Feb. 18, 2010
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (19-7, 7-4 Big 12) vs.
University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-13, 1-10 Big 12)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 27 - February 20, 2010 - Lincoln, Neb.
Tip-off: 5 p.m. CST
Arena: Bob Devaney Center - Lincoln, Neb. (13,595)
TV: Big 12 Network - (Brad Sham play-by-play; Tim McCormick analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: NR/NR, Nebraska: NR/NR in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 124-91 all-time; last - Mizzou won 70-53 on Jan. 23, 2010 in Columbia
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ’82); 173-83 overall (8th season); 84-42 at Mizzou (4th)
Nebraska: Doc Sadler (Arkansas, ‘82); 236-110 overall (11th season); 68-53 at Nebraska (4th)
For Openers
> Mizzou hits the road on Saturday looking for its 22nd 20-win season in school history as the Tigers travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers ... Missouri is aiming for back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2002-03 and the Tigers are looking for their 51st win over the last two years combined following last season’s school record 31-win campaign.
> In addition to Missouri’s second consecutive 20-win season, Head Coach Mike Anderson is looking for his sixth 20-win campaign in eight seasons as a head coach ... Anderson enjoyed four consecutive 20-win campaigns at UAB before reviving the Missouri program.
> Missouri is of course known for its pressure defense, but the Tigers have been very good defensively in the half court all season long ... Mizzou is allowing opponents to shoot just 40.1 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from three-point range this season, the lowest field goal percentage defense totals since Norm Stewart patrolled the Hearnes Center sidelines in 1998-99.
> While the Tigers are advancing defensively in the half court, Missouri still leads the nation in both steals per game (11.4) and turnovers forced per game (20.3) ... Missouri is coming off a 10-steal effort against #15 Texas on Wednesday and Mizzou forced the nation’s former #1 team into 18 miscues, while scoring 25 points off of those turnovers.
> The road is never kind in Big 12 play, but Missouri does boast a pair of road wins in league action, winning at Texas Tech and at Colorado, two much-improved programs this season ... In fact the Tigers are a very solid 6-6 in their last 12 Big 12 road games dating back to last season.
> 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 79.9 points per game from the sophomore class alone ... The second-year Tigers are logging 41.9 points per game ... If you add the freshman class, Mizzou is getting 66 percent of its scoring (52.8 ppg) and 8.2 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).
> Senior Keith Ramsey is coming off his first career double-double Wednesday night vs. Texas ... The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, but more impressively grabbed a career high 11 rebounds vs. Texas’ front line ... Ramsey also blocked two shots and recorded a steal in a career high 37 minutes of playing time.
> Ramsey is the third different Tiger to enjoy a double-double this season, joining Kim English and Laurence Bowers ... Justin Safford has narrowly missed double-doubles on multiple occasions, including nine points and a career high 11 rebounds in the first meeting with Nebraska in Columbia.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> If it’s a Saturday, Missouri must be hitting the road and the Tigers travel to Lincoln this weekend to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers ... This will mark the third consecutive Saturday the Tigers have played on the road and Mizzou travels to Kansas State next Saturday as well.
> Missouri is looking for its third consecutive win against Nebraska, a feat which hasn’t occurred since 2005... In fact Missouri and Nebraska typically play close contests, especially in Lincoln ... Four of the last five MU-Nebraska games at the Bob Devaney Center have been decided by single digits.
> Missouri has been good in games immediately following wins against ranked opponents under Mike Anderson ... Over the last two seasons Missouri is 5-2 in such contests, including a win this year at Texas Tech following a 74-68 win against now #7 Kansas State in the Big 12-opener.
> Don’t get fooled by the pace Missouri plays at, the Tigers are incredibly efficient ... Missouri does lead the nation with 11.4 steals per game and ranks #1 nationally in turnovers forced (20.3), but Anderson’s club also ranks #25 nationally in assists per game (15.9), #2 nationally in turnover margin (+7.1) 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 295 steals is already #3 all-time and the Tigers need just seven more to move into second ... Missouri’s 37.8 percent shooting from three-point range is #9 all-time, while the 73.3 percent free throw shooting is #6.
> Missouri is being led in scoring by THREE underclassmen, Kim English (14.9), Laurence Bowers (10.9) and Marcus Denmon (10.5) ... 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 Feb. 6, scoring 21 points at Colorado ... 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.
