Feb. 17, 2012
3/3 University of Missouri Tigers (24-2, 11-2 Big 12) Texas A&M (13-12, 4-9 Big 12)
Tip-Off: 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming - Play by Play / Fran Fraschilla - Analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly - Play by Play / Gary Link - Analyst)
Rankings: MU: #3/3 (AP / ESPN/Coaches)
Series: MU leads 12-10 (Last meeting: MU 70, A&M 51 in Columbia, Mo. - Jan. 16, 2012)
Coaches:
Missouri: Frank Haith (Elon `88); 153-103 overall (8th); 24-2 at Mizzou (1st season)
Texas A&M: Billy Kennedy (SE Louisiana `86); 224-191 overall (14th) and 13-12 at A&M (1st season)
Tigers Hit College Station In Search of Season Sweep Over Texas A&M...
> The 3rd-ranked Missouri Tigers (24-2 overall, 11-2 in Big 12 Conference play) hit the road to begin a tough final stretch of the regular season, and they'll be in search of a win Saturday afternoon at Texas A&M (13-12, 4-9) - where Mizzou hasn't won since 2001. The Tigers, winners of their last six games overall, are coming off an impressive 83-65 home win on Wednesday against Oklahoma State. Mizzou enters the last two weeks of the regular season in a deadlock atop the Big 12 standings with rival Kansas, at 11-2. Mizzou holds the tiebreaker for the time being with KU, thanks to its 74-71 win in Columbia on Feb. 4th...
> Mizzou broke an eight-game losing streak to Texas A&M on Jan. 16th, when the Tigers claimed a 70-51 win in Columbia to improve to 17-1 (4-1 in Big 12 play) at the time. The Tigers had not beaten the Aggies since 2004, but this squad quickly set about erasing that mark, as MU surged to a 42-23 halftime lead, thanks to a 17-0 first-half scoring run. Reserve guard Mike Dixon led all scorers with 18 points off the bench, and MU held an impressive 38-26 rebounding edge over the taller Aggies...
Resume, Dossier, Whatever You Call It, Mizzou's Is Impressive...
> Undoubtedly one of the top overall stories in all of college basketball in 2011-12, the Missouri Tigers, under first-year Head Coach Frank Haith, have taken the nation by storm, thanks to their exciting play and 24-2 record. Along the way, the Tigers have built quite an impressive resume when it comes to positioning themselves for post-season play. Consider the following:
> According to the NCAA "Nitty-Gritty" Report (thru games of Feb. 13th), Mizzou's record vs. Top-50 RPI opponents is 9-0. The next-most wins by any NCAA team against Top-50 RPI is seven, including Kansas (7-4), Baylor (7-4) and Michigan (7-5)...
> Only five other schools are perfect against RPI Top-50 teams, and the most games any of them have played is two. The others who are undefeated against RPI Top-50 (according to NCAA, thru Feb. 13th) include: Murray State (2-0), Princeton (2-0), Kent State (1-0), Iona (1-0) and Cleveland State (1-0)...
> Mizzou's RPI Top-50 wins through Feb. 13th include: two wins vs. Baylor (#7), two wins vs. Texas (#49), and one win each against Kansas (#5), California (#36 - by 39 points), at Iowa State (#39), Notre Dame (#40 - by 29 points) and Illinois (#46)...
Tigers Have Been Solid On the Road, Winning the Close Ones...
> After going just 2-7 overall in road games a year ago (1-7 in Big 12 road games), Mizzou has turned that around into a 5-2 road mark in 2011-12, including 4-2 in Big 12 road contests. The five road wins this season have come by an average of just 3.8 points apiece, meaning the Tigers have found a way to win the close ones. Included in that is the fact that MU's last three road wins have come by five points combined: 71-68 at Oklahoma (Feb. 6), 67-66 at Texas (Jan. 30) and 89-88 at Baylor (Jan. 21)...