Mizzou Basketball Game Notes

• Game Notes

STORYLINES

• Mizzou enters Tuesday night looking for its first league win and its first win over Tennessee since a 59-55 win in 2018. The Tigers have won two of the last three meetings with the Volunteers at Mizzou Arena, but Tennessee swept the 2019-20 season series.
• Mizzou's loss at No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday snapped a four-game win streak, as the Wildcats became just the second Mizzou opponent to surpass the 70-point mark this season. During the last five games, Mizzou has held opponents to just 52.4 points per game, 33.6 percent shooting from the field and 17.6 percent shooting from deep while forcing 17.8 turnovers per contest.
• Kentucky made just four triples on Saturday, the fifth consecutive opponent Mizzou has held to five or fewer treys. Opponents have managed just three made 3-pointers per game against the Tigers since Dec. 7. Tennessee made only five 3-pointers in the last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 5, 2019.
• The Tigers are one of just nine teams nationally to hold five different opponents to three or fewer treys in a game this season.
• In Mizzou's last home game, the Tigers blew past Chicago State, 91-33, the third-largest margin of victory for a Division I opponent over a fellow Division I opponent during the 2019-20 campaign. 
• Chicago State was the eighth team Mizzou has held to 56 or fewer points this season through 13 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 18.5 field goal makes per game, which ranks second nationally, trailing only defending national champion Virginia. Kentucky's 20 made field goals 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 +81 in bench points in the last five games and +134 overall this season. Mizzou has outscored 11 of its 13 opponents in bench production this season. 
• Mizzou is the only power conference team ranking in the top seven nationally in scoring defense (5th - 56.8), field goal percentage defense (7th - .365) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (7th - .259). The Tigers lead the SEC in both field goal percentage defense and scoring defense. 

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE

• Under Cuonzo Martin, Mizzou has established an elite defensive mentality. During Martin's coaching career, all 12 of his teams at four different schools held opponents to a scoring average under 70 points per game. Mizzou's 2019-20 team is allowing just 56.8 points per contest, which is on pace to be the best defensive team Martin has ever had - with the next closest being his 2013-14 Tennessee team that reached the Sweet 16 (61.7 opponent points per game). The 2019-20 team is on pace to be the eighth Martin-coached team to hold opponents to fewer than 66 points per game for a season.
• Mizzou's defensive scoring average is tied for fifth nationally and third among power conference teams behind defending national champion Virginia and sixth-ranked Butler.
• With 13 games under its belt, Mizzou's defensive scoring average would rank third all-time in a single-season in program history. The last time the Tigers held opponents to fewer than 57 points per game was 1951-52 (53.2 opp. PPG). 
• Mizzou is one of just eight teams nationally to hold at least eight opponents to 56 or fewer points in a game this season. The Tigers are 8-0 in those games. Mizzou is also one of 19 teams to hold 10 opponents to 63 or fewer points. 
• Illinois managed just 56 points for the first time against a non-conference opponent since scoring that many vs. Clemson on March 23, 2014. Chicago State then scored a season-low 33 points. Mizzou is one of only six teams nationally to hold a Division I opponent to 33 or fewer points in a game this season.
• Kentucky marked the ninth team to manage just 20 or fewer made field goals against Mizzou this season. Only Virginia, Liberty and San Diego State have held more teams to 20 or fewer field goals in a game during the 2019-20 campaign.
• The 2019-20 Tigers are the first Mizzou team to hold at least eight opponents to 56 or fewer points in the same season since 1998-99 (nine opponents), accomplishing that feat just 13 games into the season. 
• Mizzou is now 22-0 under Cuonzo Martin when holding its foe to 59 or fewer points, and has won 30 of its last 31 games overall when doing that.
• Mizzou also ranks sixth nationally and first in the SEC in field goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting just 36.5 percent this season. South Carolina ranks second in the league field goal percentage defense at 38.1 percent. Mizzou trails only Arkansas in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage defense, who lead the nation in that category. The Tigers are the nation's only power conference team ranking in the top seven in field goal pct. defense, 3-point field goal pct. defense and scoring defense. 
• After allowing just 10 made field goals vs. Southern Illinois and 11 vs. Chicago State, the Tigers have allowed 18.5 made field goals per game, which ranks second nationally. Only Virginia (17.1) has allowed fewer made shots per game this season.
• A large part of the defensive success is cleaning up the glass. Of the defensive rebounds available, Mizzou has prevented an opponent from grabbing an offensive rebound 75.2 percent of the time, allowing just 111 offensive boards all season. That defensive rebound percentage ranks second in the SEC behind Ole Miss.
• Mizzou has outrebounded its opponent nine times in 13 games this season. The Tigers have outpaced opponents on the glass 53 times in 78 games during the Cuonzo Martin era. 
• The Tigers have tallied at least eight steals in four of their last five games. Dru Smith is tied at the top of the league in steals per game with 2.2 swipes per contest.

DRU SMITH 

• With 11 points and four steals at Kentucky, Dru Smith became the first Tiger to post 10+ points and 4+ steals in three different games in a single season since Jordan Clarkson in 2014. He has eight steals over the last two games and is tied for first in the SEC with 2.2 steals per game this season.
• Dru reached the 19-point mark five times two seasons at Evansville and has done so three times now at Mizzou after scoring 19 points against Illinois to lead the Tigers to victory. Dru exploded for 22 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals at No. 21 Xavier. He became the first Tiger to record at least 22 points, 10 boards, four dimes and three steals in a game since Doug Smith did so vs. Oklahoma in 1991.
• Dru is averaging 11.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, a team-high 4.4 assists and a team-high 2.2 steals (T-1st in the SEC). He is one of only five players nationally averaging at least those marks in each category this season. 
• He recently posted 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals vs. Chicago State, the first Tiger to hit all those mark in the same game since Phil Pressey in 2013. He is just the fifth Tiger to do so since 1980 (Pressey, Anthony Peeler, Brian Grawer and Jason Conley).
• Dru has three games with at least seven assists this season through 13 outings. He's already become just the fourth Tiger since 2010 to have three seven-assist games in the same season, joining Pressey and Terrence Phillips. 
• In his 63-game career, Dru has only gone one game without recording an assist, which came all the way back on Dec. 3, 2016, giving him 55 consecutive games with an assist. He's now posted 28 straight multi-assist outings. He's also collected a steal in 24 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 9, 2017. He's tallied at least two steals in eight of 13 games this season, including five of the seven six contests.
• Dru surpassed the 200 career assist mark with a season-high seven dimes vs. Wofford. He's now dished at least six assists in a game 13 times in his career. He's the first Tiger with seven assists in a game since Jordan Geist vs. Illinois last season. 
• Dru sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. He is one of five Division I players in the last 20 years to shoot at least 45 percent from 3-point range, 55 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line in the same season (Thomas Welsh - UCLA, Sterling Brown - SMU, Nick Masteron - Kennesaw State, Sam Sussenguth - North Dakota State). He's the only one in that group of five playing in 2019-20. 
• Dru is a career 85.8 percent free throw shooter. He ranks third in the SEC season, shooting 87.8 percent from the line. His 8-for-8 performance from the line at Xavier marked the best outing by a Tiger at the charity stripe since Kassius Robertson went 8-for-8 on Feb. 3, 2018, vs. No. 21 Kentucky.