Mizzou Basketball Game Notes

• Game Notes

STORYLINES

• Mizzou won its fourth consecutive game on Dec. 30, its longest since closing December with six consecutive victories last season. It's the fourth streak of four or more wins during the Cuonzo Martin era. The last such streak prior to his arrival came back in 2013. 
• Mizzou is looking for its first road win over an AP Top 20 team since beating No. 3 Baylor, 89-88, on Jan. 21, 2012. The last win over an AP Top 25 team was over No. 21 Texas A&M on Feb. 13, 2018. The Tigers are looking for their first-ever win at Rupp Arena.
• During its four-game streak, Mizzou has held all four opponents to 56 or fewer points. The last time Mizzou held four straight opponents to 56 or fewer points was Jan. 13-Jan. 20, 1981 (Oklahoma State - 49, Nebraska - 42, Louisville - 55, Kansas - 35). 
• Mizzou blew past Chicago State, 91-33, the third-largest margin victory for a Division I opponent over a fellow Division I opponent during the 2019-20 campaign. The blowout home win came after Mizzou claimed Braggin' Rights over Illinois for the second consecutive season. 
• Chicago State is the eighth team Mizzou has held to 56 or fewer points this season through 12 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 allowing only 18.4 field goal makes per game, which ranks second nationally, trailing only defending national champion Virginia. 
• Both Illinois and Chicago State made only two triples against the Tigers, the fourth and fifth Mizzou opponents to make three triples or fewer in a game this season. The Tigers are one of just nine teams nationally to hold five different opponents to three or fewer treys in a game this season. During Mizzou's four-game win streak, opponents are shooting 15.9 percent from beyond the arc. 
• 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 +84 in bench points in the last four wins and +137 overall this season. Mizzou has outscored 11 of its 12 opponents in bench production this season. 
• Mizzou is the only power conference team ranking in the top eight nationally in scoring defense (6th - 56.0), field goal percentage defense (8th - .361) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (7th - .260). The Tigers lead the SEC in both field goal percentage defense and scoring defense. Mizzou ranks 22nd nationally in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric.

THE WIN STREAK

• Following Mizzou's loss to Charleston Southern, head coach Cuonzo Martin switched up his starting lineup, bringing Javon Pickett off the bench while inserting 6-foot-10 redshirt junior Mitchell Smith. The move sparked a four-game win streak with Mitchell averaging 25.7 minutes at the stretch-4 position.
• It's ignited Javon Pickett, who is averaging 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor in the last four games coming off the bench. In seven previous starts this season, he averaged 4.7 points and shot just 40 percent from the field.
• Mizzou is outscoring opponents by a 22.8-point margin during the stretch, limiting opponents to 47.8 points per game, 31.5 percent shooting overall and 15.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Opponents have made just 2.8 treys per game in the last four outings. 
• Mizzou's depth of big, physical guards has made the difference, as the tandem of Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Pickett, Xavier Pinson and Torrence Watson have outscored opponents by themselves, averaging 53.7 combined points per game, with all five of them shooting above 40 percent from the field. The same group averaged a combined 40.3 points per contest in the season's first eight contests.
• Mizzou had just 52 steals entering the Temple game, but has 39 swipes in the last four wins alone.

WATSON ERUPTS OUT OF SHOOTING FUNK

• Torrence Watson has struggled out of the gate to get his shot going after draining a freshman program-record 53 triples a season ago. He scored 11 points and hit 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc off the bench vs. Oklahoma, but had hit just nine 3-pointers total before Monday's game vs. Chicago State. Watson erupted off the bench for a career-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead Mizzou vs. Chicago State. It was the highest scoring output by a Tiger this season.
• Watson set a new Mizzou Arena single-game record with a career-best eight 3-pointers, hitting six in the second half alone. The eight 3-pointers were the most by a Tiger in a game since Thomas Gardner made eight against Baylor on Feb. 7, 2006. He is just the seventh Mizzou player to ever hit eight threes in a game. Only two Tigers have ever made more (Clarence Gilbert's school-record 12 triples in 2002 and Rickey Paulding's nine treys in 2003).
• Watson entered the Chicago State game shooting 19.6 percent from beyond the arc, and his season clip now sits at 28.8 percent. His scoring average jumped from 3.2 points to 4.0 points per game overnight.  

COMING OFF DOMINANT WIN

• Mizzou's 58-point win (91-33) over Chicago State was its largest margin of victory since beating Chicago State by 72 in 1995. Mizzou's season-high 91 points were its most since scoring 100 vs. Green Bay on Dec. 8, 2017.
• Mizzou had a season-high 14 steals, the most in a game since Dec. 15, 2011. Mizzou also had 10 steals vs. Illinois, giving the Tigers back-to-back games with double-digit steals for the first time since 2013.
• Mizzou nailed a season-best 16 3-pointers, its most in regulation since hitting 16 on March 3, 2012 vs. Texas Tech.
• The Tigers also dished a season-high 19 assists, their most in a game since Dec. 16, 2017 vs. North Florida (16).
• Chicago State's 24 turnovers were the most by a Mizzou opponent since Kansas committed 24 on March 5, 2011.