> Missouri has had a school record five different players hit four (or more) treys in a game this year ... Kim English, Marcus Denmon, Zaire Taylor, Miguel Paul and Michael Dixon have all hit 4+ triples in a game this season ... Don’t forget that four of those five players are underclassmen!
> The previous mark was four set during the 2000-01 season by Brian Grawer, Kareem Rush, Clarence Gilbert and Wesley Stokes.
> Missouri ranks #25 nationally with 15.9 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 33 or more assists this season, led by Zaire Taylor (71), J.T. Tiller (70), freshman Michael Dixon (47) and sophomore Miguel Paul (42) ... 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 (11.4) 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 +7.1 … With that great turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio (+1.2) the Tigers have taken 159 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 132 more steals this season than their opponents through 26 games.
> Did you know the Tigers actually turn their opponent over a nation-leading 30 percent of the time during a game and score 30 percent of their points off turnovers?
> With that great turnover percentage Missouri is forcing 20.3 turnovers a game and is averaging 24.0 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 9.2 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri’s pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 19-of-26 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 73.3 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 34.3 of their 79.9 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 34.3-to-18.1.
> That bench scoring total leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks #2 among the national leaders.
> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in 22 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 27.1 points per game off the bench... That’s over 126 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 126 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 is back to full strength and is averaging 9.0 points in his last four games.
> Tiller suffered a fracture in his nose in the road win at Colorado and wore a protective mask for about 30 seconds in the win against Iowa State ... Tossing the mask aside proved to be a good idea, as the senior scored a season high 17 points, grabbed four boards, dished three assists and ripped two steals in the win.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 301 career assists and needs 29 more dimes to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 149 career steals and one more theft 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.
> With one more steal, Tiller will become just the seventh player in school history with 300 dimes and 150 thefts over his career.
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 and followed that up with two more vs. Iowa State.
> 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 2.3-to-1 ratio.
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 71 dimes while committing just 28 turnovers in his last 25 games, including a career-best eight assists and zero turnovers at Oklahoma.
> The Staten Island native scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the near miss at #24 Baylor over the weekend ... The 15 tallies was a season high in Big 12 play for Taylor.
> 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 35-of-39 charity shots in league action (.897).
> 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 (10.7), tops in rebounding (5.8) and tops in blocked shots (1.4) in just 20.9 minutes a game.
> Bowers is tops on the club in double-doubles with three ... He recently logged 10 points and a career high 12 rebounds vs. Iowa State.
> In fact Bowers’ rebounding average is up to 6.5 rpg in league play thus far.
> 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 seven of his last 11 games, including 13 points and eight boards vs. K-State and 16 points and three steals vs. Oklahoma State.
> Over his last 14 games Bowers is a combined 61-of-103 from the floor (.592) and is averaging 11.4 points a night, including those three double-doubles vs. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Iowa State.
> 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 20-of-26 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 18 double figure scoring games this season, including nine 20-point efforts.
> English has scored 20+ in six of his last 18 games, including 20 against Oklahoma State and 21 at Colorado.
> Although he scored just nine points against Iowa State due to foul trouble, the Baltimore native drilled the game-cinching three-pointer vs. Iowa State with 1:44 remaining and the Tigers ahead just 56-53.
> He also scored nine consecutive points in the second half of Mizzou’s win against Texas (18 for the game) to help the Tigers pull away and earn the win.
> 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 22-of-26 games this season, including 25 steals in his last 16 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 15 games and is averaging 11.1 ppg during that run.
> Denmon is averaging a very good 11.4 ppg in Big 12 road games this season, including a pair of 20-point outings in wins at Colorado and Texas Tech.
> The team-leader in three-point field goals, Denmon is shooting 45 percent from three over his last 19 games, hitting 44-of-98 triples, including 14-of-19 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.
> 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 (2.2 - seventh) and three-point percentage (.432 - fourth).
Justin Safford, 6-8, 230 Pounds
> Justin Safford has reached double figures in four of his last five games and is averaging 11.2 ppg during that stretch.
> The Bloomington, Ill., native scored a career high 19 points at Kansas thanks to 8-of-10 foul shooting.
> Safford grabbed a career high 11 boards in the first meeting against Nebraska and narrowly missed a double-double with nine points.
> The near miss occurred again vs. Iowa State last week when he scored 13 points and grabbed nine more boards vs. the Cyclones.
> Over his last 11 games Safford is averaging 10.8 tallies per game, with seven double-figure scoring contests.
> Safford has been excellent at the line over his last 10 games, hitting 33-of-39 charity shots (.846).
