Jan. 13, 2012

#9/9 University of Missouri Tigers (15-1) Texas (12-4)

Game Notes - vs. Texas

TIP-OFF:Noon CT.
Arena: Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Radio: Tiger Network (Mike Kelly, play-by-play; Gary Link, analysis)
TV: ESPN2 (Dave O'Brien - Play by Play / Stephen Bardo - Analyst / Samantha Steele - Reporter)
Rankings:(AP/Coaches)
MU: 9/9
Texas: NA
Series: Texas leads, 12-11 (Last meeting: UT 71, MU 58; Jan. 29, 2011 in Austin, Texas)
Coaches:
MU: Frank Haith (Elon '88), 144-102 overall (8th year) and 15-1 at Mizzou (1st year)
Texas: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne `77); 524-257 overall (24th) and 322-123 at UT (13th season)

For Openers...

> The No. 9/9 University of Missouri Tigers (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) return home to face the Texas Longhorns (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) Saturday, Jan. 14 at Noon at Mizzou Arena.

> Saturday's game is a matchup between mentor and mentee, as first-year head coach Frank Haith worked as an associate head coach and assistant coach under Texas head coach Rick Barnes from 2001-04 ... Barnes and Haith teamed up to guide the Longhorns to an NCAA Final Four and two Sweet 16 appearances ... The two have met just once as head coaches, with Barnes leading the Longhorns to a 75-72 win over Miami in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

> Mizzou and Texas have met 23 times in history, with the Longhorns holding a slight 12-11 edge in the all-time series ... The Tigers are 6-4 all-time in Columbia and have claimed the last two meetings at Mizzou Arena.

> The Tigers' 15-1 start to open the season is tied for the third-best start in program history ... The 16-0 starts in 1981-82 and 1920-21 are the only starts that stand better than Mizzou's current record.

> Haith is the first Tiger coach to win his first 14 games at the helm of the program since Craig Ruby in 1920-21.

> The Tigers currently rank tied for first nationally in field goal percentage at 51.1 percent ... The team also leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio (1.64), fourth in turnovers per game (10.1), fifth in scoring offense (83.9) and seventh in free throw percentage (.768).

> Senior big man Ricardo Ratliffe leads the nation in field goal percentage with his .768 clip this season ... If he keeps at his current rate all season, the senior would obliterate MU's single-season FG% record of 67.6 by Jeff Warren in 1990-91 ... He is one of only two players in the country shooting over 70 percent.

> Senior Kim English leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage among players with 2.5 makes per game at 53.0 percent.

> Additionally, senior Marcus Denmon ranks second nationally in free throw percentage at 92.6 percent, while junior Michael Dixon comes in at 10th nationally at 91.0 percent ... The duo make up the best one-two charity stripe punch in the nation, as they are the only pair of teammates ranked in the top-20.

> Mizzou is one of just six teams in the country with at least two players who have made at least 40 3-point field goals, as Denmon has 46 and English has 43 ... Additionally, they are one of just two teams, joining Oakland, in the nation with two players who have made at least 43 3-pointers this season.

> Junior Mike Dixon has been arguably the nation's top sixth man this season as he is averaging 12.8 points per game and 2.8 assists per contest off the bench ... His 12.8 ppg average this season is tops among Big 12 players with no starts this year ... In fact, he ranks among the nation's top sixth men as his 12.8 ppg rank ahead of other notable sixth men: Pierre Jackson of Baylor, Ryan Boatwright of Connecticut and Will Sheehy of Indiana all of whom, like Dixon, have no starts this year.

> Although the Tigers have won 12 games by 10 or more points this season, the team has been strong in close games. In MU's three games decided by nine or less points, the Tigers scored on 15 of their 16 total final possessions to pull away with wins in all three games.

Mizzou Quick Hitters...

> Heading into Saturday's contest, the Tigers are one of the nation's and Big 12's best shooting teams as the squad ranks tied for first nationally and first in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.511) ... The team also ranks seventh nationally and first in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.768) ... Additionally, the team's 39.6 percentage from beyond the arc is second in the Big 12.

> Senior Steve Moore was possibly Mizzou's most important player on the floor against Iowa State ... With Ricardo Ratliffe in foul trouble much of the game, Moore responded with a career high tying 10 points and a personal best nine rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

> Six different Tigers reached double figures in MU's game at Iowa State on Wednesday, just the second time that has happened this season (California) ... It also marked just the sixth time ever Mizzou had six players in double figures against a Big 12 team.

> Senior Marcus Denmon ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring at an 18.1 clip per contest ... The guard also leads the conference in free throw percentage (.926), is second in 3-point field goals made (2.88), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.434) and field goal percentage (.487) and sixth in steals (1.5).

> Senior Kim English has been red hot over his last six games, shooting 53.1 from the floor (26-of-49) while connecting on an amazing 54.2 percent of his 3-pointers (13-of-24) ... English scored 23 points against Oklahoma on Jan. 3, due in large part to 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, good for his seventh career game with five 3-pointers and third this season.

> Despite not making a big impact with baskets against Iowa State, Denmon was pivotal to MU's offense as he dished out a career high seven assists in the game ... Denmon also did not commit a turnover or foul in his 35 minutes on the floor.

> Although the Tigers have won 12 games by 10 or more points this season, the team has been strong in close games. In MU's three games decided by nine or less points, the Tigers scored on 15 of their 16 total final possessions to pull away with wins in all three games.

