Saturday Home Matchup vs. Western Kentucky Next for @MizzouHoops

Saturday, December 3

Columbia, Mo.

2 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

Western Kentucky

Tickets

Saturday Home Matchup vs. Western Kentucky Next for @MizzouHoops

12/2/2016 11:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Tigers vs. Hilltoppers tips off at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network + from Mizzou Arena

MIZZOU GAME DAY - Saturday, Dec. 3
Western Kentucky (Full game notes)	Mizzou Arena	Saturday	2 p.m.	Live Stats Listen Watch Tickets

MIZZOU GAME DAY - Saturday, Dec. 3

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME

MEDIA

Western Kentucky

(Full game notes)

Mizzou Arena

Saturday

2 p.m.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Basketball (3-3) plays host to Western Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 3, at Mizzou Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network +. The Tigers' games on SEC Network + are available on WatchESPN to SEC Network subscribers such as AT&T U-Verse, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV and Dish.

Head coach Kim Anderson's group will face Western Kentucky for the first time in program history on Saturday. All-time, the Tigers are 21-5 against members of Conference USA.
Freshman guard Frankie Hughes leads the Tigers in scoring at 13.5 points per game, while sophomore forward Kevin Puryear leads on the boards with 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Tigers have shown early on that a number of different teammates can be depended upon to score, as eight different Mizzou players have scored at least 10 points in a game, and four different players have scored at least 20.
Mizzou is once again cultivating a talented, but young roster during the 2016-17 season. According to KenPom.com, the Tigers rank 346th out of 351 NCAA Division I teams in terms of experience.

OPPONENT - WESTERN KENTUCKY

Western Kentucky (3-4) comes into Mizzou Arena on a three-game losing streak, falling to Washington (86-47) on Nov. 25, UNLV (71-61) on Nov. 26 and Eastern Kentucky (78-59) on Nov. 30. Western Kentucky is 3-0 in home games this season, 0-3 in road games, and 0-1 in neutral site games.
The Hilltoppers, led by head coach Rick Stansbury, opened the season with home wins over Alabama State (79-66) on Nov. 12 and Jacksonville State (74-67) on Nov. 16. In each of Western Kentucky's three wins, the Hilltoppers have shot at least 43 percent from the field.
Three players from Western Kentucky are averaging double-figures in scoring, led by senior guard Que Johnson, who is averaging 14.7 points per game and is shooting 38.1 percent (16-of-42) from the three-point line. Junior forward Justin Johnson is second on the team, scoring 12.6 points per game, while senior guard Pancake Thomas averages 11.4 points per game.
On the boards, Justin Johnson leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game, while senior forward Anton Waters is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game. Both Justin Johnson and Waters lead the team in offensive rebounds with 16, each.
Western Kentucky has averaged 66.6 points and 35.9 rebounds per game through seven contests, allowing 73.4 points and 36.7 rebounds per game to its opponents. Foes of the Hilltoppers have shot 43.9 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from the three-point line.

PHILLIPS PROVIDES SCORING SPARK

Sophomore guard Terrence Phillips (Orange County, Calif.) worked on his shooting touch in the offseason, and it has shown for the Tigers thus far in the 2016-17 season. Only once a season ago did Phillips sink more than five field goals in a game (6-of-11 vs. Northwestern, Nov. 24, 2015). The Tiger point guard has accomplished the feat twice in six games this season, doing so in a 7-of-16 performance vs. Xavier (Nov. 17) and again (6-of-10) vs. North Carolina Central (Nov. 28).
The knack for getting buckets has helped Phillips set a career scoring high vs. Xavier with 21 points, the first 20-point outing of his career. Phillips' performance vs. North Carolina Central (17 points) stands as the second-highest scoring game of his career.

WILLIE'S BLOCK PARTY

Freshman forward Willie Jackson (Cleveland, Ind.) became the first Tiger to record four blocks in a game in nearly a year's time with his effort vs. North Carolina Central (Nov. 28). Prior to Jackson's game, Jakeenan Gant blocked four shots last season vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Dec. 29, 2015).
The last freshman to total four blocks in a game came during the 2013-14 season when Johnathan Williams III turned away four opponent shot attempts vs. Southern Mississippi (March 23, 2014).
Jackson's big block game brought his season total (4) up to match fellow freshman forward Reed Nikko for the team lead through six games.