Nov. 10, 2008
Columbia, Mo. -
Missouri Tigers (1-0 Exhibition) vs.
Missouri Southern University (0-1 Exhibition)
2008-09 Season Exhibition Game 2 - Nov. 11, 2008 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 7 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: Mizzou Sports Network (Dan McLaughlin play-by-play; Hall of Famer Norm Stewart analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Chris Gervino play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: NR/NR, MSSU: NR/NR in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri defeated Missouri Southern 87-61 on Nov. 8, 2005
Tickets: Call 1-800-CAT-PAWS, Tickets start at just $5 for exhibition games
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 123-69 overall (7th season); 34-28 at Mizzou (3rd)
Missouri Southern: Robert Korn (Missouri Southern '78); 273-236 overall (20th season)
For Openers
> Mizzou Basketball concludes exhibition play on Tuesday when it hosts Missouri Southern at 7 p.m. ... Tickets for the contest are on sale now and as low as $5 by calling the Mizzou Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS or online at mutigers.com.
> Missouri is a perfect 5-0 in exhibition games under third-year Head Coach Mike Anderson and the Tigers will be playing their fifth team from the state of Missouri in exhibition action on Thursday... The Tigers are averaging a 44.0 ppg margin of victory in exhibition games during the Anderson era.
> Mizzou is coming off a 97-54 victory over Lincoln University last Thursday ... The Tigers forced 38 turnovers and scored 45 of their 97 points off Lincoln miscues ... Missouri also shot 56.3 percent from the floor, including 63.0 percent (29-of-46) from inside the three-point arc.
> MU played very balanced minutes in the preseason opener, as just one Tiger (Zaire Taylor) played 20 minutes and 12-of-13 Tigers played 11 minutes or more ... Mizzou also had all 13 players score at least one point and grab at least one rebound in the 43-point victory.
> The Tigers have handled their business nicely over the years against teams from Missouri... Mizzou is 144-56 all-time vs. opponents from the Show-Me State... Not included in this mark are exhibition wins against Lincoln, Missouri-Rolla, Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri Western during Anderson's tenure at MU.
> Mizzou Arena has been a terror dome for non-league opponents during the Anderson era... In running their record to 20-0 the Tigers are averaging a 26.4 ppg. margin of victory vs. non-conference foes at home, including quality wins over Arkansas, Davidson, Mississippi State and Purdue.
> Again, tonight's game won't count for the records book, but Missouri is 20-0 at home in non-conference action under Anderson... Overall, Missouri sports an active 27-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... The Tigers won 31 consecutive non-conference home games from 1979-83... Mizzou's last non-conference loss at home came against Sam Houston State in the 2005-06 season opener.
> Following Tuesday's contest, Missouri opens regular-season play on Saturday afternoon against Prairie View A&M ... Prairie View A&M went 8-22 last season, but had a near-miss at Tennessee last season, before falling 89-75 to the Volunteers ... A&M actually led the game 36-35 at halftime.
Mizzou Quick-Hitters
> Mizzou Basketball wraps up exhibition play on Tuesday against Missouri Southern University.
> The Tigers are 5-0 all-time in preseason tune-ups under Head Coach Mike Anderson and are averaging 97.4 points in those five victories.
> Missouri's average margin of victory in five exhibition games is 44.0 ppg.
> Mizzou actually got an early jump on exhibition play over Labor Day weekend with a three-game exhibition tour in Niagara Falls, Ontario ... Missouri went 3-0 throughout the tour and averaged a 35.3 ppg. margin of victory.
> Through Mizzou's three games in Canada and the Nov. 6 contest against Lincoln, the Tigers have trailed for a total of six seconds in all four games this season ... Brock University took a brief 22-20 lead on Mizzou on Aug. 31, but that advantage lasted just six seconds as Marcus Denmon hit a go-ahead three-pointer to spark a 33-8 run to close the first half.
> The Tigers have gotten excellent bench production over the past two seasons and if the exhibition opener was any indication, that trend should continue ... The Tigers scored 46 of their 97 points off the bench, led by Denmon's 12 points ... The Tigers also showed great depth and had all-13 players score at least one point.
