Jan. 5, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (11-3) vs.
Savannah State University Tigers (5-10)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 15 - January 6, 2010 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 7 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: MSN - (Chris Gervino play-by-play; Jon Sundvold analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: NV/NV, Savannah State: NV/NV in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 1-0 all-time; last - Missouri won 90-49 on Nov. 17, 2000 in Columbia
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 165-79 overall (8th season); 76-38 at Mizzou (4th)
Savannah St.: Horace Broadnax (Georgetown, '86); 89-176 overall (10th season)
For Openers
> Missouri Basketball closes out non-conference play on Wednesday vs. Savannah State University ... Missouri has yet to lose a non-conference game at Mizzou Arena under Anderson and is a perfect 39-0 in such contests, with a dominating 26.6 ppg margin of victory.
> Of course you can't talk winning streaks without mentioning Missouri's 28-game streak inside Mizzou Arena, which dates back to the home finale of the 2007-08 campaign against Iowa State … The Tigers rank #3 nationally with regards to home court winning streaks, tied with Siena who has also won 28 consecutive ... Pittsburgh is #2 with 29 straight and Kansas leads the country in consecutive home wins with 50 ... Missouri needs one more home win to move into a tie for second place for the longest home winning streak (29) in school history.
> The Tigers also own a 46-game non-conference home court winning streak (including seven wins prior to Anderson's arrival), dating back to the 2005-06 campaign ... That 46-game run is a school record, topping the 29 consecutive non-conference home wins from 1979-83 ... That streak ended with an overtime loss to Marquette ... Missouri's last non-conference loss at home came against Sam Houston State in the 2005-06 season opener.
> Missouri opens Big 12 play on Saturday vs. #10 Kansas State and the Tigers have won nine consecutive home games vs. Big 12 opposition ... Missouri topped both #16 Kansas (62-60) and #4 Oklahoma (73-64) inside Mizzou Arena during that surge, so facing ranked foes is nothing new for the Tigers.
> When you talk about the future of Mizzou Basketball, you start with its youth and the Tigers have plenty of it ... MU has one of the nation's youngest teams this year with 11-of-13 players in their first or second season playing for Mike Anderson ... The Tigers are getting more than half of their 84.1 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 45.6 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 69 percent of its scoring (57.8 ppg) and 58 percent of its assists (10.5 apg) from underclassmen this season ... Oh and for good measure, Missouri is welcoming in the nation's #7 recruiting class next year (per USA Today).
> Missouri is among the nation's leaders in several statistical categories this season, including steals (12.9 spg), a statistic in which Missouri leads the nation ... The Tigers are also among the Top 11 in turnover margin (+8.0 - 2nd), scoring margin (21.5 - 6th), assists per game (8th - 18.6) and scoring (11th - 84.1).
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri goes gunning for another undefeated home non-conference slate as the Tigers host Savannah State Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.
> Tiger fans can purchase a 4-Pack of tickets to the game for just $24 a great deal with tickets for Saturday's Big 12 opener against K-State going fast.
> Tiger fans can receive complementary parking in Lot M during Holiday Break games ... This offer is limited to the first 250 spots, so come early and bring a friend!
> Mizzou has been very good in non-conference games under Mike Anderson ... The Tigers are 45-12 (.789) since his arrival before the 2006-07 season.
> In fact if you dig a little deeper, Missouri has enjoyed double-figure margins of victory in 35-of-39 non-conference home games under Mike Anderson (39-0).
> Missouri is on a season high six-game winning streak dating back to a 60-59 last-second loss at Oral Roberts on Dec. 9 ... During Missouri's current surge the Tigers are outscoring opponents by 26.5 points per game, own six double-figure wins and are shooting 49 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three-point range ... In fact Missouri's top four scorers during this surge are all underclassmen, Kim English (17.2), Laurence Bowers (12.8), Michael Dixon (11.0) and Marcus Denmon (11.0).
