March 1, 2014
Arena: Bud Walton Arena (15,061)
Live Scoring: www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com
Live Video: www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com
MU Head Coach: Robin Pingeton
(St. Ambrose `90) 60-62 at MU (4th season)
AR Head Coach: Tom Collen
(Bowling Green St., `77) 130-89 at AR(7th season)
MIZZOU CLOSES REGULAR SEASON PLAY AT ARKANSAS
Mizzou will travel to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks in this year's final regular season matchup. Mizzou is 4-8 overall in program history against Arkansas with the last meeting coming in Columbia on Jan. 5. The Tigers fell to the Razorbacks, 69-66 in a close contest. Following Arkansas, the Tigers will continue play at the SEC Tournament, which begins on March 5 and continues until the 9th.
UP NEXT
The Southeastern Conference Tournament will begin next week, with games starting on Wednesday, March 5 and continuing through March 9.
A PEEK AT ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks are 18-10 on the season and 5-10 in SEC play, coming off of a 77-54 loss at Texas A&M. Arkansas ranks second in the nation, allowing opponents just 53.2 points per game this season. The Razorbacks also sit just behind Mizzou in the SEC standings when it comes to three-point field goals and Arkansas averages 6.1 treys per game this season. Arkansas' Calli Berna leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the nation for her 6.9 assists per game. The Razorbacks are led by Jessica Jackson, who averages 16.3 points per game this season, sixth best in the league. Jackson also grabs six rebounds per game to lead the team.
LAST TIME OUT
• Mizzou closed out the regular season home slate with a 75-72 win over Ole Miss thanks to 26 and 21 points from Bri Kulas and Morgan Eye.
• Both Kulas and Eye recorded their 1,000th career points in the contest.
• The victory marked Robin Pingeton's 60th win at Mizzou.
QUICK HITS
• Senior Bri Kulas and junior Morgan Eye have both reached the millennium mark in their DI playing careers, recording their 1,000th points at senior night against Ole Miss. Eye has joined the 1,000 point club at Mizzou in just three years, and Kulas needs just 33 points to join Mizzou's 1,000 point club.
• Morgan Eye leads the nation with her 102 three-pointers this season. This is her second consecutive season recording more than 100 treys. Last season, Eye finished with 112 treys to set the school and conference single-season records.
• Missouri's win over Ole Miss marked the 17th of the season, matching last year's win total. The number marks the most wins for a Mizzou team since the 2006-07 season. A win over Arkansas would give the Tigers 18 total victories this year, the most since the 2005-06 season when the Tigers went 21-10.
• Missouri's six conference wins this season match the Tigers' conference record from last year, which stands as the best record in conference play since 2005-06 when Mizzou went 10-6 in Big 12 play.
• Should the Tigers tally 20 wins this season, it will be just the 13th season in program history that a Mizzou team has reached 20 wins. Prior to 2005-06, the last 20-win season came in the 2000-01 year.
• No. 10 Tennessee was the eighth ranked opponent that the Tigers have faced this season. Last season Missouri faced six total ranked teams during conference play. This is the first time in Coach Pingeton's career at Missouri that the Tigers have faced four consecutive ranked teams, they played three consecutive in her first season with Missouri.
• The Tigers' win over No. 16 Vanderbilt marks Mizzou's second win over a ranked opponent this season. Mizzou has earned two or more wins over ranked opponents in three of Head Coach Robin Pingeton's four years at MU. Should the Tigers top another ranked opponent this season, it will be the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Tigers have earned three top-25 wins. Prior to that, the last time Mizzou picked up three top-25 wins was the 2000-01 season.
• With an 11-2 record in the non-conference, the Tigers gained momentum leading to conference play. In Tiger victories this season, Mizzou is holding its opponents to just 60.9 points per game with an average scoring margin of +15.5 points. Mizzou averages 4.3 blocks per game in winning contests and also outrebounds opponents by almost seven rebounds per game. Proving that the Tigers unselfish strategy works, the Tigers average 17.8 assists per victory, eight more than opponents. Also, five Tigers average seven points or more in Mizzou's victories.
• Under fourth-year head coach Robin Pingeton, Mizzou is continuing to play great team basketball. That is evidenced by Mizzou's 15.7 assists per game (fourth in the SEC and 50th nationally).
• The Tigers have been on top of things on the road this season, out-shooting opponents in every category: Mizzou shoots 40.6-percent from the floor to opponents' 37.9, 41.0-percent from distance to opponents' 33.0 and 79.5-percent from the charity stripe to opponents' 67.6-percent.
• In road games this season, the Tigers are sticking together. Mizzou assists on 67.5-percent of its field goals. In fact, that has been a trend under the direction of head coach Robin Pingeton. Last season, Mizzou assisted on 64.7-percent of its field goals - up from 61.7-percent in 2011-12 and just 53.2-percent in 2010-11, Pingeton's first year. The team checks in at 64.8-percent this season, ahead of last season's pace and 12-percent higher than in her first season as the team continues to buy into her team-first coaching style.
• This season the Tigers are averaging 3.4 blocks per game, a number that is much improved from last season when the Tigers averaged 2.3 blocks per game. Freshman Jordan Frericks is dominating in this category, she leads the team with 38 blocks on the season, good for an average of 1.29 per game (ninth-best in the SEC).
• Staying on the topic of blocks, Mizzou has 96 blocks as a team this season, 21 more than it had all of last year (75). In fact, Frericks' 38 blocks are the most by a Tiger since Christine Flores (who was drafted in the WNBA draft) who had 93 during her senior season in 2011-12.
• The Tiger staff is stressing a defensive mindset this season, and Missouri's numbers are showing it. The Tigers are amongst leaders in the SEC: second in defensive rebounding at 28.8. per game and the Tigers are second in the league in defensive rebounding percentage at 70.4-percent.
• Speaking of rebounding, the Tigers are very good after the break this season, outrebounding opponents by 3.1 in the second half of games as the team averages 20.7 rebounds in the second half this season.
• This season, Kulas is averaging 18.8 points per game, good for second in the league. Kulas also ranks in the league's top-ten in FG% (6th, .448), FT% (3rd, .829), 3-point FG made (7th, 1.8 per game), and defensive rebounds (8th, 5.0 per game) as she is putting together an All-SEC-type season.
• Staying on the topic of Kulas, she is in elite company this season. She joins Tennessee's Meighan Simmons as the only players in the SEC to score 10 or more field goals in at least four games this season. Simmons was an All-American last season and the SEC Co-Player of the Year and the Preseason Player of the Year in the league and Kulas is averaging more points, more rebounds and shooting at a higher clip (both inside and outside the arc) than Simmons this season.