Dec. 4, 2009

Columbia, Mo. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

Mizzou Basketball News and Notes 2009-10

University of Missouri Tigers (4-2) vs.

University of Oregon Ducks (4-2)

2009-10 Regular Season Game 7 - December 5, 2009 - Columbia, Mo.

Tip-off: 4 p.m. CST

Arena: Mizzou Arena - Columbia, Mo. (15,061)

TV: ESPNU - (Mitch Holthus play-by-play; Jay Williams analyst)

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly play-by-play; Gary Link analyst)

Rankings: Mizzou: RV/RV, Oregon: NV/NV in Associated Press / USA Today Coaches polls

Series: Missouri leads 3-0; last on Jan. 4, 1992, 79-59 win for Mizzou in Eugene, Ore.

Coaches:

Missouri: Mike Anderson (Tulsa ’82); 158-78 overall (8th season); 69-37 at Mizzou (4th)

Oregon: Ernie Kent (Oregon, ‘77) 313-239 (19th season) 223-159 at Oregon (13th)

For Openers

> Missouri Basketball returns to the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena after playing three consecutive games away from home as the Tigers host the Oregon Ducks in the third annual Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series ... Missouri is 1-1 in the Hardwood Series, while Oregon is a perfect 2-0 earning back-to-back wins over Kansas State.

> It’s no secret, but Missouri has been very good at home under Mike Anderson and the Tigers have fared well against “High Major” opponents inside Mizzou Arena ... The Tigers are 4-0 vs. “BCS” programs and sport a 16.8 ppg margin of victory in wins against Arkansas (+22), Mississippi State (+8), Purdue (+10) and California (+27).

> Overall Missouri has played 33 non-conference home games under Mike Anderson and 29 of those 33 have been decided by double figure margins with the largest margin of victory coming this year vs. Texas-Pan American ... In fact, in running his record to 33-0 against non-conference teams at home, Anderson and the Tigers have enjoyed a 25.8 ppg margin of victory ... In three home games this season Missouri has enjoyed a 38.0 ppg margin of victory.

> Missouri owns a 22-game winning streak inside Mizzou Arena, which dates back to the home finale of the 2007-08 campaign against Iowa State … Missouri currently ranks #5 nationally in consecutive home wins and needs just one more home victory to push this active streak into the school’s all-time Top 3.

> Missouri Basketball owns a 40-game non-conference home court winning streak, which dates back to the 2005-06 campaign ... That 40-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.

> 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 28.3 points off those opponent miscues.

> Missouri sophomore guard Kim English has been surging offensively over his last five games ... English is averaging 19.2 points during that stretch and boasts three 20-point efforts ... English is coming off a 20-point night against Vanderbilt, which is the most he has ever scored on the road.

Mizzou Quick Hitters

> Missouri Basketball finally returns home after three games away from Mizzou Arena to face the Oregon Ducks for the fourth time in series history.

> Saturday’s game is Missouri’s first at home in 11 days ... The Tiger’s last contest in Mizzou Arena was back on Nov. 24 vs. Chattanooga.

> Missouri is in the midst of a tough stretch of games that included contests vs. Old Dominion, Richmond and Vanderbilt and concludes with games against Oregon and then at Oral Roberts.

> 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 16.8 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 (101 assists on 170 baskets).

> It’s certainly early, but the Tigers sport excellent depth on their roster through six games ... Nine different players have reached double figures in scoring and 10 different Tigers are averaging at least 10.3 minutes per game ... In addition, that depth fuels Missouri’s pressure and has allowed the Tigers to reach double figures in steals in 5-of-6 games, including a school record 24 thefts vs. Chattanooga on Nov. 24 and 14 steals against a veteran Vanderbilt squad on Wednesday.

> Those steal numbers are way ahead of last season’s pace ... The Tigers have ripped 85 steals through six games in 2009-10, much higher than the 63 steals MU enjoyed last season through the same number of contests.

> That balance is also reflected in the Big 12 Conference statistics where Zaire Taylor (2.8 spg) leads the league, Keith Ramsey (2.3) ranks third and Kim English (1.8) ranks ninth.

> Missouri continues to be outstanding at the free throw line this season ... The Tigers are hitting at a 72.4 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 38.3 of their 80.5 points per game from the reserves ... Missouri’s bench has actually outscored their starters in 3-of-6 games already this season and are outscoring their opposition’s bench 38.3-to-13.5.

> Mizzou has had a double-figure scorer off the pine in all-six games this season, including freshman Michael Dixon who dropped in a career high 11 tallies at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

> 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 106 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 106 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.

> Missouri has typically played some tough schedules over the years and that trend will continue in 2009-10 ... Mizzou has 13 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 13 games vs. those highly-touted clubs only five will come at Mizzou Arena.

> 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 twice notched seven assists in a game, including seven dimes at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

> Tiller has been in double figures in scoring each game since his return from injury, averaging 11.0 points during that time.

