Tuesday, November 27
Columbia, Mo.
8 PM
University of Missouri
vs
Temple
@MizzouHoops Opens Five-Game Homestand with Tilt vs. Temple on Tuesday
11/26/2018 11:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tip off is set for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network
| Mizzou Takes on Temple to Open Five-Game Homestand | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH | LISTEN | STATS | Game Notes |
| Temple | Columbia, Mo. | Tuesday, Nov. 27 | 8 p.m. | SEC Network | KTGR | Stats | Notes |
Storylines
- Mizzou Men's Basketball is five games in to its 113th season after reaching its first NCAA Tournament since 2012-13 a season ago. The trip to the Big Dance was the program's 27th all-time. Head coach Cuonzo Martin became the 59th head coach in NCAA history to lead three different programs to the NCAA Tournament (Cal, Tennessee).
- Mizzou launches a stretch of five consecutive home games with its matchup vs. Temple on Tuesday. Mizzou is 8-0 at home during nonconference play with Martin at the helm. The Tigers have won those games by a margin of 19.2 points per contest.
- Mizzou won 13 home games in a season for the ninth time in Mizzou Arena history a season ago and the Tigers are 14-4 in their last 18 home contests.
- Senior Jordan Geist is coming off back-to-back 20+-point performances vs. Oregon State and Kansas State. Geist is just the second Tiger in the Martin era to accomplish that feat, joining All-SEC guard Kassius Robertson. Geist earned Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team honors.
- Mizzou went 2-1 at the Paradise Jam, finishing runner-up to No. 12 Kansas State. Along the way, Mizzou picked up its first win over a PAC 12 opponent since beating No. 18 UCLA, 80-71, on Dec. 7, 2013, with its semifinal win over Oregon State. Coach Martin improved to 7-1 all-time vs. the Beavers.
- Mizzou faces Temple for the fourth time in program history and the first time since falling to the Owls in the First Round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Mizzou is 2-1 all-time vs. Temple with its last win in the series coming in a 2-overtime thriller in 1988.
- Coach Martin has never faced Temple or Fran Dunphy in his 11-year career.
- Mizzou has outrebounded its opponent four times in five games to begin the season. The Tigers have done that 26 times in 38 games during the Martin era.
Geist Catching Fire
- Senior guard Jordan Geist, who had surpassed 20 points in a game just once in his career (28 vs. Green Bay on Dec. 9, 2017), has scored 20+ in back-to-back games, including 21 points vs. Oregon State and 24 vs. No. 12 Kansas State. He earned Paradise Jam All-Tournament team honors for his efforts.
- Geist is the only Mizzou player with more than 20 points in a game this season. In those two 20+-point outings, Geist committed just four total turnovers in 62 total minutes.
- Geist is living at the free throw line, making twice as many free throws as any other Tiger this season. He made a career-high 12 free throws vs. Oregon State. He is one of just three players in the SEC to make that many in a single game this season and one of 41 players nationally. Geist is 25-of-31 at the charity stripe over the last three games. He ranks eighth in the SEC in free throw percentage (78.8 percent) and is the only player int he top 10 on that list with 30+ attempts.
- Geist has 64 points through five games. He had just 47 points through nine games last season.
Seasoned Veteran
- Senior Kevin Puryear has appeared in 32 more career games than anyone else on Mizzou's roster, earning 94 career starts.Puryear recently surpassed 100 career game appearances.
- In the last two seasons, Mizzou is 5-0 when Puryear is the leading scorer. In both games in which he has scored 15+ this season, Mizzou is 2-0.
- Puryear became the 46th Tiger in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points late last season.
- Puryear is up to 36th on Mizzou's all-time scoring list with 1,065 career points and counting. He recently moved past DeMarre Caroll and is 47 points shy of matching Mizzou legend Norm Stewart.
- Puryear's 79.5 career free throw percentage ranks 11th all-time at Mizzou. He has shot above 82 percent from the charity stripe in two of his three campaigns.
- Puryear did not miss a free throw in the final two minutes of games last season and only missed one in the final five minutes of games.
- Puryear played an active role on Mizzou's 2015-16 and 2016-17 squads, only experiencing victory 18 times during his first two seasons. The Tigers more than doubled that with their 20 wins last season.
Smith Off to Solid Start
- Mark Smith has been a vital addition to the Tigers' roster after receiving a waiver for immediate eligibility from the NCAA.
- Smith has 58 points, 30 rebounds and 13 triples in five games. He notched 179 points, 42 rebounds and 16 triples all of last season at Illinois.
- He is ripping the nets at a 50 percent clip from beyond the arc after shooting 23.2 percent from 3-point range as a freshman. That percentage leads the SEC through five games. His 2.6 3-pointers per contest are tied for fourth in the league.
- Smith is leading Mizzou with 27 defensive rebounds. He grabbed just 24 defensive rebounds in 31 games last season.
- In his first game at Mizzou, Smith poured in 19 points behind a career-high five 3-pointers. He grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds vs. Central Arkansas. His previous career-best was just three rebounds before the 10-board performance on Nov. 6.
- Smith became the first Mizzou newcomer to record a double-double in his debut since Linas Kleiza posted a double-double in the 2003-04 season opener vs. Oakland.
- He followed with 15 points and seven rebounds at Iowa State, again leading the Tigers in both categories.
- Before this season, Smith hadn't reached double figures since scoring 11 points against Mizzou on Dec. 23, 2017. He has three double figure scoring games this season.
Trends & Tidbits
- Mizzou continues to be a stout defensive team under Coach Martin. The Tigers rank fifth in the SEC in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 65.6 points per game. When Mizzou holds teams under 65 points, it is 3-0.
- Mizzou is holding opponents to just 33.0 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth among SEC teams.
- Mizzou is second in the SEC in defensive rebound percentage (.750).
- The victory over UCA was Mizzou's fifth consecutive in a season opener. With the win, the Tigers improved to 91-22 in season openers and have won 24 of their last 27 such games.
- Mizzou hasn't lost a home nonconference game since Dec. 29, 2016 (81-76 to Lipscomb.
- Sophomore standout forward Jeremiah Tilmon continues to be efficient from the field, shooting 50 percent. He shot a team-high 56.4 percent from the field as a freshman last season, which was the second-highest single-season field goal percentage for a freshman in program history.
- A season ago, per 40 minutes, Tilmon posted 16.9 points and 8.6 rebounds. Per 100 possessions, he notched 25.1 points.
- Tilmon was one of two Tigers to start all 33 games a season ago, joining first-team All-SEC guard Kassius Robertson. Tilmon averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. He's totaling 8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds thus far this season.
- Redshirt sophomore forward Mitchell Smith has returned to the court for the first time since Jan. 4, 2017, making six of his first 10 field goals en route to 16 points through five games.
Players Mentioned
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