Nov. 20, 2009
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (1-0) vs.
University of Texas-Pan American (0-3)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 2 - November 22, 2009 - Columbia, Mo.
Tip-off: 1 p.m. CST
Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)
TV: Mizzou Sports Network - (Chris Gervino play-by-play; Scott Highmark analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Texas-Pan American: N/V in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Missouri leads 3-0; last 78-57 win on Dec. 2, 2000 in Columbia
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ’82); 155-76 overall (8th season); 66-35 at Mizzou (4th)
Texas-Pan American: Ryan Marks (USC, ‘93) First Season
For Openers
> Missouri continues its quick three-game homestand to open the 2009-10 season as it hosts Texas-Pan American in what is considered an opening round game of the South Padre Island Invitational ... Texas-Pan American and Chattanooga, Missouri’s next two opponents, will also be playing in South Padre next week, just in separate brackets.
> Coach Anderson is beginning his second “100” in Columbia ... Anderson coaches his 102nd career game as a Tiger on Sunday and is now 66-35 during his MU tenure, making him the winningest coach at Mizzou during that first 101-game stretch.
> Missouri got tremendous production from its post players in Tuesday’s win against Tennessee-Martin, as three Tiger posts set or tied career highs in several categories (four if you count John Underwood’s first career game) ... Laurence Bowers tied a career high with 16 points and set a new career high with eight rebounds and four blocks, while both Keith Ramsey (15 points, seven rebounds) and Steve Moore (eight points) logged new career bests as well.
> The strong play by Bowers is a carry-over from a great off-season and exhibition campaign ... Bowers averaged 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 22.5 minutes during exhibition action and was actually Missouri’s most efficient rebounder and shot blocker per minute played last season as a freshman.
> The Tigers continue to be a dominant team at home under Mike Anderson ... The Tigers have played 31 home non-conference games and 27 of those 31 have been decided by double figure margins ... In fact, in running his record to 31-0 against non-conference teams at home, Anderson and the Tigers have enjoyed a 24.3 ppg margin of victory, including quality wins over Arkansas, California, Davidson, Mississippi State, Murray State, Oral Roberts and Purdue.
> Missouri owns a 20-game winning streak inside Mizzou Arena, which dates back to the home finale of the 2007-08 campaign against Iowa State … Missouri currently ranks #7 nationally in consecutive home wins and needs just three more home victories to push this active streak into the school’s all-time Top 3.
> Missouri Basketball owns a 38-game non-conference home court winning streak, which dates back to the 2005-06 campaign ... That 38-game run is a school record, topping the 29 consecutive non-conference home wins from 1979-83 ... That streak ended with an overtime loss to Marquette ... Missouri’s last non-conference loss at home came against Sam Houston State in the 2005-06 season opener.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> Missouri looks to improve to 2-0 on the young season Sunday when it hosts Texas-Pan American at Mizzou Arena.
> The Tigers will be playing their first of two games in three days ... The club returns to action on Nov. 24, before traveling to South Padre Island for game Nov. 27-28.
> It’s hard to argue with the production of Missouri’s bench and the Tigers will capitalize on that depth with the foot injury to senior captain J.T. Tiller ... Missouri got 45 points from its reserves in the season-opener, including double-figure scoring efforts from Laurence Bowers (16 points) and Marcus Denmon (10 points).
> One thing about Mike Anderson’s clubs, they are built for the long haul ... Over his tenure “Coach A’s” teams have averaged 25.9 points per game off the bench... That’s over 101 career games.
> It’s nothing new to have the reserves outscore the starters either ... Including the season opener (45 points for bench vs. 38 for starters), the reserves have dropped in more tallies than the “initial five” 13 times (in 101 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!
> Missouri ripped away 14 steals on Tuesday vs. Tennessee-Martin, which is the most in the season-opener since the Tigers logged 18 thefts against Jackson State on Nov. 13, 1999.
> The Tigers also blocked eight shots in the win against Tennessee-Martin, which equals the most ever by a Mike Anderson team at Mizzou ... Missouri swatted eight shots during a Jan. 14, 2009 win against Colorado and tossed eight more on Nov. 27, 2006 against Coppin State... Bowers led all Tigers with four blocks, a career high for the sophomore.