> Missouri Southern is 0-1 in preseason competition, falling 82-59 at Southern Illinois ... The Lions did force 34 SIU turnovers and will test Missouri's young backcourt reserves.
> Hold on to your seat belts, because Missouri's 2008-09 campaign gets started in a quick way after Tuesday's game ... Mizzou plays regular-season games on Nov. 15 and Nov. 17 and then departs Columbia a little before 5 a.m. on Nov. 18 for San Juan, P.R., for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off ... The Tigers face No. 26 Xavier in the opening round on Nov. 20.
> Including potential games in Puerto Rico, Missouri's schedule appears to be loaded once again ... The Tigers have 10 potential opponents listed in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll (or receiving votes), including Xavier on Nov. 20.
> In fact, four of the eight teams in Puerto Rico are either ranked or receiving Top 25 consideration.
> Tiger fans can expect to see improved depth in 2008-09 with the addition of seven newcomers ... That depth could spell trouble for opponents since Anderson's reserves set a school record for scoring (26.4) in 2006-07 and produced 25.4 points per game in 2007-08.
Tiger Tidbits (Individual Notes)
> Senior forwards DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons were named Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention picks prior to the start of the 2008-09 season.
> Lyons and Carroll are closing in on 1,000 career points ... Carroll has 897 career tallies at the Division I level, 480 of which came during his first two seasons at Vanderbilt ... Lyons has 692 career tallies and needs just 308 points to become the 38th member of Missouri's 1,000-point club ... Fellow senior Matt Lawrence is also closing in on 1,000 points and would need 345 points as a senior to reach the mark.
> Zaire Taylor was named the nation's Preseason No. 2 impact transfer in all of college basketball by Rivals.com ... DeMarre Carroll was the preseason No. 1 on that same Rivals.com list last season and didn't disappoint by winning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors.
> Taylor slipped on the Missouri uniform for the first time in his career last Thursday and produced 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.
> Senior Michael Anderson Jr. junior enjoyed one of his most successful games as a Tiger, recording a would-be career high of seven points in 11 minutes to go with three rebounds and two assists.
> Junior guard J.T. Tiller made his ESPN SportCenter Top 10 debut and it's no shock the highlight came courtesy of his defense ... Tiller's swat of Lincoln's Joe Hutchingson with just over six minutes left in the second half checked in at No. 8 on the countdown ... Coach Norm Stewart's response on the telecast after the block "I like J.T. Tiller. If you take the ball to the basket (against him), you can't bring that weak stuff. You'll need a helmet."
> Freshman newcomer Kimmie English knows Mizzou Arena just about as well as the Arena managers and operators ... English made news this summer for sleeping in the team's locker room and will often shoot in the club's 24-Hour practice gym in the early-morning hours.
> Freshman guard Marcus Denmon wowed fans with his 36-point effort in the Black & Gold Game on Oct. 29, but what you may not know, is that Denmon is prone to fast starts ... In addition to scoring his team's first-10 points in the intra-squad scrimmage, Denmon scored the first 10 points at the Demetrius Johnson All-Star event in St. Louis en route to MVP honors and won MVP accolades at the Missouri High School Coaches Association All-Star game in Springfield, Mo.
> Denmon added a team-high tying 12 points in the win over Lincoln in the preseason opener and is averaging 24.0 points in the Black & Gold Game and Lincoln contests combined.
> Did you know that in his first game at Mizzou Arena Denmon actually cheered AGAINST Missouri? But you can't blame him, his brother Martane Freeman was playing for the Colorado Buffaloes, so we'll let that one slide.
> Missouri Basketball is coming off a busy, but productive summer that saw all-13 Tigers remain on campus for workouts and classes ... Some members of the squad also had internships in town, including junior guard J.T. Tiller, who spent the summer as an intern at AFLAC.
About The Missouri Southern Lions
Missouri Southern is playing its second exhibition game of the year following an 82-59 loss at Southern Illinois on Nov. 3 ... The Lions forced SIU into an incredible 34 turnovers and came away with 15 steals ... The Lions also outscored SIU 32-31 in the second half, but a 51-27 deficit at halftime proved too much for Head Coach Robert Korn's team to overcome ... Korn is in his 20th season directing Missouri Southern and his top player in the opener was Skyler Bowlin ... The Paragould, Ark., native scored 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, while dishing four assists ... He was also one of four Lions with multiple steals against SIU.
