@MizzouHoops on the Hunt for Road SEC Victory at Vanderbilt on Tuesday

Tuesday, February 27

Nashville, Tenn.

6 PM CT

University of Missouri

Vanderbilt

@MizzouHoops on the Hunt for Road SEC Victory at Vanderbilt on Tuesday

2/26/2018 12:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Tigers and Commodores tip off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2

Mizzou Men's Basketball (18-11, 8-8) heads to Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, to face Vanderbilt (11-18, 5-11). Tipoff is at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Tiger Radio Network. Last time out against Vanderbilt, it was all Tigers at Mizzou Arena last season as the Black & Gold took down the Commodores by a score of 72-52 (Feb. 11, 2017).

Mizzou at Vanderbilt
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m. CT
ESPN2

Game Notes

Story Lines

The Tigers take aim at their first victory over Vanderbilt in Nashville on Tuesday. Mizzou won its most recent matchup with the Commodores thanks to a 23-point effort from then-junior Jordan Barnett.
Mizzou (18-11) is the third-most improved team in the country, record-wise. North Carolina A&T is at 17-12 after going 3-29 last season, while UC Santa Barbara is 21-7 after a 6-22 mark in 2016-17.
Graduate senior Kassius Robertson scored 26 points at Kentucky (Feb. 24) to match his second-highest scoring output of the season. He has scored at least 20 points eight times during SEC play.
Robertson ranks No. 1 in SEC games in three-point field goal shooting (.450) after beginning his career at the only school to offer him a Division I scholarship, Canisius, of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Canisius has an enrollment of 3,171, while Mizzou's enrollment is nearly 10 times larger (30,870).
Junior forward Kevin Puryear stands six points (994) from becoming the 46th member of Mizzou's 1,000-Point Club. Puryear would be the first Tiger to reach the mark since Jabari Brown in 2013-14.
Robertson is the nation's highest scoring graduate transfer at the high major level (as of Feb. 24), elevating his name into the conversation for postseason conference accolades with his 18.3-points-per-game average in league play. Overall, Robertson ranks fourth in the country (Div. I) in scoring among all graduate transfers.

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 (18.3), second in three-point percentage (.440) and second in three-pointers per game (3.2).
His shooting proficiency comes all while playing the most minutes in the conference, averaging 38.3 minutes per game through 16 SEC games, thus far. That mark is two minutes more per game, on average, than the next closest SEC player (Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 36.0).
Robertson ranks fifth in SEC games for free throw percentage, converting 83.5 percent (66-of-79).
Robertson led Mizzou in scoring for the 16th time this season with his 26 points at Kentucky (Feb. 24). In his previous three seasons at Canisius, Robertson led the Golden Griffins in scoring 20 times, overall.
Robertson has eight 20-point games out of Mizzou's 16 conference games played, thus far.
Robertson is one of just three players in the SEC averaging 15.0 points per game while shooting at least 40.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 80.0 from the free throw line, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Robertson's 92 three-pointers on the season rank third all-time on the program's single-season three-pointers by a senior chart, and sixth all-time on the overall single-season chart.
The last Tiger to compile at least 90 three-pointers in a season was former Mizzou guard Marcus Denmon during the 2011-12 season (99).

More Story Lines

Nine instances of a player hitting at least six three-pointers in a game have occurred in SEC play. Senior forward Jordan Barnett (2) and graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson (2) have combined for four such games.
Robertson has played 94.3 percent of Mizzou's SEC slate, appearing in 613 of a possible 650 minutes.
Besides scoring 26 points for his eighth 20-point game in SEC play, Robertson grabbed eight boards at Kentucky (Feb.. 24) to match his career-high.
Freshman forward Jeremiah Tilmon recorded his second double-double with 12 points and a season-high 12 rebounds vs. Ole Miss (Feb. 20).
Mizzou had six players – freshman forward Jontay Porter (17), graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson (16), senior forward Jordan Barnett (15), junior guard Jordan Geist (15), freshman forward Jeremiah Tilmon (12) and junior forward Kevin Puryear (11) – score in double-figures vs. Ole Miss (Feb. 20) for the first time since Jan. 11, 2012, when six Tigers scored in double-figures against Iowa State.
Porter is one of just 10 players nationally to have recorded at least 50 assists (57) and 50 blocks (51), according to Basketball-Reference.com.
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 (54.6, 43rd) and defensive (46.4, 14th) effective field goal percentage.
Mizzou ranks third in SEC games in field goal defense, holding foes to a .416 mark (397-of-954).
Mizzou has outrebounded its opponents in 20-of-29 games this season.

Scouting Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt has recorded a 5-11 mark during Southeastern Conference action this season, going 11-18 overall on its schedule. In SEC play at home, the Commodores have posted a 5-3 record.
Vanderbilt has won two of its last three league home games inside Memorial Gymnasium. The Commodores reeled off wins against Mississippi State (Feb. 14, 81-80) and Florida (Feb. 17, 71-68), before dropping its most recent contest in Nashville to Texas A&M (Feb. 24, 89-81).
Senior forward Jeff Roberson has been a standout for Vanderbilt all season, and especially in conference action. Roberson's 18.4 points per SEC game ranks tied for third-best in the league, and his 6.7 rebounds per game lead the VU squad.
Also scoring at a high rate for second-year head coach Bryce Drew is senior guard Riley LaChance, who has posted a 15.1-points-per-game-average during Vanderbilt's SEC schedule.

SEC Tournament in St. Louis

For the first time ever, the Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament will be played west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis, Missouri, plays host to the 2018 edition of the event, at the Scottrade Center from March 7-11, 2018.
The Scottrade Center is a contemporary, 12-story glass and concrete structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis. The home of the NHL's St. Louis Blues, the Scottrade Center also features a full range of arena programming, including concerts, ice shows, family shows and other sporting events. The Scottrade Center plays host to approximately 175 events per year, bringing nearly two million guests and ranking among the top arenas in the country.
The SEC Tournament will be carried on SEC Network and ESPN, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game on the main network.
The tournament, routinely in Nashville, Tennessee, deviates again to Tampa, Florida, in 2022.

Next Up

The Tigers return home to Mizzou Arena one final time to close the 2017-18 regular season with Senior Day against Arkansas on Saturday, March 3.
Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2, with additional live coverage on the Tiger Radio Network.
Mizzou's trio of departing Tigers, senior forward Jordan Barnett, senior guard Brett Rau and graduate senior guard Kassius Robertson, will be recognized during pregame festivities. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and be at their seats.
Mizzou handled Arkansas in the most recent meeting between the two schools, winning 83-78 at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 4, 2017.