March 5, 2002
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6th Annual Phillips 66/Big 12 Tournament
March 7-10, 2002 - Kemper Arena - Kansas City, Mo.
TIGERS LOOK TO REKINDLE 'KEMPER KARMA' AT BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
The 6th-seeded Missouri Tigers (20-10 overall, 9-7 in Big 12 Conference play) head to Kansas City, where they'll take on the 11th-seeded Iowa State Cyclones (12-18, 4-12) in the 1st round of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament. Tipoff is set for 8:35 p.m. Thursday at Kemper Arena, and the game will be shown nationally on ESPN2. Thursday's winner will advance to play 3rd-seeded Texas (19-10, 10-6) at 8:20 p.m. Friday.
Missouri is looking to bounce back from a tough 95-92 home loss to #1 Kansas on Sunday - a game in which MU led in the final 2 minutes. The Tigers had won 2 straight prior to Sunday's defeat.
Iowa State comes to Kansas City off of a similarly-tough home loss to Texas on Saturday (79-76). The Cyclones led for most of that contest before the Longhorns took control in the final minutes.
Missouri and Iowa State split a pair of regular-season meetings this year, with the home team winning each time. Iowa State claimed a 71-67 win in Ames in January, and MU followed with a 76-73 win in Columbia in February.
Mizzou looks to improve to 5-0 in Big 12 Tournament 1st-round games. MU and Iowa State have met once previously in Big 12 Tournament play, and the Tigers claimed a 74-55 win in the 1st round of the 1998 tourney.
KANSAS CITY, HERE WE COME!
After finishing in 6th place during the Big 12 regular season, Missouri will look to string together a nice run at the Big 12 Tournament to solidify it's post-season position.
At 20-10 overall, and 49th in the RPI (as of Tuesday, according to www.collegerpi.com), conventional wisdom has Missouri as likely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Of course, winning 4 games in Kansas City would give the Tigers an automatic bid to the "Big Dance", but that is an extremely tough task, something that hasn't yet been accomplished in the short history of the Big 12.
Most pundits believe that MU is in the Tournament now, but 1 win certainly wouldn't hurt.
TIGER BRAGGING RIGHTS
With 20 wins under its belt, Missouri appears on course for its 3rd straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Head Coach Quin Snyder, and 4th straight overall.
Here's a few of bragging facts:
As of Tuesday, MU was 49th in the RPI rankings (according to www.collegerpi.com). MU now owns 3 wins against teams ranked in the Top-25 of the RPI rankings (3-6 overall), and only 10 schools in the country had more than that:
MU's wins against the RPI top-25 include victories over current #6 Alabama, #15 Oklahoma State and #22 Xavier.
MU's strength of schedule was a deceivingly-low 69th. That is the case, despite the fact that MU has played more games (9) against top-25 RPI schools than all but 3 teams thus far:
MU owns wins against schools from the top-2 leagues in the country (according to collegerpi.com), and 4 of the top 9 overall. Mizzou has defeated Alabama of the SEC (league ranks #1 overall), Virginia of the ACC (#2), Saint Louis of Conference USA (#8) and Xavier of the Atlantic-10 (#9).
Big 12 Conference schools are 7-8 this season (.467) against non-conference ranked opposition. MU owns 3 of those 7 wins, as the Tigers have beaten then-#22 Alabama, then-#9 Iowa and then-#8 Virginia. MU is 3-4 overall against ranked foes this season.
MORE NCAA FODDER
While everyone and their brother has their opinion of who is in and who is out of the upcoming NCAA Tournament, one historical fact bodes well for MU.
In the short history of the Big 12 Conferece, no league team has ever not received an NCAA bid when they've won at least 19 regular-season games and had no worse than a .500 league record.
The closest time came during the 1998-99 season, when Nebraska went 18-11 during the regular season and finished 10-6 in the league (tied for 5th). The Huskers' RPI that year was a solid 47, but Nebraska was relegated to the NIT even after winning 1 game at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
POST-SEASON HONORS ROLL IN
On Monday, four different Tigers were honored as part of the Associated Press year-end Big 12 awards.
Junior forward Kareem Rush was named 1st Team All-Big 12. Rush is 2nd in the Big 12 in scoring (19.8 ppg), and is tied for the league lead in 3-pt. production (3.2 p/g).
Senior guard Clarence Gilbert was selected to the A.P.'s 3rd team All-Big 12 roster. Gilbert ranks 8th in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), tied for 1st in 3-pt. production (3.2 p/g) and 11th in free throw shooting (79.6%). He recently set a Big 12 record by making 12 3-pt. field goals at Colorado, on his way to 40 pts.
