With Zaire "Big Shot" Taylor's last-second game-winner Tuesday against Iowa State (by the way, here's Mike Kelly's call of the winner on the Tiger Network courtesy of our friends at Learfield Sports), we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the more memorable game-winning shots in Tiger history which predated Tuesday's heroics. For definition purposes, we describe "game-winning" as a shot which gave Mizzou a lead within the final five seconds of play, something that came with so little time remaining that the opponents had only desperation hopes left. Today's look spans 10 selections which date back through the 1989-1990 season to the present, and we'll take a look later at some of the best Tiger buzzer beaters prior to that.

So there's just one game remaining in the 2010 Big 12 Conference basketball regular season, and we still don't know where 10 of the 12 men's teams will finish the race. [Kansas has clinched its sixth straight title, and the No. 1 seed that goes along with it; Nebraska has clinched the 12 spot.]

Missouri had nine Tigers combine for 13 steals in Wednesday night's 92-63 win over the Colorado Buffaloes. This brought their season total to an NCAA-leading 314, an average of 11.2 per game. In the 14-year history of the Big 12, four teams have recorded 300 steals in a season (Kansas seven times, Missouri three times, Nebraska twice, and Oklahoma). Only the '06-'07 Tigers (10.1), '08-'09 Tigers (10.2) and '98-'99 Cornhuskers (10.9) averaged double-digit steals. While equaling that achievement appears to be in sight for this year's squad, it's not going to be easy. Towards the end of the season as underclassmen have adjusted to their opposition and games tend to carry more weight, teams focus on controlling the ball better. Last year in postseason play (three Big 12 and four NCAA tournament games), the Tigers were well under their season number, recording a 7.6-steal-per-game average in the seven games, which is a reflection of the quality competition the Tigers faced late in the season, not the effectiveness of their defense. With Wednesday's 13 steals, the Tigers two year total (702) currently ranks 3rd all-time in the conference behind Kansas' 2006-08 (706) and 2001-03 (730) totals. But does this success on defense translate to wins? In the history of the Big 12 the school that has led the league in steals averages a third place finish in the conference. The lowest being 2000-01 Baylor's eighth place finish, while five times the leader in steals has won the conference. 

Beginning today, the front page of mutigers.com has been changed in an effort to promote donations to the American Red Cross relief effort in Haiti, which has been devastated by a series of earthquakes.

News and Notes from around Missouri Basketball heading into the week of January 11.

Missouri Basketball is hosting Kansas State Saturday afternoon in the Big 12 Conference-opener for both clubs and with greater attendances expected throughout the Big 12 season Mizzou Athletics would like to remind fans of some new services offered for Saturday's game and throughout league action.

Hello Tiger Fans from Mizzou Arena. All is quiet on the main arena floor at 5 p.m., but Kimmie English has just arrived to get prepared for tonight's game against Savannah State.

There is a rumor it's snowing outside, but it's plenty warm inside Mizzou Arena. If all else fails, Kimmie said he would relinquish his locker room sleeping quarters if fans need a place to stay (he was kidding of course).

Missouri is looking to run its home court winning streak to 29 games tonight vs. the Savannah State Tigers. The visitors have been on the road for quite some time. They played a game at Western Illinois (loss) and drove straight to Columbia from Macomb, Ill., after the game.

In other news, Missouri's RPI is up to 70. In addition to its current winning streak, the Tigers got some help from Georgia who earned a rivalry win against #17 Georgia Tech on Tuesday evening in Athens.

There are three other games around the Big 12 tonight. Kansas hosts former Missouri NCAA Tournament foe Cornell at home and Iowa State hosts the Duke Blue Devils at the United Center in Chicago. Baylor vs. Morgan State in Waco, Texas, rounds out tonight's Big 12 schedule.

As I write, the men's basketball team is finalizing preparation for its game vs. Savannah State tonight at 7 p.m., but I wanted to give you some additional notes about some upcoming games.By now, you've probably seen that we've announced a sellout of Saturday's Kansas State game. It's the first of the season, and comes on the heels of a large walk-up crowd of over 13,000 for last Saturday's Georgia game. We're excited for an excellent matchup of two solid teams for the Big 12 Conference opener.