Mizzou Basketball Faces Nebraska At Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships
3/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format 
March 9, 2008
Columbia, Mo. -
#10 Missouri Tigers (16-15, 6-10 Big 12)
vs.
#7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-11, 7-9 Big 12)
2007-08 Season Game 32 - March 13, 2008 - Kansas City, Mo.
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CST
Arena: Sprint Center - Kansas City, Mo. (18,795)
TV: ESPN Plus (Fred White play-by-play; Paul Splittorff analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: NR/NR, Nebraska: NR/NR in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 122-89 overall; in Kansas City the Tigers lead 13-9
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 123-68 overall (6th season); 34-27 at Mizzou (2nd)
Nebraska: Doc Sadler (Arkansas '82); 203-82 overall (9th season); 35-25 at Nebraska (2nd)
For Openers
> No. 10-seeded Missouri travels to Kansas City for the second time this season as it faces No. 7-seeded Nebraska in the opening round of the 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships at the Sprint Center ... The Tigers and Huskers split the season series, with each team winning on the other's home floor ... Mizzou is 1-1 at the Sprint Center this year, falling to Michigan State 86-83, before defeating Maryland 84-70 in the final rounds of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
> Kansas City has been Columbia-west over the years and Mizzou has played 181 games all-time in KC ... Missouri is 94-87 (.519) all-time, but is 54-30 since the 1971-72 season ... For the record, the Sprint Center is just 126 miles west of Mizzou Arena per our friends at MapQuest.
> Missouri is hoping history is ready to repeat itself this week, as the only 10-seed to make a deep run in Big 12 Championship history was Mizzou in 1997 ... That run was coincidentally ignited with a 78-72 win over No. 7 Nebraska.
> This week's games will mark a homecoming for junior forward Leo Lyons and the Kansas City native is currently playing the best basketball of his career ... Lyons is averaging 21.5 points and 12.8 rebounds over his last four contests, including 18 points and nine boards vs. Oklahoma in the regular-season finale ... Named to the Big 12's All-Improved Team by the "Writers", Lyons leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks No. 13 nationally in field goal percentage (.602).
> He continues to play hurt, but Mizzou's Junkyard Dog (DeMarre Carroll) has been outstanding to close out the year, as he is averaging 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over his last three games ... The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Carroll registered a career high 26 points in the double-overtime win against Iowa State and scored 21 of his points in the final 20 minutes and the two overtimes ... He then scored 18 points and grabbed six boards at Oklahoma ... The run started in the second half at Baylor, where he scored all-17 of his points in the final 20 minutes vs. the Bears.
> Despite losing primary ball-handler Stefhon Hannah, Missouri has been an improved team at protecting the basketball of late ... The Tigers committed just four turnovers vs. Colorado, a season low, while dishing out 12 assists ... Against Oklahoma State, the Tigers had just nine miscues vs. a team that ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 in turnovers forced and they had just five miscues in a double overtime game vs. Iowa State ... Over its last 11 games Missouri is averaging just 11.6 turnovers, down from their average of 13.8 turnovers through the first 20 games of the year.
Mizzou Quick-Hitters
> No. 10-seeded Missouri travels to Kansas City for the second time this season as they face No. 7-seeded Nebraska at 6 p.m.
> Missouri and Nebraska will meet in Big 12 Tournament play for the third time in four seasons ... The Tigers and Huskers met in 2005 (Missouri win) in Kansas City and in 2006 (Nebraska win) in Dallas.
> Mizzou and Nebraska will meet for the fifth time overall in Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships history ... The Tigers are 3-1 in those meetings, including 2-0 in KC.
> Mizzou and Nebraska have been locked in two tight games this year ... The Huskers won in Columbia 66-62 when the Tigers played with just six scholarship players ... The Tigers won the second meeting in Lincoln, topping NU 86-78 in overtime.
> With the improving health of Carroll and dynamic play of Lyons, the foundation of Mike Anderson's steady rebuilding job at Mizzou is starting to settle ... The Tigers are starting five players that will have eligibility remaining next year and will return 80.9 percent of their scoring 84.4 percent of their rebounding returning from the regular-season's final 11 games ... The Tigers also add an incredible seven newcomers.
