Feb. 11, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (18-6, 6-3 Big 12) vs.
Baylor University Bears (18-5, 5-4 Big 12)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 25 - February 13, 2010 - Waco, Texas
Tip-off: 12:30 p.m. CST
Arena: Ferrell Center - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: Big 12 Network - (Brad Sham play-by-play; Miles Simon analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Baylor: 24/RV in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 12-9 all-time; last - Mizzou won 73-60 on March 14, 2009 in Okla. City
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 172-82 overall (8th season); 83-41 at Mizzou (4th)
Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler, '93); 119-111 overall (8th season); 99-100 at BU (7th)
For Openers
> Missouri Basketball hits the road this weekend to take on the nationally-ranked Baylor Bears Saturday afternoon in Waco ... Missouri has won 10 of 15 meetings against Baylor since the formation of the Big 12, which includes a meeting in the Championship Game of the 2009 Big 12 Tournament.
> Missouri is looking for its 19th win of the year, which would be the second highest win total under Head Coach Mike Anderson ... The Tigers won 18 games in 2006-07 and of course won 31 games last year en route to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight ... A win by Mizzou would give the Tigers 50 combined wins over the last two seasons, which would be the third highest win total over two seasons in school history.
> Mizzou is looking for its third Big 12 road win of the year, but winning in Waco will be no easy task ... The Bears are an outstanding 11-1 at home this year and Missouri hasn't won in Waco since Feb. 21, 2004 ... The Tigers are a solid 2-2 on the road in league play this year, including last weekend's impressive 84-66 win at Colorado ... Missouri's last win over a ranked opponent on the road came last season at #16 Texas (69-65) thanks to Zaire Taylor's game-winner.
> Missouri is one of the Big 12's youngest teams this season and has 11-of-13 players in their first or second season playing for Mike Anderson ... Missouri is getting more than half of its 80.6 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 42.2 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 66 percent of its scoring (53.2 ppg) and 8.3 assists from underclassmen this season ... Oh and for good measure, Missouri is welcoming in the nation's #7 recruiting class next year (per USA Today).
> Speaking of that #7 recruiting class, the Lone Star State was very good to Missouri on the recruiting trail and two of those players hail from just up the road in nearby Dallas ... Tony Mitchell and Phil Pressey each call the Dallas Metroplex home and both players are ranked among the Top 3 players in the state, so the reach of the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball extend well beyond Missouri's border.
> Don't get fooled by the pace Missouri plays at, the Tigers are incredibly efficient ... Missouri does lead the nation with 11.7 steals per game and ranks #1 nationally in turnovers forced (20.7), but Anderson's club also ranks #19 nationally in assists per game (16.3), #2 nationally in turnover margin (+7.3) and is among the Top 35 nationally with a 1.22 assist/turnover ratio as a team.
> The 2009-10 Tigers are looking to join the Mizzou records book in a number of statistical categories ... The 280 steals is already #5 all-time and the Tigers need 15 more to move into third ... Missouri's 38.2 percent shooting from three-point range is #5 all-time, while the 72.7 percent free throw shooting is #8.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri faces a tall task on Saturday, as it travels to Waco, Texas, to face #24 Baylor on the Big 12 Network ... Missouri is 2-2 on the road in league play, but does boast one win in the state of Texas, a 94-89 overtime win at Texas Tech on Jan. 13.
> Missouri is currently tied for second in the Big 12 standings with Texas A&M and Kansas State ... Oddly enough, each of those three teams have defeated one another in the always difficult Big 12 Conference.
> Missouri has actually won six of its last 10 road games dating back to a 97-95 win at Oklahoma State last season ... Included in that stretch is a win over nationally-ranked Texas on Feb. 14, 2009.
> Mizzou has defeated a pair of Top 25 teams on the road under Mike Anderson's watch ... The Tigers won at #18 Oklahoma State (75-64) on Feb. 17, 2007 as well.
> Happy Birthday to Missouri beat writer Mike DeArmond of the Kansas City Star ... Mike's birthday is Saturday.
> Missouri is being led in scoring by THREE underclassmen, Kim English (14.8), Marcus Denmon (11.1) and Laurence Bowers (10.8) ... The last time that happed was during the 1999-2000 campaign when Keyon Dooling (15.3), Kareem Rush (14.7) and Clarence Gilbert (13.7) paced the Tigers in scoring.
