Jan. 16, 2003
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No. 11 Mizzou Travels to No. 24 Oklahoma State on Saturday
After concluding the non-conference portion of its regular season on Monday, the No. 11-ranked University of Missouri basketball team (10-2 overall, 1-0 in the Big 12) heads to Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday for a matchup with No. 24 Oklahoma State (13-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big 12). The game can be seen on ESPN+ (KMIZ in Columbia.)
After playing 10 of their first 12 games either at home or at a neutral site, the Tigers will play three of their next four contests away from the friendly confines of Hearnes Center. The Tigers are coming off of their first road loss of the season, a 76-69 setback at the hands of the Syracuse Orangemen in Syracuse, N.Y. on Monday night. Junior Rickey Clemons led the Tigers against the Orangemen with 26 points while also handing out seven assists and junior Arthur Johnson scored his eighth double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough to take out the 'Cuse and its tough 2-3 zone defense.
About the Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys enter Saturday's game with a strong 13-1 record and a 2-0 record in Big 12. After dropping an early-season contest to the College of Charleston, OSU has ripped off 11 straight wins.
The latest of their conquests was a big one that caused bedlam in Stillwater. The Cowboys took out No. 5 Oklahoma with a 12-foot bank shot by Victor Williams with 3.6 seconds left in the game, giving them a 48-46 lead and eventual win.
The Polks have had several other quality wins this year including a 3-point win over Michigan State and a 71-45 white-washing of Arkansas in Stillwater, where they have played eight of their 14 games so far.
Junior Tony Allen leads an extremely balanced scoring attack averaging 16.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. Three other Cowboys (Melvin Sanders, 13.0 ppg., Victory Williams, 12.7 ppg. and Ivan McFarlane, 12.5 ppg.) average 12.5 points or better per contest.
The Tigers lead the all-time series with OSU, 68-36, but are just 19-25 all-time in Stillwater. The last time the Tigers played at Gallagher-Iba, they fell 69-66 to an inspired Oklahoma State team.
In the ESPNZone
With Mizzou's game against Oklahoma State being carried on ESPN+ on Saturday, we thought a look at how some of the Tigers have fared thus far this season on the world wide leader in sports (ESPN) and its family of networks would be appropriate.
As a team, the Tigers have played three contests on ESPN (vs. Illinois, at Iowa and at Syracuse) and one game on ESPN 2 (home vs.Memphis). They are 2-2.
Junior Ricky Clemons has embraced the limelight of ESPN averaging 21.3 points and 5.8 assists per contest. Clemons has been especially entertaining in the last two ESPN broadcasts averaging 25.0 points (a career-best 27 points against Iowa and 26 on Monday against Syracuse) and 7.0 assists per contest.
Juniors Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding have also been solid averaging 16.0 and 16.8 points per game.
Cowboy Up
As mentioned before, the Tigers grabbed a 72-69 win over the then No. 12 Cowboys last season at the Hearnes Center to give Mizzou its 20th win of the year. While he had been on campus for more than a year and a half at that point, the contest unofficially marked the arrival of junior Rickey Paulding as he recorded a then-career-best 21 points on scorching 10-of-12 shooting from the field to lead the Tigers back from a 10-point deficit.
Junior Arthur Johnson also had a huge day as he put in 18 points and pulled down 14 boards in the win. He is averaging a double-double against OSU for his career with 11.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest. Below is a look at how all active Tigers have fared against OSU.
Athur Johnson
GP PPG RPG
2 11.0 11.5
Rickey Paulding
GP PPG RPG
2 12.0 3.0
Travon Bryant
GP PPG RPG
2 5.5 5.5
Josh Kroenke
GP PPG RPG
2 3.5 0.5
Jeffrey Ferguson
GP PPG RPG
1 2.0 5.0
The Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object
Alright, on Saturday at 12:45 p.m., something has got to give here. Both teams enter the game in the top four of the Big 12 standings and both are ranked in the Top 25, which is all fine and dandy. But probably the most intriguing factor in Saturday's matchup lies in the fact that Mizzou is the second-highest scoring team in the league while Oklahoma State is the second best defensive team in the Big 12.