The Last Time
The last time Mizzou and Missouri Southern hooked up on the hardwood was Nov. 9, 2005 ... Missouri built a huge 46-19 margin at the end of the first half and cruised to the 87-61 victory ... Thomas Gardner and Marshall Brown each scored 19 points and Gardner added a double-double with 10 rebounds ... Current Tiger Leo Lyons had 11 points and seven rebounds in the game, while Matt Lawrence hit a three-pointer in seven minutes.
Hot Start For Denmon
Marcus Denmon's Missouri career is off to a quick start as the Kansas City native is a combined 19-of-23 from the floor following a 14-of-17 shooting night in the Black and Gold Game and a 5-of-6 effort in the exhibition-opener against Lincoln.
> The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 24.0 points in the two games and the combined 19-of-23 shooting checks in at 82.6 percent from the floor ... The former Hogan Prep standout is also 7-of-9 from three-point range (.778) while chipping in 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per contest.
Immediate Impact
Mizzou got tremendous opening-night production from its newcomers in the 97-54 win over Lincoln University on Nov. 6, as the Magnificent Seven contributed 42 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals vs. the Blue Tigers ... Marcus Denmon led all newcomers and tied for team-high scoring honors with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while contributing four assists and four steals ... Fellow guard Zaire Taylor chipped in 11 points, while Miguel Paul added eight points and three assists.
> Overall the Mizzou newbies produced 43 percent of the scoring, 44 percent of the assists and 48 percent of the steals in their exhibition debut.
Figures Following The Black & Gold Game
> Marcus Denmon enjoyed a fantastic debut, scoring 36 points on 14-of-17 shooting from the floor ... Those 36 points would have been the second highest scoring total in the history of Mizzou Arena to Thomas Gardner's 40-point effort against Kansas on Jan. 16, 2006.
> Of the 194 total points scored in the Black & Gold Game, an incredible 105 of those tallies came from Missouri newcomers, led by Denmon's 36 points ... Other newcomers in double-figures were Kimmie English (17), Laurence Bowers (15) and Zaire Taylor (15).
> Mizzou Black had five of seven players record at least four assists in the game and all seven players record multiple dimes overall ... Denmon led the squad with six assists, while Taylor and Keith Ramsey chipped in five apiece.
> Leo Lyons opened the game with just four first-half points on 2-of-9 shooting, but the senior finished with 20 points overall thanks to 7-of-10 shooting from the floor in the second half ... The Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention pick has really enjoyed a great preseason and is poised for a strong senior campaign.
> Both clubs shot the ball extremely well from three-point range in the second half, as the Black Squad hit 6-of-10 treys, led by Denmon's 3-of-3 second half shooting, while Mizzou Gold hit 5-of-8 triples paced by English's 3-of-4 hot streak.
> Did you know, over the final 12 games last season Missouri's reserve guards averaged just 4.0 points per game? It appears the Tigers will easily top that production this season with the explosive play of newcomers Denmon, English, Taylor and Miguel Paul.
> Speaking of Taylor, do you think this kid is ready to play? He hasn't played in a Division I basketball game since Jan. 6, 2007, when Delaware faced Hofstra ... When the Tigers open regular-season play on Nov. 15, it will have been 679 days between regular-season affairs for Taylor ... The Staten Island, N.Y., native played in last season's Black & Gold Game and logged 11 points and five assists in 31 minutes.
> Missouri is in the process of trying out sophomore guard Jarrett Sutton ... Sutton, who wore No. 25 in the Black & Gold Game, is a Kansas City product who actually caught Coach Anderson's eye during a weekly pick-up game at the student recreation center.
Tigers Take Canada With Three-Game Labor Day Weekend Sweep
Missouri got an early jump on the 2008-09 season with a three-game exhibition tour in Niagara Falls, Ontario, over Labor Day weekend ... The Tigers went 3-0 vs. three Canadian clubs and averaged 115.3 points in those three wins.
> Mizzou outscored its opponents by 35.3 points per game over the three contests, with the largest margin of victory being a 49 romp (117-68) over Brock University, the 2008 Canadian National Champions ... Additionally, the Tigers never trailed at the end of the quarter in any game they played.
