Feb. 8, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (17-6, 5-3 Big 12) vs.
Iowa State University Cyclones (13-10, 2-6 Big 12)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 24 - February 10, 2010 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: Mizzou Sports Network - (Chris Gervino play-by-play; Jon Sundvold analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Iowa State: NR/NR in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 143-84 all-time; last - Mizzou won 82-68 on Feb. 7, 2009 in Ames
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ’82); 171-82 overall (8th season); 82-41 at Mizzou (4th)
Iowa State: Greg McDermott (N. Iowa, ‘88); 278-188 overall (16th season); 57-61 at ISU (4th)
For Openers
> Missouri Basketball returns home to Mizzou Arena looking for its second consecutive Big 12 Conference victory as it hosts the Iowa State Cyclones in a rare 6:30 p.m. tip off ... Tickets are still available for as low as $14 and Mizzou Athletics will offer a special ‘Mizzou Meal Deal’ at concession stands during the game ... The offer includes a 16 oz. soda, hot dog and box of popcorn for only $5.
> Missouri is looking for its 18th win of the year, which would equal the second highest win total under Head Coach Mike Anderson ... The Tigers won 18 games in 2006-07 and of course won 31 games last year en route to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight ... A win by Mizzou would give the Tigers 49 combined wins over the last two seasons, which would be the third highest win total over two seasons in school history.
> Mizzou rebounded nicely after having its 32-game home court winning streak snapped last week against Texas A&M ... That home court run actually started in 2007-08 in a double-overtime win against Iowa State ... The Tigers bounced back with an 84-66 win against a much-improved Colorado team ... That 18-point win was the largest margin of victory vs. the Buffaloes in Boulder this season and pushed Mizzou’s record to 2-2 in Big 12 road games.
> Missouri is one of the Big 12’s youngest teams this season and has 11-of-13 players in their first or second season playing for Mike Anderson ... Missouri is getting more than half of its 81.3 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 43.5 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 67 percent of its scoring (54.6 ppg) and 8.5 assists from underclassmen this season ... Oh and for good measure, Missouri is welcoming in the nation’s #7 recruiting class next year (per USA Today).
> That youth played tremendous basketball in the win at Colorado, as Missouri’s underclassmen scored 60 of 84 points, including a career high 22 coming from Marcus Denmon and 21 from Kimmie English ... Both players also contributed 11 total rebounds and six assists in the 18-point victory.
> Don’t get fooled by the pace Missouri plays at, the Tigers are incredibly efficient ... Missouri does lead the nation with 12.0 steals per game and ranks #1 nationally in turnovers forced (21.1), but Anderson’s club also ranks #16 nationally in assists per game (16.5), #2 nationally in turnover margin (+7.6) and is among the Top 35 nationally with a 1.23 assist/turnover ratio as a team.
> The 2009-10 Tigers are looking to join the Mizzou records book in a number of statistical categories ... The 276 steals is already #6 all-time and one more steal will move the team into fifth ... Missouri’s 39 percent shooting from three-point range is #4 all-time, while the 72.9 percent free throw shooting is #8.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri starts the second half of the Big 12 season on Wednesday, as it hosts the Iowa State Cyclones inside Mizzou Arena.
> Missouri is looking to move to three games over .500 in league play for the first time this season ... The Tigers started 2-0 and 3-1 and a win on Wednesday would push the Tigers to 6-3 in the nation’s #1 RPI league in America.
> Missouri is being led in scoring by THREE underclassmen, Kim English (15.1), Marcus Denmon (11.3) and Laurence Bowers (10.9) ... The last time that happed was during the 1999-2000 campaign when Keyon Dooling (15.3), Kareem Rush (14.7) and Clarence Gilbert (13.7) paced the Tigers in scoring.
> Kim English recorded his ninth 20-point game of the year on Saturday, scoring 21 points at CU ... That’s the most 20-point games by a sophomore since Linas Kleiza accomplished the feat (also nine times) in 2004-05 ... In case you were wondering, Kareem Rush scored 20+ as a sophomore 16 times in 2000-01, Anthony Peeler did it eight times, Derrick Chievous 15 times and Ricky Frazier 12 times.
> Speaking of those great sophomores, Marcus Denmon’s uncle, Martinez Denmon, played collegiately at Iowa State and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the third round (No. 52).
> Missouri ranks #16 nationally with 16.5 assists per game … However the perfect illustration for the Tigers’ unselfishness is that Mizzou has ZERO players ranked among the Top 250 nationally in assists … No one player dominates that basketball and that fuels Missouri’s quick-strike offense … However nine different Tigers have 26 or more assists this season, led by Zaire Taylor (68), J.T. Tiller (62), freshman Michael Dixon (46) and sophomore Miguel Paul (40) ... And as a reminder, Missouri led the nation in assists last season with 18.4 dimes per contest.
