigers … Missouri has already played four games vs. teams from the traditional power conferences this season and Saturday's game vs. the Boilermakers makes five … Missouri is 1-3 in those games, but Saturday's game is the team's first at home … Missouri has “power conference” games remaining vs. Illinois (Dec. 22) and Mississippi State (Dec. 29) later this month.
• Despite the tough schedule, two of Missouri's losses have come by a combined six points to two programs that opened the year ranked in the Top 25 (Michigan State and Arkansas) and return all-five starers from their 2006-07 clubs that qualified for NCAA Tournament play last season.
• A unique aspect of Missouri's tough schedule thus far is that the Tigers have played teams from a variety of power conferences … Mizzou has played Michigan State and now Purdue from the Big Ten, Maryland from the ACC, Arkansas from the SEC and Cal from the Pac-10.
• Stefhon Hannah has once again been a scoring machine for the Tigers of late and is leading the team in scoring (16.1), assists (5.4) and steals (2.4) this season … When you factor in Hannah's 5.4 assists per game this year, the senior guard is actually accounting for 28.3 of Mizzou's 85.2 points per game (including assists on three-point field goals) … Over the last five games that average is up to 31.4 of the team's 84.2 points.

MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS

• Mizzou continues its 102nd season of college basketball on Saturday when it hosts the Purdue Boilermakers at Mizzou Arena.
• Saturday's game is Purdue's first trip to Columbia since Dec. 6, 1972, an 84-75 Tiger win.
• The Tigers are playing their second of three scheduled games vs. the Big Ten Conference on Saturday … Missouri dropped an 86-83 decision to then-No. 11 Michigan State in the semifinals of the CBE Classic in Kansas City and will face Illinois in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights Game on Dec. 22 in St. Louis.
• The Tigers will look to improve upon their 22-game home court winning streak vs. non-conference foes, which dates back to the 2005-06 season opener … In fact, Head Coach Mike Anderson has yet to lose a non-conference game at Mizzou Arena since his hiring in 2006 … The Tigers are a perfect 15-0 under Anderson on the friendly confines of Norm Stewart Court.
• Speaking of Mizzou Arena, ESPN's Pat Forde named Mizzou Arena the No. 1 “New School” college basketball arena in America … Who can argue?, the place is loaded!
• The Tigers and Boilers will meet for the 11th time in school history … Purdue owns an 8-2 series lead, including a 79-62 win last season in West Lafayette, Ind.
• Missouri has been downright offensive in the first half this year … The Tigers are averaging 47.0 points through the first 20 minutes and are outscoring opponents 47.3-34.4 during that span.
• A major reason for that scoring surge in the first period is Missouri's 58.8 percent field goal shooting and a remarkable 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Missouri has already topped 50 points in the first half four times this season after accomplishing that feat just twice over the last three years combined.
• Mizzou actually reached 50 points in the first half in back-to-back games vs. Western Illinois and Arkansas.
• Mizzou's defensive pressure may actually be picking up following last season's school record 302 steals … The Tigers have forced 162 turnovers (83 steals) in eight games this season … Last year, Mizzou led the Big 12 with 10.1 steals and 18.9 turnovers per game and are averaging 10.4 steals and 20.3 turnovers forced per game this year, including the 23 turnovers forced vs. 2007 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Maryland and Arkansas.
• Conversely, the Tigers are turning the ball over just 12.4 times per game.
• The Tigers have done an excellent job converting off those miscues and are averaging 25.9 points per game off turnovers … When you break down the numbers, Missouri is scoring 30.4 percent of its points off of turnovers (25.9-of-85.2 ppg).
• In addition to steals, a trademark of Mike Anderson-coached teams has been assist totals and the Tigers are recording assists on 60.4 percent of their buckets this season (155 assists on 257 FG's).
• When you take Missouri's 28 “put-back” buckets out of the equation, the Tigers are averaging assists on 67.8 percent of their field goals.
• Overall, Missouri's 19.5 assists per game rank No. 10 nationally, while the club's 85.3 ppg. scoring average is No. 14.
• Even with the club's fast-paced style of play, Missouri boasts a 1.60-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, which leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 6 nationally.
• To put Missouri's assist/turnover numbers in perspective, through eight games last season (vs. a much lighter strength of schedule), Missouri had 154 assists and 124 turnovers and had just a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team.
• This year Missouri has 155 assists, 99 turnovers and that 1.60-to-1 assist to turnover ratio.
• The Tigers boast a +7.9 turnover margin on the year, which ranks among the best in America, due in large part to the fact their 12.4 turnovers committed per game rank No. 24 nationally.
• Missouri has flashed a balanced playing rotation, as nine Tigers are averaging at least 12.5 minutes per game and no player is averaging more than 28.6 minutes.
• Missouri hit 10 three-pointer vs. Michigan State, which tied a season high … The Tigers have hit 10 treys in a game twice this season, including 10 triples vs. Southern.