> Missouri's longest winning streak under Anderson was nine to open the 2006-07 campaign 9-0 ... Missouri had a pair of seven-game winning streaks and one six-game streak during last year's 31-win season, so a win on Wednesday would equal the second longest winning streak during Anderson's reign.
> Missouri has been downright inhospitable at home this year ... Missouri is 9-0 with a +33.0 ppg scoring margin inside Mizzou Arena ... The Tigers are also shooting 52 percent from the floor, 43 percent from three-point range and are turning teams over 22.7 times a game.
> Missouri has 181 total thefts on the year and ranks #1 nationally with 12.9 steals per game ... Last season through 14 games Missouri had 153 steals ... If you recall, MU broke the Big 12 Conference record with 388 total steals in 2008-09 and this year's club is in position to break that total again in 2010.
> Did you know the Tigers actually turn their opponent over a nation-leading 30 percent of the time during a game? What does that mean? Well it means nearly one out of every three defensive possessions ends in a turnover.
> One thing Tiger fans are enjoying this season is points off of those turnovers ... Missouri averaged 21.2 points per game off turnovers last season and forced one turnover every four possessions ... So far this season Missouri is forcing 21.8 turnovers per game and is averaging 28.9 points off those opponent miscues.
> Missouri continues to be one of the country's elite passing teams in 2009-10 ... One year after leading the nation in assists per game (18.4), the Tigers are dishing 18.6 dimes a contest this year ... MU has nine players with double-figure assist totals and as a team MU is registering dimes on 61 percent of its hoops (261 assists on 428 baskets).
> Missouri has topped 20 assists six times, including 28 dimes in the 106-69 win against Oregon and 25 vs. Georgia.
> It's certainly early, but the Tigers sport excellent depth on their roster ... Nine different players have reached double figures in scoring and 10 different Tigers are averaging at least 11.1 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri's pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 12-of-14 contests, including a school record 24 thefts vs. Chattanooga on Nov. 24.
> Missouri continues to be outstanding at the free throw line this season ... The Tigers are hitting at a 72.9 percent clip on the year, compared to 67.2 percent shooting last season.
> It's hard to argue with the production of Missouri's bench ... The Tigers are getting 38.0 of their 84.1 points per game from the reserves ... Missouri's bench has actually outscored their starters five times this season and are outscoring their opposition's bench 38.0-to-15.0.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 11 games this season, including a season high three players in the wins against Oregon and UMKC.
> One thing about Mike Anderson's clubs, they are built for the long haul ... Over his tenure “Coach A's” teams have averaged 26.7 points per game off the bench... That's over 114 career games.
> It's nothing new to have the reserves outscore the starters either ... Including five games this season, the reserves have dropped in more tallies than the “initial five” 17 times (in 114 games) in Anderson's tenure ... It just goes to show you, when the man says he has eight or nine starters, it means he has eight or nine starters!
> To help illustrate that point even further, Missouri has had seven different starting lineups this year.
> Missouri has typically played some tough schedules over the years and that trend will continue in 2009-10 ... Mizzou has 14 games against teams that have been ranked / receiving votes in the Top 25 this season ... Included in that list are some impressive non-conference games (all away from home) against, Illinois, Old Dominion and Richmond.
> In fact, of the potential 14 games vs. those highly-touted clubs only five will come at Mizzou Arena.
Tiger Tidbits
> J.T. Tiller has earned mention on virtually every preseason All-Defensive Team in 2009-10 … Tiller is of course the reigning Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 Conference and was named to All-Defensive Teams by Sports Illustrated and ESPN prior to the start of his senior season.
> Tiller has been hobbled by a bone bruise in his left foot, but has still reached double figures in 7-of-11 games played.
> Tiller has notched seven assists in a game three times this year, including seven dimes at Vanderbilt, seven in a win against Old Dominion and seven in a home win against Georgia.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 268 career assists and needs just 62 more dimes this year to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 130 career steals and 21 more thefts would push him into the Top 10 in that category as well, surpassing former teammate Jason Horton (2004-08), who had 150 … In fact his career steals per game average of 1.2 already ranks in Mizzou's career Top 10.