Missouri played very balanced minutes in Canada and here is the breakdown of scoring over the three games:
- 37.9 percent of its scoring from seniors
- 21.9 percent of its scoring from juniors
- 6.9 percent of its scoring from sophomores
- 32.7 percent of its scoring from freshmen
- 54.3 percent of its scoring from returners
- 45.7 percent of its scoring from newcomers
Family Affair
Mizzou Basketball is a family affair ... Head Coach Mike Anderson has three relatives on this season's squad ... His son, Michael Anderson, Jr., is a senior for Missouri after transferring from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while his nephew, DeMarre Carroll, enters his final season and is a Preseason All-Big 12 pick at forward ... Another of Anderson's nephews, T.J. Cleveland, is an assistant coach for the Tigers and spent his playing days under Anderson and Nolan Richardson at the University of Arkansas.
Anderson = Championship Basketball
The Tiger Slam is a term typically used in PGA Tour Golf when referring to Tiger Woods' run of four consecutive majors throughout the 2000 and 2001 seasons, but Missouri's sideline boss, Head Coach Mike Anderson, has achieved a Grand Slam of success of his own ... As a player, Anderson helped guide Nolan Richardson and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to the 1981 NIT Title thanks to an 86-84 win over and Syracuse ... Anderson then continued his success in the coaching profession, helping Arkansas achieve (12) 20-win seasons, four 30-win campaigns, three Final Fours and the 1994 National Championship ... As a head coach, Anderson earned a conference title with UAB in 2004 and led the Blazers to the Sweet 16.
The Freshness of Tiger Basketball
Mizzou Basketball has an incredible seven newcomers entering the program this season, which ties Kansas for the most in the Big 12 Conference in 2008-09.
> Missouri has five freshmen (Laurence Bowers, Marcus Denmon, Kim English, Steve Moore and Miguel Paul), one Division I transfer (Zaire Taylor from Delaware) and one junior college transfer (Keith Ramsey) entering the program this season ... The five freshmen entering the program are the most since the 2000-01 class of Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant and Co., while the seven total newcomers (including Taylor) are the most for Mizzou since the 1994-95 class of: Scott Combs, Sammie Haley, Simeon Haley, Monte Hardge, Troy Hudson, Kendrick Moore and Corey Tate.
> Seven of Missouri's 13 players are newcomers this season, meaning 53.8 percent of the roster are first-year performers for Head Coach Mike Anderson.
Tiger Fans Give Back To Mid-Missouri
Mizzou Basketball asked fans to donate two canned food items for admission to the Oct. 29 Black & Gold Game and Missouri's crowd of 2,529 fans responded with 1,922 total pounds of food ... Missouri Basketball would like to thank the Tiger fans for their generosity, which will provide our hungry neighbors in Mid-Missouri with 1,445 meals this year.
The Graduates
Missouri had an incredible seven players claim their undergraduate degrees off of last season's team and two of those Tigers, seniors Michael Anderson Jr. and DeMarre Carroll, return for their final season of playing eligibility in 2008-09.
> Both Anderson and Carroll are in their fifth years of eligibility ... Anderson redshirted as a true freshman at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while Carroll took the NCAA-mandated redshirt in 2006-07 after transferring to MU from Vanderbilt ... Both Tigers are currently working towards their graduate degrees.
Lawrence Looks To Shoot Up Mizzou Career Three-Point Chart
He agreed to begin his career as a walk-on, but St. Louis native Matt Lawrence quickly earned a scholarship and is now shooting up Missouri's career three-point field goals list.
> After making just nine three-pointers his first season, Lawrence has been one of the Big 12's elite shooters from bonus distance the last two years, making 81 triples as a sophomore and 72 more as a junior ... For his career the 6-foot-7 rifleman has 162 career treys, which already ranks No. 8 in school history.
> Lawrence can move as high as No. 2 on Missouri's all-time three-point makes list by the end of the season, just behind Clarence Gilbert, who made 332 treys in four seasons ... Lawrence is just 17 triples behind Thomas Gardner for seventh and just 21 behind Melvin Booker for sixth ... With 65 made treys this season, Lawrence will pass Kareem Rush for No. 2 on Missouri's all-time list.