> Missouri has typically played some tough schedules over the years and that trend will continue in 2009-10 ... With the preseason polls being released last week, Mizzou could have 12 games against teams ranked / receiving votes in the preseason Top 25 ... Included in that list are some impressive non-conference games (all away from home) against #18 Mississippi State, #23 Illinois, #30 Vanderbilt and #51 Old Dominion ... While Oral Roberts isn’t getting Top 25 votes yet, the Golden Eagles enjoyed an 83-81 win at Stanford on Nov. 19.
> In fact, of the potential 13 games vs. those highly-touted clubs only five will come at Mizzou Arena.
> Missouri also got some love in the preseason polls, checking in at #33 in the ESPN / USA Today Coaches Poll and #44 in the Associated Press Poll.
> ESPN The Magazine also showed Missouri some respect, ranking the club #14 nationally in its college basketball preseason issue.
Tiger Tidbits
> J.T. Tiller will miss Sunday’s game and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday with a bone bruise in his left foot.
> Tiller 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 is Mizzou’s top returning scorer and recorded six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in just 15 minutes of action in the season opener.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 233 career assists entering his senior season and needs just 97 dimes this year to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 118 career steals and 33 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 1.3 already ranks in Mizzou’s career Top 10.
> Zaire Taylor will be asked to score more in 2010, but is known for his excellent ball protection ... The Staten Island native was one of America’s top point guards a season ago and ranked among the Top 5 nationally with a 3-to-1 assist/turnover ratio.
> While he averaged 6.7 points per game on the year, Taylor’s scoring average increased to 9.2 points in road games throughout his Missouri career.
> 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.
> Junior forward Justin Safford made his first career start in the season-opener and added two assists and two blocked shots to his five points in 17 minutes.
> Safford also grabbed four boards in 17 minutes of play.
> Laurence Bowers led Missouri in scoring in both preseason games and continued his strong effort in the season opener, scoring a career-high tying 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting ... He also set a career high with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
> Bowers’ early success really doesn’t come as a surprise … The Memphis native has a knack for being around the basketball as he was the team’s most efficient rebounder and shot-blocker a year ago as a freshman in just 6.9 minutes a game.
> Kim English made his 14th career start in the season opener ... English made 13 starts as a true freshman and grabbed five boards in the opener.
> Marcus Denmon is nearly full strength after off-season knee surgery … Denmon had surgery to repair a fracture in his knee cap, an injury that limited his jumping ability and lateral quickness.
> Denmon showed little signs of rust in the opener, as he scored 10 points and grabbed six boards in 21 minutes vs. Tennessee-Martin.
> It was the ninth double-figure scoring game of Denmon’s career and the second consecutive time he’s reached double figures in a season opener.
> 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 logged a career high eight points in the win against Tennessee-Martin.
> Michael Dixon made a splash in his Missouri debut scoring 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the Black & Gold Game … The Missouri High School Player of the Year in 2009 also dished five assists and ripped away three steals.
> Dixon made the first shot of his collegiate career in the season opener, swishing home a three-pointer at the 9:54 mark of the first half vs. Tennessee-Martin.
About Texas-Pan American
Texas-Pan American is 0-3 on the young season and suffered a 77-55 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thusday before traveling to Columbia ... Pan American is in its first season as a member of the new Great West Conference ... The conference includes a number of former independents, such as Chicago State, North Dakota, South Dakota, NJIT, Utah Valley and Houston Baptist ... The league champion will earn an automatic berth to the College Insider Tournament this March, a new event in its second year of existence ... Ryan Marks is in his first season as head coach at Pan American ... Marks was once an assistant under former Tiger assistant coach Bob Sundvold at Central Missouri State in the mid-90s.
Series vs. Texas-Pan American
Missouri is 3-0 all-time vs. Texas-Pan American and each of the three previous meetings have come in Columbia ... The Tiger’s most recent win came on Dec. 2, 2000, a 78-57 decision ... Missouri and UT-Pan American first played on Dec. 3, 1983, when MU won 51-49 in the Show-Me Classic at the Hearnes Center.
Eerily Same Numbers As Openers Go
When comparing box scores between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season openers its eerie to see how similar the two games actually were ... Below is a box score breakdown of the two games ... Missouri won last season’s contest 86-65 over Prairie View A&M and won this season’s game vs. Tennessee-Martin, 83-68.
