Dec. 1, 2009
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10
University of Missouri Tigers (4-1) vs.
Vanderbilt University Commodores (4-1)
2009-10 Regular Season Game 6 - December 2, 2009 - Nashville, Tenn.
Tip-off: 8:30 p.m. CST
Arena: Memorial Gymnasium- Nashville, Tenn. (14,316)
TV: ESPNU - (Rob Stone play-by-play; Jay Williams analyst)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)
Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Vanderbilt: RV/RV in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls
Series: Vanderbilt leads 2-1; last on Nov. 29, 1986, 65-54 loss for Mizzou in Wailuku, Hawaii
Coaches:
Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ’82); 158-77 overall (8th season); 69-36 at Mizzou (4th)
Vanderbilt: Kevin Stallings (Purdue, ‘82) 316-192 (17th season) 193-129 at Vandy (10th)
For Openers
> Missouri Basketball hits the road once again this week as the Tigers travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face the 4-1 Vanderbilt Commodores ... Wednesday’s game will mark Missouri’s first true road test of the year, however the Tigers are coming off back-to-back games in South Padre Island, Texas.
> Missouri has enjoyed some quality road wins during Mike Anderson’s tenure, including a 5-4 road ledger last season ... Mizzou won at another SEC school last year, Georgia (83-76), back on Jan. 3, 2009.
> Missouri has dipped into the state of Tennessee for recruiting and has three players on this season’s roster from the Volunteer State ... Senior Keith Ramsey is from nearby Murfreesboro ... Murfreesboro is just 35 miles from Nashville and “Buggy” will have no shortage of family and friends in the stands ... Sophomore standout Laurence Bowers and freshman Tyler Stone are from Memphis.
> It’s certainly early, but the Tigers sport excellent depth on their roster through five games ... Eight different players have reached double figures in scoring and 10 different Tigers are averaging at least 11.6 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri’s pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 4-of-5 games, including a school record 24 thefts vs. Chattanooga on Nov. 24.
> Thanks to that depth, Missouri’s bench is averaging an incredible 40.6 points per game this season ... Mizzou’s second wave has outscored the Tiger starters in 3-of-5 contests this year.
> Missouri continues to be one of the country’s most efficient teams in 2009-10 ... One year after leading the nation in assists per game (18.4), the Tigers are dishing 17.0 dimes a contest this year ... MU already has five players with double-figure assist totals and as a team MU is registering dimes on 60 percent of its hoops (85 assists on 142 baskets) ... Included in that mark is a 22 combined assists from the team’s post players.
> One thing Tiger fans are enjoying this season is points off turnovers ... Missouri averaged 21.2 points per game off turnovers last season and forced one turnover every four possessions ... So far this season Missouri is forcing 22.4 turnovers per game and is averaging 27.6 points off those opponent miscues.
> Keep an eye on Mizzou’s Zaire Taylor on Wednesday ... The senior has played even better in road games over his Tiger tenure ... Last season Taylor averaged 9.2 points (averaged 6.7 ppg on the entire year) and shot 54 percent from the floor and hit 10-of-20 three point attempts on the road ... Taylor also dished 38 assists compared to just 10 turnovers ... Of his 11 double figure scoring games in 2008-09, eight came on the road or in a neutral-court setting, including 17 tallies at Georgia and 17 (including the game-winner) at #16 Texas.
> Wednesday’s game will be the first of 10 on the ESPN Family of Networks ... The Tigers also appear on ESPNU Saturday in the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series vs. Oregon at Mizzou Arena.
Mizzou Quick Hitters
> The road trip continues for Mizzou Basketball this week as the Tigers travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face the Vanderbilt Commodores.
> Missouri is playing its first game in the state of Tennessee since a 61-59 loss at Memphis on Dec. 27, 2003.
> Missouri is in the midst of a tough stretch of games that included contests vs. Old Dominion and Richmond last week and concludes with Vandy, Oregon and Oral Roberts over the next two weeks.
> Missouri is looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since the final two games of the 2007-08 campaign.
> Missouri didn’t lose back-to-back games at all last season, going a perfect 6-0 in the contests immediately following a loss.
> Former Missouri Tiger DeMarre Carroll of course began his collegiate career at Vanderbilt before transferring to Mizzou to play for his uncle, Mike Anderson.
> Carroll is now in his rookie campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies after being selected in the first round (#27 overall) this summer.
> The Junkyard Dog flourished during his two seasons at MU, earning first team All-Big 12 accolades in 2009 ... He became the first player in school history to earn first team All-Big 12 and first team Academic All-Big 12 on the hardwood in the same season.
> For good measure Carroll finished at MU as a 1,000-point scorer in just two seasons and was the Big 12 Tournament MVP in 2009, while leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
> Missouri is looking for a road win in Southeastern Conference territory for the second consecutive year ... The Tigers of course won at Georgia on Jan. 3, 2009, by an 83-76 margin ... That win at UGA was Missouri’s first at an SEC school since Dec. 7, 1991.
> Missouri continues to be outstanding at the free throw line this season ... The Tigers are hitting at a 73.7 percent clip on the year, compared to 67.2 percent shooting last season.
