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Stefhon Hannah will lead the Tigers into St. Louis on Saturday for the Busch Braggin' Rights game.
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Braggin' Rights on the Line Saturday in St. Louis
Tigers, Illini square off for the 38th time
Dec. 20, 2007
Missouri Tigers (8-3) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-3)
Regular Season Game 12 - December 22, 2007 - St. Louis, Mo.
FOR OPENERS
- For the 27th season, Busch Braggin’ Rights are on the line as Missouri and Illinois square off at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis before a nationally-televised, ESPN2 audience … The Fighting Illini own an 18-8 series lead in the Braggin’ Rights series (25-12 overall) and Mizzou is looking for its first win since a 78-72 triumph on Dec. 21, 1999.
- Missouri is looking to extend its winning streak to a season high four games as it faces its third Big Ten Conference opponent of the year ... Although just one of those Big Ten games were played at home in Columbia, all three will be played in the state of Missouri ... The Tigers fell to No. 10 Michigan State 86-83 in Kansas City, Mo., in the semifinals of the CBE Classic, before topping Purdue 73-63 in Columbia ... Now the Tigers face Illinois in St. Louis.
- A unique aspect of Missouri’s tough schedule thus far is that the Tigers have played teams from a variety of power conferences ... Mizzou has played Michigan State, Purdue and now Illinois from the Big Ten, Maryland from the ACC, Arkansas (and later Mississippi State) from the SEC and Cal from the Pac-10.
- Despite the tough schedule, two of Missouri’s losses have come by a combined six points to two programs that opened the year ranked in the Top 25 (Michigan State and Arkansas) and return all-five starers from their 2006-07 clubs that qualified for NCAA Tournament play last season.
- Missouri has been the nation’s No. 1 team at defending the three-point arc this season, as foes are shooting just 23.2 percent from bonus distance against the Tigers ... McNeese State, then the Southland Conference’s top three-point shooting club, hit just 1-of-20 treys vs. Mizzou and North Carolina A&T hit just 5-of-19 on Monday ... Missouri’s three-point defense easily leads the Big 12 ... Oklahoma is second at 29.3 percent ... Over the last seven games, opponents are shooting just 23-of-121 from three (.190) vs. the Tiger defense.
- A by-product of Missouri’s great perimeter defense has been some huge scoring runs ... The Tigers have had six runs of 20+ points this season, including a 34-2 run vs. McNeese State and a 24-4 run to close out Purdue.
- Another major contributor to those scoring runs are turnovers and steals ... Missouri is No. 9 nationally with 10.8 steals per game ... That statistic is made possible due to the fact the Tigers are forcing one turnover every six possessions ... As a result, the Tigers lead the Big 12 and rank No. 14 nationally with 84.5 points per game.
MIZZOU QUICK HITTERS
- Mizzou continues its 102nd season of college basketball on Saturday when it travels to St. Louis, Mo., to face Illinois in the Busch Braggin’ Rights Game.
- Saturday’s game is Missouri’s 111th appearance in St. Louis ... The Tigers are 53-57 all-time in the Gateway City and 8-18 vs. Illinois since beginning the Busch Braggin’ Rights series in 1980.
- Missouri has dropped seven consecutive to Illinois since winning three straight from 1997-99, but in fairness, this is just Mike Anderson’s second shot at Illinois.
- In the modern era (1946-present), no Tiger head coach has a better record to start his career than Anderson ... The second-year coach is 26-15 in his first 41 games with MU ... Quin Snyder is second at 25-16 in his first 41 games.
- As always, Braggin’ Rights are up for grabs across the board ... Mizzou’s Matt Lawrence is the lone St. Louis native on both rosters and the Tigers also have a pair of Illinois natives on this year’s squad, Stefhon Hannah and Justin Safford.
- Hannah grew up idolizing Kiwane Garris, who played at Illinois from 1993-97 and is the school’s No. 2 scorer all-time, while Safford attended Illinois Basketball Camps.
- ESPN’s Pat Forde named Mizzou Arena the No. 1 “New School” college basketball arena in America ... Who can argue?, the place is loaded!
- Missouri has been downright offensive in the first half this year ... The Tigers are averaging 45.9 points through the first 20 minutes and are outscoring opponents 45.9-33.1 during that span.