> Each of Missouri's last five games have come down to the wire ... Missouri and Colorado were in a one-possession game in the final five minutes on Feb. 23 and OSU rattled home a last-second jumper to beat the Tigers on Feb. 26 ... At Baylor, the Tigers and Bears were in a one-point game with 2:41 left, before Missouri's double-overtime thriller vs. Iowa State ... Mizzou and OU wrapped up the regular season with a game that was within one possession in the final six minutes.
> In fact, the Tigers have been close in nearly every game this season and have dropped 10 games by nine points or less, including two games to opponents currently ranked in the Top 20, Kansas and Michigan State.
> Not to harp on tough games, but the young Tigers have had second-half leads in nine of their 15 losses this season, including late leads in games vs. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
> Missouri has been so close to breaking through on the road this year and had second half leads at Cal, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas Tech ... Despite the tough losses, Missouri has won at Nebraska and at Colorado this year.
> Although Mizzou is doing a much better job protecting the ball of late, the Tigers continue to force turnovers at a high rate ... The Tigers have forced 526 turnovers (252 steals) in 31 games this season ... Last year, Mizzou led the Big 12 with 10.1 steals and 18.9 turnovers per game and are averaging 8.1 steals and 17.0 turnovers forced per game this year, including the 23 turnovers forced vs. 2007 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Maryland and Arkansas.
> Mizzou has done an excellent job converting off those miscues and are averaging 20.3 points per game off turnovers ... When you break down the numbers, Missouri is scoring nearly 30 percent of its points off of turnovers (20.3-of-77.8 ppg).
> Conversely, the Tigers are turning the ball over just 13.0 times per game, which ranks among the nation's leaders, including an average of just 9.0 turnovers in their last five games.
> Overall, the Tigers are forcing a turnover once every six possessions, which allows them to average 6.3 more shots per game than their opponents.
> In addition to steals, a trademark of Mike Anderson-coached teams has been assist totals and the Tigers are recording assists on nearly 60.0 percent of their buckets this season (508 assists on 895 FG's).
> Speaking of assists, the 2007-08 Tigers are closing in on the Top Five for single-season dimes ... Missouri has 508 assists already and needs just 40 assists to move into the Top Five, passing the 1982-83 squad.
> Overall, Missouri's 16.7 assists per game rank No. 29 nationally.
> Missouri has flashed a balanced playing rotation, as eight Tigers are averaging at least 13.4 minutes per game and no player is averaging more than 29.0 minutes.
> Missouri has topped double figures in three-point makes six times this year, including a season high 12 vs. Texas ... The Tigers also hit 11 three-pointer at Nebraska and vs. McNeese State and 10 three-pointer vs. Michigan State, Kansas State and Southern.
> ESPN's Pat Forde named Mizzou Arena the No. 1 "New School" college basketball arena in America ... Who can argue?, the place is loaded!
Tiger Tidbits (Individual Notes)
> He's played hurt most of the season, but Missouri's Junk Yard Dog, DeMarre Carroll, has had a major impact in just his first year ... Carroll, also known as J.Y.De, has reached double figures in 21-of-31 games this season to rank first on the team in double-figure scoring contests.
> The Birmingham, Ala., native has broken out of a recent scoring slump (injury related), and is averaging 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over his last three games.
> The 61 points in three games is the best three-game stretch of his career.
> Carroll initially scored 17 second-half points at Baylor, before recording a career high 26 points in the double-overtime win against Iowa State ... He finished the regular season with 18 points at Oklahoma.
> During the three-game surge Carroll is shooting 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the foul line after shooting just 58.8 percent through the first 28 games.
> Carroll has been especially good in the second half during this run, scoring 17 points in the final 20 minutes in Waco, before scoring 21 in the final 20 minutes (plus the overtimes) vs. Iowa State.
> Carroll has also been the team's most consistent rebounder, and is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game in Big 12 play, including 13 boards at Iowa State and 12 vs. Kansas and Nebraska.
> Carroll has actually been close to producing double-double efforts in 16 games this year.
> The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year also ranks among the Big 12 Conference leaders in field goal percentage (4th - .539), scoring (14th - 13.1) and rebounding (8th - 6.6).
> Even more incredible is that he is producing those numbers in just 25.1 minutes per game.
> Despite his size and position, Carroll ranks among the Big 12's leaders with 1.2 steals per game.
