Mizzou-Clemson Postgame Notes
3/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 19, 2010
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Mizzou Basketball
NCAA First Round vs. Clemson
Buffalo, N.Y. - 3/19/10
Postgame Notes
First Half Notes
- Clemson scored six of the first eight points in the game, but Mizzou countered with an 8-0 run to take a 10-6 lead entering the first media timeout. During that span, Mizzou forced five Clemson turnovers, turning those miscues into five points.
- Despite forcing Clemson into six turnovers in the first 8:03 of the game, Mizzou allowed its opponent to shoot 7-12 in that span, including 4-6 from 3-point range. Demontez Stitt and Andre Young combined to go 4-5 from distance in that span for Clemson.
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- Clemson's shooting earned it the largest lead of f the game at 28-19, but the Tigers ran off nine straight, seven of which came off of turnovers, to tie the game at 28. Mizzou continued to counter Clemson's hot shooting with its ball pressure, forcing 14 Clemson turnovers and scoring 16 points off of those miscues in the first half.
- Eight different players scored for Mizzou in the first half, highlighted by 12 from senior forward Keith Ramsey.
- Mizzou assisted on 10 of 14 made field goals in the first half. Seven different players had at least one assist in the first half and at the 6:34 mark, Mizzou had assisted on six of nine field goals with six different players assisting on those field goals.
- The Tigers were able to get to the free throw line with more regularity than Clemson in the first half. In fact, Mizzou shot 9-11 from the line, while Clemson attempted only four in the half, connecting on three.
- Mizzou, who averages a nation-leading 10.9 steals per game, finished the first half with 12 as senior guard J.T. Tiller led all players with five in the half. Clemson finished the half with just one steal - four Mizzou players finished the first half with more than one steal.
- The story of the first half was Clemson's hot shooting as it finished the first frame 8-13 from 3-point range, good for a 61.5-percent clip. Conversely, Mizzou was just 2-10 from distance in the first half.
- Ramsey was the Tigers' leading scorer in the first half, netting 12 points on 5-8 shooting. The 12 points in the first half alone were just three off of his season-best, which was 15 in the Tigers' season-opening game against UT-Martin. Ramsey hit the 12-point mark just three times during the regular season.
- Although Clemson's Trevor Booker was the team's highlight coming into the game, the Tigers managed to hold him to just four points in the first half and 1-3 shooting. In fact, Mizzou was able to dominate the paint in the first half, scoring 20 points to Clemson's 10.
- The Tigers lived true to their slogan - `The fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball' - during the first half, outscoring Clemson 12-2 in fast break points and points off of turnovers, 16-1.
- Mizzou, who averages nearly 33 points per game from its bench, was outscored by Clemson's reserves, 21-10, in the first frame. Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon and Migeul Paul combined for Mizzou's 10 bench points in the first half.
- The lead changed five times in the first half and the score was tied seven times in true NCAA Tournament fashion.
Second Half Notes
- Clemson, who started the game 8-11 from three, missed its next five attempts from beyond the arc, including the first three of the second half.
- The lead changed three times in the first 3:55 of the first half and was tied twice as neither team could put together a substantial run to open the half.
- Six of Clemson's first seven points in the second half came off of offensive rebounds as it pulled down four offensive boards in the first 4:02 of the half.
- Kim English connected on two straight 3-point attempts to give Mizzou a 54-50 lead, which at the time matched its largest lead of the game. That sparked a 10-2 run that gave Mizzou a 57-52 lead with 11:47 remaining in the game. Mizzou shot 53.8-percent to open the half while Clemson shot just 23.1-percent at that point.
- The run continued after two free throws from Michael Dixon, who gave Mizzou its largest lead of the day at 59-52. Eventually, Mizzou extended that lead to 65-55 after a dunk from Bowers and a fast-break layup from Tiller, extending the run to 18-5.
- Clemson, who started the game 8-11 from distance, finished just 4-13, including 4-11 in the second half.
- Mizzou shot nearly 60-percent from the floor in the second half, connecting of 16-27 field goals.
Postgame Notes
- The win pulls Mizzou's all-time NCAA Tournament record to 22-22 and gives them a 4-1 mark in the last two seasons. In fact, Mizzou has won its last five NCAA Tournament opening-round games. Mizzou will play West Virginia on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight.
- Mizzou is also now 2-2 all-time against ACC opponents in the NCAA Tournament with wins over Miami and Clemson and losses to North Carolina and Duke. The Tigers are now 3-3 all time in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament bracket. - The Tigers now have 54 wins over the past two seasons, one shy of the all-time mark by a Tiger team over a two-year span.
- Mizzou's 15 steals in today's game are the most ever by a Tiger team in an NCAA Tournament game. Their previous best was 12 against Texas all the way back in 1989.
- Mizzou finished the game with 21 assists. Under Mike Anderson, Mizzou is now 34-1 when dishing out at least 20 dimes in a single game. The lone loss in that span came against UConn in last year's Elite Eight. Eight different Tigers handed out an assist in the game, highlighted by five from Tiller and four from Ramsey.
- The Tigers finished with an assist-to-turnover margin of 21-9 in the game. Over the Tigers' last five NCAA Tournament game, they boast a 92:38 assist-to-turnover ratio. That is an average of 18.4 to 7.6.
- Mizzou finished the game with 15 steals, 13 more than Clemson. In fact, five Tigers finished the game with at least two steals, the same amount as the entire Clemson team. Tiller led the way with five take-aways, giving him 10 total over the last two games. As a side note, Clemson came into the game averaging 9.6 steals per game but was limited to just two in the game as Mizzou turned over the rock only nine times.
- Keith Ramsey finished the game with a career-high 20 points. His previous career-high was 15 points, set in the Tigers' season-opener against UT-Martin.
- Four Tigers finished the game in double-figures, highlighted by 20 from Keith Ramsey and Kim English. Bowers finished the game with 15 points, his most since netting 16 in the Tigers' win over Oklahoma State, while J.T. Tiller netted 10 points. Three other Tigers finished just one basket shy of double-digits with eight points each.
- The win marked the first time since the Tigers' win at Colorado on Feb. 6 that Mizzou has had two players score more than 20 points.
- Mizzou dominated the paint in the game, outscoring Clemson 42-28 in the key. Mizzou also outscored Clemson 20-5 in points of turnovers and netted 20 more fast break points that Clemson at 22-2.
- Tiger forward, who drew the assignment of guarding Trevor Booker, limited Clemson's leading scorer to four points below his season average with just 11 points on 5-11 shooting.
