Mizzou Travels To #6 Kansas State
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (21-7, 9-4 Big 12) vs.
#6 Kansas State University Wildcats (23-4, 10-3 Big 12)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 29 - February 27, 2010 - Manhattan, Kan.
Tip-off: 7 p.m. CST
Arena: Bramlage Coliseum - Manhattan, Kan. (12,528)
TV: ESPNU - (Justin Kutcher play-by-play; Dickey Simpkins analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Kansas State: 6/6 in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 116-114 all-time; last - Mizzou won 74-68 on Jan. 9, 2010 in Columbia
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa '82); 175-83 overall (8th season); 86-42 at Mizzou (4th)
Kansas State: Frank Martin (Florida International, '93); 66-28 overall (3rd season)
For Openers
> Missouri and Kansas State duke it out for second place in the Big 12 Conference on Saturday night as the Tigers travel to Manhattan for a nationally-televised ESPNU contest ... Missouri won the season's first meeting back on Jan. 9 (74-68) in the Big 12-opener for both clubs, but the Tigers will be playing without junior forward Justin Safford, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee vs. Colorado.
> Missouri is currently alone in third place in the Big 12 race, an impressive feat considering the Tigers were picked seventh in the league's Preseason Poll ... MU is just one game out of second place heading into Saturday and the Tigers have never enjoyed back-to-back Top 4 league finishes since joining the Big 12 ... Mizzou finished #3 in the Big 12 just one season ago.
> Missouri is looking for its fourth Big 12 road win of the season and third in its last four trips ... The Tigers boast double-digit wins at Colorado (84-66), at Nebraska (74-59) and dropped a 64-62 decision at Baylor on a last-second tip-in, so the Tigers have played good basketball away from the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena.
> Missouri won its 21st game of the season, 92-63, vs. Colorado on Wednesday ... Mizzou has now won 52 games over the last two seasons, the sixth most wins in Division I hoops during that stretch ... The Tigers are also 21-8 in league play during that time and only Kansas (27-2) has a better record vs. Big 12 foes ... If you include three wins in last season's Big 12 Tournament the Tigers are 24-8 in their last 32 Big 12 contests.
> The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball produces some incredible steal numbers and over the last two seasons Missouri has ripped away 702 total steals, the second highest two-season steal total in Big 12 history ... Kansas ripped 706 steals in 2006-07 and 2007-08, however Missouri will eventually shatter that mark since the Tigers still have three regular-season games and postseason play left on the schedule.
> Missouri is of course known for its pressure defense and those huge steal totals, but the Tigers have been very good defensively in the half court all season long as well ... Mizzou is allowing opponents to shoot just 40.3 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from three-point range this season, the lowest field goal percentage defense totals since Norm Stewart patrolled the Hearnes Center sidelines in 1998-99.
> While the Tigers are advancing defensively in the half court, Missouri still leads the nation in both steals per game (11.2) and turnovers forced per game (20.1) ... Missouri has already recorded 314 steals this season (#2 in school history) and the 11.2 thefts per game are the most in Big 12 history, topping the 10.9 Nebraska recorded in 1998-99.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri Basketball hits the road looking for its second consecutive win away from home when it travels to #6 Kansas State on Saturday.
> The Tigers will be playing without the services of junior forward Justin Safford ... Safford suffered a tear in his ACL (left knee) in the first half of Wednesday's win against Colorado ... Safford will have the knee evaluated once again next week.
> Mizzou is 2-1 vs. ranked foes, losing at #2 Kansas (84-65), but winning against #10 Kansas State (74-68) and #15 Texas (82-77) at home.
> Mizzou is an incredible 8-3 the last two seasons vs. ranked opponents, including a win at #16 Texas last year and three wins over ranked foes on neutral courts #2 Memphis, 23 Marquette and #19 USC.
> Missouri is 2-1 vs. ranked Kansas State teams the last three years ... Both wins came in Columbia and the loss occurred in Manhattan.
> Missouri is 3-2 in its last five games vs. the Top 10 ... Mizzou has split with #2 KU and then-#10 K-State this year and defeated #2 Memphis (Sweet 16) and #4 Oklahoma in 2008-09, before falling to #5 Connecticut in the 2009 Elite Eight.
> MU's last road win vs. a team ranked #6 or better came at #4 Kansas (81-74) on Feb. 20, 1994.
> Missouri is 6-1 vs. Big 12 North clubs this season... Only Kansas boasts a better record vs. the North.
> Missouri is looking for its fourth consecutive win in February ... The Tigers are 5-2 this month and were a perfect 6-0 in February last season en route to a 12-4 Big 12 Conference mark.