> Carroll always seems to find a way to impact the game for Missouri and while he was saddled with foul trouble vs. Purdue, the junior forward blocked a career high three shots in the final 4:11 to help lead Missouri to the come-from-behind win ... Carroll actually scored three points, had three blocks, two assists and a steal in the final 7:35 of the MU win vs. Purdue ... The Birmingham native also added a career-high tying four steals vs. McNeese State and UMKC, showing another way he has impacted a Tiger win.
> 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.
> Keon Lawrence has reached double figures in 26 of his last 38 games, including a career high 25 points at Kansas on ESPN's Big Monday.
> Lawrence has multiple 20-point games this season, both of which came on the road, including a 24-point effort at Texas Tech.
> Lawrence has been one of Missouri's go-to-guys offensively over the last 10 games and is averaging 13.3 points and 2.3 assists during that stretch ... He has reached double figures in seven of those 10 contests.
> Lawrence has enjoyed some strong play vs. the Big 12 South ... In 13 career games vs. "The South", Lawrence has reached double figures 10 times, including 19 points vs. Baylor on March 1 ... Lawrence also scored 13 points this season vs. Oklahoma State and hit the game-winning jumper vs. Oklahoma last season.
> Lawrence dumped in 18 points in the win over No. 12/13 Texas ... At one point, Lawrence scored 10 consecutive points in the first half for the Tigers setting the stage for the upset win.
> The dynamic guard is also third on the team with 16 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.
> Fellow sophomore J.T. Tiller has added a consistent offensive punch over the last 11 games in addition to being the team's top perimeter defender ... Tiller is averaging 9.5 points during the surge.
> Tiller has reached double figures in five of his last 11 contests, including a career high 20 points vs. No. 22 Kansas State to lead the Tigers to the upset win.
> In his first 50 career games, Tiller had reached double figures in scoring just seven times.
> For his efforts vs. Kansas State, the Marietta, Ga., native was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 4.
> Although scoring production gets more publicity, Tiller is one of the Big 12's top defenders and leads Mizzou with 110 deflections.
> The Georgia native earned his first career start vs. Coppin State and responded with 10 points, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes.
> Tiller also reached double-figures vs. Illinois on Dec. 22, scoring 10 points in a career high 28 minutes.
> While his scoring totals are up, Tiller played some key defensive minutes late vs. Purdue, helping to hold the Boilermakers to just one field goal in the final 7:47 of the game en route to Mizzou's game-winning 24-4 run.
> Forming Mizzou's kamikaze line along with Tiller is senior forward Darryl Butterfield ... Butterfield leads the team with 20 charges drawn this year, while adding 19 steals in just 14.4 minutes per game.
> Butterfield took a game-changing charge vs. Iowa State on Wednesday ... With the Tigers ahead by two in the final minute of the double overtime, Butterfield stepped in front of Iowa State's Bryan Petersen with just :48 seconds left to give the Tigers the ball.
> The Miami native has drawn multiple charges four times this season, including three vs. Maryland.
> Matt Lawrence poured in a career high 28 points on Dec. 30 at Mississippi State ... The 6-foot-7 guard hit 6-of-11 treys and tied a season high with six rebounds.
> Lawrence tied his season high with 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range at Kansas State on Feb. 16 ... It was his second 20-point game of the season and both outings have come on the road this year.
> Over his last 25 games, Lawrence has hit multiple treys in 19 of those contests.
> Lawrence now has 158 career three-point field goals, which ranks No. 8 all-time in school history.
> In fact, the St. Louis native has been at his best on the road throughout his career and his shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (61-of-146) from three-point range away from Mizzou Arena.
> Leo Lyons has played much-improved basketball this season and has reached double-figures in 18 of his last 23 contests.
> Lyons' has already reached double figures 20 times this season, surpassing the nine double figure games he enjoyed his first-two seasons combined.
> Lyons has certainly stepped up his game over his last 11 outings, as he is averaging 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds a contest, both tops on the club.
> Included in that surge were career high totals of 27 points and 18 rebounds vs. Oklahoma State on Feb. 26.
> The 18 boards were the most for a Tiger since Arthur Johnson had 18 vs. Marquette in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
> Lyons was two boards shy of the first 20-20 game at Mizzou since 1979 ... Curtis Berry had 20 points and 20 boards vs. Kansas on Jan. 17, 1979.
> Lyons then scored 22 point and grabbed 15 boards the following game at Baylor ... The back-to-back 20-point games were the first of his career, as were the back-to-back double-doubles.