Sophomore forward Rickey Paulding was named to the All-Underrated team by league scribes. Paulding, who is averaging 11.4 points per game and ranks 6th in the league in 3-pt. shooting (45.1%). He's come up big in MU's big games down the stretch, as he has averaged 17.4 ppg in his last 7 games against ranked teams.
Sophomore forward/center Arthur Johnson was named to the league's All-Defensive team. Johnson ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in blocked shots (2.1 p/g), 6th in rebounding (8.1 p/g), 5th in field goal percentage (55.5%), 5th in offensive rebounding (3.4 p/g) and 4th in double-doubles (10). He's also averaging 12.1 points a game, and was labeled by Digger Phelps of ESPN as the most improved player in the nation on Jan. 15th.
MU AT KEMPER ARENA
Missouri is no stranger to Kemper Arena, as the Tigers are 50-24 alltime there (67.6%). That includes a 2-0 mark earlier this season as MU won the inaugural NABC Guardians Classic with wins over Alabama and Iowa.
Prior to this season, MU has gone 6-5 in Big 12 Tournament play, 29-13 in the old Big Eight Tournament at Kemper, 10-5 in the last 3 years of the old Big Eight Holiday Tournament (1974-77), regular season wins over LaSalle (1981) and Notre Dame (1982) and a 1-1 record in the 1986-87 BMA Classic (win over Oral Roberts and a loss to Alabama).
MU is playing as the #6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament for the 4th time in the last 5 years, including 3 straight.
The Tigers are 3-3 in Kemper as the big 12's No. 6 seed, splitting games in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
Missouri has never lost a 1st-round Big 12 Tournament game, going 4-0 with wins in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001.
KANSAS CITY SON RUSHES HOME
MU forward Kareem Rush is a native of Kansas City, and he likes playing in Kemper Arena, according to his past history in Big 12 Tournament games.
Rush has averaged 18.3 points per game in Big 12 tourney action, and scored 16 points last year against Texas A&M and 31 against Oklahoma with a cast on his shooting hand as he was coming back from torn ligaments in his thumb.
Rush has shot 54.9% from the floor (28-of-51) and 52.4% from 3-pt. range (11-of-21) in 4 career Big 12 Tournament games in Kemper.
Additionally, senior Clarence Gilbert is averaging 17.2 points per game in Big 12 Tournament games, with a career-best of 30 in last year's 1st-round against Texas A&M. Gilbert also led MU to the Guardians Classic in Kemper earlier this year, as he scored 18 in the semis vs. Alabama and followed with a 27-pt. outing vs. Iowa on the way to tournament MVP honors.
MU-IOWA STATE HISTORY
Missouri and Iowa State will meet for the 213th time when they tussle on Thursday in Kansas City. MU holds a 136-76 edge in the series, and the 136 wins are the most for Mizzou over any opponent.
MU and ISU have met just once previously in the Big 12 Tournament. That came in 1998, when #6-seeded MU claimed a 74-55 win over #11-seeded ISU.
The rivals split their regular-season meetings this year (see below), and MU Coach Quin Snyder is 2-4 vs. ISU and Larry Eustachy.
MORE MU-ISU NOTABLES
Junior Kareem Rush seems to like playing against Iowa State, as he's averaging 26.3 points against the Cyclones in 4 career meetings - his highest average against any team. He scored 29 in Ames this season, and tallied 27 more in leading MU to a comeback win in Columbia last month.
Senior Clarence Gilbert is averaging 16.1 points in 7 previous games vs. ISU, and had a Big 12-record 43 points vs. the Cyclones in MU's epic 4-overtime win last season in Columbia.
Sophomore Arthur Johnson has grabbed double-digit rebounds in each of his 4 previous games vs. Iowa State, and is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game vs. the Cyclones. He has a personal high of 12 vs. ISU, and has turned in double-doubles in both meetings this year (10 pts./10 rebs. in Ames & 13/10 in Columbia).
EARLIER THIS YEAR VS. IOWA STATE
MU 76-ISU 73 - COLUMBIA
In the most recent meeting, MU rallied from a 7-pt. 2nd-half deficit to post a hard-fought 76-73 win on Feb. 6 in Columbia.
MU trailed, 62-55 with just 8:55 left in the game before 6 straight Tiger points got Mizzou within striking distance. It was back and forth after that, and ISU led by 1 point with 1:51 left before a 5-0 MU spurt put the Tigers up for good.
Kareem Rush had an All-American performance, as he led all scorers with 27 points. He got 23 of his points in a dominant 2nd half, after going just 1-of-8 from the floor in the 1st half.
