Mizzou Men's Basketball Set for Clash with No. 21 Oregon in Omaha

Wednesday, December 2

Omaha, Neb.

8 PM

University of Missouri

#21 Oregon

NCAA Men's Basketball: Mizzou Tigers vs. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Mizzou Men's Basketball Set for Clash with No. 21 Oregon in Omaha

12/1/2020 11:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Tip off is set for 8 p.m. on FS1

Mizzou Men's Hoops Set for Clash with No. 21 Oregon in Omaha
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH
No. 21 Oregon	Columbia, Mo.	Wednesday, Dec. 1	8 PM	Fox Sports 1

Mizzou Basketball Game Notes

Game Notes

STORYLINES

Mizzou Men's Basketball opened its 115th season and its fourth under head coach Cuonzo Martin with an emphatic 91-64 win over Oral Roberts on Nov. 25. The Tigers improved to 4-0 in Martin-era season-openers and have now won their last seven.
Mizzou has won its season-opening contests by 23.8 points per game during the Martin-era.
Mizzou shot a blistering 53.1 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers en route to its 27-point victory over ORU. Mark Smith led four Tigers in double figures with 18 points on four threes. Dru Smith added 16 points, six assists, five boards and four steals, becoming the first Tiger to hit all those marks in the same game since Phil Pressey in 2012. Xavier Pinson added 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Javon Pickett chipped in 11 points. The Tigers are 8-1 in their last nine games when Pickett reaches double figures.
The Tigers now turn to a neutral site clash with No. 21 Oregon in Omaha, Nebraska. Mizzou is 5-0 all-time against Oregon, with the last matchups with the Ducks coming in 2009 and 2010. Mizzou won 106-69 in 2009 and 83-80 in Eugene in 2010 with Marcus Denmon leading the Tigers in scoring in both victories.
Wednesday night's clash will mark the first-ever matchup on a neutral court between the two programs. Oregon enters the game ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25 poll. Mizzou won its last game against a ranked opponent, drilling No. 11 Auburn, 85-73. The Tigers seek their first win over a ranked opponent on a neutral court since beating No. 12 Illinois, 82-73, in St. Louis on Dec. 22, 2012.
Mizzou is 127-80 all-time vs. Pac-12 opponents, with its last win coming over Oregon State at the 2018 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, 69-63.
Mizzou's trip to Omaha will feature a homecoming for Tiger guard Ed Chang, who grew up in the area.
Martin brings back one of the most experienced rosters in all of college basketball. Mizzou welcomes back 88.13 percent of its scoring from a season ago, which ranks third among all Power 5 conference teams, trailing only Texas and UCLA.
The veteran roster features three players with 700+ career points (Dru Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon and Drew Buggs) and five with 500+ career points (Smith, Tilmon, Buggs, Xavier Pinson and Mark Smith). All in all, the Tigers' roster has amassed more than 4,800 career points heading into this season.
Mizzou's 12-man roster features nine players with at least junior eligibility standing and one of the remaining three players entering his third season on campus in Parker Braun, making Mizzou the SEC's oldest team.
With freshman center 7-foot-3 Jordan Wilmore joining the squad, Mizzou enters the season with an average height of 6-foot-6. That makes the Tigers the SEC's tallest team in 2020-21 and the ninth-tallest team nationally.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: THE SHARPSHOOTER

After leading the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage as a sophomore, Mark Smith shot 37 percent from beyond the arc as a junior, finishing with a team-high 53 triples. The microwave hit one trey in 20 of 24 games in 2019-20, scoring at least 18 points six different times.
Mark erupted for a team-high 18 points in the season opener vs. Oral Roberts on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and 7-of-10 shooting from the field. After dealing with foot injuries, he's feeling healthier than ever, and proved that with a highlight reel alley-oop dunk last Wednesday, which wound up No. 3 on Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays.
Mark is key to Mizzou's success. The Tigers went 7-3 when he reached double figures last season.

THE BIG FELLA

Senior Jeremiah Tilmon returns for a fourth season in Columbia after testing the NBA Draft waters over the summer. The seasoned big man has made 74 starts, played in 81 games and netted 723 points.
He launched the 2020-21 campaign with a career-high 12 boards and eight points on 4-of-5 shooting vs. Oral Roberts. In his 12 career games with at least eight rebounds, Mizzou is 10-2.
Tilmon had an injury-riddled junior season, but still managed to lead the team in blocks with 21. He has 79 for his career, which ranks 11th all-time in program history. Tilmon's 1.0 blocks per game is tied for 10th all-time heading into his senior campaign. He's recorded at least one swat in 14 of his last 17 games.
Tilmon is one of the nation's most efficient scorers, shooting 56.2 percent for his career, which ranks fourth all-time at Mizzou. He shot 58.9 percent a season ago from the floor.
The big man was known for a knack for foul trouble early in his career, but has fouled out just once since February of his sophomore year - a 2019 Mizzou Braggin' Rights win over Illinois. He played 27 minutes vs. Oral Roberts and committed just one foul.