> Missouri has topped 20 assists eight times, including 28 dimes in the 106-69 win against Oregon and 25 vs. Georgia.
> Conversely the Tigers lead the nation in steals per game (12.0) and are led defensively by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year candidate, J.T. Tiller ... It’s not the steal total to watch with Tiller, it’s the deflections and overall havoc the senior causes on the floor.
> Missouri is #2 nationally in turnover margin at +7.6 … With that great turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio (+1.2) the Tigers have taken 162 more shots then their opponents this year … That statistic certainly helps to offset rebounding margin … In a crazy stat that speaks to great ball-security, the Tigers already have 130 more steals this season than their opponents through 23 games.
> Did you know the Tigers actually turn their opponent over a nation-leading 30 percent of the time during a game? What does that mean? Well it means nearly one out of every three defensive possessions ends in a turnover.
> With that great turnover percentage Missouri is forcing 21.1 turnovers a game and is averaging 24.9 points per game off of those turnovers.
> It’s certainly early, but the Tigers sport excellent depth on their roster ... Nine different players have reached double figures in scoring and 10 different Tigers are averaging at least 9.8 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri’s pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 18-of-23 contests, including a school record 24 thefts vs. Chattanooga on Nov. 24.
> Missouri continues to be outstanding at the free throw line this season ... The Tigers are hitting at a 72.9 percent clip on the year, compared to 67.2 percent shooting last season.
> It’s hard to argue with the production of Missouri’s bench ... The Tigers are getting 35.9 of their 81.3 points per game from the reserves ... Missouri’s bench has actually outscored their starters five times this season and are outscoring their opposition’s bench 35.9-to-17.8.
> That bench scoring total leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks among the national leaders.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 19 games this season, including a season high three players in the wins against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Oregon and UMKC.
> One thing about Mike Anderson’s clubs, they are built for the long haul ... Over his tenure “Coach A’s” teams have averaged 26.9 points per game off the bench... That’s over 123 career games.
> It’s nothing new to have the reserves outscore the starters either ... Including five games this season, the reserves have dropped in more tallies than the “initial five” 17 times (in 123 games) in Anderson’s tenure ... It just goes to show you, when the man says he has eight or nine starters, it means he has eight or nine starters!
> To help illustrate that point even further, Missouri has had eight different starting lineups this year.
> Missouri has typically played some tough schedules over the years and that trend will continue in 2009-10 ... Mizzou has 15 games against teams that have been ranked / receiving votes in the Top 25 this season ... Included in that list are some impressive non-conference games against, Illinois, Old Dominion, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Georgia and Richmond.
Tiger Tidbits
J.T. Tiller, 6-4, 200 Pounds
> J.T. Tiller (aka the Tasmanian Devil) has earned mention on virtually every preseason All-Defensive Team in 2009-10 … Tiller is of course the reigning Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12 Conference and was named to All-Defensive Teams by Sports Illustrated and ESPN prior to the start of his senior season.
> Tiller was hobbled early by a bone bruise in his left foot, but has still reached double figures in 8-of-20 games played.
> Tiller has notched seven assists in a game three times this year, including seven dimes at Vanderbilt, seven in a win against Old Dominion and seven in a home win against Georgia.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 293 career assists and needs 37 more dimes to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 145 career steals and six more thefts would push him into the Top 10 in that category as well, surpassing former teammate Jason Horton (2004-08), who had 150 … In fact his career steals per game average of 1.2 already ranks in Mizzou’s career Top 10.
Zaire Taylor, 6-4, 189 Pounds
> Zaire Taylor has been one of America’s top defensive players so far in 2009-10 and is #2 in the Big 12 and ranked among the Top 100 nationally with 1.9 steals per game this season.
> Taylor ripped away four steals in the win at Colorado, his highest total in a Big 12 game this season.
> Not only is Taylor excellent at swiping the basketball, he is one of the country’s best at protecting the rock as well ... Last year he ranked among the Top 5 nationally with a 3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio ... This season he is #41 nationally with a 2.4-to-1 ratio.
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 68 dimes while committing just 25 turnovers in his last 22 games, including a career-best eight assists and zero turnovers at Oklahoma.
> Of course its hard to talk about Taylor and not mention his “Big Shot” moniker ... Taylor hit game-winners last year vs. #16 Kansas and at #16 Texas and then broke a 66-66 tie vs. #10 K-State on Jan. 9 with a deep triple with just 33 seconds remaining ... All three of those game-winners were vs. ranked teams.
