Jan. 7, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (12-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs.
Kansas State University Wildcats (13-1, 0-0 Big 12)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 15 - January 9, 2010 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 1 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: ESPN2 - (Ron Franklin play-by-play; Fran Fraschilla analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: NV/NV, Kansas State: #11/#10 in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 115-114 all-time; last - MU won 94-74 on Feb. 25, 2009 in Columbia
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 166-79 overall (8th season); 77-38 at Mizzou (4th)
Kansas State: Frank Martin (Florida International, '93); 56-25 overall (3rd season)
For Openers
> Missouri opens Big 12 Conference action Saturday afternoon against #10 / #11 Kansas State at Mizzou Arena … K-State is one of the hottest clubs in America boasting a 10-game winning streak, while Missouri owns the nation's #2 home court winning streak at 29 games and has won seven straight overall … Something is going to give.
> Missouri is 7-6 all-time in Big 12 openers, including a 7-2 mark in Big 12 openers at home … In Big 12 home-openers the Tigers are 11-2, including a win over #12 Texas to open Big 12 action in 2007-08 … Missouri and K-State have met just once in a Big 12 Conference opener … That was an odd two-game series … The Wildcats won that opener 111-56 in Manhattan and then lost 89-59 in Columbia … If you are counting at home, that's an 85-point swing.
> The Tigers completed yet another perfect non-conference season at home under Mike Anderson ... The Tigers went 10-0 at home this year and are now 40-0 all-time in non-conference home games under Anderson, with a 26.7 ppg scoring margin.
> Of course you can't talk winning streaks without mentioning Missouri's 29-game streak inside Mizzou Arena, which dates back to the home finale of the 2007-08 campaign against Iowa State … The Tigers rank #2 nationally with regards to home court winning streaks, tied with Pittsburgh who has also won 29 consecutive ... Kansas leads the country in consecutive home wins with 51 ... This current home win streak is the second longest in school history ... The school mark is 34 straight set from 1988-90 ... That run was actually broken by an Arkansas club in which Mike Anderson was an assistant coach for Nolan Richardson.
> Missouri Basketball has won 29 of its last 36 games dating back to Jan. 14, 2009 … During that run the Tigers have five winning streaks of four or more games, including this current seven-game surge … This seven game run by the Tigers is the second-longest streak in the Mike Anderson era … The Tigers had two seven game streaks last season and won the first nine-game of Anderson's tenure at Mizzou in 2006-07.
> Mizzou Arena has been a tough place for Top 25 teams the last couple of seasons … Missouri is 4-2 vs. teams inside the Top 25 the last two years at home, including a win over #22 Kansas State on Feb. 2, 2008, when the Tigers played with just eight scholarship players due to suspensions … The Tigers opened Big 12 play that year with a 97-84 win over #12 Texas and toppled #16 Kansas (62-60) and #4 Oklahoma (73-64) last year during this current home winning streak.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri Basketball concludes its current five-game home stand on Saturday vs. #10 / #11 Kansas State at Mizzou Arena ... The Tigers have won 23 of the last 25 in Columbia vs. the Wildcats, including games in 1993 and 2008 when the Wildcats were ranked.
> Missouri has been downright inhospitable at home this year ... Missouri is 10-0 with a +32.6 ppg scoring margin inside Mizzou Arena ... The Tigers are also shooting 51 percent from the floor, 42 percent from three-point range and are turning teams over 22.9 times a game.
> Missouri hasn't entered league play with a seven game winning streak since 1994-95.
> 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 Mizzou.
> Did you know that Mike Anderson has defeated at least one ranked team each season at Mizzou and is 4-3 vs. Top 25 foes at home? … In fact Missouri went an impressive 5-3 vs. Top 25 teams last season (overall), including a win vs. #4 Oklahoma at home and a win vs. #2 Memphis in the Sweet 16.
> 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 83.5 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 46.8 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 71 percent of its scoring (59.0 ppg) and 56 percent of its assists (10.2 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 ranks #7 nationally with 18.3 assists per game … However the perfect illustration for the Tigers' unselfishness is that Mizzou has ZERO players ranked among the Top 250 nationally in assists … No one player dominates that basketball and that fuels Missouri's quick-strike offense … However nine different Tigers have 19 or more assists this season, led by freshman Michael Dixon and senior Zaire Taylor with 41 dimes ... And as a reminder, Missouri led the nation in assists last season with 18.4 dimes per contest.