> Kim English recorded his ninth 20-point game of the year last Saturday, scoring 21 points at CU ... That's the most 20-point games by a sophomore since Linas Kleiza accomplished the feat (also nine times) in 2004-05 ... In case you were wondering, Kareem Rush scored 20+ as a sophomore 16 times in 2000-01, Anthony Peeler did it eight times, Derrick Chievous 15 times and Ricky Frazier 12 times.
> Missouri has had a school record five different players hit 4 (or more) treys in a game this year ... Kim English, Marcus Denmon, Zaire Taylor, Miguel Paul and Michael Dixon have all hit 4+ triples in a game this season ... Don't forget that four of those five players are underclassmen!
> The previous mark was four set during the 2000-01 season by Brian Grawer, Kareem Rush, Clarence Gilbert and Wesley Stokes.
> Missouri ranks #19 nationally with 16.3 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 29 or more assists this season, led by Zaire Taylor (69), J.T. Tiller (65), freshman Michael Dixon (46) and sophomore Miguel Paul (42) ... And as a reminder, Missouri led the nation in assists last season with 18.4 dimes per contest.
> Missouri has topped 20 assists eight 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 (11.7) and are led defensively by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year candidate, J.T. Tiller ... It's not the steal total to watch with Tiller, it's the deflections and overall havoc the senior causes on the floor.
> Missouri is #2 nationally in turnover margin at +7.3 … With that great turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio (+1.2) the Tigers have taken 156 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 127 more steals this season than their opponents through 24 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 20.7 turnovers a game and is averaging 24.3 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 9.6 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri's pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 18-of-24 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 72.7 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 35.5 of their 80.6 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 35.5-to-17.5.
> That bench scoring total leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks #2 among the national leaders.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 20 games this season, including a season high three players in the wins against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, 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 26.9 points per game off the bench... That's over 124 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 124 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 eight 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 (aka the Tasmanian Devil) 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 was hobbled early by a bone bruise in his left foot, but has still reached double figures in 9-of-21 games played.
> Tiller suffered a fracture in his nose in the road win at Colorado and wore a protective mask for about 30 seconds in the win against Iowa State ... Tossing the mask aside proved to be a good idea, as the senior scored a season high 17 points, grabbed four boards, dished three assists and ripped two steals in the win.
> 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 296 career assists and needs 34 more dimes to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 147 career steals and four 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 100 nationally with 1.9 steals per game this season.
> Taylor ripped away four steals in the win at Colorado, his highest total in a Big 12 game this season and followed that up with two more vs. Iowa State.
> 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 ... This season he is #41 nationally with a 2.4-to-1 ratio.
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 69 dimes while committing just 26 turnovers in his last 23 games, including a career-best eight assists and zero turnovers at Oklahoma.
> Of course its hard to talk about Taylor and not mention his “Big Shot” moniker ... Taylor hit game-winners last year vs. #16 Kansas and at #16 Texas and then broke a 66-66 tie vs. #10 K-State on Jan. 9 with a deep triple with just 33 seconds remaining ... All three of those game-winners were vs. ranked teams.
> Taylor has done an excellent job supplementing his scoring at the foul line in Big 12 play and has made 30-of-33 charity shots in league action (.909).
> 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), tops in rebounding (6.0) and tops in blocked shots (1.5) in just 20.5 minutes a game.
> Bowers is tops on the club in double-doubles with three ... He recently logged 10 points and a career high 12 rebounds vs. Iowa State.
> In fact Bowers' rebounding average is up to 6.9 rpg in league play thus far.
> 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 and has now reached double figures in six of his last 10 games, including 13 points and eight boards vs. K-State and 16 points and three steals vs. Oklahoma State.
> Over his last 12 games Bowers is a combined 52-of-88 from the floor (.591) and is averaging 11.8 points a night, including those three double-doubles vs. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Iowa State.
> 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 20-of-24 games this season, including a career high four swats in the wins against Austin Peay and Tech.
Kim English, 6-6, 200 Pounds
> Kim English was named one of the nation's Top 5 Most Improved Players by Dick Vitale in USA Today.
> English leads Missouri with 16 double figure scoring games this season, including nine 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in six of his last 16 games, including 20 against Oklahoma State and 21 at Colorado.
> Although he scored just nine points against Iowa State due to foul trouble, the Baltimore native drilled the game-cinching three-pointer vs. Iowa State with 1:44 remaining and the Tigers ahead just 56-53.
> English grabbed a career high 10 boards for his first double-double at Texas Tech.
> He also grabbed a six rebounds and ripped two steals vs. the Fighting Illini ... English has at least one steal in 21-of-24 games this season, including 24 steals in his last 14 contests.