> The strong February showing has Missouri 9-4 and alone in third place in the Big 12 standings and just one game behind Kansas State (10-3) for second.
> In the months of February and March the last two seasons Missouri is an impressive 18-5 overall, including six total postseason wins.
> Don't get fooled by the pace Missouri plays at, the Tigers are incredibly efficient ... Missouri does lead the nation with 11.2 steals per game and ranks #1 nationally in turnovers forced (20.1), but Anderson's club also ranks #23 nationally in assists per game (15.9), #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 314 steals is already #2 all-time ... Missouri's 39.1 percent shooting from three-point range is #3 all-time, while the 72.8 percent free throw shooting is #7.
> Missouri is being led in scoring by THREE underclassmen, Kim English (14.4), Marcus Denmon (11.4) and Laurence Bowers (10.6) ... 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 Colorado on Feb. 6 ... 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 four (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 #23 nationally with 15.9 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 34 or more assists this season, led by J.T. Tiller (82), Zaire Taylor (72), freshman Michael Dixon (49) and sophomore Miguel Paul (47) ... 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 (11.2) 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 175 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 142 more steals this season than their opponents through 28 games.
> Did you know the Tigers actually turn their opponent over a nation-leading 30 percent of the time during a game and score 30 percent of their points off turnovers?
> With that great turnover percentage Missouri is forcing 20.1 turnovers a game and is averaging 23.8 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 9.5 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri's pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 20-of-28 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 34.9 of their 80.1 points per game from the reserves ... Missouri's bench has actually outscored (or tied) their starters seven times this season and are outscoring their opposition's bench 34.9-to-18.1.
> That bench scoring total leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks #2 among the national leaders.
> In fact Missouri's bench scoring average is up to 43.5 over the last two games vs. Nebraska and Colorado.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 24 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 27.3 points per game off the bench... That's over 128 career games.
> It's nothing new to have the reserves outscore the starters either ... Including seven games this season, the reserves have dropped in more tallies than the “initial five” 19 times (in 128 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 (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 has played excellent basketball for Missouri in the second half of Big 12 play and is averaging 8.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals in his last seven games.
> During that stretch Tiller scored a season high 17 points vs. Iowa State and dished a career high nine dimes and grabbed a season high seven boards vs. Colorado on Wednesday.
> 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.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 313 career assists and needs 17 more dimes to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 151 career steals and is #10 all-time in that category in school history.
> Tiller is 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 1.8 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 2.6-to-1 ratio (72 dimes, 33 turnovers).
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 72 dimes while committing just 30 turnovers in his last 27 games, including a career-best eight assists and zero turnovers at Oklahoma.
> The Staten Island native is coming off a season high 18 points in the win at Nebraska ... The guard hit 4-of-7 treys and grabbed a career high eight rebounds in the convincing win.
> 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 37-of-44 charity shots in league action (.841).
> 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 (10.6), tops in rebounding (5.6) and tops in blocked shots (1.3) in just 20.8 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 5.8 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 eight of his last 12 games, including 13 points and eight boards vs. K-State and 16 points and three steals vs. Oklahoma State.
> Over his last 16 games Bowers is a combined 69-of-115 from the floor (.600) and is averaging 11.1 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 22-of-28 games this season, including a career high four swats in the wins against Austin Peay and Tech.
> Kim English was named one of the nation's Top 5 Most Improved Players by Dick Vitale in USA Today.
> English leads Missouri with 18 double figure scoring games this season, including nine 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in six of his last 20 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.
> He also scored nine consecutive points in the second half of Mizzou's win against Texas (18 for the game) to help the Tigers pull away and earn the win.
> 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 24-of-28 games this season, including 28 steals in his last 17 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 15 times this year.
> Denmon has been one of Mizzou's most consistent scorers with those 15 double-figure efforts and is averaging 22.5 ppg over his last two outings.
> He recently scored a career high 24 points at Nebraska thanks to 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range and followed that with 21 points in the win against Colorado for the first back-to-back 20-point games of his career.
> Denmon is averaging a very good 13.5 ppg in Big 12 road games this season, including 20-point outings in wins at Colorado, Texas Tech and Nebraska.
> The team-leader in three-point field goals, Denmon is shooting 47 percent from three over his last 21 games, hitting 51-of-109 triples, including 16-of-21 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 - seventh) and three-point percentage (.448 - second).
Justin Safford, 6-8, 230 Pounds
> Justin Safford is out with a torn ACL in his left knee ... Safford will be reevaluated next week.
> Safford suffered the injury vs. Colorado and actually opened the game with a flurry, scoring eight points in the first seven minutes.