> Missouri has topped 20 assists six times, including 28 dimes in the 106-69 win against Oregon and 25 vs. Georgia.
> Conversely the Tigers lead the nation in steals per game (13.3) and are the only club in America with three players ranked among the Top 100 nationally in steals per game … Zaire Taylor (#54 - 2.1 spg), Kim English (#86 - 1.9 spg) and Keith Ramsey (#86 - 1.9 spg) are leading the way, while J.T. Tiller continues to play the type of on-ball defense that could help him repeat as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
> Missouri is #2 nationally in turnover margin at +8.3 … With that great turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio (+1.3) the Tigers have taken 122 more shots then their opponents this year … That statistic certainly helps to offset rebounding margin … In a crazy stat that speaks to great ball-security, the Tigers already have 104 more steals this season than their opponents through just 15 games.
> 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.
> With that great turnover percentage Missouri is forcing 22.1 turnovers a game and is averaging 28.6 points per game off of those turnovers.
> 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 10.7 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri's pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 13-of-15 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 71.9 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 37.8 of their 83.5 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 37.8-to-14.7.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 12 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 115 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 115 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 15 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 against, Illinois, Old Dominion, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Georgia and Richmond.
Tiger Tidbits
J.T. Tiller, 6-4, 200 Pounds
> 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-12 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 270 career assists and needs just 60 more dimes this year to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 134 career steals and 17 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, 6-4, 189 Pounds
> Zaire Taylor has been one of America's top defensive players so far in 2009-10 and is #1 in the Big 12 and ranked among the Top 60 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 41 dimes while committing just 17 turnovers in his last 14 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, 6-8, 205 Pounds
> Laurence Bowers is one of Missouri's most efficient players this season and is third on the team in scoring (10.8), second in rebounding (5.4) and tops in blocked shots (1.5) in just 19.8 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 three games Bowers is a combined 18-of-23 from the floor (.783) and has averaged 15.7 ppg over his last three 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 12-of-15 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, 6-6, 200 Pounds
> Kim English leads Missouri with 12 double figure scoring games this season, including six 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in three of his last seven 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 14-of-15 games this season, including 15 steals in his last seven contests.
> English is averaging 16.6 points over his last seven games on 19-of-41 (.463) three-point shooting and 40-of-81 (.494) 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, 6-3, 185 Pounds
> Marcus Denmon is nearly full strength after off-season knee surgery and has reached double figures nine times this year.
> Denmon has been one of Mizzou's most consistent scorers with those nine double-figure efforts and has tied his career high with 17 points four times this season.
> In fact Denmon has reached double figures in a career high four consecutive games and is averaging 14.0 points during that stretch on 48 percent three-point shooting.
> Denmon currently ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goals per game (2.3) and three-point percentage (.436).
Steve Moore, 6-9, 264 Pounds
> 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, 6-1, 175 Pounds
> Michael Dixon has been one of the Big 12's top freshmen this season and is averaging 9.0 points on 49 percent shooting this year.
> Dixon has reached double figures in seven of his last 10 games and has been excellent in “high major” games, averaging 11.2 in contests against Illinois, Oregon, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
> Dixon has been especially tough during Missouri's seven-game win streak, averaging 10.9 points and 3.0 assists in five starts ... He is also averaging just 1.2 turnovers during the run while shooting 55 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.
Miguel Paul, 6-1, 172 Pounds
> Miguel Paul leads Missouri in assists per minute this year and is dishing 2.8 dimes in just 15.4 minutes a contest.
> Paul is second on the club in assists and his 3.0-to-1 assist/turnover ratio is the best on the club (39 dimes, 13 turnovers).
> Paul has 16 assists and just three turnovers in his last six games, an assist/turnover ratio of 5.3-to-1.
