Saturday Matchup with NC State Next for @MizzouHoops

Saturday, December 19

Columbia, Mo.

5:00 PM

University of Missouri

North Carolina State

12/18/2015 2:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Tigers-Wolfpack tipping off at 5 p.m. on the SEC Network

Opponent	Location	Day/Time	Media
NC State Buy Tickets	Mizzou Arena	Saturday, Dec. 19 5 p.m.	TV: SEC Network Radio: Tiger Network Online: WatchESPN \| Live Audio \| Live Stats Game Notes

#ZOUNotes

Mizzou Men's Basketball (5-4) returns home to host NC State on Saturday, Dec. 19, with tipoff slated for 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Head coach Kim Anderson's Tigers will put their 5-0 home record up against a Wolfpack squad that advanced to the 2015 NCAA Sweet Sixteen a season ago.
Mizzou dropped a road result at No. 13 Arizona (Dec. 13) by a score of 88-52. The Tigers maintained an aggressive approach, getting to the free throw line 26 times. Arizona took 25 foul shots.
Freshman forward Kevin Puryear has 117 points through the first nine games of his first college season, putting him on pace amongst the likes of Mizzou greats Steve Stipanovich (150), Jevon Crudup (133) and Kelly Thames (120).
Sophomore guard Namon Wright has improved his game in two distinct ways: rebounding and drawing fouls. Wright is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game a season after averaging just 2.3. He has already attempted 34 free throws after taking just 18 in 2014-15.

Last Time Out

Mizzou (5-4) fell on the road at No. 13 Arizona by a score of 88-52 on Sunday, Dec. 13. The Tigers were led in scoring by sophomore guard Namon Wright's nine points (2-of-8 FG, 1-of-2 3PT, 4-of-5 FT).
The Tigers never found their shooting rhythm, hitting on just 17-of-56 field goal attempts over the course of the game. Junior guard Wes Clark managed a 4-of-5 FG shooting performance to score eight points.
Freshman guard Terrence Phillips dished out three assists in the game for his fifth outing this season with at least three dimes.
Head coach Kim Anderson's group was aggressive in getting to the free throw line, shooting more free throws than its opponent for the third time this season (26-25).

Gaining Traction at the Line

Mizzou's top four scorers, Kevin Puryear (13.0), Terrence Phillips (9.7), Namon Wright (9.6) and Wes Clark (7.8) are all shooting 75.0 percent or better from the free throw line, a good trend for a team that finished last season with just two players over the 75.0-percent mark.

Terrence the Thief

Mizzou freshman guard Terrence Phillips started his season of thievery slowly, but has built upon his team-leading 13 steals quickly over the last five games of the season. Phillips has compiled 11 of his 13 steals in that span.
Phillips' season-high of four steals vs. Northwestern (Nov. 24) in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center helped jump start his five-game stealing spree.
The Tigers' freshman point guard has recorded at least two steals in four of his last five games, including a stretch of three-straight games.

Sharp-Shooting Tigers

Mizzou's Russell Woods (12-of-18, 66.7), Ryan Rosburg (14-of-26, 53.6), Jakeenan Gant (12-of-23, 52.2) and Kevin Puryear (23-of-46, 50.0) are all shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field over the Tigers' last five games.

About NC State

NC State (7-3) comes to Mizzou Arena as winners of three-straight games, defeating Bucknell (99-86, Dec. 5), USF (65-46, Dec. 13) and High Point (76-73, Dec. 16).
Mizzou has defeated NC State head coach Mark Gottfried at some point in all three of his head coaching tenures: Murray State (1995-98); Alabama (1998-09) and NC State (2011-present).
The Tigers defeated Murray State, 89-85, in Columbia in the Postseason NIT on March 13, 1996.
Mizzou edged Alabama, 75-68, on Nov. 20, 2001, at the Guardians Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
The Tigers went to Raleigh, N.C., and took down NC State, 68-64, on Dec. 28, 2013.

Closer Look at the Wolfpack

NC State suffered a season-opening setback vs. William & Mary on Nov. 13, dropping an 85-68 result at home. The Wolfpack responded with two-straight wins vs. South Alabama (88-70, Nov. 15) and IUPUI (79-56, Nov. 18).
The Wolfpack has averaged 78.2 points per game this season while allowing 71.0 points per game. In two additional losses to Arizona State (Nov. 23) and Michigan (Dec. 1), NC State allowed 79 and 66 points, respectively.
Defensively, NC State clamped down on USF on the road in Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 13. The Wolfpack held USF to 46 points on 29.5 percent FG shooting.