Tiger Men Look For Husker Split
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2007
Missouri Tigers (17-9, 6-7 Big 12) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-11, 4-8 Big 12)
Game 27 - Feb. 24, 2007 - Lincoln, Neb.
|
GAME CENTRAL: |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
FOR OPENERS
- Mizzou will look to extend its winning streak to four games on Saturday, when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Bob Devaney Center ... Mizzou is looking for its third consecutive road win in Big 12 action and fourth overall, including back-to-back road wins at Iowa State and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
- The Tigers will also look for their seventh win in 10 tries in Big 12 action ... Mizzou opened Big 12 play 0-4, but has since rattled off six wins to move up the Big 12 standings ... The Tigers currently stand in fifth place overall in the Big 12, which (if held) would be the highest conference finish for Mizzou since the 2003-04 season ... Mizzou was actually picked to finish 11th and 12th in the league 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 (15.6 points per game), No. 1 in assists (4.6), No. 1 in steals (2.6), No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4-to-1), No. 1 in three-point field goal percentage (.402), No. 1 in field goal percentage (.472) 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 17 victories on the year ... The five-game improvement is the most in the Big 12 Conference this season and Anderson's 17 wins are the second 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 10.6 steals per game and has 275 total steals ... The Tigers only had 167 total steals during the entire 2005-06 season ... The 275 steals are already No. 4 in Mizzou's single-season records book and the Tigers need just 21 more thefts to break the school record of 295 set in 1985-86.
- Freshman standout Keon Lawrence is averaging 10.4 points per game in Big 12 play and is pouring in 14.4 points per game since joining the starting line-up on Feb. 6 at Iowa State ... The Tigers are an impressive 4-1 in the five contests Lawrence has started.
MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS
- Mizzou will go searching for its fourth consecutive win on Saturday when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers.
- Mizzou hasn't enjoyed a four-game winning streak in Big 12 play since 2004-05 season.
- Saturday's contest marks the fourth all-time meeting between Missouri sideline boss Mike Anderson and Nebraska coach Doc Sadler ... Sadler and Anderson met twice last season, splitting the series, before NU's 66-61 win in Columbia on Feb. 3.
- Saturday's game marks Anderson's fourth all-time meeting against Nebraska ... Anderson is 2-1 all-time vs. the Huskers, earning an 80-66 win in 2004-05 and a 73-72 win last season in Lincoln ... Demario Eddins hit a runner with less than four seconds remaining to give the UAB Blazers that thrilling win at the Devaney Center.
- Missouri is looking for its third consecutive Big 12 Conference road win ... The Tigers haven't won three consecutive Big 12 road games since the 1999-2000 season.
- Mizzou has actually won its three Big 12 road games by a margin of 15.6 points per game ... The Tigers won by 14 at Colorado, by 22 at Iowa State and by 11 at No. 18 Oklahoma State ... Mizzou hasn't won four conference road games by double-figures since 1954-55.
- With Mizzou's win last Saturday 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's 11-point win at No. 18 OSU was its largest margin of victory on the road vs. a Top 25 foe since an 87-76 win a No. 11 Arkansas on Dec. 7, 1991.
- Missouri needs just four more three-point makes to move into the single-season top five ... The Tigers have made 210 treys this season and the 1997-98 Tigers are No. 5 all-time with 214 triples.
- 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 10-1 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 20-of-26 games this year ... The Tigers are 17-3 in those games.
- The Tigers have enjoyed 17 double-figure scoring performances from their bench this year, led by freshman Keon Lawrence, who has accomplished the feat eight 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.
- Ol' Mizzou ranks No. 4 nationally with 10.6 steals per game ... So far this season the Tigers have 275 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 15.8 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 76.9 points per game ... The Tigers also rank No. 2 in three-point field goals (8.1).
- 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 25.3 points per game from its bench through 26 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 652 points.
- Missouri is scoring nearly 30-percent of its points (20.9-of-76.9) off of opponent turnovers ... The Tigers are forcing an average of 19.3 turnovers per game and scoring 20.9 points off of those opponent miscues.
- Speaking of turnovers, Mizzou forces one turnover every four possessions ... Overall, Missouri has forced 503 turnovers in 1,937 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 (14.3 percent), which is No. 3 nationally.
- As a team, Missouri is No. 39 nationally at 37.7 percent shooting from three-point range (210-of-57) ... The Tigers have topped double figures in three-point makes six 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 26 games and have won seven of their 16 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 2.6 per outing ... He also ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 with 4.6 assists and No. 11 in scoring (15.6).
- Hannah is averaging a team-leading 16.4 points on 54.8 percent shooting from the floor (40-of-73) and 48.6 percent shooting from three-point range (17-of-35) over his last seven 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 10 more steals to claim the MU single-season record.
- Hannah has dished 119 dimes this season and needs just three more assists to move into the Mizzou single-season top 10.
- Hannah would become just the third Tiger in school history to reach the Mizzou single-season Top 10 for steals and assists in the same year ... Hannah would join Lynn Hardy (1985-86) and Anthony Peeler (1989-90).
- Hannah and Jason Horton rank No. 11 nationally with a combined 4.0 steals per game.
- Freshman Keon Lawrence is averaging 17.7 points on 61.3 percent shooting (19-of-31) from the floor over his last-three games ... Lawrence is also averaging 6.3 rebounds per game 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).