- A major reason for that scoring surge in the first period is Missouri’s 51.7 percent field goal shooting and a remarkable 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Missouri has already topped 50 points in the first half four times this season after accomplishing that feat just twice over the last three years combined.
- Overall, Missouri leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 14 nationally in scoring at 84.5 points per game.
- Mizzou’s defensive pressure may actually be picking up following last season’s school record 302 steals ... The Tigers have forced 229 turnovers (119 steals) in 11 games this season ... Last year, Mizzou led the Big 12 with 10.1 steals and 18.9 turnovers per game and are averaging 10.8 steals and 20.8 turnovers forced per game this year, including the 23 turnovers forced vs. 2007 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Maryland and Arkansas.
- Conversely, the Tigers are turning the ball over just 12.9 times per game.
- The Tigers have done an excellent job converting off those miscues and are averaging 26.1 points per game off turnovers ... When you break down the numbers, Missouri is scoring 30.9 percent of its points off of turnovers (26.1-of-84.5 ppg).
- Overall, the Tigers are forcing a turnover on every six possessions, which allows them to average 8.3 more shots per game than their opponents.
- In addition to steals, a trademark of Mike Anderson-coached teams has been assist totals and the Tigers are recording assists on 61.8 percent of their buckets this season (212 assists on 343 FG’s).
- When you take Missouri’s 37 “put-back” buckets out of the equation, the Tigers are averaging assists on 68.9 percent of their field goals.
- Overall, Missouri’s 19.3 assists per game rank No. 6 nationally ... Did you know that Missouri and Kansas are the only teams in America to rank among the nation’s Top 10 in both steals and assists?
- Even with the club’s fast-paced style of play, Missouri boasts a 1.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, which ranks No. 8 nationally.
- To put Missouri’s assist/turnover numbers in perspective, through 11 games last season (versus a much lighter strength of schedule), Missouri had 192 assists and 177 turnovers and had just a 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a team.
- This year Missouri has 212 assists, 142 turnovers and that 1.5-to-1 assist to turnover ratio.
- The Tigers boast a +7.9 turnover margin on the year, which ranks among the best in America, due in large part to the fact their 13.0 turnovers committed per game rank No. 18 nationally.
- Missouri has flashed a balanced playing rotation, as nine Tigers are averaging at least 12.5 minutes per game and no player is averaging more than 27.5 minutes.
- Missouri has topped double figures in three-point makes three times this year, including a season high 11 vs. McNeese State ... The Tigers also hit 10 three-pointer vs. Michigan State and Southern.
TIGER TIDBITS (Individual Notes)
- The Junk Yard Dog has had a major impact in just his first season ... DeMarre Carroll, also known as J.Y.De, dominated the Columbia Regional of the CBE Classic en route to MVP honors and has reached double figures in 10-of-11 game this season, including three 20-point efforts and a pair of double-doubles this season.
- Carroll has actually been close to producing double-double efforts in seven games this year and is averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 boards to rank as the team leader in both categories.
- Even more incredible is that he is producing those numbers in just 23.7 minutes per game.
- Carroll always seems to find a way to impact the game for Missouri and while he was saddled with foul trouble vs. Purdue, the junior forward blocked a career high three shots in the final 4:11 to help lead Missouri to the come-from-behind win ... Carroll actually scored three points, had three blocks, two assists and a steal in the final 7:35 of the MU win vs. Purdue ... The Birmingham native also added a career-high tying four steals vs. McNeese State, showing another way he has impacted a Tiger win.
- Carroll was recently named one of Seth Davis’ (Sports Illustrated) Key Faces in New Places for 2007-08.
- ESPN’s Andy Katz also said “there may not be a harder working interior player -- outside of Tyler Hansbrough -- than DeMarre Carroll.”
- In case you were wondering, Carroll dominates the classroom too and needs seven hours in the spring semester to finish his degree and begin his Masters work in Administration.
- Stefhon Hannah continues to be one of the nation’s most dynamic point guards and has reached double figures in 16 of his last 18 games, including a three 20-point efforts over his last eight outings.