> Missouri continues to rack up steals like crazy this year ... The Tigers have ripped 71 steals through five games, much higher than the 53 MU enjoyed last season through five contests.
> It’s hard to argue with the production of Missouri’s bench ... The Tigers are getting 40.6 of their 80.0 points per game from the reserves ... Missouri’s bench has actually outscored their starters in 3-of-5 games already this season.
> Mizzou has had multiple double-figure scorers off the pine in three of five games this year.
> Leading scorer Kim English has actually reached double figures off the bench in each of the last four games.
> One thing about Mike Anderson’s clubs, they are built for the long haul ... Over his tenure “Coach A’s” teams have averaged 26.3 points per game off the bench... That’s over 105 career games.
> It’s nothing new to have the reserves outscore the starters either ... Including three games this season, the reserves have dropped in more tallies than the “initial five” 15 times (in 105 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!
> With the Tigers’ improved backcourt depth the team is averaging 14.2 steals per game on the young season, including a school-record total (24 steals) vs. Chattanooga on Nov. 24.
> While the Tigers are ball-hocks on defense, they show the holiday spirit of giving to each other ... Missouri is averaging 17.0 dimes per game on the year.
> One more thing about Mizzou’s balance, the Tigers have 10 players averaging at least 11.6 minutes per game, which includes J.T. Tiller, who recently returned from injury last week.
> Missouri has typically played some tough schedules over the years and that trend will continue in 2009-10 ... Mizzou has 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, Illinois, Old Dominion and Richmond ... 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 12 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 #44 in the ESPN / USA Today Coaches Poll and #42 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 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 made his return from a bone bruise in his left foot vs. Old Dominion and distributed a season high seven assists vs. the Monarchs.
> Tiller has been in double figures in scoring each game since his return from injury, averaging 11.5 points during that time.
> The Marietta, Ga., native has 241 career assists and needs just 89 dimes this year to move into the career Top 10.
> He also owns 119 career steals and 32 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.
> Taylor has wasted little time picking up his assist totals this year and has dished 16 dimes while committing just two turnovers in his last four games.
> 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 has been a force off the bench for Missouri so far, reaching double figures twice in scoring.
> Bowers was also a rebounding menace in the South Padre Island Invitational and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his production.
> Bowers tied a career high with 16 points in the opener and has set career highs in rebounding, steals and blocked shots already this season.
> Overall the sophomore is one of Missouri’s most consistent players and is second on the team in scoring (11.0) and field goal percentage (.632), while ranking first in rebounding (6.2) and blocked shots (2.0).
> 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.
> Kim English enjoyed back-to-back career high scoring games last week ... English dropped in 25 points in the win against Texas-Pan American, before torching Chattanooga for 26 points.
> English scored 21 of his 26 in the first half against the Mocs ... He’s the first Tiger to drop in 20+ in the first half since Thomas Gardner scored 40 against Kansas in an overtime win in 2006.
> English made it a career high four consecutive games in double figures when he dropped in a team leading 14 tallies vs. Richmond.
> For His efforts English was named to the All-Tournament Team at the South Padre Island Invitational and reached double figures in all four contests of the event.
> Marcus Denmon is nearly full strength after off-season knee surgery and has reached double figures in all three games this year.
> Denmon scored a career high 17 points vs. Chattanooga, while contributing six rebounds, three assists, three steals and just one turnover.
> Denmon has twice tied his career high in rebounding this year and is third on the team in rebounds (3.8) and second in three-point makes (8).
> 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 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.
> Dixon enjoyed another “first” vs. Texas-Pan American, his first start, as he scored nine points, dished seven assists and committed just one turnover.
> Dixon is another Tiger enjoying an impressive assist/turnover ratio, as the Kansas City native has 13 assists compared to just seven miscues.
> Not to be outdone, fellow backcourt mate Miguel Paul is second on the team with 14 assists this year.
Series with Vanderbilt
Missouri and Vanderbilt are meeting for the fourth time in series history on Wednesday and the Tigers are looking to even the series at 2-2 ... Missouri won the initial game in the series back on Dec. 8, 1958, nearly 51 years ago in Columbia, but have lost the last two meetings including a 77-65 decision on Dec. 23, 1961, in Nashville ... The most recent encounter was a Nov. 29, 1986, loss (69-54) to the Commodores in the Silversword Classic in Wailuku, Hawaii.
About Vanderbilt
Like Missouri, Vanderbilt enters Wednesday’s game 4-1 on the year ... The team owns quality wins at St. Mary’s and against Arizona in the final game of the Maui Invitational ... Vandy is a balanced club and has five players averaging better than 7.4 points a game ... Jermaine Beal leads the team in scoring at 15.4 ppg, while Jeffery Taylor (14.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg) and A.J. Ogilvy (10.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg) rank second and third in scoring and share the team lead in rebounding ... Head Coach Kevin Stallings’ club is also deep and has nine players that average 11.2 minutes a game and 10 players have played in all five games thus far.
Shameless Plug
Not that we are fishing for any “favoritism” from Wednesday’s TV analyst Jay Williams (of course we’d never stoop that low ... wink), but Williams did have an “okay” game against Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2001 ... Williams scored 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting (5-of-12 treys) in a 94-81 win for #1 Duke over MU in Greensboro, N.C.