> Taylor has done an excellent job supplementing his scoring at the foul line in Big 12 play and has made 30-of-33 charity shots in league action (.909).
> Not only do Taylor and Tiller form one of America’s best backcourts, but the pair is incredibly visible in the community and volunteered with the Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon, which supports the University of Missouri Children’s Hospital ... The duo answered phones on the phonebank and made special visits to patients.
Laurence Bowers, 6-8, 205 Pounds
> Laurence Bowers is one of Missouri’s most efficient players this season and is second on the team in scoring (10.9), tops in rebounding (5.7) and tops in blocked shots (1.5) in just 20.2 minutes a game.
> Bowers scored a career high 23 points in the Jan. 2 win against Georgia, hitting 11-of-14 FGs for his first career 20-point night and has now reached double figures in five of his last nine games, including 13 points and eight boards vs. K-State and 16 points and three steals vs. Oklahoma State.
> Over his last 11 games Bowers is a combined 47-of-78 from the floor (.603) and is averaging 12.0 points a night, including double-doubles vs. Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
> Don’t be surprised by Bowers’ efficiency ... That’s part of his game ... The Memphis native maximizes his minutes played ... Last season as a freshman he was the team’s most efficient rebounder and shot-blocker in just 6.9 minutes a game.
> The Memphis native has blocked at least one shot in 19-of-23 games this season, including a career high four swats in the wins against Austin Peay and Tech.
Kim English, 6-6, 200 Pounds
> Kim English was named one of the nation’s Top 5 Most Improved Players by Dick Vitale in USA Today.
> English leads Missouri with 16 double figure scoring games this season, including nine 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in six of his last 15 games, including 20 against Oklahoma State and 21 at Colorado.
> English grabbed a career high 10 boards for his first double-double at Texas Tech.
> He also grabbed a six rebounds and ripped two steals vs. the Fighting Illini ... English has at least one steal in 21-of-23 games this season, including 24 steals in his last 13 contests.
> English was named the Big 12’s Player of the Week on Dec. 28 after leading the team to wins against Illinois (24 points) and Austin Peay (23 points).
Marcus Denmon, 6-3, 185 Pounds
> Marcus Denmon is nearly full strength after off-season knee surgery and has reached double figures 13 times this year.
> Denmon has been one of Mizzou’s most consistent scorers with those 13 double-figure efforts and poured in a career high 22 points in the win at Colorado.
> In fact Denmon has reached double figures in eight of his last 12 games and is averaging 12.4 ppg during that run.
> The team-leader in three-point field goals, Denmon is shooting 48 percent from three over his last 16 games, hitting 41-of-85 triples, including 13-of-16 games with multiple three-point makes.
> Denmon has been very good late in games recently ... The Kansas City native is coming off a 14-point effort against #10 Kansas State where he scored eight of his team-high tying 14 points in span of 3:43 late in the second half to hand the Tigers the victory ... The Tigers were down 55-49 at the 5:37 mark when Denmon nailed back-to-back treys and then hit a baseline runner off glass that had “Old Skool Basketballers” reminiscing.
> During the win at Texas Tech Denmon scored five points in overtime, including the first bucket of the extra frame and a 24-foot trey to break an 85-85 tie.
> Denmon currently ranks among the Big 12 leaders in three-point field goals per game (2.3) and three-point percentage (.454).
Justin Safford, 6-7, 230 Pounds
> Justin Safford grabbed a career high 11 boards in the win against Nebraska and narrowly missed a double-double with nine points.
> The Bloomington, Ill., native then scored a career high 19 points at Kansas thanks to 8-of-10 foul shooting.
> Over his last nine games Safford is averaging 10.7 tallies per game, with five double-figure scoring contests.
> Safford has been excellent at the line over his last five games, hitting 19-of-23 charity shots (.826).
Miguel Paul, 6-1, 172 Pounds
> Miguel Paul scored a career high 15 points to lead Mizzou in the win against Nebraska ... Paul hit two treys and 5-of-6 total field goals in 16 minutes.
> Paul owns an excellent assist/turnover ratio this season with 40 dimes and just 20 turnovers (2.0-to-1).
Steve Moore, 6-9, 264 Pounds
> Fans will notice a slimmed down version of Steve Moore this year … Since his arrival Moore had dropped 40 pounds and has now began to regain the weight in the form of muscle … Moore credits Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning David Deets with adjusting his eating habits, allowing the “Extreme Makeover”.
> Moore turned that weight loss into production, as he has recorded career highs in virtually every statistical category this season.
> The Kansas City native enjoyed a tremendous outing at Colorado, scoring four points and grabbing three boards in the first half vs. the Buffaloes.