ISU shot 58.1% from the floor en route to a 40-35 halftime lead. MU turned up the heat defensively in the 2nd half, and held the Cyclones to 42.3% from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Mizzou forced 8 2nd-half ISU turnovers to help the cause, and outrebounded ISU 35-30 on the night.
ISU 71-MU 67 - AMES
Iowa State got its 1st Big 12 win of the season, on the strength of a strong 2nd half performance that saw the Cyclones shoot 63.0% from the floor after halftime (17-of-27). An 11-0 ISU run turned a 36-35 MU lead with 14:25 left into a 46-36 deficit with 11:28 to play. MU got to within 3 points 6 different times after that, but could not get defensive stops to come all the way back, as ISU scored on 13 of its final 15 possessions to get the win.
Kareem Rush hit 12-of-20 shots on the night to lead MU with 29 points. Rush got little help from his friends, however, as the rest of his teammates shot a combined 27.1% from the floor (13-of-48).
That game marked the last time that Clarence Gilbert started at the No. 2 guard spot.
THE QUIN SNYDER FILE
The 15th head coach in Missouri basketball history, Quin Snyder is 58-36 in his third season as a head coach, and is already MU's 4th-winningest coach ever. He earned his 50th career win on Jan. 12th at Kansas State.
After getting out to a 9-0 start to the season, Mizzou was perched #2 in the AP top-25 poll. That marked the highest an MU team has been ranked since the 1989-90 season. When MU won the Guardians Classic in November with its miraculous comeback vs. Iowa, it gave MU its first in-season tournament championship since 1989.
Snyder guided Missouri to a 20-13 record in 2000-01, including the schools' first NCAA Tournament win since 1995, when MU defeated Georgia in the opening round.
He was named the national rookie coach-of-the-year by Basketball Times after leading the Tigers to an 18-13 record and an NCAA appearance in the 1999-2000 campaign.
Snyder's mission is to take the Tiger program to the next level. And if that next level represents the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, Snyder will be a repeat visitor. In 10 years at Duke, he took part in five Final Fours - three as a player (1986, 88, 89) and two more as a coach (1994, 99).
Snyder had served as Duke's associate head coach the previous two seasons, and was entrusted with numerous on-court coaching responsibilities, as well as recruiting duties for the Blue Devils by Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He was widely credited with recruiting the group of student-athletes (including 1999 national player-of-the-year Elton Brand) at Duke who compiled a 37-2 record in 1998-99 and finished as NCAA runners-up.
In just 2-plus seasons, Snyder is already the 4th-winningest coach in MU history.
WHO'S HOT...
Rickey Paulding averaged 22.0 points in MU's 2 games last week, and shot a blistering 75.0% from the floor (18-of-24 FGs), including 75.% from 3-pt. range (6-of-8 3FGs) ... He set career highs Sunday vs. #1 Kansas in points (23), 3-pt. FGs (5) and blocks (3),
Clarence Gilbert is averaging 24.3 points in his last 3 games ... He scored a season-high 40 3 games ago at Colorado on a Big 12 record 12 3-pt. field goals,
Arthur Johnson is shooting 57.1% from the floor in his last 9 games (52-of-91) ... He's averaging 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in his last 2 games,
Wesley Stokes has 25 assists to just 7 turnovers in his last 6 games,
Travon Bryant is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game in his last 4 games ... He's also made 4-of-6 3-pt. field goals (66.7%) in his last 7 games,
Justin Gage has made 78.6% of his field goals (11-of-14) in Big 12 play,
Jeffrey Ferguson has made 9-of-15 FGs in his last 10 games (60.0%),
IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
With 5 blocked shots Sunday vs. Kansas, Missouri set a single-season team record for rejections. The Tigers enter Thursday's game with 135 blocks, which is 3 more than the old record of 132 set by last year's squad.
As a team, MU ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in blocks, with its per-game average of 4.50.
Individually, sophomore Arthur Johnson ranks 2nd in the league in blocks, with an average of 2.13 per game. A.J. is 2 blocks shy of breaking his own single-season record of 65, set last year as a freshman.
A.J.'s 129 career blocks already ranks him 2nd on the MU career blocks list, behind only former All-American Steve Stipanovich (1st - 149).
SENIOR SENDOFF
Sunday represented the final home game for senior guard Clarence Gilbert. Gilbert was honored in a pre-game ceremony, then did not disappoint the throng of MU fans as he led Mizzou with 27 points in the Tigers' near upset of #1 Kansas.
Gilbert came to Missouri from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and has entrenched himself among the school's greats.
He enters Thursday's game ranked 8th on the alltime MU scoring chart, with 1,574 career points. He is the Big 12 Conference's leading active career scorer, and ranks 4th on the league's alltime scoring list.