> The Tiger offense has been incredibly balanced in the last five games, as five different Tigers have lead the team in scoring ... Denmon paced the Tigers against Old Dominion (19) and Kansas State (17), English against Oklahoma (23), Michael Dixon and Phil Pressey against Illinois (18) and Matt Pressey against Iowa State (14).

> Sixth man Michael Dixon combines with sophomore Phil Pressey to give the Tigers arguably the best 1-2 punch at point guard in the nation. The tandem averages a combined 22.0 ppg and 8.6 assists per game with an assist-to-turnover margin of 2.3 with a combined 59 steals.

> Staying on that topic of steals vs. turnovers, Mizzou is second nationally with a steal-turnover margin of 0.91, trailing only No. 1 Syracuse in that department. The Tigers have 148 steals and just 152 turnovers, the latter of which gives Mizzou just 10.1 turnovers per game, ranking fifth nationally. Mizzou is 12th nationally in steals per game at 9.25.

> Mizzou has been amazingly efficient this season, averaging 1.17 points per field goal attempt this season, a Big 12-best by a wide margin ... Ratliffe leads the team in that category as he is averaging 1.54 points per field goal attempt, while English averages 1.37 and Denmon 1.21.

> Mizzou Arena has become one of the hardest places to play in the nation, as the current senior class has a record of 60-3 all-time in the building, for a winning percentage of 95.2 ... The seniors were a perfect 18-0 at home in 2008-09, 16-2 in 2009-10, 17-1 in 2010-11 and are currently 9-0 this season.

> Overall, Missouri leads the Big 12 in eight different statistical categories: scoring offense (83.9), scoring margin (+21.6), free throw percentage (.768), field goal percentage (.511), assists (16.7), steals (9.3), turnover margin (+5.6) and assist-turnover ratio (1.64).

> From Nov. 27 - Jan. 3, Sophomore Phil Pressey had nine consecutive games with at least five assists, which is a Mizzou record (11 vs. Binghamton, 6 vs. Northwestern State, 12 vs. Villanova, 5 vs. Navy, 10 vs. Kennesaw State, 5 vs. William & Mary, 5 vs. Illinois, 7 at Old Dominion and seven vs. Oklahoma). ... The previous record was seven by Anthony Peeler in 1989-09 ... He currently leads the Big 12 in assists (6.0), assist-turnover ratio (2.8) and steals (2.3) ... Pressey has three 10-assist game this season, the last Tiger to do that in a season was Scott Sims in 1976-77.

> Against Oklahoma on Jan. 3, the Tigers had plenty of noteworthy accomplishments in their 87-49 victory ... In fact, Mizzou limited the Sooners to less than 50 points, marking the first time a Tiger team has done that since Jan. 6, 2010, against Savannah State (45 points) ... It also marked the first time since Feb. 14, 2009, that Mizzou held a Big 12 foe under 50 (Nebraska, 47) ... The 38-point win was also the Tigers' largest over OU since 1922 and their second-largest over a Big 12 team, second only to a 45-point win over Colorado in 2009.

> English's 23-point outing against Oklahoma was joined by classmate Marcus Denmon, who also scored 20 points in that game. That duo has now scored 20 points each in the same Big 12 game three times in their careers. No other Tiger duo has accomplished that feat in the last six seasons.

> Another notable stat from the win over the Sooners was that the Tigers won the battle on the glass, 38-23. Despite running with a four-guard lineup, Mizzou topped the Sooners - who entered the game as the fourth-best rebounding team in the country - by 15 in the game.

> Despite not shooting particularly well from the floor at Kansas State, the Tigers still made 20-of-25 free throws to finish the game at 80 percent from the charity stripe ... The game marked the ninth time this season the Tigers shot at least 80 percent from the foul line ... All of last season the team hit that mark just 11 times in 34 games.

> Mizzou's win over Old Dominion on Dec. 30 gave the Tigers an unblemished 13-0 non-conference record ... It marks only the second time in program history that the team had an undefeated non-conference mark, joining the 1972-73 squad.

> Ricardo Ratliffe recorded his second double-double of the season in his homecoming at Old Dominion with 14 points and 11 rebounds ... The forward also had a double-double against Villanova this year ... He now has seven in his Tiger career.

> Missouri finished the home non-conference schedule with an unblemished record for the sixth straight season ... The Tigers were 8-0 this year, 10-0 in 2010-11, 9-0 in 2009-10, 10-0 in 2008-09, 9-0 in 2007-08 and 11-0 in 2006-07.

> Seniors Marcus Denmon and Kim English continue to move up Missouri's all-time scoring list ... Denmon now has 1,442 in his career, which puts him 14th all-time at Mizzou ... Denmon needs three more points to tie Jevon Crudup for 13th and six more points to tie Ricky Frazier for 12th ... English stands at 1,304 points, good for 22nd place ... He needs four more points to tie Nathan Buntin for 21st.

> This year's seniors mark the winningest class in Missouri Basketball program history...Heading into the year, the class' 77 wins over the last three-plus seasons mark the most in a three-year stretch at Mizzou...The Tiger clubs from 1980-83 and 1988-91 won 75 games over a three-year stretch ... The class now has a record of 92-28.

> The Tigers recorded 23+ wins in each of the last three campaigns for the first time in program history...Mizzou won 31 games in 2008-09 and went 23-11 in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

> Senior Laurence Bowers will be forced to redshirt the 2011-12 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury (ACL) in October ... Bowers averaged 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a year ago.