> Over his last four outings Lyons is averaging 21.5 points and 12.8 rebounds.
> He currently ranks sixth in the Big 12 with four double-doubles this season.
> Lyons recorded his first 20-point game in his hometown return to Kansas City and scored a career high 23 points and grabbed 11 boards vs. 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.
> 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 48 assists, which is tops among Tiger post players.
> He just goes about his business quietly, but senior guard Jason Horton has dished out 89 assists compared to just 32 turnovers this season, to rank No. 1 in the Big 12 in assist-turnover ratio at 2.8-to-1.
> Horton now has 408 career dimes, which is No. 5 all-time in school history ... Horton passed Tiger great Jon Sundvold (382) for No. 5 on the list on Feb. 9 vs. Texas A&M.
> Horton is 25 assists shy of Lee Coward for No. 4 all-time.
> Horton also reached the career top 10 in steals and is No. 10 all-time with 149.
> Senior forward Marshall Brown is closing in on 900 career points ... The Austin, Texas native currently has 878 tallies and needs 22 points.
> The selfless senior was named team captain in December by teammates and coaches.
> Brown actually leads the team in three-point shooting accuracy at 38.1 percent.
> Brown logged some key minutes in the road win at Nebraska, and scored 11 points thanks to a pair of treys and 5-of-6 free throws.
> Missouri is 4-1 when Brown reaches double figures this year with that lone loss coming to Michigan State.
> The Texas product then earned his first start of the year vs. Coppin State and later scored a season high 14 points vs. his hometown Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 opener.
> 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.
> The versatile rookie has enjoyed increased playing time over the last seven games, including a career efforts vs. No. 22 Kansas State and No. 18 Texas A&M ... Safford scored nine points, dished two assists and blocked two shots in a career high 21 minutes vs. the Wildcats, before scoring 10 points and grabbing four boards vs. A&M.
> He recently scored nine points in 16 minutes in the return game at Kansas State on 4-of-5 shooting.
> Over his last nine games Safford is averaging 4.4 points on 48.3 percent shooting from the floor and 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc (6-of-12).
> Safford enjoyed a great game at Mississippi State on Dec. 30, scoring four points and grabbing four boards in nine second-half minutes vs. the Bulldogs.
> Senior forward Vaidotas Volkus earned his first career start vs. Kansas and recorded then-career highs of eight points and two assists ... Volkus also hit 4-of-5 shots from the floor vs. the Jayhawks.
> The Lithuania native returned to the starting rotation vs. Nebraska on Jan. 30 and scored a career high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while grabbing four rebounds in a career-best 26 minutes of action.
About The Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska (18-11, 7-9 Big 12) enters Big 12 Championship play as the No. 7 seed following a 68-49 win over Colorado at home ... The Huskers got 17 points and 16 rebounds from Aleks Maric on Senior Day en route to the 19-point victory ... Not to be overlooked was the 16 points poured in by Paul Velander ... The junior hit 5-of-9 three-pointers to enjoy his highest scoring output of the season ... Overall Nebraska is led in scoring and rebounding by Maric, who is averaging 16.0 points and 10.2 boards ... Steve Harley is averaging 9.2 points per game, while Ryan Anderson is third with 8.8 points and second with 5.4 rebounds a contest ... Velander has also played improved basketball of late and is averaging 9.0 points on 11-of-23 shooting from three-point range over his last four games.
The Series With Nebraska
Missouri and Nebraska will play for the third time this season, with the two clubs splitting the previous two contests, both winning on the other's home court ... Missouri won the most recent meeting, 86-78, in overtime, thanks to balanced scoring effort and 27 points off 15 Nebraska turnovers ... Overall, Missouri leads the all-time series 122-89, including a 14-10 margin in neutral-court games ... In fact, Missouri and Nebraska are meeting for the fifth time in Big 12 Championship play and Missouri leads 3-1 in those games ... The last Big 12 Championship meeting came on March 9, 2006, a 71-64 Nebraska win in Dallas.
> Mizzou and Nebraska have met in Kansas City 22 times over the years and the Tigers are 13-9 in those games and have won eight of the last 10 meetings in KC dating back to the 1971 Big Eight Holiday Tournament.