- Although his scoring numbers are consistent (14.6 points through 11 games this year vs. 14.5 through 11 games last year), the key to Hannah’s improved play has been fewer turnovers ... Last season through 11 games Hannah had 59 assists and 47 turnovers ... This year he has 56 dimes and just 31 turnovers vs. a much stronger set of opponents.
- One of those non-20 point nights came vs. Maryland on Nov. 20 when he played with the flu and still managed 14 points and five dimes ... The Chicago native wasn’t able to eat all day and spent the early portion of the second half in the locker room, but returned to score eight second-half points, leading MU to the win.
- Hannah opened his scoring surge with 20 points vs. No. 11 Michigan State on Nov. 20 ... The consistent lead guard has reached double figures in 35-of-41 career games for MU.
- Hannah scored a career high 28 points at Arkansas, marking the 10th 20-point effort of his career.
- In addition to his scoring numbers, Hannah’s assist totals are on the rise ... When you factor in Hannah’s 5.1 assists per game this year, the senior guard is actually accounting for 26.7 of Mizzou’s 84.5 points per game (including assists on three-point field goals).
- Hannah also has 56 assists, 24 steals and just 31 turnovers on the year ... For his short career, Hannah has had five or more dimes 22 times (including eight of 11 games this year) and multiple steals 25 times, which is no surprise since the 6-foot-1 senior was named the nation’s ninth-best perimeter defender by Fran Fraschilla and ESPN.com.
- A key factor in Hannah’s play has been improved free throw shooting and Hannah is 22-of-24
(.917) over his last eight games ... In the last five minutes of a game Hannah is 13-of-14 from the charity stripe (.933).
- As you would expect, Hannah is a preseason candidate for the Bob Cousy National Point Guard of the Year Award.
- Not to be outdone, Keon Lawrence has reached double figures in 16 of his last 19 games, including a season high 17-points and eight rebounds at Arkansas.
- Lawrence has been an outstanding mid-range jump shooter this year and is shooting 49.3 percent from inside the arc (36-of-73).
- Despite being just 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Lawrence is third on the club at 4.5 rebounds per game, including five games of six or more boards.
- The dynamic guard is also second on the team with seven blocks.
- As was documented by the Kansas City Star, there are no “off days” for Lawrence, as he makes 1,000 shots each day the team is given off by head coach Mike Anderson.
- While fellow sophomore J.T. Tiller is known more for his defensive production, the Marietta, Ga., native reached double figures for the second time this season with 12 points and four boards in 21 minutes vs. Purdue.
- Tiller also played some key minutes late vs. the Boilermakers, helping to hold Purdue to just one field goal in the final 7:47 of the game en route to Mizzou’s game-winning 24-4 run.
- Tiller continued his strong play vs. McNeese State, dishing a career-high tying four assists, without committing a turnover and added three more dimes and three steals vs. North Carolina A&T.
- Over the last four games Tiller has eight assists, four steals, zero turnovers and is a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line, exactly what you want from a key reserve guard.
- Matt Lawrence is starting to heat up from three-point range and is shooting 47.2 percent (19-of-46) from beyond the arc over his last six outings.
- Lawrence has hit multiple treys in each of those six contests as well.
- The St. Louis native has been at his best away from home throughout his career and his shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (35-of-80) from three-point range away from Mizzou Arena.
- The Big 12’s No. 2 ranked three-point shooter at 44.3 percent last season, Lawrence opened the year just 7-of-25 (.280) from beyond the arc, but is now up to 38 percent on the year.
- Despite the tough start, Lawrence has shot 50 percent or better from bonus distance in five of his last nine games.
- Lawrence also has 11 steals over his last seven games, including a season high four thefts at Arkansas.
- Leo Lyons made his hometown return to Kansas City a special one, as he poured in career highs of 23 points and 11 boards in the 14-point Tiger win over Maryland.
- Lyons earned Player of the Game honors from Dick Vitale and Co. as he hit 8-of-11 shots and 7-of-11 free throws en route to his first career double-double.
- The 23 points made him the third different Tiger to top the 20-point plateau this year.
- Lyons recorded his second double-double of the year in the win over Purdue, chipping in 13 points and 10 rebounds ... Lyons now ranks fifth in the Big 12 with those two double-dips.