2009-10 Category 2008-09
83 Points 86
68 Points Allowed 65
31-70 FG-ATT 31-71
4-21 3FG-ATT 8-20
17-24 FT-ATT 16-25
48 / 35 REB / REB Allowed 47 / 35
17 Fouls 15
21 Turnovers 17
14 Assists 16
14 Steals 11
8 Blocks 2
Novembers To Remember
Missouri has been darn good in November under Mike Anderson, as the Tigers have racked up a 19-4 overall mark in the season’s first month ... The Tigers are also flawless at home in November as well, enjoying a 16-0 ledger within the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena.
Mizzou in November Under Mike Anderson
Year Overall Home
2006-07 8-0 8-0
2007-08 5-3 4-0
2008-09 5-1 3-0
2009-10 1-0 1-0
Total 19-4 16-0
Tigers Take To South Padre Island For Thanksgiving Holiday
As the weather begins to change here in Mid-Missouri, Mizzou Basketball is heading to South Padre Island, Texas, for the 2009 South Padre Island Invitational ... Missouri will leave the morning after its Nov. 24 contest against Chattanooga and head south for games against Old Dominion and either Richmond or Mississippi State.
> Missouri’s first game will appear on Fox College Sports and if the Tigers advance to the Championship Game, that contest will be aired on the network as well.
> Missouri will spend the Thanksgiving Holiday on the beach and in case you were wondering, the average November temperature ranges from a high of 76 to a low of 63.
Welcome to the Family
Mizzou Basketball enjoyed a Top 15 recruiting haul during the early signing period as Kadeem Green (Charlotte, N.C./United Faith), Rick Kreklow (Columbia, Mo. / Rock Bridge), Tony Mitchell (Dallas, Texas / Pinkston) and Phil Pressey (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal) inked to play for the Tigers beginning with the 2010-11 campaign.
> Green (6-9, 210 pounds) is an athletic forward that runs the floor extremely well ... He’s originally from Ontario, Canada, and is the owner of a 7-foot-1 wingspan.
> Kreklow (6-foot-5, 185 pounds) is the son of Mizzou Volleyball coaches Wayne and Susan Kreklow ... He is a tough, athletic guard who is known for his shooting and passing abilities ... His father was an All-American at Drake and played for the World Champion Boston Celtics.
> Mitchell (6-foot-8, 220 pounds) is considered a Five Star recruit by Rivals.com and the #15 overall player for the class of 2010 ... He averaged better than 17 points and eight rebounds as a junior in Miami, Fla., but has been one of the country’s quickest risers up the recruiting rankings.
> Pressey (5-foot-10, 160 pounds) is one of America’s top point guards and is ranked inside the Top 30 by numerous recruiting services, including Dime Magazine and ESPN ... The athletic guard is one of the best floor generals in the country and will be a menace running the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball for years to come ... Pressey is the son of former NBA Great and New Orleans Hornets coach Paul Pressey.
Mizzou Arena - Home Sweet Home
Mike Anderson is a perfect 31-0 all-time in non-conference home games at Missouri ... Not only have the Tigers won 31 consecutive in non-league action, but they have done so in dominating fashion, sporting a 24.3 ppg margin of victory.
> The Tigers have played some impressive foes during Anderson’s run as well, and own quality wins over Arkansas, California, Davidson, Purdue, Murray State, Mississippi State, Oral Roberts and others during that 30-game stretch.
Year Record Margin of Victory
2006-07 11-0 18.7 ppg
2007-08 9-0 27.5 ppg
2008-09 10-0 29.5 ppg
2009-10 1-0 13.0 ppg
Total 31-0 24.4 ppg.
Tiller Sidelined
Missouri’s J.T. Tiller will miss Sunday’s game against Texas-Pan American and will be evaluated again on Nov. 24 before the Tigers face Chattanooga ... Tiller has a bone bruise on his left foot and suffered the injury early in the second half of Missouri’s season-opening win against Tennessee-Martin.
Tigers Ranked #14 By ESPN The Magazine
Although the Big 12 Coaches predicted Missouri #7 in the league’s preseason rankings, ESPN The Magazine thought more highly of the Tigers as the publication ranked Mizzou #14 nationally ... Kansas was the #1 club in the publication.
The Pine Is Fine
Missouri is known for having deep squads and in exhibition play, the Tiger reserves stood tall, averaging 44.5 points in victories against Truman State and Northwest Missouri State ... That trend continued in the regular-season opener, as Missouri’s second wave dropped in 45 points, headlined by Laurence Bowers’ 16 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Denmon’s 10 tallies and six caroms.
