Story Lines

• Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson is the nation's highest scoring graduate transfer at the high major level (as of Feb. 17), elevating his name into the conversation for postseason conference accolades with his 17.9-points-per-game average in league play.
• Overall, Robertson ranks fourth in the country (Div. I) in scoring among all graduate transfers.
• Martin has made a strong case for SEC Coach of the Year recognition with his remarkable turnaround of the Mizzou program in his first season at the helm, taking a program that posted an 8-24 record last season and guiding it to an 18-9 overall mark this season.
• Last time out, Mizzou took care of business on the road with a 75-69 win (Feb. 6) in Oxford, Mississippi, over the Rebels. Robertson scored a season-high 27 points, making 8-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-9 from deep range. Freshman forward Jontay Porter turned in his third double-double of the season against Ole Miss, recording 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
• The Tigers are the third-most improved team in the country, record-wise. North Carolina A&T is at 16-11 after going 3-29 last season, while UC Santa Barbara is 20-6 after a 6-22 mark in 2016-17.
• Mizzou's earlier stretch of five-straight victories was its longest run of success in conference since the 2011-12 season when the Tigers won seven consecutive Big 12 Conference matchups.
• Mizzou's tough defense has helped it win its most SEC games since the 2013-14 season when the Tigers had an on-court mark of 9-9 in league play. The Black & Gold currently ranks second in SEC games in points allowed per game (67.3) and third in field goal percentage defense (.407).

Kash Money

• Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson has been one of the biggest surprises in the Southeastern Conference, and a welcomed one for Mizzou. The graduate transfer from Canisius is currently fifth in SEC games in points per game (17.9), third in three-point percentage (.449) and second in three-pointers per game (3.1).
• His shooting proficiency comes all while playing the most minutes in the conference, averaging 38.4 minutes per game through 14 SEC games, thus far. That mark is nearly three minutes more per game, on average, than the next closest SEC player (Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 35.8).
• Robertson led Mizzou in scoring for the 15th time this season with his 16 points in the win over No. 21 Texas A&M (Feb. 13). In his previous three seasons combined at Canisius, Robertson led the Golden Griffins in scoring 20 times.
• Robertson became the first SEC player this season to claim back-to-back league player of the week honors (Feb. 12) with his efforts at Ole Miss (Feb. 6) and against Mississippi State (Feb. 10), averaging 24.5 points between the two wins.
• Robertson scored a season-best 27 points in the win in Oxford, which he followed up with 22 points in the overtime win over the Bulldogs. The graduate transfer sank five three-pointers in both victories.
• Robertson earned his first SEC weekly award for his leading role in Mizzou's wins at Alabama (Jan. 31, 69-60) and vs. No. 21 Kentucky (Feb. 3, 69-60), as he averaged 19.0 points across the two victories.

Scouting Ole Miss

• Ole Miss comes to Columbia, Missouri, having dropped six-straight SEC matchups, of which, Mizzou played a factor. The Tigers managed a road win at Ole Miss (Feb. 6) by a score of 75-69.
• The Rebels, led by interim head coach Tony Madlock, are 0-7 on the road in conference play. Mizzou will be aiming for its third-ever win against the Rebels, with the series history at 9-2 in Ole Miss' favor.
• Four Rebels have averaged double-digits in scoring during league play, led by senior guard Deandre Burnett's 14.6 points per game.
• Ole Miss' leader on the boards, junior guard Terence Davis, has averaged 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds during SEC action.

More Story Lines

• In six career games against Ole Miss, junior forward Kevin Puryear has averaged 12.5 points per game.
• In four career games against the Rebels, senior forward Jordan Barnett has averaged 10.5 points per game.
• Reliable point guard play has come from junior guard Jordan Geist in the past six games, as the Tiger has recorded 18 assists and seven turnovers for a 2.6 assist/turnover ratio.
• Martin has installed his patented defensive approach, while also shaping a sharp-shooting squad. Mizzou ranks in the nation's Top 50 in both offensive (55.0, 32nd) and defensive (45.7, 11th) effective field goal percentage.
• Mizzou ranks tied for second  in SEC games in scoring defense, holding opponents to 67.3 points per game.
• The Tigers are at ease at the free throw line, ranking No. 2 in SEC games with their 75.5-percent mark from the charity stripe (207-of-274).
• Freshman forward Jontay Porter is one of just seven players nationally to have compiled at least 50 assists (53) and 50 blocks (51) this season, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

Barnett Has Some Bounce

• Senior forward Jordan Barnett has averaged 13.2 points per game over Mizzou's last five game, scoring in double-figures in four of those five contests. Barnett led the way for the Tigers at LSU (Feb. 17), scoring a team-best 18 points.
• Earlier this season, Barnett put together an impressive 10-game stretch, averaging 19.7 points per game from Mizzou's win over St. John's (Nov. 24) to the Florida game (Jan. 6).
• Barnett's 42.4-percent mark from three-point land in SEC games ranks fifth-best in the league. His 2.6 three-pointers made per SEC game ranks fifth.

Next Up

• The Tigers next take on Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, Feb. 24, with tipoff slated for 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.
• Earlier this season, Mizzou picked up its first win over the Wildcats in program history, defeating Kentucky (Feb. 3) in Columbia by a score of 69-60.
• Graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson and senior forward Jordan Barnett led the way for the Tigers in that victory, both scoring 16 points.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 10-1.