About The Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State (13-1, 0-0 Big 12) opens Big 12 play on a 10-game winning streak and is playing its third game away from home during that impressive run … The Wildcats are getting balanced play from its guards and forwards, with guards Jacob Pullen (20.1) and Denis Clemente (14.1) leading the team in scoring, while steady forwards Curtis Kelly (11.9 pts, 6.3 rebs) and Jamar Samuels (11.8 pts, 5.1 boards) provide plenty of muscle underneath … The Wildcats are one of the nation's best rebounding teams and own a +6.6 rebounding margin … They also rank among the nation's elite scoring clubs with 83.5 points per game and score 22 ppg at the foul line.
Raise Your Hand If You Remember
Sure it's just one game that occurred 97 years ago, but that single contest is the difference between a 115-114 series lead (which Missouri claims) and a 115-114 series lead for the Wildcats (which Kansas State claims) ... The game took place on Feb. 12, 1913, in Manhattan, but oddly enough, both school's have box scores that support their historical claims ... Missouri calls it a 25-24 Tiger triumph, while K-State calls it a 26-25 Wildcat “W”.
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 9.0 2.7 1.1 2.4
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-15 games this season ... In fact, Missouri's second wave has outscored its starters five times this season, including recent games against UMKC and Georgia.
> Six times this season the Tiger bench has scored 40+ points in a game and owns a 37.8-to-14.7 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 18.3 / #8 Syracuse / 21.1
Scoring Mar. 22.0 / #6 Kansas / 30.5
Steals 13.3 / #1 Missouri / 12.9
T/O Margin +8.3 / #2 Houston / 10.6
3FGs Per 8.5 / #14 VMI / 13.4
3FG % 40.1 / #18 Columbia / 46.6
Scoring 83.5 / #11 VMI / 94.0
Noting Mizzou's 29-Game Home Winning Streak
> Missouri has won 25-of-29 games by double figure margins.
> Has won 19 of 29 games by 20+ points, 11 games by 30+, six games by 40+ and two games by 50+.
> Own an average margin of victory of 22.8 points per game and is scoring 88.2 points in those 29 wins, while allowing just 65.4 points.
> Has topped 100 points five times and 90 points 12 times.
> Has won nine consecutive games vs. Big 12 opposition during the run.
> Has defeated a pair of ranked foes (#4 Oklahoma and #16 Kansas).
> Own an average margin of victory of 32.0 points in a pair of Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series wins against California (93-66) and Oregon (106-69).
> During the streak the Tigers are shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from three-point range, are averaging 19.7 assists, 12.8 steals, have just 13.0 turnovers and own a 1.5 assist/turnover margin.
Tigers Surging Into Big 12 Play
Missouri has won seven straight heading into Big 12 action and those seven wins have come in dominating fashion ... During Mizzou's current surge the Tigers are outscoring opponents by 26.9 points per game, own seven double-figure wins and are shooting 48 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 (15.7), Marcus Denmon (11.9), Laurence Bowers (10.7) and Michael Dixon (9.9).
> Of course long winning streaks are nothing new for Missouri under Mike Anderson ... The Tigers reeled off a pair of seven-game streaks last year and won six consecutive in postseason play, including a Big 12 Tournament crown.
> Missouri's longest winning streak under Anderson was nine to open the 2006-07 campaign 9-0.
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 59.0 points per game for the Tigers this season, which accounts for 71 percent of the team's 83.5 total points per outing and is the top underclassmen scoring total in the Big 12.
> Those 59.0 points becomes incredibly promising since MU is welcoming the nation's #7 overall recruiting class in 2010-11.
> Oklahoma is second in the Big 12 in underclassmen scoring at 57.1 points per game, while the Kansas Jayhawks rank third with 55.9 tallies a night.
With A Tiger Win ...
> Missouri would improve to 13-3 on the season and move to 78-38 all-time under Mike Anderson.
> Overall, Anderson would improve to 167-79 in his eight seasons as a head coach.
> The Tigers would extend their season high winning streak to eight games, the second longest winning streak of the Mike Anderson era.
> Would push their home court winning streak to 30 games, making it the second longest home streak in school history.
> Missouri would improve to 116-114 all-time vs. K-State in the 230th meeting of the series.