Michael Dixon, 6-1, 175 Pounds
> Michael Dixon has been one of the Big 12’s top freshmen this season and is averaging 7.9 points on 44 percent shooting this year.
> Dixon has reached double figures in nine of his last 18 games and was excellent in “high major” non-conference games, averaging 11.2 in contests against Illinois, Oregon, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
> The rookie showed his moxie in Missouri’s road win at Texas Tech, hitting four free throws in the final :17 seconds of OT for the triumph.
> The Kansas City native leads Mizzou in FT percentage at 84.2 percent.
> He recently hit a career high 4-of-4 treys against Oklahoma State, while adding two assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
> Dixon was named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28, the first league honor of his young career.
About The Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State (13-10, 2-6 Big 12) narrowly missed out on the home upset of Kansas State this weekend, falling to the Wildcats 79-75 in the Hilton Coliseum ... Iowa State has two of the league’s better post players in Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap ... Brackins is one of the league’s top scorers at 17.0 points per game ... The junior also averages 8.1 rebounds and is shooting a solid 36 percent from three-point range ... Gilstrap is the league’s top newcomer and his 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds complement Brackins’ versatility on the floor ... Gilstrap is a senior transfer ... The Cyclones are 2-4 on the road this year and won at Nebraska in Big 12 play ... The Cyclones also won at Drake in November, but have dropped five of their last six games overall.
The Series With Iowa State
Missouri and Iowa State meet for the 228th time on Wednesday and the Tigers own a 143-84 series lead ... Mizzou has won three consecutive in the series and four of the last five overall, including two straight in Columbia ... Missouri is 81-21 all-time vs. ISU in Columbia and Head Coach Mike Anderson is 4-2 vs. ISU.
Tiger Bench the Best in the Big 12
Missouri leads the Big 12 in bench scoring this year at 35.9 points per game, a figure that will eventually break the school record of 27.0 (2008-09) ... Missouri is #2 nationally in that category, trailing only Virginia Military:
Rk. Team Scoring
1. Virginia Military 38.0
2. Missouri 35.9
3. Texas 32.7
4. Western Carolina 32.4
5. Northwestern State 31.4
Mizzou In A Special Two-Year Stretch
Missouri has played a special stretch of basketball over the last two seasons, going 48-13 during that time ... The 48 wins over two seasons is the fourth most in school history and the school record is 54 wins over two seasons set by the 1988-89 team (29 wins) and the 1989-90 club (26 wins).
Top Two-Year Stretches at Mizzou
Years Win Totals
1988-90 54 Wins
1981-83 53 Wins
1980-82 49 Wins
2008-10 48 Wins
1993-95 48 Wins
2007-09 47 Wins
1992-94 47 Wins
1979-80 47 Wins
1975-77 47 Wins
2001-03 46 Wins
1989-91 46 Wins
Dixon One Of Mizzou’s Best Frosh Point Guards
Michael Dixon has made a huge splash for Mizzou early in his Tiger career and below is a quick look at how the Lee’s Summit freshman compares to some other Tiger point guards during their freshman campaigns.
Tiger Year PPG APG TPG A/T Ratio
**Michael Dixon 2009-10 7.9 2.0 0.9 2.1
Keyon Dooling 1998-99 8.7 3.0 2.0 1.5
Melvin Booker 1990-91 8.3 3.5 2.7 1.3
Travis Ford 1989-90 6.4 3.5 1.8 1.9
Lee Coward 1986-87 6.5 1.7 1.4 1.3
Prince Bridges 1981-82 6.8 3.3 2.2 1.5
**Jon Sundvold 1979-80 6.3 2.1 1.9 1.1
**Larry Drew 1976-77 6.9 2.8 N/A N/A
** Kansas City natives
Bench Making The Difference
Missouri is known for using its deep, effective bench to help fuel the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball and the Tiger reserves have outscored their opposition’s bench in 22-of-23 games this season ... In fact, Missouri’s second wave has outscored its starters five times this season, including games against UMKC and Georgia.
> Eight times this season the Tiger bench has scored 40+ points in a game and owns a 35.9-to-17.8 scoring margin against its opponents in 2009-10.
> Missouri has had six different Tigers come off the bench to score in double figures this season: Kim English, Laurence Bowers, Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, Zaire Taylor and Miguel Paul.
Top Bench Scoring Totals of 2009-10
Opponent Bench Scoring
vs. Texas-Pan American 57
vs. UMKC 57
vs. Georgia 54
vs. Oregon 50
vs. Chattanooga 49
vs. Tennessee-Martin 45
vs. Oklahoma State 42
at Texas Tech 41