Mizzou is averaging just under 81 points per contest and has reached the 80 point plateau in nine of their 12 games so far this season. Oklahoma State has been air-tight on defense so far allowing opponents to score only 59.1 points per contest and to shoot just under 37% from the field (Mizzou is shooting 48% from the field on the year, 6th in the league.) They have not allowed an opponent to score more 80 points this season and only one squad has broke the 70-point barrier.
On the Block with Doc
Junior Arthur "Doc" Johnson continues to be the straw that stirs the Tigers' Powerade this season in the post. After recording a career-best 11 double-doubles last season, AJ leads the Big 12 with eight double-doubles in just 12 contests played so far this season. He is averaging 16.8 points per game (10th in the Big 12) and 9.6 boards per game (2nd in the Big 12).
Johnson, who is the Mizzou all-time blocked shots leader (158 blocks) has been especially impressive the past four games registering 18.3 points and 12.5 rebounds a tilt, good for a double-double in all four contests.
Non-Conference a Non-Problem Once Again for Tigers
Mizzou finishes the non-conference regular season portion of its schedule with a 9-2 mark. The Tigers average margin of victory in those nine games was just under 15 points and they outrebounded their opponents by an average of 6.1 boards per contest.
Over the past two seasons, Mizzou is 21-6 against non-conference regular season opposition.
Three's Company
"Come and knock on our door, they've been waiting for you."
If you remember correctly, that is opening line of the '80's hit TV show "Threes Company" theme song, which starred Jack Ritter (before he did the "Problem Child" trilogy, Joyce DeWitt (otherwise known as Janet on the show) and Suzanne Sommers (before she did the whole "Thighmaster" workout craze).
Ricky Clemons, Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johsnon have been waiting for the opportunity to showcase their abilities on the court, and have done so in a major way for Mizzou. They make up 64% of the Tigers' offense, 65% of their 3-pt. field goals, 42% of their rebounding and 56% of the Tigers' stea;s. One of the Three Amigos has led Mizzou in scoring in every game this season and AJ has led the Tigers in rebounding in nine of their 12 contests so far.
AJ Gives an A+ Effort
Sporting a new hair due (or lack there of, he and teammates Rickey Paulding, Ricky Clemons and Jeffrey Ferguson shaved their heads last Thursday), junior Arthur Johnson came out against the Baylor Bears and provided a hair-raising performance.
The fascinating 5-man recorded his seventh double-double of the season, pouring in a game and career-high 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field against the Bears. He was also a beast on the boards pulling down 15 boards.
A microcosm of AJ's night came with just 1:04 left in the game and Mizzou was clinging to just a 3-pt lead. Johnson took a bounce pass from freshman Jimmy McKinney into the lane and brought the Tiger faithful to their feet when he dunked on Baylor's Steve Othoro, drawing the foul and nailing the free throw for an old fashion 3-point play to clinch the win.
More in the Middle
With his 30-pt. effort last Saturday night, junior Arthur Johnson became the first Mizzou player to score 30 or more points in a game since former Tiger and now Los Angeles Laker Kareem Rush scored 33 points against Texas in the Big 12 Tournament last season.
While that is impressive, the search for the last time a Tiger big man (a power forward or center) went for 30 or more in a regular season contest* becomes a little more hairy. You have to look back to the days of Doug Smith when he went for 30 or more points 14 times, which is still a school record, the last time coming on Jan. 5, 1991 when he poured in 40 points.
To look even deeper into this issue, the last time a true Tiger center (Smith is considered by many to be more of a face-up-and-shoot power forward) scored 30 or more means we must venture back to Jan. 19, 1983 when former Tiger great Steve Stipanovich put in 32 against Oklahoma State. The bottom line is that Arthur Johnson played really well against Baylor.
In a related note, this also marked the third time AJ has went for a double-double in his three career games against Baylor.
* Sammy Haley (7'0'') scored 31 points against Murray State in 1996 in the NIT.
