Feb. 24, 2012
3/3 University of Missouri Tigers (25-3, 12-3 Big 12) at Kansas (23-5, 13-2 Big 12)
Tip-Off: 3 p.m.
TV: CBS (Vern Lundquist - Play by Play / Clark Kellogg - Analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly - Play by Play / Gary Link - Analyst)
Rankings: MU: #3/3; KU: 4/5 (AP / ESPN/Coaches)
Series: KU leads 171-95 (Last meeting: MU 74, KU 71 in Columbia, Mo. - Feb. 4, 2012)
Coaches:
Missouri: Frank Haith (Elon `88); 154-104 overall (8th); 25-3 at Mizzou (1st season)
Kansas: Bill Self (Oklahoma State '85); 467-156 overall (19th);260-51 at KU (9th season)
Tigers Take on Jayhawks With Title Hopes on the Line...
The 3rd-ranked Missouri Tigers (25-3 overall, 12-3 in Big 12 Conference play) hit the road for their penultimate road game of the 2011-12 season, as they travel to Lawrence, Kan., this Saturday to take on the rival Kansas Jayhawks (23-5, 13-2). Tipoff at Phog Allen Fieldhouse is set for 3:00 p.m. (central), with the game being televised nationally on CBS...
> Mizzou is looking to rebound from a tough loss on Tuesday, when they suffered their first home loss of the season, in a 78-68 defeat to Kansas State. The loss dropped the Tigers one game behind Kansas for the Big 12 Conference lead, and it also broke a seven-game winning streak, as well as a 15-game homecourt winning streak at Mizzou Arena. A Tiger win in Lawrence Saturday would square the teams at 13-3, and would give Mizzou a season sweep of the series, as MU claimed a 74-71 win over KU in Columbia on Feb. 4th. A win would give Mizzou an edge in the tiebreaker with two games to play, while a Kansas win Saturday would give the Jayhawks a two-game lead with two games remaining...
> Kansas, ranked 4th (A.P.)/5th (Coaches) this week, is coming off a 66-58 win Wednesday night at Texas A&M. The Jayhawks have won five straight games since losing in Columbia, and they are a perfect 14-0 at home this season. They are 7-0 at home this year in Big 12 games, with an average winning margin of 17.9 points per outing...
Tigers Have Been Solid On the Road...
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 6-2 road mark in 2011-12, including 5-2 in Big 12 road contests. The six 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 a recent three-game road stretch where wins came by five points combined: 71-68 at Oklahoma (Feb. 6), 67-66 at Texas (Jan. 30) and 89-88 at Baylor (Jan. 21)...
> Mizzou's last road outing saw the Tigers claim a 71-62 win at Texas A&M last Saturday. It was Mizzou's first win in College Station, Texas, since 2001. Along the same lines, this group of Tigers hopes to also break a long drought in Lawrence, Kan., where Mizzou has not won since Jan. 24, 1999, when legendary MU Coach Norm Stewart's last-ever Tiger team claimed a 71-63 win. A little over two months later, Coach Stewart retired after 32 seasons and 632 wins...
> Mizzou is shooting a solid 48.1% as a team in road games this season (although just 31.8% from 3-pt. range), and five Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring on the road - G Marcus Denmon (15.1 ppg), F Ricardo Ratliffe (14.0), G Michael Dixon (11.6), G Kim English (11.1) and G Phil Pressey (10.8)...
Tigers Look for Bounce-Back Performance...
The bad news is that Mizzou is facing some adversity this weekend, as the Tigers are coming off a tough home loss to Kansas State, and now they have to travel to play at Kansas, which has one of the toughest home-court advantages in the entire nation. The good news is, this veteran group of Mizzou Tigers has overcome adversity time and time again throughout the 2011-12 season, and they're looking to bounce back strong just like they have repeatedly this year...
> The adversity hit hard even before the first game of the season, when senior F Laurence Bowers (11.6 ppg / 6.1 rpg in 2010-11) was lost for the season due to a knee injury sustained in off-season workouts. Down to a 7-man rotation, Head Coach Frank Haith and his staff have since done a masterful job of managing games and getting the most out of a team which starts four guards, and features only two players taller than 6-foot-6 in its rotation...
> Specifically, the Tigers have also showed an ability to rebound from defeats this year. Fortunately, they've only had to do that twice previously. After Kansas State handed Mizzou its first defeat of the season on Jan. 7 (75-59 in Manhattan), Mizzou responded with a gutsy 76-69 win at always-tough Iowa State. Similarly, after Oklahoma State knocked off the Tigers by a 79-72 score in Stillwater on Jan. 25, Mizzou got back on track with a 63-50 home win over Texas Tech...
Mizzou-Kansas Rivalry...
With roots dating back all the way to the Civil War period in American history, Missourians and Kansans have always shared a fierce rivalry in everything in athletics, and most certainly in the sport of basketball. Kansas holds a commanding 171-95 lead in the series overall, but Tiger fans are quick to point out that no school has beaten Kansas more than Mizzou, with its 95 all-time wins. The next-most losses Kansas has to any opponent is 91 against Kansas State, and then the next-highest opponent win total falls to 71 by Nebraska...
> Since the Big 12 conference began play in the 1996-97 season, Mizzou also has the most regular-season wins against Kansas (nine) of any league team (Iowa State is next-most with eight). The Jayhawks hold a 22-9 edge over Mizzou in Big 12 regular-season play overall...
> Kansas holds a 41-14 series lead in games played at Allen Fieldhouse, but Mizzou's 14 wins there is second-most all-time by any KU opponent (Kansas State has 18). Mizzou has dropped 12 straight in Lawrence since MU's last win there - a 71-63 Tiger win under Coach Norm Stewart on Jan. 24, 1999.
MU-KU Top-10 Matchup History...
Saturday will mark the fourth time in history that Mizzou and Kansas will tip off a game with both teams carting a top-10 ranking into play. Mizzou hopes to continue the historical trend that has them 3-0 against KU in each of those previous 3 matchups.