Tigers Host Texas in Blackout Sellout

Zaire Taylor and the Tigers face #15 Texas at Mizzou Arena.

2/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Feb. 15, 2010

Columbia, Mo. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10

University of Missouri Tigers (18-7, 6-4 Big 12) vs.

University of Texas Longhorns (20-5, 6-4 Big 12)

2009-10 Regular Season Game 26 - February 17, 2010 - Columbia, Mo.

Tip-off: 8 p.m. CST

Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061) - SOLD OUT

TV: ESPN2 - (Ron Franklin play-by-play; Bill Raftery analyst)

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)

Rankings: Mizzou: NR/NR, Texas: 15/17 in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls

Series: Texas leads 11-10 all-time; last - Mizzou won 69-65 on Feb. 4, 2009 in Austin, Texas

Coaches:

Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 172-83 overall (8th season); 83-42 at Mizzou (4th)

Texas: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne, '77); 492-244 overall (23rd season); 290-110 at UT (12th)

For Openers

> Mizzou hosts nationally-ranked Texas in the Black Out Game, Wednesday night on ESPN2 ... The game is officially a sellout ... Tiger fans are encouraged to WEAR BLACK to the game as the Tigers go searching for their 34th home court win in the last 35 opportunities.

> 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.

> Missouri is of course known for its pressure defense, but the Tigers have been very good defensively in the half court over their last three outings, holding Colorado, Iowa State and Baylor to just 62.0 ppg ... Missouri limited the three foes to just 36.3 percent shooting from the floor and 26.5 percent shooting from three-point range in the three games.

> Missouri is looking for its third consecutive win against Texas for the first time since Norm Stewart was leading the Tigers ... Missouri won three straight from 1997-99, including an 80-75 win in the 1997 Big 12 Tournament ... Mizzou hasn't won three consecutive regular season games vs. UT since the Big 12 Conference was formed.

> Study up on your scorecards, because two of the nation's deepest teams square off on Wednesday ... Missouri has always utilized depth as a key ingredient to the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball and is #2 nationally with 34.6 points per game coming from its bench ... Texas is #3 nationally in bench scoring with 32.6 points per game from its reserves and enjoyed 34 bench points in its win over Nebraska last weekend ... Virginia Military leads the nation in bench scoring at 39.9 ppg.

> 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 79.8 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 42.3 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 66 percent of its scoring (53.0 ppg) and 8.4 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 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.

Mizzou Quick Hitters

> Missouri returns home on Wednesday to face yet another ranked foe as the Tigers battle the #15 Texas Longhorns at Mizzou Arena.

> Missouri has been very good against ranked foes at home under Mike Anderson and the Tigers have won three consecutive home games vs. Top 25 teams ... In fact, Missouri is 4-2 vs. Top 25 teams at home dating back to a Jan. 12, 2008, win against #12 Texas (97-84).

> Mizzou is 1-0 vs. Top 25 teams at home this season ... The Tigers won 74-68 against #10 Kansas State on Jan. 9.

> Don't get fooled by the pace Missouri plays at, the Tigers are incredibly efficient ... Missouri does lead the nation with 11.4 steals per game and ranks #1 nationally in turnovers forced (20.4), but Anderson's club also ranks #21 nationally in assists per game (16.2), #2 nationally in turnover margin (+7.1) and is among the Top 35 nationally with a 1.23 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 285 steals is already #5 all-time and the Tigers need 10 more to move into third ... Missouri's 38.4 percent shooting from three-point range is #5 all-time, while the 72.8 percent free throw shooting is #8.

> Missouri is being led in scoring by THREE underclassmen, Kim English (14.8), Marcus Denmon (10.9) and Laurence Bowers (10.7) ... 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 on Feb. 6, 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 #20 nationally with 16.2 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 31 or more assists this season, led by Zaire Taylor (71), J.T. Tiller (68), freshman Michael Dixon (47) 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 (11.4) 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 +7.1 … With that great turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio (+1.2) the Tigers have taken 159 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 126 more steals this season than their opponents through 25 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 20.4 turnovers a game and is averaging 24.0 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 9.4 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-25 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 72.8 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 34.6 of their 79.8 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 34.6-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 21 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 27.1 points per game off the bench... That's over 125 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 125 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 is back to full strength averaging 9.0 points, 4.0 assists and is shooting 52.9 percent from the floor over his last three games.

> 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 299 career assists and needs 31 more dimes to move into the career Top 10.

