Mizzou Set for Senior Day Battle with LSU

Saturday, March 6

Columbia, Mo.

2 PM

Missouri

LSU

Mizzou guard Dru Smith (12).Mizzou Tigers vs. Florida Gators at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL. on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.Zach Bland/Mizzou Athletics

3/5/2021 11:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball

The Senior Day ceremony will be postgame right after the buzzer

Mizzou Hosts LSU on Senior Day Saturday at Mizzou Arena
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	SAFETY GUIDELINES
LSU	Columbia, Mo.	Saturday, March 6	2 PM	SEC Network	Safety Central

Mizzou Basketball Game Notes

Game Notes

STORYLINES

Mizzou improved to 6-1 in games decided by five or fewer points this season with a thrilling 72-70 win at Florida on Wednesday night. Dru Smith's buzzer-beating reverse layup gave the Tigers their sixth true road win of the season. It marked Mizzou's first-ever win in Gainesville and gave head coach Cuonzo Martin's squad back-to-back wins over the Gators for the first time in program history.
Mizzou is 6-4 on the road this season, its best mark since going 7-3 in 2011-12. Mizzou has at least five true road wins for the second time in Cuonzo's four seasons (2018). The Tigers had accomplished that feat just four times this century before Martin's arrival (2000, 2004, 2009 and 2012). Outside of 2011-12, Mizzou hadn't won six true road games in a season since 1999.
The win in Gainesville marked the Tigers' seventh Quad 1 victory of the 2020-21 campaign. Mizzou is one of just eight teams nationally with seven Quad 1 victories (five of which were away from Mizzou Arena), including victories over Illinois, Oregon, Wichita State, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida. Only one team (Illinois) has more Quad 1 victories than the Tigers.
Including the electric game-winning bucket, Dru Smith finished with 17 points, nine dimes and six steals (matching the most steals by an SEC player in a game this season). Dru is one of just two players to hit all three of those marks in the same game this season alongside Houston's Jamal Shead. In two career games vs. Florida, Dru combined for 39 points, 15 assists and 11 steals.
Dru has reached double figures a team-best 17 times as a senior, and is leading the SEC in steals for a second consecutive year with 2.0 thefts per game.
Mizzou enters Saturday's matchup with LSU seeking its first win in the series since Jan. 8, 2015 and its third win overall. Each of the last three meetings between Mizzou and LSU have been decided by six or fewer points. In fact, despite LSU leading the all-time series 8-2, six of the 10 matchups have come down to the wire. In last season's 82-78 loss in Baton Rouge, Dru Smith led Mizzou with 20 points, five boards and four assists.
Mizzou will honor seniors Drew Buggs, Mark Smith, Mitchell Smith, Dru Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon with a postgame ceremony on Saturday. The five of them have amassed more than 4,000 combined career points.
Senior Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr., who found out his grandmother passed away before tip at Ole Miss on Feb. 10, returned from a two-game leave of absence and finished with 17 points on a perfect 5-of-5 FGs and 7-of-7 FTs at South Carolina. Three days later, he secured his SEC-best seventh double-double of the campaign with 10 points, 10 boards, four blocks and three steals vs. Ole Miss. He then had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting at Florida. With Tilmon in the lineup, Mizzou is 15-5. Tilmon leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 64.0 percent.
Mizzou has three wins over Top 10 teams (No. 10 Alabama, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 6 Illinois) in the same season for the first time since 2011-12. The Tigers boast four ranked wins. Mizzou is 6-0 against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.

SMITH, SMITH & X

After Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith scored 14 points and 17 points, respectively, at Florida, Mizzou is 9-2 this season when both players score in double figures.
Dru, a preseason second-team All-SEC selection by both the league's coaches and the media, is one of the nation's best defenders. He leads the SEC for the second year running with 2.0 steals per game after a season-high six thefts at Florida.the six steals were the most by a player against the Gators since Mississippi State's Fred Thomas on Jan. 26, 2013. Dru's 2.0 steals per game over his time as a Tiger ranks second all-time at Mizzou. Dru has 108 steals in just 53 games at Mizzou. He is a three-time SEC Player of the Week after earning the award on Feb. 8 after adding 16 points and a season-high eight rebounds vs. No. 10 Alabama.
Dru erupted for 17 points, nine assists (the most by a Tiger since Blake Harris in 2017) and six steals at Florida - just the second player nationally to hit all those marks in a game this season.
He scored just nine points at Georgia, snapping a 10-game double-figure scoring streak, the longest by a Tiger since Kassius Robertson scored 10+ in 10 straight games in 2017-18. He bounced back with 17 points on 6-of-8 field goals and a season-high seven assists at South Carolina and 17 points at Florida. Mizzou is 9-2 this season when he dishes at least four assists.
Dru is averaging 14.0 points, 2.0 steals, 3.5 boards and 397 assists per game. He's one of just seven players nationally to average at least all those marks this season, the only SEC player and one of just three players from Power 5 conferences.
In SEC play, Dru ranks first in steals, fourth in assists, sixth in free throw percentage, ninth in field goal percentage, 10th in 3-pointers made and 13th in scoring. He's shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, 44 percent overall and 84 percent from the foul line against SEC opponents.
He finished with a season-best 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists vs. Kentucky, the first Tiger to reach all those numbers in the same game since DeMarre Carroll posted 31 points, nine boards and five dimes vs. Iowa State in 2009.
Dru surpassed the 1,000-career point plateau with a season-best 21 points at Auburn. Dru leads Mizzou during 2020-21 with 17 double-figure scoring games. Since Feb. 8, 2020, Dru has scored in double figures in 24 of the last 31 games. Mizzou is 20-11 in that stretch which includes just four games against non-Power Conference teams.
Dru tallied 16 points, six boards, six assists and four steals in one of the best all-around performances of his Tiger career at Texas A&M. He is the only Tiger in the last decade to hit all those marks in the same game. Dru followed with 16 on just six shots vs. South Carolina on Jan. 18. Only Dru, Jordan Geist, Keith Shamburger, Alex Oriakhi and Kim English have done that in a Mizzou uniform in the last decade. He chipped in 18 points and had zero turnovers at No. 6 Tennessee.
Dru has an assist in 93 of his last 95 games. He's posted 93 multi-assist outings in his last 97 games. Dru has started 75-straight games including all 53 of his Mizzou career.
An electric playmaker, Xavier Pinson has averaged 15.3 points over his last 27 games while producing 21 double-figure scoring games in that span, eight of which have been 20-point or better efforts.
Mizzou is 11-4 when Pinson scores in double figures and 11-4 when he dishes 2+ assists.
Pinson's ability to attack the rim, get fouled and convert at the foul line has been a weapon for Mizzou. Pinson has made 88 trips to the foul line, 15 more than any other Tiger guard. He's made 81.8 percent of his attempts this season. When Pinson has earned 10+ trips to the free throw line in a game in his career, Mizzou is 6-0.
Mark Smith, a senior sharpshooter, has come alive of late, reaching double figures in five of his last seven games, including four consecutive outings against Georgia, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Florida.
Mark is shooting 17-of-34 (.500) over his last three games, draining 11 combined triples and averaging 11.4 PPG.
Mizzou is 10-2 this season when Mark reaches double figures.
Mark has drained more than 150 threes in his college career. Over his Mizzou career, he's averaging 10.5 points while starting 56 games. He's known in the program for a work ethic so strong the coaches have to tell him to stop coming in so early this late in the season to save his legs.