> The Tiger reserves outscored Missouri’s starters 45-38 in the opener, but that’s really nothing new for Anderson’s teams ... In his 101 games on the Tiger sidelines, the reserves have ourscored Missouri’s starters 13 times.
> Mizzou set a school record for bench production last season, averaging 27.0 ppg from its reserves ... The Tigers also broke the school record with 62 bench points in home wins against SIU-Edwardsville and Colorado last season.
Second Half Lock Down Is Nothing New
Mizzou played improved defense in the second half of their two exhibition games, as the Tigers outscored both Truman State and Northwest Missouri State by a combined 84-to-36 in the final 20 minutes of play ... MU limited Truman State to just one second-half field goal and 5.9 percent shooting in its 96-33 victory and held Northwest Missouri to just 37 percent shooting in the 83-60 win.
> Missouri has typically been a strong second-half club under the watch of Mike Anderson ... In 2008-09 MU outscored its opposition 44.4-to-35.8 in the final period and out-ran opponents 45.8-to-33.9 in the second half of homes games.
Game #101 for Anderson
It’s hard to believe, but Mizzou’s Mike Anderson coached his 101st game on the Tiger sidelines in the season opener vs. Tennessee-Martin ... Anderson is
66-35 so far in those 101 games and is the winningest coach in school history during that stretch.
Head Coach 101 Games Years
Mike Anderson 66-35 2006-10
Quin Snyder 64-37 1999-02
George Edwards 61-40 1926-32
Sparky Stalcup 57-44 1946-50
Norm Stewart 55-46 1967-68
Tiller On Wooden Award For Defense
Who says you have to score to be a star? The John R. Wooden Award Preseason list dismissed that notion, when it included Missouri defensive stalwart J.T. Tiller on its Top 50 players ledger.
> The Big 12’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2009, Tiller helped lead Missouri to a school record 31 wins and a Big 12 Championship. The Marietta, Ga., native also flashed some offensive ability in postseason play, as he logged a career high 23 points in a 101-92 win against #2 Memphis in the NCAA Sweet 16.
> Tiller is one of just four players on the Wooden Award list to average fewer than 10.0 ppg in 2009 and only North Carolina super-sub Ed Davis (6.7 ppg) averaged fewer points than Mizzou’s Bull Dog point guard.
Player, School PPG
Ed Davis, North Carolina 6.7
J.T. Tiller, Missouri 8.4
Solomon Alabi, Florida State 8.4
Kemba Walker, Connecticut 8.9
Raymar Morgan, Michigan State 10.2
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia 10.5
Deon Thompson, North Carolina 10.6
Corey Fisher, Villanova 10.8
Larry Sanders, VCU 11.3
Samardo Samuels, Louisville 11.8
Mike Anderson the New Big Fundamental
It was certainly a memorable campaign for Mizzou Basketball in 2008-09, as the Tigers won a school record 31 games and brought home a Big 12 Tournament trophy as well … The Tigers set school records for games played and equaled their deepest advancement in postseason play as they got within one game of the school’s first-ever Final Four.
> Missouri knocked off a NCAA #2 seed (Memphis) for the first time in history and captivated national audiences as they led the nation in assists (18.4), ranked #2 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (+1.6) and set the school record for fewest turnovers per game (11.8), while breaking the Big 12 record in total steals (388) and averaging an incredible 81.5 points per contest ... Who says the Fastest 40 Minutes isn’t fundamentally sound?
Tiller Named Top Defender
Missouri senior guard J.T. Tiller has received some preseason recognition for his outstanding defensive play as he was named a top defender by both ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla and Dime Magazine heading into the 2009-10 campaign.
> Tiller was named the Big 12 Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and will be a top candidate for the honor once again in 2010.
> Last season the Marietta, Ga., native ripped away a team-leading 68 steals in 38 starts, which not only ranked among Big 12 leaders, but was among the nation’s Top 100 nationally.
Mizzou Arena - Now A Home Court
With Missouri Basketball unleashing the Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball and the Tiger crowds responding, Mizzou Arena is now one of the nation’s toughest homecourt venues ... Missouri ranks #7 nationally with its active 20-game homecourt win streak and needs just three more wins to move into third in school history for consecutive home wins.
> Kansas leads the nation with 44 consecutive home wins, while Utah State (35) and Cornell (22) round out the top three.
> The MU record for homecourt wins is 34, which was set during the 1988-90 seasons ... The 1980-82 teams won 29 consecutive, while the 1974-76 teams won 23 in a row.