> 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 13 times this year.
> Denmon has been one of Mizzou's most consistent scorers with those 13 double-figure efforts and poured in a career high 22 points in the win at Colorado.
> In fact Denmon has reached double figures in eight of his last 13 games and is averaging 12.1 ppg during that run.
> The team-leader in three-point field goals, Denmon is shooting 46 percent from three over his last 17 games, hitting 43-of-93 triples, including 14-of-17 games with multiple three-point makes.
> Denmon has been very good late in games recently ... The Kansas City native is coming off a 14-point effort against #10 Kansas State where he scored eight of his team-high tying 14 points in span of 3:43 late in the second half to hand the Tigers the victory ... The Tigers were down 55-49 at the 5:37 mark when Denmon nailed back-to-back treys and then hit a baseline runner off glass.
> During the win at Texas Tech Denmon scored five points in overtime, including the first bucket of the extra frame and a 24-foot trey to break an 85-85 tie.
> Denmon currently ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goals per game (2.3) and three-point percentage (.441).
Justin Safford, 6-8, 230 Pounds
> Justin Safford grabbed a career high 11 boards in the win against Nebraska and narrowly missed a double-double with nine points.
> The near miss occurred again vs. Iowa State on Wednesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed nine more boards vs. the Cyclones.
> The Bloomington, Ill., native scored a career high 19 points at Kansas thanks to 8-of-10 foul shooting.
> Over his last 10 games Safford is averaging 10.9 tallies per game, with six double-figure scoring contests.
> Safford has been excellent at the line over his last six games, hitting 24-of-29 charity shots (.827).
Miguel Paul, 6-1, 172 Pounds
> Miguel Paul scored a career high 15 points to lead Mizzou in the win against Nebraska ... Paul hit two treys and 5-of-6 total field goals in 16 minutes.
> Paul owns an excellent assist/turnover ratio this season with 42 dimes and just 19 turnovers (2.2-to-1).
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.
> The Kansas City native enjoyed a tremendous outing at Colorado, scoring four points and grabbing three boards in the first half vs. the Buffaloes.
Michael Dixon, 6-1, 175 Pounds
> Michael Dixon has been one of the Big 12's top freshmen this season and is averaging 7.8 points on 45 percent shooting this year.
> Dixon has reached double figures in nine of his last 19 games and was excellent in “high major” non-conference games, averaging 11.2 in contests against Illinois, Oregon, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
> The rookie showed his moxie in Missouri's road win at Texas Tech, hitting four free throws in the final :17 seconds of OT for the triumph.
> The Kansas City native leads Mizzou in FT percentage at 84.2 percent.
> He recently hit a career high 4-of-4 treys against Oklahoma State, while adding two assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
> Dixon was named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28, the first league honor of his young career.
About The Baylor Bears
Baylor (18-5, 5-4 Big 12) is coming off a gritty 55-53 road win at Nebraska this week as LaceDarius Dunn dropped in 19 points and Ekpe Udoh hit the game-winner in the two-point win ... Baylor has won three of its last four games in the league and has been an excellent home court team this season going 11-1 at the Ferrell Center ... The Bears are once again one of the Big 12's more explosive teams averaging 77.3 points per game and have three players averaging better than 13.9 tallies a night ... The Bears are also a great rebounding club and average a +8.0 rebounding margin, led by Udoh's 10.3 rebounds a game ... Dunn leads Baylor with 18.7 points per game ... He has already hit 75 three-pointers this season ... Tweety Carter logs 16.2 points and 6.1 assists per game to fuel Baylor's offense, while Udoh averages a double-double at 13.9 points and 10.3 boards.
The Series With Baylor
Missouri and Baylor meet for the 22nd time on Saturday and the Tigers own a 12-9 series lead ... Mizzou and Baylor of course met for the 2009 Big 12 Tournament title in Oklahoma City last year, with Missouri earning a 73-60 win at the Ford Center ... The Tigers have won two straight and 10-of-15 meetings since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97 ... In Waco the Bears own a 5-3 series lead and Mizzou's last win on the road in the series was a 70-66 decision on Feb. 21, 2004.
Midway Point Prognosticators
The Big 12 Conference is now in the second half of the season, so let's compare how the league's prognosticators (the coaches) have done so far when picking the league's order of finish.
> Both Baylor and Missouri have enjoyed the most surprising results thus far ... The Tigers were picked seventh in the preseason poll and currently sit in a tie for second, while the Bears were slotted 10th in the preseason standings and are now fifth and just one game out of second.
