#ZOUNotes

• Mizzou Men's Basketball (8-7, 1-1) hosts Arkansas (8-7, 2-1) for more Southeastern Conference action at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 12 with an 8 p.m. tipoff on the SEC Network.
• Head coach Kim Anderson's squad fired back with a 76-61 win over Auburn (Jan. 9) to level its record in SEC play after an opening setback at Georgia (Jan. 6). The Tigers outrebounded Auburn, 41-34, and sank 25 free throws while Auburn only attempted 24.
• A big part of Mizzou's win over Auburn was the play of freshman forward Kevin Puryear, who recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
• Puryear also dropped in 19 points in the game at Georgia (Jan. 6).
• Puryear now leads Mizzou in rebounding with his 4.9-per-game average. Sophomore guard Namon Wright just trails him with his 4.8 boards per game, while freshman Terrence Phillips leads the Tigers in assists, averaging 3.4 per game.

Last Time Out

• Mizzou improved to 8-1 at Mizzou Arena this season with the 76-61 win over Auburn (Jan. 9).
• The Tigers' 15-point win was the largest over a Southeastern Conference opponent since Mizzou defeated Mississippi State, 85-66, on March 1, 2014.
• Mizzou's 15-point halftime advantage (39-24) was the largest over an SEC foe since a 16-point lead (38-22) over South Carolina on Jan. 25, 2014.
• The Tigers received 40 points from the bench in the win, compared to only five bench points for Auburn.
• Freshman forward Kevin Puryear notched his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds vs. Auburn.
• Sophomore guard Tramaine Isabell tallied a season-best 12 points, only two off his career high.
• Sophomore guard Namon Wright reached double figures after a 10-point night to mark his fifth double-digit scoring output of the season and the 12th of his Tiger career.
• Freshman guard K.J. Walton was Mizzou's fourth player to reach double figures in scoring, with 10 points against Auburn. His total was only one point off his career best of 11 (vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore) and marked the fifth double digit output of his career. Walton also had three steals in the contest, which is a season-best.

Pearl Comes Away Impressed with Mizzou

• Mizzou came out swinging against Auburn in its Southeastern Conference home opener (Jan. 9), taking a 15-point halftime lead that was the Tigers' largest lead at the break in a league game since the 2013-14 season (38-22 vs. South Carolina, Jan. 25, 2014). Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl had the following to say postgame on Mizzou's performance... "I thought Missouri played well, they're a talented team. They have a lot of good young talent, 10 guys who played double digit minutes and five guys in double digit scoring. They have great balance, we got beat 40-5 off the bench. They play better at home because they're a young team and they'll beat people in here."

More About Arkansas

• Arkansas (8-7, 2-1) opened Southeastern Conference action with a road loss at Texas A&M (Jan. 2), but has since rebounded with wins over Vanderbilt (90-85 OT, Jan. 5) and Mississippi State (82-68, Jan. 9). In true road games this season, head coach Mike Anderson's Razorbacks are 0-3.
• Senior guard Anthlon Bell leads the Razorbacks with his 17.3 scoring average, with junior forward Moses Kingsley and junior guard Dusty Hannahs not far behind with averages of 16.8 and 16.3 points per game, respectively.
  Arkansas has shot 51.9 percent from three-point range in its three SEC games, a mark that leads the league.

Last Time vs. Arkansas

• Mizzou shot 50.0 percent from the field for just the third time that season, but it was not enough to slow Arkansas as the Tigers dropped an 84-69 result in Bud Walton Arena on Feb. 18, 2015.
• Four Tigers scored in double figures, with three of them coming from Mizzou's then-freshman class. Tramaine Isabell, scored 13, while Jakeenan Gant had 11.