> Zaire Taylor has been one of America's top defensive players so far in 2009-10 and is #2 in the Big 12 and ranked among the Top 30 nationally with 2.1 steals per game this season.
> Taylor ripped a career high seven steals vs. Fairleigh Dickinson in just 18 minutes of action ... Taylor was in the game for 31 defensive possessions and stopped FDU 26 percent of the time with either a steal or a blocked shot.
> The seven steals are tops in the Big 12 this year, tied the Mizzou Arena record and are the second most in school history ... Had he played all 40 minutes vs. the Knights he was on pace to record 15.6 steals in the game.
> Not only is Taylor excellent at swiping the basketball, he is one of the country's best at protecting the rock as well ... Last year he ranked among the Top 5 nationally with a 3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio.
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 40 dimes while committing just 15 turnovers in his last 13 games.
> Not only do Taylor and Tiller form one of America's best backcourts, but the pair is incredibly visible in the community and volunteered with the Children's Miracle Network Radiothon, which supports the University of Missouri Children's Hospital ... The duo answered phones on the phonebank and made special visits to patients.
> Laurence Bowers is one of Missouri's most efficient players this season and is second on the team in scoring (11.1), second in rebounding (5.4) and tops in blocked shots (1.6) in just 19.6 minutes a game.
> Bowers scored a career high 23 points in the Jan. 2 win against Georgia, hitting 11-of-14 FGs for his first career 20-point night.
> Over his last two games Bowers is a combined 16-of-19 from the floor (.842) and has averaged 20.0 ppg over his last two contests.
> Bowers has reached double figures seven times this season, including 17 tallies vs. UMKC... He continues to be one of the team's most efficient players shooting 63 percent from the floor.
> Don't be surprised by Bowers' efficiency ... That's part of his game ... The Memphis native maximizes his minutes played ... Last season as a freshman he was the team's most efficient rebounder and shot-blocker in just 6.9 minutes a game.
> The Memphis native has blocked at least one shot in 11-of-14 games this season, including a career high four swats in the win against Austin Peay.
> Bowers was a rebounding menace in the South Padre Island Invitational and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his production.
> Kim English leads Missouri with 11 double figure scoring games this season, including six 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in three of his last six games, including 24 tallies in the win against Illinois and 23 more vs. Austin Peay.
> He also grabbed a career high six rebounds and ripped two steals vs. the Fighting Illini ... English has at least one steal in 13-of-14 games this season, including 14 steals in his last six contests.
> English is averaging 17.2 points over his last six games on 18-of-38 (.474) three-point shooting and 35-of-73 (.479) shooting from the floor.
> English was named the Big 12's Player of the Week on Dec. 28 after leading the team to wins against Illinois (24 points) and Austin Peay (23 points).
> Marcus Denmon is nearly full strength after off-season knee surgery and has reached double figures eight times this year.
> Denmon has been one of Mizzou's most consistent scorers with those eight double-figure efforts and has tied his career high with 17 points four times this season.
> Denmon currently ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goals per game (2.3) and three-point percentage (.444).
> Fans will notice a slimmed down version of Steve Moore this year … Since his arrival Moore had dropped 40 pounds and has now began to regain the weight in the form of muscle … Moore credits Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning David Deets with adjusting his eating habits, allowing the “Extreme Makeover”.
> Moore turned that weight loss into production, as he has recorded career highs in virtually every statistical category this season.
> Michael Dixon has been one of the Big 12's top freshmen this season and is averaging 8.9 points on 48 percent shooting this year.
> The Kansas City native is #3 in the Big 12 with a 2.7-to-1 assist/turnover ratio and owns a 3.5-to-1 ratio over his last nine games.
> In fact Dixon has been especially tough during Missouri's six-game win streak, averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 assists in five starts ... He is also averaging just 1.1 turnovers during the run while shooting 53 percent from the floor.
> Dixon was recently named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28, the first league honor of his young career.