- Lyons flashed his versatility vs. Western Illinois when the 6-foot-9, 240-pounder dished a career high six assists and recorded two steals ... Lyons has 22 assists compared to just 14 turnovers, which is tops among Tiger post players.
- Lyons is also on a run of four consecutive games in double-figures, which is a career best.
- He just goes about his business quietly, but senior guard Jason Horton has dished out 35 assists compared to just 13 turnovers this season, to rank No. 2 in the Big 12 in assist-turnover ratio.
- Horton now has 354 career dimes, which is No. 8 all-time in school history and the Dallas native needs just 25 more assists to move into the MU career top five.
- Horton needs just five more assists to pass Lynn Hardy (358) for seventh all-time.
- Senior forward Marshall Brown is closing in on 1,000 career points ... The Austin, Texas native currently has 794 tallies and needs 206 points to become the 38th member of the Mizzou 1,000-point club.
- The selfless senior was named team captain in December by teammates and coaches.
- Brown broke out of an offensive slump McNeese State, scoring 11 points in 17 minutes and reached double figures yet again with 13 points on a career-high tying three 3-point makes vs. North Carolina A&T.
- Over his last two games Brown is averaging 12.0 points, 2.5 boards and 2.0 assists in 17.0 minutes per game.
- In the previous nine games combined Brown had scored just 30 total points.
- Freshman Justin Safford graced ESPN’s Top 10 Plays on Nov. 8 with his alley-oop slam vs. Missouri Western ... Safford checked in at No. 6.
- Safford scored his first career points against Fordham on Nov. 13, scoring five points and grabbing five boards in nine minutes.
- Senior forward Vaidotas Volkus gave the Tigers a great first-half lift off the bench vs. Purdue, scoring five points and grabbing three boards in seven minutes ... For the game, Volkus played 11 minutes, which was his third-highest output this year.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
Illinois enters Saturday’s game 6-3 on the year, but has a game Thursday at home vs. Miami of Ohio ... The Fighting Illini have split their last six games with losses coming to Duke, Maryland and Arizona (neutral court in Chicago) ... The Illini do have some quality wins as well, winning on the road at Hawaii, before knocking off both Arizona State and Oklahoma State at the Maui Invitational ... Like Mizzou, two of Illinois’ three losses have been narrow defeats to highly-regarded foes ... Duke is among the Top 10 in America, while Arizona is among the Top 20 ... Once again, Shaun Pruitt leads Illinois in both scoring and rebounding at 11.9 points and 7.7 boards per game ... The post player has been outstanding on the offensive glass, and is registering 3.8 offensive caroms per night ... Champaign native Trent Meacham is second with 11.5 points per game and is shooting 42 percent from three-point range ... Fifth-year senior Brian Randle is third with 9.8 points per game and provides Bruce Weber’s club with a versatile defensive presence.
THE BUSCH BRAGGIN' RIGHTS SERIES
Tonight’s game marks the 27th Anniversary of the Missouri-Illinois Braggin’ Rights series in St. Louis … Initially played Dec. 10, 1980, this regional rivalry has moved into the national spotlight thanks to four overtime contests and a total of 14 games being decided by 10 points or less since the annual tilt was moved to St. Louis following the 1979-80 campaign … Illinois owns an 18-8 series lead in the Busch Braggin’ Rights series and a 25-12 lead overall … Prior to 1980, Illinois enjoyed a 7-4 series advantage, with five games played in Champaign, five in Columbia and one game (Dec. 16, 1946) played in Kansas City … The initial Missouri-Illinois contest was played Dec. 21, 1932, in Columbia with the Fighting Illini securing a 36-24 win … Currently, Illinois has won seven consecutive in the series, but five of those seven games have been decided by 11 points or fewer … Prior to this current stretch, Mizzou enjoyed a run of seven victories in nine opportunities … Mizzou’s last win vs. Illinois came Dec. 21, 1999, a 78-72 decision.
WITH A TIGER WIN:
- Missouri would improve to 9-3 on the season and move to 27-15 all-time under Mike Anderson.
- Overall, Anderson would improve to 116-56 in his six seasons as a head coach.
- The Tigers would have a four-game winning streak heading into the brief holiday break, which would be the team’s longest of the year.