TIGER TIDBITS (Individual Notes)

• The Junk Yard Dog has arrived … DeMarre Carroll dominated the Columbia Regional of the CBE Classic en route to MVP honors and has reached double figures in each game this season, including a pair of 20-point efforts and his first double-double as a Tiger, a 20-point, 13-rebound night vs. Western Illinois on Nov. 25.
• Carroll has actually been close to producing double-double efforts in six games this year and is averaging 15.9 points and 7.0 boards to rank among team leaders in both categories.
• Even more incredible is that he is producing those numbers in just 24.4 minutes per game.
• If you pro-rated his averages over 40 minutes, he'd be averaging 22.2 ppg and 10.8 rpg.
• Carroll was recently named one of Seth Davis' (Sports Illustrated) Key Faces in New Places for 2007-08.
• ESPN's Andy Katz also said “there may not be a harder working interior player -- outside of Tyler Hansbrough -- than DeMarre Carroll.”
• In case you were wondering, Carroll dominates the classroom too and needs seven hours in the spring semester to finish his degree and begin his Masters work in Administration.
• Stefhon Hannah continues to be one of the nation's most dynamic point guards and has reached double figures in 15 of his last 16 games, including a three 20-point efforts over his last five games.
• One of those non-20 point nights came vs. Maryland on Nov. 20 when he played with the flu and still managed 14 points and five dimes … The Chicago native wasn't able to eat all day and spent the early portion of the second half in the locker room, but returned to score eight second-half points, leading MU to the win … Now that's Tiger Tough!
• Hannah opened his scoring surge with 20 points vs. No. 11 Michigan State on Nov. 20 … The consistent lead guard has reached double figures in 33-of-37 career games for MU.
• Hannah scored a career high 28 points at Arkansas, marking the 10th 20-point effort of his career.
• Over his last five games Hannah is averaging 19.4 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the floor and 21-of-25 shooting (.840) from the foul line.
• Hannah also has 43 assists, 18 steals and just 21 turnovers on the year … For his short career, Hannah has had five or more dimes 20 times (including seven of eight games this year) and multiple steals 23 times, which is no surprise since the 6-foot-1 senior was named the nation's ninth-best perimeter defender by Fran Fraschilla and ESPN.com.
• As you would expect, Hannah is a preseason candidate for the Bob Cousy National Point Guard of the Year Award.
• Not to be outdone, Keon Lawrence has reached double figures in 15 of his last 16 games, including a season high 17-points and eight rebounds at Arkansas.
• Lawrence has been an outstanding mid-range jump shooter this year and is shooting 57.4 percent from inside the arc (31-of-54).
• Despite being just 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Lawrence is second on the club at 5.3 rebounds per game, including five games of six or more boards.
• The dynamic guard is also second on the team and leads all Big 12 guards with five blocks.
• As was documented by the Kansas City Star, there are no “off days” for Lawrence, as he makes 1,000 shots each day the team is given off by head coach Mike Anderson.
• Matt Lawrence is starting to heat up from three-point range and is shooting 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from beyond the arc over his last three outings.
• Lawrence opened the run with a 3-of-6 effort vs. Western Illinois on Nov. 25, before hitting 4-of-7 treys at Arkansas and 5-of-11 at Cal.
• The Big 12's No. 2 ranked three-point shooter at 44.3 percent last season, Lawrence opened the year just 7-of-25 (.280) from beyond the arc, but is now up to 39 percent on the year.
• Despite the tough start, Lawrence has shot 50 percent or better from bonus distance in five of his last six games.
• The St. Louis native has been at his best on the road throughout his career and his shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (35-of-80) from three-point range.
• Lawrence also has nine steals over his last four games, including a season high four thefts at Arkansas.
• Leo Lyons made his hometown return to Kansas City a special one, as he poured in career highs of 23 points and 11 boards in the 14-point Tiger win over Maryland.
• Lyons earned Player of the Game honors from Dick Vitale and Co. as he hit 8-of-11 shots and 7-of-11 free throws en route to his first career double-double.
• The 23 points made him the third different Tiger to top the 20-point plateau this year.
• Lyons flashed his versatility vs. Western Illinois when the 6-foot-9, 240-pounder dished a career high six assists and recorded two steals … Lyons has 18 assists compared to just seven turnovers, which is tops among Tiger post players.
• He just goes about his business quietly, but senior guard Jason Horton has dished out 24 assists compared to just 10 turnovers this season.
• Horton now has 343 career dimes, which is No. 9 all-time in school history and the Dallas native needs just 37 more assists to move into the MU career top five.
• Horton needs just six more assists to pass former teammate Jimmy McKinney for eighth all-time.
• Senior forward Marshall Brown is closing in on 1,000 career points … The Austin, Texas native currently has 770 tallies and needs 230 points to become the 38th member of the Mizzou 1,000-point club.
• Brown broke out of an offensive slump vs. Michigan State and scored a season high 12 points and grabbed a season high eight boards in the near upset of the No. 11 Spartans.
• Freshman Justin Safford graced ESPN's Top 10 Plays on Nov. 8 with his alley-oop slam vs. Missouri Western … Safford checked in at No. 6.
• Safford scored his first career points against Fordham on Nov. 13, scoring five points and grabbing five boards in nine minutes.