About The Savannah State Tigers
Savannah State comes to Mizzou Arena with a 5-10 overall mark following a 54-47 loss to the Citadel on Saturday ... Four of Savannah State's wins have come at home this year and one victory has been on a neutral court ... The Tigers are led in scoring by Tracy Rankins (12.2) ... The Queens, N.Y., native is shooting just 36 percent from the floor, but has been excellent at the foul line (81.3) to add to his scoring numbers ... Rashad Hassan (9.5) and Arnold Louis (7.4) round out SSU's leading scorers ... Savannah State is 0-7 on the road this year, but actually hosted Georgetown on Nov. 21 in a 63-44 loss.
The Series With Savannah State
Missouri and Savannah State meet for the second time in series history and the Tigers own a 1-0 advantage all-time ... Missouri earned a 90-49 win on Nov. 17, 2000, in the 2000-01 season-opener in Columbia, Mo.
Dixon One Of Mizzou's Best Frosh Point Guards
Michael Dixon has made a huge splash for Mizzou early in his Tiger career and below is a quick look at how the Lee's Summit freshman compares to some other Tiger point guards during their freshman campaigns.
Tiger Year PPG APG TPG A/T Ratio
**Michael Dixon 2009-10 8.9 2.9 1.1 2.7
Keyon Dooling 1998-99 8.7 3.0 2.0 1.5
Melvin Booker 1990-91 8.3 3.5 2.7 1.3
Travis Ford 1989-90 6.4 3.5 1.8 1.9
Lee Coward 1986-87 6.5 1.7 1.4 1.3
Prince Bridges 1981-82 6.8 3.3 2.2 1.5
**Jon Sundvold 1979-80 6.3 2.1 1.9 1.1
**Larry Drew 1976-77 6.9 2.8 N/A N/A
** Kansas City natives
Bench Making The Difference
Missouri is known for using its deep, effective bench to help fuel the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball and the Tiger reserves have outscored their opposition's bench in all-14 games this season ... In fact, Missouri's second wave has outscored its starters five times this season, including back-to-back games against UMKC and Georgia.
> Six times this season the Tiger bench has scored 40+ points in a game and owns a 38.0-to-15.0 scoring margin against its opponents in 2009-10.
> Missouri has had six different Tigers come off the bench to score in double figures this season: Kim English, Laurence Bowers, Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, Zaire Taylor and Miguel Paul.
Top Bench Scoring Totals of 2009-10
Opponent Bench Scoring
vs. Texas-Pan American 57
vs. UMKC 57
vs. Georgia 54
vs. Oregon 50
vs. Chattanooga 49
vs. Tennessee-Martin 45
Tigers In The National Rankings
Missouri is again ranking among the national leaders in several statistical categories ... Below is a quick rundown of how the Tigers rank.
Category Avg / Ntl Rk Leader / Avg
Assists 18.6 / #8 Syracuse / 21.1
Scoring Mar. 21.5 / #6 Kansas / 30.5
Steals 12.9 / #1 Missouri / 12.9
T/O Margin +8.0 / #2 Houston / 10.6
3FGs Per 8.8 / #14 VMI / 13.4
3FG % 40.9 / #18 Columbia / 46.6
Scoring 84.1 / #11 VMI / 94.0
English, Dixon Sweep Big 12 Honors
A pair of Missouri Tigers earned recognition from the Big 12 Conference last week, as sophomore guard Kim English and freshman point guard Michael Dixon were named the league's Player and Newcomer of the Week (respectively) on Dec. 28.
> English led Missouri to two victories over Illinois and Austin Peay, averaging 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game ... The 6-foot-6 guard shot 50 percent (8-of-16) from three-point distance and 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the floor.
> Dixon averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 steals and just 0.5 turnovers in two starts ... The Kansas City native was magnificent in Missouri's win against Illinois, scoring a career high 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting ... He later dropped in 12 points and ripped a career high four steals vs. Austin Peay.
The Future Is Bright For Mizzou
Missouri's freshmen and sophomores are scoring 58.2 points per game for the Tigers this season, which accounts for 69 percent of the team's 84.1 total points per outing and is the top underclassmen scoring total in the Big 12.