A Peak Ahead, Should Missouri Win
The winner of Thursday's Mizzou - Nebraska contest will face No. 2-seeded Kansas on Friday ... The Jayhawks swept the season series from Mizzou and lead the ledger 166-93 all-time ... Since the start of the Big 12 Championships, Kansas is 2-1 vs. Mizzou, with the Tiger win coming in the semifinals of the 2003 event ... Kansas is 18-7 all-time vs. Missouri in neutral site games and the Jayhawks own a 17-6 mark over Mizzou in Kansas City ... The last meeting between the two clubs in KC came on March 9, 1997, in the finals of the Big 12 Championships ... Missouri was a 10th-seed that season as well.
Same Seed, Same City, Why Not?
It was the deepest run in Big 12 Championship history by a "lower" seed and it came courtesy of the 10th-seeded Missouri Tigers in Kansas City, Mo., in 1997.
> After finishing the regular season with a 13-15 mark, Norm Stewart's club shocked three higher-seeded teams on its way to the Big 12 Championship game ... Mizzou opened with a 78-72 win over No. 7 Nebraska, before stopping No. 2 Texas 80-75 ... The Tigers then defeated No. 6 Oklahoma (89-80), before falling to No. 1 Kansas in the Championship (87-60) ... Jason Sutherland led Mizzou through the improbable run and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Kansas City Is Tigertown USA
Kansas City has been Tigertown USA over the years and Mizzou will be making its second appearance in the City of Fountains this season after playing a pair of games vs. Michigan State and Maryland in the CBE Classic.
> Missouri has played 181 games all-time in Kansas City and are 94-87 (.519) in those contests ... While that number is close to .500, the Tigers are actually 54-30 in K.C. since the 1971-72 season, which was the fifth year of recent Hall of Fame inductee Norm Stewart's tenure at Mizzou.
> The Tigers have played championship basketball in KC over the years, winning the Big Seven Conference title in 1954, 11 Big Eight titles in 1971-73, 1975-76, 81, 87, 89, 90 and 93 as well as the 2001 Guardian's Classic crown ... It goes without saying, Kansas City is Columbia-West.
It's Not Kemper, But How Can We Forget
The 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships marks the first year of the event at the brand new Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City ... While the event moves into its shiny new home, how can we forget some of the memorable Mizzou contests played in historic Kemper Arena.
> Overall, Missouri was 52-26 (.667) in Kemper Arena including an 8-7 mark in Big 12 Tournament action ... In postseason tournaments overall (Big 12, Big Eight and the final three years of the Big Eight Holiday Tournament), Missouri was 47-25, highlighted by Tournament crowns in 1974-76, 81, 87, 89, 90 and 1993.
Back To The Sprint Center
Missouri will be making its second trip to the Sprint Center this season as it travels to Kansas City for the 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships ... The Tigers faced Michigan State and Maryland on Nov. 19-20 in the final rounds of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, falling to the Spartans 86-83, before upending Maryland 84-70.
> Kansas City native Leo Lyons particularly enjoyed playing in his new hometown arena, averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 boards, while DeMarre Carroll chipped in 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and Keon Lawrence averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals.
Mizzou Titles Are Won In Kansas City
Missouri has won 12 Championships in Kansas City over the years, including an incredible 10 Big Eight Tournament titles ... Below is a list of crowns claimed by the Tigers in Kansas City over the years.
Year Event
1954 Big Seven Holiday Tournament
1971 Big Eight Holiday Tournament
1972 Big Eight Holiday Tournament
1973 Big Eight Holiday Tournament
1975 Big Eight Holiday Tournament
1976 Big Eight Holiday Tournament
1981 Big Eight Championships
1987 Big Eight Championships
1989 Big Eight Championships
1990 Big Eight Championships
1993 Big Eight Championships
2001 Guardians Classic
Carroll, Lyons Forming Dynamic Pair
Missouri's talented junior post players, DeMarre Carroll (20.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Leo Lyons (19.7 ppg, 11.0 rpg), have developed into a dominating tandem over the last three games ... The duo is averaging 40.0 points and 17.7 rebounds for Mizzou, more than equaling the scoring and rebounding output for the rest of the club (38.7 ppg, 15.9 rpg.) during that stretch.
> The pair has also added 2.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game, finding additional ways to help the team.
> On the season Missouri is averaging 33.7 points per game in the paint, but over the last three outings that number has risen to 39.3 and the Tigers are outscoring their opposition in the lane 39.3 to 30.0 during that run.
