COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Basketball officially starts its 2016-17 season at home vs. Alabama A&M, the first-ever matchup between the two schools. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, with live coverage on the SEC Network.

• The Tigers, led by third-year head coach Kim Anderson, return five players with starting experience from a season ago, including sophomores Terrence Phillips and Kevin Puryear, who started all 31 games during the 2015-16 campaign.
• The Black & Gold used one exhibition game to tune up for the season, defeating Central Missouri by a score of 66-59 on Friday, Nov. 4. Freshman guard Frankie Hughes shot 6-of-10 from the field for a team-best 15 points in the win.
• Mizzou welcomes seven newcomers, including five freshmen, to the roster for the 2016-17 season.
• The Tigers head to Orlando, Fla., after the Alabama A&M game for the Tire Pros Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Walt Disney World. Mizzou opens with Xavier on Thursday, Nov. 17 (Noon CT, ESPNU).

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS

• Fans can present their Mizzou Football ticket from Saturday's Vanderbilt game for $5 ticket to Sunday's game

YOUNG TIGERS LOOK SOUND IN EXHIBITION OPENER

• Mizzou got a 66-59 win over Central Missouri on Nov. 4 in its lone exhibition game, a final precursor to the full 2016-17 season slate. The Tigers' newcomers shook off any jitters they may have with an initial game under the lights of Mizzou Arena. In total, 66.7 percent of the Black & Gold's scoring (44-of-66) came from newcomers.
• Freshman guard Frankie Hughes (Cleveland, Ohio) led the way for Mizzou in his first collegiate contest, scoring 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 marksmanship from beyond the three-point arc. 
• Hughes' high school teammate, freshman forward Willie Jackson (Cleveland, Ohio) also figured largely into the result, recording eight points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
• Junior college transfer and sophomore guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was perfect from deep (2-of-2 3PT) and hit on 4-of-6 field goal attempts overall for 11 points. Geist, who played last season at Ranger College (Ranger, Texas) also snagged four rebounds.

STEADY SOPHOMORES RETURN FOR MIZZOU

• Mizzou will be powered by its returning sophomore class, which features forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.) and guard Terrence Phillips (Orange County, Calif.), who both had standout seasons a year ago. Puryear was recognized to the SEC All-Freshman Team after averaging a team-best 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. No other Tiger returns with a better rebound average than Puryear. His 355 points on the season rank as the sixth-most by a freshman in program history, and he is one of just eight Mizzou freshmen in total to break the 300-point barrier.
• Phillips scored 7.8 points per game and dished 3.5 assists per game, good enough to rank 15th in the SEC at season's end. The Oak Hill Academy product snagged 40 steals, which was 10th-most in the conference and fifth all-time among Mizzou freshmen. Together, Phillips and Puryear joined an exclusive list of 13 freshmen in Mizzou history to score 200 points and grab 100 rebounds. 
• Fellow sophomores Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.) and K.J. Walton (Indianapolis, Ind.) look to make Mizzou's rotation of guards a strong suit for Anderson. Both earned starting experience as freshmen and showed that they had what it takes to make an impact at the highest level. VanLeer ranked second on the team in total three-pointers made a season ago. Walton was one of Mizzou's best at getting to the rim in 2015-16, ranking fourth on the squad in free throw attempts while only averaging 13.8 minutes per game.

WOODS, THE SENIOR

• Mizzou's lone senior on the roster, forward Russell Woods (Chicago, Ill.), enters the 2016-17 campaign poised to provide leadership and experience for the Tigers in the front court. Woods started six games for Anderson last season and ranked third on the team in field goal percentage at 52.4 percent (33-for-63). 
• Woods made his way to Columbia after two strong seasons at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. Woods averaged 14.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2014-15, shooting a stout 61 percent from the field.
• Prior to his junior college run, Woods won an Illinois state title as a high school senior at Simeon Career Academy, playing alongside former No. 2 NBA Draft pick Jabari Parker. Woods previously played three seasons at Leo Catholic High School, where he earned all-state recognition as a junior.

OPPONENT - ALABAMA A&M

• Mizzou's season-opening opponent, Alabama A&M, began its season on Friday, Nov. 11, with a 96-62 loss at Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. Two A&M players scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs in the setback - De'Ederick Petty (5-of-10 FG, 3-of-6 3PT, 1-of-1 FT) and Quinterian McConico (6-of-12 FG, 2-of-2 FT).
• The Bulldogs were outrebounded 32-23 by Missouri State in the loss. McConico led the way with eight boards.
• Alabama A&M posted an 11-18 overall record last season, scoring 68.2 points per game and allowing 70.4 points per game. Seventh-year head coach Willie Hayes, an Alabama A&M alum (1990), has gone 66-95 at the helm of his alma mater.
• The Bulldogs, part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, posted a 6-12 record in league play in 2015-16, good enough for an eighth-place finish. 
• McConico, a notable returnee for Alabama A&M, was a Preseason All-SWAC Second Team selection. Additionally, senior guard Rakiya Battle was a Preseason All-SWAC Second Team pick.