> Those 58.2 points becomes incredibly promising since MU is welcoming the nation's #7 overall recruiting class in 2010-11.
> Kansas is second in the Big 12 in underclassmen scoring at 58.1 points per game, while the Oklahoma Sooners rank third with 55.7 tallies a night.
With A Tiger Win ...
> Missouri would improve to 12-3 on the season and move to 77-38 all-time under Mike Anderson.
> Overall, Anderson would improve to 166-79 in his eight seasons as a head coach.
> The Tigers would extend their season high winning streak to seven games.
> Mizzou would improve to 46-12 vs. non-conference foes under Anderson, which would include wins over Illinois, USC, California, Purdue, Maryland, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Davidson, Oregon, Georgia (twice) Memphis, Marquette and Old Dominion.
> Would push their home court winning streak to 29 games and their non-conference home winning streak to 47.
> Mizzou would enjoy yet another perfect non-conference season at home under Mike Anderson ... This is Anderson's fourth year at Mizzou and his Tigers have yet to lose a non-conference home game.
Congrats To Mizzou's Graduate, Zaire Taylor
Congratulations are in order for senior guard Zaire Taylor … The Staten Island, N.Y., native graduated Dec. 19 the same day the Tigers took on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Mizzou Arena … In fact Missouri Basketball pushed up its normal shoot-around time allowing Taylor to walk across the stage to receive his diploma in Sociology.
Sweet English
Kimmie English has been much more than a scorer for Missouri over the Tigers' current six-game winning streak ... While he is averaging a team-best 17.2 ppg during the run, he has also provided improved rebounding and defense.
> Defensively, English has multiple steals in five of the last six games, including a career high four rips in the win against Fairleigh Dickinson.
> He has also been an improved rebounder, highlighted by his career high six boards in the win against Illinois.
> Offensively English credits improved shot selection for his elevated scoring totals, as he is shooting 18-of-38 (.474) from three-point range and 35-of-73 (.479) from the floor.
> During this offensive surge English has enjoyed three 20-point efforts and narrowly missed a fourth with 18 points in 25 minutes in the win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... Two of those 20-point nights (24 vs. Illinois and 23 vs. Austin Peay) helped English earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Dec. 28.
Old Skool, New School
Michael Dixon brings an old skool flair to his new school of Mizzou, as the freshman is averaging incredibly consistent numbers of 8.9 points, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals this season for the Tigers ... While the rookie thrives in the open floor, the “throwback” guard is most comfortable unleashing his array of floaters and mid-range jumpers on opponents.
> Dixon has stepped his game up to another level over the last nine games, as the Kansas City native is averaging 9.9 points, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals for the Tigers ... The 6-foot-1 guard has also turned the ball over just eight times in those nine games and has a 3.5-to-1 assist/turnover ratio during that span.
> Dixon was recently named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28 after leading the Tigers to wins against Illinois and Austin Peay.
Rip City
Mike Anderson has his youngest team as a head coach with 11-of-13 players in just their first or second year of competition in the program, but he also may have his fastest club at Mizzou yet to date … The Tigers are averaging an outstanding 12.9 steals per game this season, which ranks #1 nationally … Those 12.9 “Rips” per game are the most ever at MU through 14 contests.
Year Steals SPG
2006-07 170 12.1
2007-08 143 10.2
2008-09 151 10.8
2009-10 181 12.9
The Good Tigers Giveth ...
As a basketball team, Missouri is about as unselfish as it comes ... The Tigers are averaging an impressive 18.6 assists per game, which is No. 8 nationally and have a 1.3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio as a team.
... And Taketh Away
Missouri has no issues creating turnovers once again this season as they produce 21.9 turnovers a night and average 12.9 steals (No. 1 nationally) ... Missouri is averaging 28.9 points a game off turnovers and scores 35 percent of its points off opposition throwaways ... In fact Missouri forces a turnover on 30 percent of its defensive possessions, which is the highest percentage in America.