ABOUT PURDUE
   Purdue enters Saturday's contest 5-1 following a 70-57 home win over Ball State on Wednesday … The Boilers are one of the nation's youngest clubs and started four freshmen and one sophomore in the game vs. Ball State … Freshman Scott Martin leads the club in scoring at 12.8 points per game, while highly-touted newcomer E'Twaun Moore ranks second in points at 11.2 ppg … Purdue should be somewhat familiar with Missouri's up-tempo style of play after playing at Clemson on Nov. 27 in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge … The Boilers dropped that game 61-58 for their lone loss of the season.

THE PURDUE SERIES
   Missouri and Purdue meet for the 11th time in series history on Saturday … The Boilermakers hold an 8-2 advantage in the series, including a 79-62 win last season in West Lafayette, Ind. … Purdue holds a 3-2 series advantage over the last five games, with the last Missouri win coming Nov. 29, 1994, in the ESPN Great Eight event held in Auburn Hills, Mich. … The Tigers won that game 69-66 … The first meeting in the series came Dec. 31, 1925, in West Lafayette … In Columbia, Purdue leads the series 2-1, with the last meeting coming Dec. 6, 1972, an 84-75 MU win.

WITH A TIGER WIN:

• Missouri would improve to 6-3 on the young season and move to 24-15 all-time under Mike Anderson.
• The Tigers would improve to 2-2 on national television this year … Missouri split a pair of games on ESPNU vs. No. 11 Michigan State and Maryland, before falling at California in a nationally-televised FSN broadcast.
• Missouri would improve to 46-66 all-time on ESPN / ESPN2.
• Mizzou would run its non-conference home court winning streak to 23 games, which is the longest non-conference winning streak since the Tigers won 27 consecutive from 1987-1990.
• The Tigers would halt their current two-game losing streak.
• Mizzou would improve to 20-4 at home under Anderson and 16-0 at home vs. non-conference opposition.
• The Tigers would also notch their first win over a Big 10 opponent since defeating Indiana in 2003 in Bloomington.
• Mizzou would equal its season record with the Big Ten Conference at 1-1 … The Tigers fell to No. 11 Michigan State 86-83 on Nov. 19 in Kansas City.
• Missouri would earn its second win over a team that competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament … The Tigers also defeated Maryland earlier this year in Kansas City, 84-70.

	HANNAH VS. POSTSEASON TEAMS
	Pts	Opponent	Postseason	Date
	28	Arkansas	NCAA	11/28/2007
	27	at Kansas State	NIT	1/31/2007
	27	Mississippi State	NIT	1/2/2007
	25	Baylor	--	2/14/2007
	23	vs. Illinois	NCAA	12/19/2006
	21	Arkansas	NCAA	11/30/2006
	21	at Purdue	NCAA	12/9/2006
	21	Western Illinois	--	11/25/2007
	20	Davidson	NCAA	11/19/2006
	20	vs. Michigan State	NCAA	11/19/2007

BIG-GAME STEFHON
   Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, and Stefhon Hannah has made a habit of producing some big-time scoring outings in big games throughout his MU career.
   Hannah has topped the 20-point plateau 10 times in his career, including a run of three 20-point nights over his last five games.
   The Chicago native opened with 20 points in a near upset of No. 11 Michigan State in the semifinals of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, before dropping in 21 vs. Western Illinois and a career high 28 at Arkansas.
   Of those 10 career 20-point games, eight have come vs. teams that qualified for post-season play (or were nationally ranked), including six NCAA Tournament teams (twice vs. Arkansas).