> The Marietta, Ga., native has 248 career assists and needs just 82 dimes this year to move into the career Top 10.

> He also owns 122 career steals and 29 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 21 dimes while committing just five turnovers in his last five games.

> Taylor recently scored a season high 17 points at Vanderbilt, while ripping five steals and dishing five assists in a great all-around effort ... Over his Mizzou career Taylor is averaging 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals away from home, significantly higher than his career averages.

> In fact Taylor has hit 73-of142 field goals (51.4 %) and 22-of-52 treys (42.3 %) in 21 career games away from Mizzou Arena.

> For his overall career Taylor is averaging 7.1 points on 44.6 percent shooting.

> 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 made his first career start at Vanderbilt on Dec. 2 while playing in front of numerous family and friends.

> Bowers has reached double figures twice this season and continues to be one of the team’s most efficient players shooting 61 percent from the floor, while hitting both of his three-point field goal attempts.

> 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 third on the team in scoring (9.7) and second field goal percentage (.610), second in rebounding (5.7) and tops in 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 has reached double figures in five consecutive games for the Tigers, including another 20-point effort at Vanderbilt, a career high for the sophomore away from home.

> English is averaging 19.2 points per game over his last four outings, which includes those three 20-point efforts.

> 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 fourth on the team in rebounds (3.3) and second in three-point makes (9).

> 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 continues to take strides in his first season and notched his first career double-figure scoring game at Vanderbilt, with 11 points and two assists on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Series with Oregon

Missouri and Oregon meet for the fourth time in series history on Saturday as the Tigers look to improve to 4-0 vs. the Ducks ... The Tigers haven’t faced Oregon since Jan. 4, 1992, a 79-58 victory in Eugene ... Missouri is 2-0 all-time in Eugene and 1-0 in Columbia ... That lone win in Columbia came on Dec. 1, 1990, when the Tigers won 65-58 at the Hearnes Center.

About Oregon

Oregon enters Saturday’s game with an identical 4-2 mark and is coming off an 89-66 win over Montana State Nov. 28 at home ... The Ducks are a high-scoring team at 80.3 points per game and are shooting better than 37 percent from three-point range ... Teondre Williams (14.8) and Tajuan Porter (14.6) lead the Ducks in scoring and have combined for 23 three-point makes ... Williams has hit 9-of-17 treys, while Porter is one of the nation’s more hyped perimeter shooters and has hit 14-of-39 triples ... Oregon is 0-1 on the road this year ... The Ducks lost 88-81 at Portland on Nov. 21, but after Portland’s run through the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., last week that loss becomes a “quality” one.

Shameless Plug

Not that we are fishing for any “favoritism” from Saturday’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.

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 #5 nationally with its active 22-game homecourt win streak and needs just one more win to move into third in school history for consecutive home wins.

> Kansas leads the nation with 46 consecutive home wins, while Utah State (37) ranks #2.

> 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.

All-Time Mizzou Basketball Homecourt Winning Streaks

1.     1988-90           34

2.     1980-82           29

3.     1974-76           23

4.     1919-21           22

        2007-09           22

6.     1987-88           21

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 35 blocked shots through six games and can begin looking towards the school records books 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 (fourth in the Big 12) and Bowers’ 11 (also fourth in the league) lead the team ... Ramsey (9) and Safford (6) rank second and third respectively.

> Missouri had just 17 blocked shots last season through six games, so the 35 swats is twice the pace from a year ago.

Hardwood Series History

Missouri is 1-1 in the Big 12 / Pac-10 Hardwood Series after splitting a pair of games with California the last two seasons ... Missouri hosted a very talented Golden Bears club last year and cruised to a 93-66 win back on Dec. 7, 2008 ... Marcus Denmon (14) and Kim English (16) each reached double figures in the victorys.

> Missouri is 2-1 vs. Pac-10 teams under the direction of Mike Anderson ... Missouri also defeated #19 Southern California last season in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.

Free Is Good

The season is only six games deep, but the Tigers appear much improved at the free throw line as the team is shooting 72.4 percent at the stripe.

> The 72-percent “free throwing” is the best since Mike Anderson’s arrival in Columbia and would actually be the eighth highest percentage in school history.

> Missouri has shot better than 70 percent in 4-of-6 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 all three games since his return and is averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in tough contests against Old Dominion, Richmond and at Vanderbilt ... Included in that stretch is a season high seven assists vs. Old Dominion and Vandy.

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.

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-106 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 (2.3) and tops in rebounding (5.8), while dishing out 2.0 assists and blocking 1.5 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 42.1 points, 15.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists for the 4-1 Tigers, with Bowers, Denmon, English and Paul all reaching double figures a combined 11 times.

> While English (17.0), Bowers (9.7) and Denmon (9.2) 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.

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.

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 38.3 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.

> Tiger reserves have scored 230 of the team’s 483 points this year (253 points by starters) and seven different Tigers have reached double figures off the bench, headlined by Laurence Bowers and Kim English who have each done it multiple times.

> In his 106 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.