> Would improve to 2-2 in Big 12 openers under Mike Anderson and 3-1 in Big 12 home-openers.
> Would knock off the third Top 10 foe in the last four tries ... The Tigers toppled #4 Oklahoma and #2 Memphis late last season, but fell to #5 Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.
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 seven-game winning streak ... While he is averaging a team-best 16.6 ppg during the run, he has also provided improved rebounding and defense.
> Defensively, English has multiple steals in five of the last seven 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 19-of-41 (.463) from three-point range and 40-of-81 (.494) 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 9.0 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 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 10 games (seven double-figure scoring games), as the Kansas City native is averaging 9.9 points, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals for the Tigers ... The 6-foot-1 guard has also turned the ball over just 10 times in those 10 games and has a 2.8-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 13.3 steals per game this season, which ranks #1 nationally … Those 13.3 “Rips” per game are the most ever at MU through 15 contests.
Year Steals SPG
2006-07 185 12.3
2007-08 151 10.1
2008-09 167 11.1
2009-10 196 13.3
Trey-Mendous Shooting
With an array of improving young guards Missouri has one of its best perimeter shooting teams in school history (with all due respect to the teams playing before the implementation of the three-point line) … The Tigers are shooting 40 percent from three-point land this year (#18 nationally), including a remarkable 42 percent as a team within the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena.
> Mizzou has made double-figure treys in six games this year, with a season high of 18 coming in the 99-56 win against Chattanooga … The 18 treys were a Mizzou Arena record and the second most in school history, just behind the 20 three-pointers Mizzou hit at Colorado on Feb. 23, 2002.
> Mizzou recently connected on 10 treys against Illinois at the annual Braggin' Rights Game in St. Louis and 10 more in the win against Austin Peay.
Denmon Delivering
Marcus Denmon has continued to be one of the club's most improved players and is one of the Big 12's hottest shooters hitting 25-of-54 treys over his last nine contests.
> Denmon has tied his career high of 17 points three times in his last eight contests, dropping in 17 in games vs. Oregon, Oral Roberts and Austin Peay.
> Denmon is now second on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and ranks sixth in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage (.436) and sixth in three-point makes per game (2.3).
Balancing Act
Mike Anderson calls Missouri the “Ultimate Team” and MU's incredible balance perfectly illustrates his point.
> The Tigers have had nine different players tie or share for the team lead in assists this season.
> MU has had seven different players tie or share the team lead in steals.
> Five different players have led the club in rebounding and four different players have led the club in scoring.
> And last but not least the Tigers have enjoyed incredible balance in playing time, which will pay huge dividends with experience down the road, as nine different players average at least 15.4 minutes per game.
Mizzou Arena - Now A Home Court
With Missouri Basketball unleashing the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball and the Tiger crowds responding, Mizzou Arena is now one of the nation's toughest home court venues ... Missouri ranks #2 nationally with its active 29-game home court win streak, tied Pittsbugh (29) and one game ahead of Siena and Dayton (28).
> Kansas leads the nation with 51 consecutive home wins.
> The MU record for home court wins is 34, which was set during the 1988-90 seasons ... The 1980-82 teams also won 29 consecutive, while the 1974-76 teams won 23 in a row.
All-Time Mizzou Basketball Home Court Winning Streaks
1. 1988-90 34
2. 2007-09 29
3. 1980-82 29
4. 1974-76 23
5. 1919-21 22
6. 1987-88 21
Here Come The Men In Block
It's early, but Missouri's front line of Keith Ramsey, Justin Safford, Laurence Bowers and Steve Moore are blocking shots and a pretty high rate ... MU already boasts 78 blocked shots through 15 games and can begin looking towards the school record books for most blocks in a single season ... Since Mike Anderson's arrival at MU the high for swats in a year is 140, set in 2008-09 ... The school record is 154 set during the 2001-02 campaign.
> Missouri is currently blocking 5.2 shots a night (fifth in the Big 12) and Bowers' 1.5 swats per game is seventh in the league ... Ramsey (1.3) ranks 10th overall, while Steve Moore is just outside the Top 15.
> Missouri had just 59 blocked shots last season through 15 games, so the 73 swats is well above that pace from last season.