J.Y.De (Junk Yard DeMarre)
   He plays the game with such passion and ferocity that just one season into his Tiger career DeMarre Carroll has earned the moniker J.Y.De. … Carroll has ranked among Missouri's leaders in both scoring and rebounding in each game thus far and has reached double figures in scoring in eight consecutive games, including a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double vs. Western Illinois … Carroll even led the team in assists with a season high five dimes against Southern.
   Carroll made his Tiger debut by scoring a career high 23 points vs. Central Michigan on 10-of-12 shooting and narrowly missed a double-double with eight boards.
   That opening night by the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward turned into a career night, as he eclipsed the 22 points he poured in on Kentucky as a Vanderbilt sophomore on Feb. 11, 2006.
   The Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, continued his hot start with 14 second-half points and six second-half boards against No. 11 Michigan State, before that 20-and-12 night vs. WIU.

ENTERING THE SEASON LIKE A LYON
   Leo Lyons showed a national TV audience that he has “arrived” … Lyons enjoyed career highs of 23 points and 11 boards to lead Missouri to an 84-70 win over Maryland in the third-place game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City.
   Third on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg.) and tops in field goal percentage (.655), Lyons has reached double figures in scoring three times, including 18 points in the opener against Central Michigan.
   Lyons also leads the team with nine blocked shots and is averaging 2.4 assists per game, which including a career high six dimes vs. Western Illinois.

NOW THAT SCHEDULE IS TIGER TOUGH
   It's a schedule that would make Jeff Sagarin and Joe Lunardi scream “Uncle!”. Missouri's 2007-08 schedule is loaded with great competition and that tough slate began with the opening rounds of the CBE Classic in Columbia.
   From the season opener against Central Michigan to 13 games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press's Top 25 at the start of the year, Missouri's schedule ranks among the nation's toughest.
   The Tigers will face up to seven opponents from BCS Conferences during non-league play, which would be the most in the regular-season since the 1985-86 campaign when the Tigers faced eight “BCS” squads.
   In fact, Missouri will face a team from each BCS league except for the Big East … Missouri has games vs. Mississippi State and Arkansas from the SEC, Michigan State, Purdue and Illinois from the Big Ten, California from the Pac-10 and Maryland from the ACC.
   Mizzou will face up to five NCAA Tournament teams in non-league action, including the Dec. 8 game with Purdue … The Tigers also have games against 2006-07 NCAA participants Arkansas, Illinois and Michigan State … In addition to those contests, the Tigers have a game at Mississippi State, a program that advanced to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals of the Postseason NIT last season.

THE GOOD TIGERS GIVETH …
   Looking for two under-valued statistics that often translate into “W's”?... look no further than assists and steals.
   So far this season Missouri is averaging 19.4 assists per game, led by the talented trio of guards: Keon Lawrence (3.3 apg), Jason Horton (3.0 apg) and Stefhon Hannah (5.4 apg).
   The Tigers are producing assists on 60 percent of their buckets and Hannah's 5.4 dimes per game ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and among the nation's leaders.

… AND TAKETH AWAY
   The Tigers are also doing an outstanding job wreaking havoc on defense and have forced teams into an average of 20.3 miscues per night … Mizzou forced both Arkansas and Maryland into 23 turnovers, while a senior-laden Fordham group (five senior starters) turned the ball over 22 times.
   With that high turnover total, Missouri is averaging 25.9 points per game off of turnovers and lead their opponents 78-43 in fast break tallies.

THE PINE IS JUST FINE
   Mike Anderson says he has nine starters and the numbers prove it … In his first year at Mizzou the club set a school record with 26.4 points per game coming from its reserves and 2007-08 appears to be no different.
   Through eight games the Tigers are averaging 22.2 points per game, including 34 in the win over Southern.
   Marshall Brown, Keon Lawrence, J.T. Tiller and Darryl Butterfield (twice) have each reached double figures off the bench this season and as the Tigers are getting nearly 30 percent of their scoring from reserves.