Team Preseason Current +/-
Kansas 1 1 -
Missouri 7 2 +5
Kansas State 4 2 +2
Texas A&M 5 2 +3
Baylor 10 5 +5
Texas 2 5 -3
Oklahoma 3 7 -4
Oklahoma State 6 7 -1
Texas Tech 9 7 +2
Iowa State 8 10 -2
Colorado 12 10 +2
Nebraska 11 12 -1
Tiger Bench the Best in the Big 12
Missouri leads the Big 12 in bench scoring this year at 35.5 points per game, a figure that will eventually break the school record of 27.0 (2008-09) ... Missouri is #2 nationally in that category, trailing only Virginia Military:
Rk. Team Scoring
1. Virginia Military 38.0
2. Missouri 35.5
3. Texas 32.7
4. Western Carolina 32.4
5. Northwestern State 31.4
Tigers Turning Up the Defensive Heat
Missouri has been excellent at turning opponents over this year, forcing a nation-leading 20.7 miscues a game ... Missouri's pressure has forced 17-of-24 teams into 20+ turnovers this season, including five of nine Big 12 foes ... Three of Missouri's last five opponents: Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M averaged less than 12.5 turnovers a game, but each nearly doubled their season average when facing the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball.
> In games against Iowa State and Colorado, the Tiger defense has allowed just 61.0 ppg in the two wins and showed yet another way the stifling defense can throw opponents out of sync.
Season Previous
Opponent Avg. vs. Mizzou Season High
Kansas 12.5 23 21 vs. Memphis
Oklahoma St. 11.8 24 20 at K-State
Texas A&M 11.8 21 19 vs. Clemson
Mizzou In A Special Two-Year Stretch
Missouri has played a special stretch of basketball over the last two seasons, going 49-13 during that time ... The 49 wins over two seasons is the fourth most in school history and the school record is 54 wins over two seasons set by the 1988-89 team (29 wins) and the 1989-90 club (26 wins).
Top Two-Year Stretches at Mizzou
Years Win Totals
1988-90 54 Wins
1981-83 53 Wins
2008-10 49 Wins
1980-82 49 Wins
1993-95 48 Wins
2007-09 47 Wins
1992-94 47 Wins
1979-80 47 Wins
1975-77 47 Wins
2001-03 46 Wins
1989-91 46 Wins
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 7.8 1.9 0.9 2.0
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 23-of-24 games this season ... In fact, Missouri's second wave has outscored its starters five times this season, including games against UMKC and Georgia.
> Eight times this season the Tiger bench has scored 40+ points in a game and owns a 35.5-to-17.5 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
vs. Oklahoma State 42
at Texas Tech 41
English, Dixon Sweep Big 12 Honors
A pair of Missouri Tigers earned recognition from the Big 12 Conference, 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 53.2 points per game for the Tigers this season, which accounts for 66 percent of the team's 80.6 total points per outing and is the #1 underclassmen scoring total in the Big 12.
> Those 53.2 tallies become incredibly promising since MU is welcoming the nation's #7 overall recruiting class in 2010-11.
> Missouri leads the Big 12 in underclassmen scoring, with Kansas ranking second (52.9) and Oklahoma third at 52.7 points a night.
With A Tiger Win ...
> Missouri would improve to 19-6 on the season and move to 84-41 all-time under Mike Anderson.
> Overall, Anderson would improve to 173-82 in his eight seasons as a head coach.
> The Tigers would earn their third consecutive win in Big 12 play and have two consecutive wins on the road in league action.
> Missouri would have its 13th win in 16 games dating back to early December.
> Missouri would run its winning streak to three games against the Baylor Bears and have its first win in Waco since 2004.
> Mizzou would claim its 19th win of the season, the second highest win total of the Mike Anderson era.
> Missouri would earn its third road win vs. a Top 25 team under Mike Anderson's watch and the two previous road vs. came when the Tigers were unranked.
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 last 16 games ... While he is averaging a team-best 14.8 ppg during the run, he has also provided improved rebounding and defense.
> Defensively, English has multiple steals in eight of the last 16 games, including a career high four rips in the win against Fairleigh Dickinson.
> He has also been an improved rebounder (4.0 rpg over last 16 games), highlighted by his first career double-double vs. Texas Tech, with 20 points and 10 boards.
> During his offensive surge English has enjoyed six 20-point efforts and narrowly missed a seventh 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 and he recorded his first 20-point game in league action in the Jan. 13 win at Texas Tech before following it up with 20 tallies against Oklahoma State and 21 at Colorado.