> He also owns 148 career steals and three 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.

> With two steals and one more assist Tiller will become just the seventh player in school history with 300 dimes and 150 thefts over his career.

Zaire Taylor, 6-4, 189 Pounds

> 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 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 71 dimes while committing just 27 turnovers in his last 24 games, including a career-best eight assists and zero turnovers at Oklahoma.

> The Staten Island native scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the near miss at #24 Baylor over the weekend ... The 15 tallies was a season high in Big 12 play for Taylor.

> 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 (10.7), tops in rebounding (5.9) and tops in blocked shots (1.4) in just 20.9 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 6.7 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 seven of his last 11 games, including 13 points and eight boards vs. K-State and 16 points and three steals vs. Oklahoma State.

> Over his last 13 games Bowers is a combined 57-of-95 from the floor (.600) and is averaging 11.6 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-25 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 17 double figure scoring games this season, including nine 20-point efforts.

> English has scored 20+ in six of his last 17 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-25 games this season, including 24 steals in his last 15 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 14 games and is averaging 11.7 ppg during that run.

> The team-leader in three-point field goals, Denmon is shooting 46 percent from three over his last 18 games, hitting 44-of-95 triples, including 14-of-18 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 - fifth) and three-point percentage (.442 - third).

Justin Safford, 6-8, 230 Pounds

> Justin Safford has reached double figures in a career high four consecutive games and is averaging 12.0 ppg during that stretch.

> The Bloomington, Ill., native scored a career high 19 points at Kansas thanks to 8-of-10 foul shooting.

> 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 last Wednesday when he scored 13 points and grabbed nine more boards vs. the Cyclones.

> Over his last 10 games Safford is averaging 11.1 tallies per game, with seven double-figure scoring contests.

> Safford has been excellent at the line over his last seven games, hitting 29-of-35 charity shots (.829).

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 7.5 points on 45 percent shooting this year.

> Dixon has reached double figures in nine of his last 20 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 Texas Longhorns

Texas (20-5, 6-4 Big 12) and Missouri are currently tied in the Big 12 standings at 6-4 and the Longhorns are coming off a dominating 91-51 home win over Nebraska last weekend in Austin ... UT of course earned the program's first-ever #1 national ranking on Jan. 18, just a month ago and is a very good 4-3 away from home this season, including road wins within the league at Iowa State and Oklahoma State in league action ... Damion James is battling for Big 12 Player of the Year honors and is averaging 17.8 points and 10.8 boards to pace UT in both categories ... Freshman Avery Bradley is second in scoring at 12.8 tallies and is shooting 44 percent from three-point range ... One of the Big 12's most balanced clubs, Texas has four players averaging in double figures and seven performers averaging 6.7 ppg or better.

The Series With Texas

Missouri and Texas meet for the 22nd time in series history on Wednesday and the Longhorns own a 11-10 series advantage ... Missouri has won each of the last two meetings under Head Coach Mike Anderson, wins that ultimately snapped a nine game UT win streak vs. the Tigers ... Since the start of Big 12 play Texas is 10-5 vs. Mizzou and overall in Columbia MU owns a 5-4 series advantage.

Mizzou Defense Among School's Best

It's easy to get enamored by Missouri's tremendous turnover and steal totals, but the Tigers have been very good with their half court defense this season, holding foes to just 39.8 shooting from the field and 29.9 percent from beyond three-point range.

> The 39.8 percent field goal defense is the best at Mizzou since 1998-99 season, when the Tigers held teams to just 39.3 percent shooting for the year.

> The 29.9 percent three-point field goal defense is the lowest in school history and the previous low is 30.2 percent set by last season's squad.

> And last but not least, Missouri is holding opponents to just 65.0 points per game this year, the lowest at Mizzou since 1998-99 when the Tigers allowed just 62.2 ppg.

Tiger Bench the Best in the Big 12

Missouri leads the Big 12 in bench scoring this year at 34.6 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 39.9

2. Missouri 34.6

3. Texas 32.6

4. Western Carolina 32.4

5. Cal State Northridge 32.2

6. Northwestern State 30.0

Tigers Turning Up the Defensive Heat

Missouri has been excellent at turning opponents over this year, forcing a nation-leading 20.4 miscues a game ... Missouri's pressure has forced 17-of-25 teams into 20+ turnovers this season, including five of 10 Big 12 foes ... Three of Missouri's last six 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.

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 49-14 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

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-25 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 34.6-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.