- Missouri would snap its seven-game skid to Illinois, which dates back to the 1999-2000 season.
- Mizzou would improve to 54-57 all-time in St. Louis and Head Coach Mike Anderson would have his first Braggin’ Rights win, although in fairness, this is only his second opportunity.
- Mizzou would improve to 20-5 vs. non-conference foes under Anderson, which would potentially include wins over Illinois, Purdue, Maryland, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Davidson.
- The Tigers would add yet another NCAA Tournament resume-building win, coupling it with wins over Maryland and Purdue, two clubs that advanced to the Big Dance last season.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE STEAL
When watching Missouri’s high-pressure style of play it’s easy to fall in love with the steal statistic, but really, Mike Anderson’s style of play isn’t about “the theft”, it’s more about “the act” ... The huge steal totals get the most publicity because it’s an NCAA recognized statistic, when in fact, “deflections” and turnovers are more closely charted by the coaching staff.
It’s the deflections that often lead to turnovers and possibly steals, but can also upset the opponent’s rhythm on offense and force them to regroup while the shot clock is winding down.
So far this season Missouri has 304 team deflections, which have ultimately led to 229 turnovers forced, either via 119 steals, five 35-second clock violations, six forced five-second calls, four 10-second violations, etc.
Stefhon Hannah leads Mizzou with 49 deflections this season, while DeMarre Carroll (35) and J.T. Tiller (33) round out the top three.
ANOTHER BORDER BATTLE
One beauty of college basketball is its visible, nationally-televised rivalry games and Mizzou is fortunate enough to play four of those “marquee rivalry” games each year … Tonight’s game vs. Illinois is the second of those heated contests.
Tonight’s affair will be the 38th all-time meeting between Mizzou and Illinois, with the Fighting Illini holding a 25-12 series advantage.
Mizzou’s first rivalry game came Nov. 28 at Arkansas in Columbia.
The final two rivalry games come Jan. 19 and Feb. 4 when the Tigers hook up with the Kansas Jayhawks … Mizzou and Kansas will be meeting for the 258th and 259th times in series history … The Feb. 10 contest will mark the 101st anniversary of the Mizzou - Kansas rivalry.
YET ANOTHER BIG 10 BATTLE - THIS MAKES THREE
The Busch Braggin’ Rights Game is Mizzou’s third regular-season contest with a member of the Big Ten Conference … The Tigers are 50-74 all-time vs. the Big Ten with the 37 all-time meetings vs. Illinois (not including Saturday’s game) serving as the most for Mizzou vs. any Big Ten member … Second on the “most frequented list” is Indiana … The Tigers and Hoosiers have locked-up 18 times with each team winning nine games apiece … So far this season Missouri has dropped a narrow 86-83 decision to No. 10 Michigan State in the semifinals of the CBE Classic, before outlasting Purdue, 73-63, on Dec. 8.
BIG-GAME STEFHON
Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games and Stefhon Hannah has made a habit of producing some big-time scoring outings in big games throughout his MU career, including last season’s 23-point effort vs. Illinois.
Hannah has topped the 20-point plateau 10 times in his career, including a run of three 20-point nights over his last eight games.
The Chicago native opened with 20 points in a near upset of then-No. 11 Michigan State in the semifinals of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, before dropping in 21 vs. Western Illinois and a career high 28 at Arkansas.
Of those 10 career 20-point games, eight have come vs. teams that qualified for post-season play (or were nationally ranked), including six NCAA Tournament teams (twice vs. Arkansas).
MIZZOU'S UNRIVALED SCHEDULE STRENGTH
Missouri’s schedule strength has been well documented, but did you know, of all the teams in “high-major” conferences, no program is playing more “high-major” non-conference contests than the Missouri Tigers ... Clemson, Illinois, LSU, South Carolina and Wisconsin are each playing a total of six games vs. teams from the “high-major” leagues, while the second closest in the Big 12 is Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State with five “high-major” games.
Gonzaga and Memphis aren’t included in this because of conference affiliation ... However these two clubs count for teams as “high-major” programs played ... Incidentally, Gonzaga has eight games vs. “high-major” competition, while Memphis has seven, but don’t play in comparable conferences, keeping them off the above list.
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