Additionally, if MU receives an NCAA bid, Gilbert would go down in history as one of a proud few who have helped guide the Tigers to 4 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Only 3 previous senior classes can say that they played in the Big Dance all 4 years. They include the senior classes of 1990, 1989 and 1983. MU also went to 4 straight NCAAs from 1992-93-94-95, but there were no 4th-year seniors on the 1995 squad.
Gilbert would become the 9th Tiger to play in the NCAA each of his 4 years.
MORE ON GILBERT
To help illustrate just what a solid overall player Clarence Gilbert has been in his career, consider the fact that he is on pace to end his Tiger career in the top-10 in scoring, 3-point field goals, assists and steals. He would join former All-American Melvin Booker as the only Tiger to rank in the top-10 of each of those categories.
GILBERT GETS A DOZEN
Senior guard Clarence Gilbert further enhanced his reputation as one of the nation's most dangerous scorers on Feb. 23 at Colorado, as he scored 40 points in leading Mizzou to its critical 96-83 win in Boulder.
Gilbert was unconscious from long range, as he nailed a Big 12 and MU record 12 3-pt. field goals (12-of-17).
Here's a look at the records he broke:
12 3-pt. field goals broke the old Big 12 record of 10 by Al Coleman of Texas (1-12-97 vs. Kansas State),
12 3-pt. field goals broke the old MU record of 8 accomplished 4 different times,
His 12 treys gave him 307 for his career, which puts him in 2nd on the Big 12 career chart, 2 behind of Kansas' Jeff Boschee, who has 309 entering Sunday's KU-MU matchup,
His 40 pts. was the most by any Big 12 player this season, and made him only the 2nd Tiger to net 40 or more twice in his career (Anthony Peeler),
His 12 treys was the 4th-most in NCAA single-game history, and the most by anyone this season. Here's a look at the alltime best:
MORE THREE-PT. RECORDS
Missouri hit a school-record and Big 12 record 20 3-pt. field goals (in a school-record 37 attempts) at Colorado.
That eclipsed the previous league mark of 18, set by Texas (1-12-97 vs. Kansas State), and the previous MU record of 17 set by this year's squad (12-6-01 vs. Southern).
MU's 20 makes is the 16th-most in NCAA history. The alltime record is 28 by Troy State (12-10-94 vs. George Mason).
RUSH NAMED NAISMITH FINALIST
Junior Kareem Rush has lived up to his pre-season All-American billing of late, as the smooth lefty has averaged 21.4 points per game in Missouri's last 9 games.
Accordingly, Rush was recently named one of 20 national finalists for the prestigious Naismith Award, given annually to the top player in college basketball.
MU-KANSAS POST-GAME NOTES
Missouri lost a heartbreaker to #1 Kansas, 95-92, as the Tigers went scoreless the rest of the way after taking a 92-91 lead with 1:57 left in the game.
Arthur Johnson gave MU its last lead with a conventional 3-point play at the 1:57 mark, but KU would counter with a jumper by Nick Collison to regain the lead with 1:36 left. After the teams exchanged misses, MU had turnovers on consecutive possessions, and KU took advantage of an offensive putback by Drew Gooden with 24 seconds left to account for the final margin.
MU got one last chance to tie when it got the ball back with 6 seconds left after a stunning block by Rickey Paulding on a breakaway attempt by KU's Jeff Boschee. Kareem Rush grabbed the rebound, and MU called one last timeout. Clarence Gilbert raced the length of the court and tried an off-balance 3 for the tie at the buzzer, but his shot went long and bounced away, giving KU its perfect 16-0 season.
MU did a great job of getting to the foul line, as the Tigers attempted a season-high 35 free throws. But Mizzou made just 22 of those 35 tries, good for just a success rate of 62.9%. MU entered the game shooting 70.6% as a team, which ranked 4th in the Big 12 at the time. Kansas hit 21-of-30 free throws (70.0%), and was led by Nick Collison, who made 10-of-12 freebies after entering the game as a 60% foul shooter.
MU won the battle of the boards, 46-to-42. Kansas entered the game with a rebounding margin of +8.4, which led the Big 12.
Kansas shot 52.6% from the floor in the 1st half on the way to a 54-45 halftime lead. MU shot just 37.8% in the 1st half, but warmed up to shoot 48.5% in the 2nd half, while KU cooled off to a 45.2% rate after halftime.
MU had a balanced scoring attack, as 4 Tigers scored in double figures. Clarence Gilbert led the way with 27 points, while Rickey Paulding had a career-high 23, and Kareem Rush (22 pts.) and Arthur Johnson (15) also tallied double digits.