- On Tuesday against Oklahoma, Lawrence was just 2-of-7 from the floor, but scored six of his 11 points in the final 47 seconds, which included the game-winning jumper and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
- Over his last seven games, Lawrence is averaging 15.0 points and 4.1 rebounds on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor and 46.4 percent shooting from three-point range (13-of-28).
- Jason Horton continues to be outstanding protecting the ball this season and ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 with a 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ... Over his last seven games Horton has 22 assists and just five turnovers.
- Horton needs just 13 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 19 more assists to move into the Missouri career Top 10.
- 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 47-of-63 in league action, which ranks No. 12 in Big 12 games ... Brown is scoring 4.3 of his 12.8 points per game (Big 12 scoring average) from the free throw line.
- Kalen Grimes continues to be a much-improved rebounder and is averaging 6.7 boards over his last five 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. 13 nationally at 44.8 percent.
- Over his last-two outings Lawrence is shooting 64.3 percent from the floor (9-of-14) and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from beyond the arc.
- 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. 2 in the Big 12 with his 2.65 three-pointers per game.
- Lawrence leads the team with 69 3-point makes this year and has shot at least 50 percent from three-point range in 11-of-26 games this year.
- Lawrence needs just three 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.
- 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.
- Butterfield has been one of the team's most efficient players over the last six games and is 15-of-27 (55.6 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 19.3 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 14 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 14 contests as well.
- Lyons' 14 points vs. Oklahoma were his most in a Big 12 game ... Lyons hit 5-of-6 shots and 4-of-5 free throws.
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 four 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).
WITH A MISSOURI WIN:
- The Tigers would earn their third consecutive road victory and improve to 4-3 on the road in Big 12 play ... The last time Missouri won three consecutive conference road games was 1999-2000 ... The last time Missouri won four or more conference road games was the 2001-02 season, when the Tigers won five Big 12 road games overall.
- Mizzou would improve to 7-7 in Big 12 play after opening the season 0-4 in league action.
- The Tiger would improve to 7-3 in their last 10 Big 12 contests, continuing their strong finish to the year.
- The Tigers would have their first four-game winning streak in the Big 12 since 2004-05 ... The Tigers won four consecutive Big 12 games during that stretch.
- Mizzou would record its 18th win of the year, the most since winning 22 games in 2002-03.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson would be just two 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 two wins shy of its 21st 20-win season in program history.
- The Tigers would improve six games on their 2005-06 win total of 12 ... The five-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 six-game improvement would be the highest total 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.
- Head Coach Mike Anderson would have his 18th win as head coach at Mizzou, which would tie the school record for wins by a first-year head coach ... Quin Snyder won 18 games in 1999-00.
MORE ABOUT THE HUSKERS
Nebraska (15-11, 4-8 Big 12) enters Saturday's contest coming off a tough 63-59 loss at Baylor on Feb. 21, despite a 11-point, 12-rebound double-double from Aleks Maric and a 16-point night from Charles Richardson ... The Cornhuskers enter the contest on a two-game losing skid including a 92-39 loss at Kansas on Feb. 17 ... Nebraska did get a solid 74-63 win over Kansas State before the two-game slide, however ... Maric continues to lead Nebraska in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.2 points and 7.7 boards on the year ... Newcomer Ryan Anderson is second on the club with 10.7 points, while Richardson paces the team with 5.6 assists per night ... The Cornhuskers are one of the league's top defensive units and are holding foes to just 63.2 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting from the floor.
SERIES WITH NEBRASKA
Missouri will look to snap a two-game losing skid to Nebraska on Saturday when the Tigers travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers at 12:47 p.m. ... Overall, NU has won three of the last four vs. Missouri, including a 66-61 win in Columbia earlier this season ... Overall, Mizzou leads the series 121-87, but the Cornhuskers own a 53-40 advantage in Lincoln ... Despite a 65-52 loss at Nebraska last season, Missouri has won three of its last five games at the Bob Devaney Center.
|
HANNAH'S BIG 12 NEWCOMER RANKS |
||
| Rank | Category | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Assists | 4.6 | |
| 1. | Steals | 2.6 | |
| 1. | Assist/TO Ratio | 1.4 | |
| 1. | 3-Point FG Pct. | 0.402 | |
| 1. | FG Pct. | 0.472 | |
| 1. | FT Pct. | 0.759 | |
| 2. | Scoring | 15.6 | |
| 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 (see right).
K-LAW'S RANKING HIGH ABOVE MU ROOKIES
Simply put, only five Mizzou freshmen have poured in more points than the 24 tallies Keon Lawrence registered Feb. 14 vs. Baylor ... Lawrence hit 9-of-13 field goals, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arch en route to that career high 24-point outing.
Only Steve Stipanovich (twice), Derrick Chievous (twice), Nathan Buntin, Doug Smith and Kareem Rush have eclipsed 24 single-game points during their freshmen seasons at MU.
One final note, freshmen weren't able to play at the NCAA level until the 1972-73 season.
HORTON ABOUT TO JOIN MIZZOU ELITE
Jason Horton has had a knack for setting up his teammates during his three seasons in Columbia and the Dallas, Texas, native needs just 13 more assists to become only the third player in school history to top the century mark in assists three consecutive years.
Horton will join Anthony Peeler (1988-92) and Melvin Booker (1990-94) as the only Tigers to dish 100 dimes three consecutive years.
Horton is also closing in on Mizzou's Top 10 in career assists ... Horton has 311 career helpers and needs just 19 more assists to tie Clarence Gilbert (1999-2002) and Brian Grawer (1998-2001) for 10th with 330 career assists.