> Former Tiger Kareem Rush was pretty good in that game as well, scoring 29 points and grabbing eight boards.
Here Come The Men In Block
It’s early, but Missouri’s front line of Keith Ramsey, Justin Safford and Laurence Bowers are blocking shots and a pretty high rate ... MU already boasts 29 blocked shots through five games and can begin looking towards the school records blocks for most blocks in a single season ... Since Mike Anderson’s arrival at MU the high for swats in a year is 140, set in 2008-09 ... The school record is 154 set during the 2001-02 campaign.
> Missouri is currently blocking 5.8 shots a night and Bowers’ 10 lead the team ... Ramsey (7) and Safford (5) rank second and third respectively.
Free Is Good
The season is only five games deep, but the Tigers appear much improved at the free throw line as the team is shooting 73.7 percent at the stripe.
> The 73-percent “free throwing” is the best since Mike Anderson’s arrival in Columbia and would actually be the fourth highest percentage in school history.
> Missouri has shot better than 70 percent in 4-of-5 games this year and you would have to go back to 2003-04 (.709) to find the last Tiger team to top 70 percent at the line in a single season.
Welcome Back Mr. Tiller
Missouri senior guard J.T. Tiller has made a big impact in his return to the Tiger line up ... Tiller has reached double figures in scoring in both games since his return and is averaging 11.5 points and 4.0 assists per game in the win against Old Dominion and loss to Richmond ... Included in that stretch is a season high seven assists vs. Old Dominion.
Share The Wealth
Mike Anderson teams have always passed the ball well and since his arrival in Columbia, Mizzou has turned in some of its greatest assist seasons in school history, including leading the country in dimes in 2008-09 ... Missouri has picked up where it left off already this year, as the Tigers dished 28 assists in a 100-44 win against Texas-Pan American and doled out 25 more dimes against Chattanooga.
> Missouri has dished 20 or more assists in 28-of-105 games during Anderson’s tenure and the Tigers are an incredible 27-1 in those contests ... Missouri’s lone loss with 20+ assists came in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament a year ago (21 vs. UConn) and the Tigers are 4-1 when dishing 20 dimes vs. ranked teams.
Well-Rounded Ramsey
In just five games this season, senior forward Keith Ramsey has set career highs in four different categories for MU ... Ramsey opened the year with a career high 15 points in the win against Tennessee-Martin, before doling out career highs of five assists and four steals in the win against Texas-Pan American ... He recently set his career rebounding mark in the win against Old Dominion, nabbing eight boards in 33 minutes.
> The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native ranks among Missouri’s leaders in several “GLUE” stats, ranking second in steals (2.2) and rebounding (5.6), while dishing out 2.2 assists and blocking 1.4 shots a game.
Sophomore Sensations
Mizzou’s large sophomore class of Laurence Bowers, Marcus Denmon, Kim English, Steve Moore and Miguel Paul are having a huge impact early this season... The quintet is averaging a combined 43.6 points, 16.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists for the 4-1 Tigers, with Bowers, Denmon, English and Paul all reaching double figures a combined 10 times.
> While English (16.4), Bowers (11.0) and Denmon (9.6) lead the team in scoring, Paul is third on the club with 2.8 assists per game and Moore has enjoyed career highs already in a number of categories, including minutes played.
Top Recruiting Haul
Missouri’s recruiting class in the early signing period was rated #1 in the Big 12 Conference by virtually every recruiting service and was rated #7 nationally by USA Today.
> Anderson added four members to his squad for next season, as Phil Pressey, Tony Mitchell, Rick Kreklow and Kadeem Green inked with Mizzou.
Novembers To Remember
Missouri has been darn good in November under Mike Anderson, as the Tigers have racked up a 22-5 overall mark in the season’s first month ... The Tigers are also flawless at home in November as well, enjoying a 18-0 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 4-1 3-0
Total 22-5 18-0
Welcome to the Family
Mizzou Basketball enjoyed a Top 10 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 33-0 all-time in non-conference home games at Missouri ... Not only have the Tigers won 33 consecutive in non-league action, but they have done so in dominating fashion, sporting a 25.8 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.
> Missouri recently enjoyed a 56-point win against Texas-Pan American (100-44), which is the largest margin of victory in the history of Mizzou Arena and then topped Chattanooga by 43 (99-56).
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 3-0 38.0 ppg
Total 33-0 25.8 ppg.
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 the trend is continuing in 2009-10, as the Tiger reserves are averaging 40.6 points per game this season.
> Missouri enjoyed 45 bench points in the season-opening win before getting 57 points in the 100-44 triumph on Sunday ... Not to be outdone, the second wave dropped in 49 vs. Chattanooga.
> The Tiger reserves are outscoring the starters 203-197 through five games and six differnt Tigers have reached double figures off the bench, headlined by Laurence Bowers and Kim English who have each done it multiple times.
> In his 105 games on the Tiger sidelines, the reserves have outscored Missouri’s starters 15 times in Anderson’s tenure, including three times already this season.
> 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.