Miguel Paul, 6-1, 172 Pounds
> Miguel Paul scored a career high 15 points to lead Mizzou in the win against Nebraska back in Columbia ... Paul hit two treys and 5-of-6 total field goals in 16 minutes.
> Paul owns an excellent assist/turnover ratio this season with 42 dimes and just 20 turnovers (2.1-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 7.7 points on 46 percent shooting this year.
> Dixon has reached double figures in 10 of his last 21 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 85.4 percent.
> Dixon hit a career high 4-of-4 treys against Oklahoma State, while adding two assists, two steals and zero turnovers.
> He also reached double figures in the win against Texas, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with a pair of steals.
> Dixon was named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 28, the first league honor of his young career.
About The Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska (13-13, 1-10 Big 12) has faced a very challenging Big 12 slate of late and has played five ranked teams in its last five outings and just two of those games came at home ... Although Nebraska has lost five consecutive, Doc Sadler’s club nearly pulled off a huge win at #7 Kansas State this week before falling 91-87 in Manhattan ... The Huskers have given up 91 points in their last two games, but Sadler’s club is excellent defensively, especially at home ... NU is allowing just 63.6 points a game this season and is holding foes to 42 percent shooting from the floor ... Senior Ryan Anderson is the leader of this year’s club and is averaging 10.7 points and a team-best 4.8 rebounds ... The Seattle, Wash., native scored 22 points at K-State on Wednesday thanks to 8-of-9 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range ... The Huskers hit 14-of-21 treys overall and dished 23 assists on 28 buckets ... Lance Jeter dished 12 of those dimes and had just two turnovers vs. the Wildcat pressure.
The Series With Nebraska
Missouri and Nebraska meet for the 216th time on Saturday and Mizzou holds a 124-91 series lead ... The Tigers have won two consecutive games vs. the Big Red, including a 70-53 triumph in Columbia earlier this season on Jan. 23 ... Nebraska is 55-41 vs. Missouri in Lincoln all-time, including a 56-51 win last year to open Big 12 Conference play.
College Basketball’s Most Wins Over Last Two Years
Guess who is among college basketball’s winningest programs the last two seasons? ... It’s the Missouri Tigers ... Mizzou has won 50 games the last two seasons, the seventh highest win total in college hoops since the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
52 Wins
Duke, Kansas, Memphis, Syracuse and Villanova
51 Wins
Michigan State
50 Wins
Mizzou, Butler and Pittsburgh
49 Wins
Gonzaga and Purdue
48 Wins
Louisville
46 Wins
North Carolina, Connecticut
Tiger Trapping The Top 25
Missouri has played Top 25 foes tough under Head Coach Mike Anderson’s tenure as the Tigers have enjoyed a very respectable 8-3 mark the last two seasons vs. ranked foes.
> The Tigers went 6-2 vs. Top 25 teams during the 2008-09 campaign and are now 2-1 this season following an 82-77 win against #15 Texas on Feb. 17.
Opponent W/L Score Date
#15 Texas W 82-77 02-17-10
at #2 Kansas L 84-65 01-25-10
#10 Kansas State W 74-68 01-09-10
vs. #5 Connecticut L 82-75 03-28-09
vs. #2 Memphis W 102-91 03-26-09
vs. #23 Marquette W 83-79 03-22-09
#4 Oklahoma W 73-64 03-04-09
at #16 Kansas L 90-65 03-01-09
#16 Kansas W 62-60 02-09-09
at #16 Texas W 69-65 02-04-09
vs. #19 USC W 83-72 11-23-09
Mizzou Defense Among School’s Best
It’s easy to get enamored by Missouri’s tremendous turnover and steal totals, but the Tigers have been very good with their half court defense this season, holding foes to just 40.1 percent shooting from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond three-point range.
> The 40.1 percent field goal defense is the best at Mizzou since 1998-99 season, when the Tigers held teams to just 39.3 percent shooting for the year.
> The 30.3 percent three-point field goal defense is the second lowest in school history and the previous low is 30.2 percent set by last season’s squad.
> And last but not least, Missouri is holding opponents to just 65.5 points per game this year, the lowest at Mizzou since 1998-99 when the Tigers allowed just 62.2 ppg.
Tiger Bench the Best in the Big 12
Missouri leads the Big 12 in bench scoring this year at 34.3 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 39.4
2. Missouri 34.3
3. Texas 32.6
4. Western Carolina 32.4
5. Cal State Northridge 32.2
6. Northwestern State 30.0