> The Bloomington, Ill., native was enjoying a career year and was averaging 10.2 tallies per game, with seven double-figure scoring contests over his last 12 games.
Miguel Paul, 6-1, 172 Pounds
> Miguel Paul scored a career high 15 points to lead Mizzou in the win against Nebraska back in Columbia ... Paul hit two treys and 5-of-6 total field goals in 16 minutes.
> Paul owns an excellent assist/turnover ratio this season with 47 dimes and just 21 turnovers (2.2-to-1).
> The sophomore is also shooting and excellent 38 percent from three point range this season, including a pair of treys in the win Wednesday vs. Colorado.
> 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.
> Moore then played a career high 21 minutes in the return game vs. CU at Mizzou Arena, scoring two points, grabbing three boards, blocking two shots and ripping two steals.
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 47 percent shooting this year.
> Dixon has reached double figures in 10 of his last 23 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 85.4 percent.
> Dixon hit a career high 4-of-4 treys against Oklahoma State, while adding two assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
> He also reached double figures in the win against Texas, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a pair of steals.
> Dixon was named the Big 12's Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28, the first league honor of his young career.
About The Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State (23-4, 10-3 Big 12) is enjoying one of its best seasons in school history as the Wildcats are ranked #6 nationally and are looking to earn a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament ... The Wildcats sport great balance and are led by the backcourt of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente ... Pullen is averaging 18.8 points and boasts 102 assists during his junior season and is shooting 40 percent from three-point range ... Clemente is one of college basketball's faster guards and logs 16.0 points and a team-best 111 dimes ... Inside the Wildcats have great depth highlighted by Jamar Samuels (11.8 ppg., 5.2 reb.) and Curtis Kelly (11.5 ppg., 6.4 rpg), while defensive stopper Dominique Sutton is enjoying his best season as a Wildcat at the small forward position.
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 116-114 series lead (which Missouri claims) and a 115-115 series tie (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”.
College Basketball's Wins Over Last Two Years
Guess who is among college basketball's winningest programs the last two seasons? ... It's the Missouri Tigers ... Mizzou has won 52 games the last two seasons, the sixth highest win total in college hoops since the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
54 Wins
Duke, Kansas and Syracuse
53 Wins
Villanova and Memphis
**52 Wins**
Mizzou, Butler and Michigan State
51 Wins
Pittsburgh, Gonzaga and Purdue
49 Wins
Louisville
48 Wins
Connecticut
Tiger Trapping The Top 25
Missouri has played Top 25 foes tough under Head Coach Mike Anderson's tenure as the Tigers have enjoyed a very respectable 8-3 mark the last two seasons vs. ranked foes.
> The Tigers went 6-2 vs. Top 25 teams during the 2008-09 campaign and are now 2-1 this season following an 82-77 win against #15 Texas on Feb. 17.
Opponent W/L Score Date
#15 Texas W 82-77 02-17-10
at #2 Kansas L 84-65 01-25-10
#10 Kansas State W 74-68 01-09-10
vs. #5 ConnecticutL 82-75 03-28-09
vs. #2 Memphis W 102-91 03-26-09
vs. #23 MarquetteW 83-79 03-22-09
#4 Oklahoma W 73-64 03-04-09
at #16 Kansas L 90-65 03-01-09
#16 Kansas W 62-60 02-09-09
at #16 Texas W 69-65 02-04-09
vs. #19 USC W 83-72 11-23-09
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 40.3 percent shooting from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond three-point range.
> The 40.3 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 30.3 percent three-point field goal defense is the second 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 65.1 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 34.9 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 40.0
2 Missouri 34.9
3 Texas 32.1
4 Western Carolina 32.0
5 Cal State Northridge 31.5
20-Something Sophomores
Missouri has had three different sophomores top the 20-point plateau this season, as Kim English, Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers have topped 20 points in a game a combined 14 times ... English has accomplished the feat a team-best nine times, while Denmon (4) and Bowers (1) have done it as well.
> Denmon actually leads Mizzou with four 20-point games in Big 12 play, while English has done it three times ... The pair each dropped in 20+ in road wins at Texas Tech and Colorado earlier this season and Denmon has topped 20+ in back-to-back games at Nebraska (24) and in the home game vs. CU (21).
> The point totals have been a good indicator of success as well since Missouri is 11-1 in games where Bowers, Denmon or English hit for at least 20 points.
Mizzou In A Special Two-Year Stretch
Missouri has played a special stretch of basketball over the last two seasons, going 52-14 during that time ... The 52 wins over two seasons is the third most in school history and the school record is 55 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 55 Wins
1981-83 53 Wins
2008-10 52 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