Carroll, Lyons Earn Postseason Props
DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons each received some postseason hardware from the Big 12 Media, as Carroll was named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year after averaging 13.1 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds in his first season in a Tiger uniform ... The Birmingham, Ala., native was also named to the All-Newcomer Team.
> Lyons was selected to the All-Improved Team by the writers, after averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds as a junior ... Both of those averages marked dramatic increases for the Kansas City native, who averaged 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore.
> Lyons has flashed his improved play over the last four games, as the 6-foot-9, 240-pounder is averaging 21.5 points and 12.8 rebounds during that stretch.
Bench Stepping Up For Mizzou
Although "former" reserves Keon Lawrence and J.T. Tiller have been thrust into the starting lineup, Mizzou's bench production has remained steady over the last eight games ... On the year Missouri is averaging 25.9 points per game from its "second wave" (second most in school history), but is getting a much-improved 28.4 points per outing over the last eight contests, including 43 points against Texas A&M and a season high 58 points on Senior Night vs. Iowa State ... During this recent surge Mizzou's bench is outscoring its opposition 227 to 137, including a 58 to 16 margin vs. Iowa State in the home finale.
Horton Has Great Assist-Turnover Numbers
Jason Horton has a 6.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio over his last 10 games (33-to-5) ... We repeat, 6.6-to-1 ... With a 10-game stretch like that, it's no surprise that Horton leads the Big 12 with 2.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover this season, including an improved 3.14-to-1 mark in Big 12 play.
> Horton has committed just two turnovers in his last five games (both at Oklahoma) and has 22 assists during that stretch ... After handing out three assists vs. Colorado, he dished six assists without a turnover vs. Oklahoma State and unleashed eight more helpers at Baylor in 24 minutes.
> Prior to his two turnovers at OU, Horton had played 111 consecutive minutes without a turnover dating back to the Feb. 16 game at Kansas State.
The Key On Keon
Keon Lawrence has become Missouri's go-to man on the perimeter over the last 10 games as the sophomore is averaging 13.3 points and 2.3 assists per game during the recent stretch ... Lawrence has shot a much-improved 51.0 percent from the floor and 42.4 percent from three-point range during the last 10 games, marking sharp shooting improvements from his first 21 games this season ... Through the first 21 games Lawrence struggled to shoot just 39.4 percent from the floor and just 29.4 percent from three en route to a 9.8 ppg. scoring norm.
Lyons Roars Late In Big 12 Play
Leo Lyons has played like a wild animal for Mizzou over his last four outings ... A steady performer for Mizzou all season long, the Big 12's leader in field goal percentage (.602) has unleashed a rebounding and scoring flurry over his last four games that hasn't been witnessed since Arthur Johnson wrapped up his Tiger tenure in 2004 ... Over the last four games Lyons is averaging 21.5 points and 12.8 rebounds.
> The Kansas City, Kan., native opened the run with one of the top all-around games for a Tiger player in quite some time ... He recorded career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds in 35 minutes vs. Oklahoma State, while hitting 12-of-13 shots.
> The 18 boards were the most at Mizzou since the aforementioned Johnson grabbed 18 in an overtime contest vs. Marquette in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
> Lyons backed that contest up with 22 points and 15 rebounds at Baylor just four days later, before dumping in 19 point and nine rebounds vs. Iowa State and 18 points and nine boards at Oklahoma.
Carroll Marching Back For The Tigers
He's been hampered by a high ankle sprain most of the season, but gritty forward DeMarre Carroll is playing through the pain has been among the team's leaders in scoring and rebounding the last three outings against Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma.
> Carroll scored a career high 26 points and grabbed eight boards vs. Iowa State, with 21 of his tallies coming in the second half (and the overtimes) in the comeback win vs. the Cyclones ... Carroll hit a career high 11 shots and dished two assists in a career high 39 minutes.
> The nephew of Head Coach Mike Anderson, Carroll also enjoyed a standout efforts on the road at Baylor and Oklahoma ... Carroll scored 17 points and grabbing six boards vs. the Bears, with all 17 of his points coming in the final 20 minutes.
> In Norman, Carroll battled OU's talented front line to score 18 points and grab six boards ... Perhaps even more impressive is that those numbers came in just 20 minutes since the 6-foot-8 forward was battling foul trouble most of the afternoon.
> Over his last three games Carroll is averaging 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds.
