Saturday, January 11
Columbia, Mo.
7:30 PM
University of Missouri
vs
Florida
Mizzou Hoops Takes on Florida in Saturday Night Tilt at Mizzou Arena
1/10/2020 12:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network
| Mizzou Takes On Florida in Saturday Night Tilt at Mizzou Arena | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH | STATS |
| Florida | Columbia, Mo. | Saturday, Jan. 11 | 7:30 PM | SEC Network | Stats |
Mizzou Basketball Game Notes
STORYLINES
- Mizzou enters Saturday night seeking its first league win. The Tigers are looking to snap a four-game losing streak against Florida.
- A win on Saturday would mark Mizzou's first victory over the Gators since Feb. 24, 2015. The last two meetings in the series have been decided in the final 15 seconds. Sophomore Javon Pickett's go-ahead 3-pointer rimmed out in Mizzou's 64-60 loss at Florida a season ago.
- Mizzou ranks sixth nationally and leads the SEC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 57.7 points per game. Only three of 14 opponents this season have scored 70+ points against Mizzou. Entering this season, just three Mizzou teams in program history have held opponents to fewer than 60 points per game during a campaign. The current 57.7 opponents points per game pace is the lowest since the 1951-52 team held opponents to 53.2 points per outing. The last time a Mizzou squad allowed fewer than 60 points per game was 1981-92 (59.7 opponent PPG).
- Kentucky made just four triples last Saturday, the fifth opponent in the last six games Mizzou has held to five or fewer treys. Tennessee's 11 on Tuesday marked the most triples the Tigers have allowed this season.
- Mizzou is 7-1 when opponents have made six or fewer triples this season. The Tigers are one of just 15 teams nationally to hold five different opponents to three or fewer treys in a game this season.
- On Dec. 30, Chicago State was the eighth team Mizzou has held to 56 or fewer points this season through 14 games. That is already the most opponents the Tigers have held to 56 or less in an entire season during this decade and the most in a campaign since 1998-99 (nine teams). Mizzou is 8-0 when holding teams to 59 or fewer points this season.
- Mizzou is allowing only 18.9 field goal makes per game, which ranks third nationally, trailing only Liberty and defending national champion Virginia. Kentucky's 20 made field goals last Saturday matched its fewest in a game since the season-opener vs. Michigan State.
- Mizzou's depth continues to be a strength. In the win over Illinois, Mizzou's bench outscored the Illini, 31-10, then the Tigers' reserves outpaced Chicago State's bench, 53-8. The Tigers are +94 in bench points in the last six games and +147 overall this season. Mizzou has outscored 12 of its 14 opponents in bench production this season. The Tigers' bench outscored Tennessee, 24-11, on Tuesday. At least nine different Tigers have scored in each of the last three games.
TEAM EFFORT ON THE GLASS
- Mizzou has made attacking the glass a team effort on the season, with four players averaging more than four rebounds per game. Mizzou has three guards with at least 57 boards this season in Mark Smith, Dru Smith and Javon Pickett. The only other SEC team with three guards with that many rebounds is Arkansas.
- Mark Smith leads the Tigers with 4.7 rebounds per game, followed by Dru Smith (4.4), Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr. (4.3) and Javon Pickett (4.1). Six different players have led Mizzou in rebounding this season.
- Mark Smith has corralled at least three boards in all 14 games this season.
- The Tigers are 7-2 on the season when they outrebound their opponents. They've done so 53 times in 79 games during the Martin era.
FRESHMEN DUO COMING INTO THEIR OWN
- Kobe Brown, a freshman from Huntsville, Ala., has been a mainstay in the Mizzou lineup in his debut season. He has started all 14 games on the season, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
- He chipped in a career-high 10 points in a 71-56 win over Northern Kentucky, and has scored six or more points on six occasions. The forward has recorded at least five rebounds in four games this season.
- Brown's field goal percentage of 41.8 percent (33-of-79) ranks seventh among freshmen in the SEC with at least 78 attempts on the year. He shot 4-of-7 en route to nine points in 20 minutes at No. 17 Kentucky.
- In the SEC era, Mizzou has only had four true freshmen start the first 14 games of the season (Brown this season, Kevin Puryear in 2015-16, Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr. in 2016-17, and Javon Pickett in 2018-19).
- A Detroit, Mich., native, Jackson broke through in the SEC home opener against Tennessee. He set career highs in points (11), field goals (3), threes (1) and free throws (4-for-4) in just nine electric minutes off the bench.
- Jackson helped power a Mizzou comeback against the Vols midway through the second half, scoring nine of his 11 points. He made three straight buckets to give Mizzou the lead in what his best performance of the season.
NIKKO: THE NATURE GUY
- Mizzou's lone senior Reed Nikko appeared in his 106th career game last Tuesday vs. Tennessee. Since 2010, he is just the third Mizzou player to reach 105 games played, alongside Kevin Puryear and Ryan Rosburg. Barring injury, Nikko is on pace to play in at least 124 career games, which would put him tied for 15th all-time at Mizzou.
- Nikko has appeared in 100 of Mizzou's last 101 games since his freshman campaign.
- The senior had started just three games entering his final campaign. With fellow big man Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr., nursing an injury, Nikko has started Mizzou's last three contests, scoring 14 of his 29 points this season in that stretch. Nikko is shooting a team-best 85.7 percent from the floor.
- Nikko is well known for his unique major. He is a fisheries and wildlife major who plans to be a fisheries biologist after college. His passion is helping nature preserves. Nikko is nearly always out hiking, fishing or bird watching on Columbia's trails during the offseason when he isn't on the court. His love for the outdoors was influenced by his late father, who also pushed for Nikko to pursue college basketball, which landed him at Mizzou.
Players Mentioned
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