Mizzou Launches Homestand with Liberty Matchup Tonight

Mizzou Basketball Game Notes

• Game Notes

STORYLINES

• Mizzou Men’s Basketball improved to 3-0 with a gritty true road win, 72-62, at  Wichita State on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers are now 4-0 all-time against the Shockers. With wins over Wichita State, No. 21 Oregon and Oral Roberts, Mizzou is 3-0 to start a season for the first time since the 2013-14 squad opened 10-0.
• Mizzou is seeking its 34th 4-0 start in program history when the Tigers face Liberty on Wednesday. It marks the second all-time matchup between the Tigers and the Flames, and the first since an 87-76 Mizzou win on Dec. 19, 1994. Mizzou is 9-1 all-time vs. Atlantic Sun opponents.
• Mizzou has won four straight dating to its season-ending win over Alabama a year ago, and a win over Liberty would give it five-straight victories for the first time since a six-game streak during the 2018-19 season. MU has fashioned three win streaks of five or more games under Head Coach Cuonzo Martin, the aforementioned six-game streak in 2018-19 and a pair of five-game strings during the 2017-18 campaign which culminated with an NCAA Tournament bid. Prior to Martin’s arrival, Mizzou’s last win streak of at least five games came with its 10-0 start to the 2013-14 season.
• Mizzou is now 16-2 in December during the Cuonzo Martin era. Martin was recently named ESPN’s National Coach of the Week after the key victories over No. 21 Oregon and Wichita State away from home. The Oregon win was Mizzou’s first victory over a ranked team away from home since 2012, and Sunday’s win over the Shockers was just the first home nonconference loss for Wichita State in 17 games.
• Mizzou has led at halftime in each game, and has either led or been tied with its opponent for 118:03 of 120 minutes played thru three games. Against ORU, the Tigers never trailed and were tied just once (11-all), while against Oregon they trailed for just 45 seconds early in the game and at Wichita State, trailed for one possession. Mizzou’s largest deficit this season was three points in the first half against the Ducks.
• Mizzou has produced one double-digit scoring run in every game this season—a 13-0 first-half run vs. Oregon, and 11-0 runs vs. both ORU (first half) and at Wichita State (second half)
• Martin brings back one of the most experienced rosters in all of college basketball. Mizzou welcomes back 88.13 percent of its scoring from a season ago, which ranks third among all Power 5 conference teams, trailing only Texas and UCLA. The returners are responsible for 99.2 percent of Mizzou’s points through three games. Eight Tigers are averaging 10.1 minutes or more thru three games, with six contributing at least 8.0 points on the young season.
• The veteran roster features three players with 700+ career points (Dru Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon and Drew Buggs) and five with 500+ career points (Smith, Tilmon, Buggs, Xavier Pinson and Mark Smith). Mizzou’s 12-man roster features nine players with at least junior eligibility standing and one of the remaining three players entering his third season on campus in Parker Braun, making Mizzou the SEC’s oldest team.

SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Mizzou senior guard Mark Smith was named SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 7. It marked the first SEC Player of the Week honor of Smith’s career and Mizzou’s first since Jeremiah Tilmon took home the award on Dec. 24, 2018.
• Smith led Mizzou to a pair of wins over No. 21 Oregon at a neutral site and Wichita State on the road, averaging 17 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while ripping the nets to the tune of 52.6 percent shooting from the field, 45.4 percent shooting from 3-point range and a perfect 9-of-9 clip at the foul line. Mark has three-straight double-figure scoring games for first time since a four-game string during his sophomore year at Mizzou (1/13/19 thru 1/23/19).
• Smith scored 13 of his 15 points vs. No. 21 Oregon in the first half, keying a Mizzou run that pushed the Tigers in front by 17 at one point. Smith hit four threes and made a pair of game-clinching free throws to seal Mizzou’s win over the Ducks. He followed with a game-high 19 points, on 6-of-11 shooting, and six rebounds in a dominant effort at Wichita State. Through three games, Smith is averaging 17.3 points and three made triples per game, which leads the SEC.
• After leading the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage as a sophomore, Mark Smith shot 37 percent from beyond the arc as a junior, finishing with a team-high 53 triples. The microwave hit one trey in 20 of 24 games in 2019-20, scoring at least 18 points six different times. He has made three or more 3-point buckets in 22 of his 46 appearance in a Mizzou uniform with the Tigers posting a 14-8 record in those games.
• Mark erupted for a team-high 18 points in the season opener vs. Oral Roberts on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and a 7-of-10 effort from the field overall. After dealing with foot injuries, he’s feeling healthier than ever, and proved that with a highlight reel alley-oop dunk vs. Oral Roberts, which wound up No. 3 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays.
• Mark is key to Mizzou’s success. The Tigers went 7-3 when he reached double figures last season and are 3-0 this season.

BALANCED EFFORT

• With six Tigers averaging at least 8.0 points per game and six scoring in double figures at least once already this season, Mizzou has one of the nation’s most versatile groups. Sophomore Kobe Brown erupted for 14 points and seven rebounds at Wichita State. He’s averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest, which ranks eighth in the SEC. Fellow sophomore Parker Braun also got into the action on Sunday, scoring a career-high eight points and grabbing three boards.
• Thru three games, Mizzou’s bench has provided an average of 18.0 points per game, the bulk of which have come from junior Javon Pickett who has produced a pair of double-figure scoring efforts thus far. Pickett had 11 points in 20 minutes vs. ORU in the season-opener, then netted 13 in 21 minutes against No. 21 Oregon.  Mizzou is 9-1 over the last two seasons when Pickett scores in double figures. Pickett is 5-of-5 from the foul line. He and Mark Smith (9-of-9) have yet to miss a free throw this season.
• With so many weapons and a knack for sharing the ball, Mizzou has 50 assists already through three games. That 16.7 assist-per-game clip as a team is already much higher than the Tigers’ 11.4 assists per game clip last season. Mizzou has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.43 thru three games, which leads the SEC and ranks 27th nationally. Mizzou is 24-8 in the Martin-era when having a positive assist to turnover ratio in a game. Mizzou committed just seven turnovers vs. No. 21 Oregon, marking just the 17th time in the last decade the Ducks have forced seven or fewer turnovers in a game. It also marked just the fifth game in the Martin-era with seven or fewer Mizzou turnovers.
•  Over their last 10 games dating back to a 53.8 percent effort at the foul line in a four-point loss at No. 25 LSU a year ago, the Tigers have connected on 80.1 percent (169-of-211) of their free throws since then. After shooting a school-record 78 percent from the charity stripe last season, Mizzou is shooting 75.4 percent this season. Mark Smith’s 9-for-9 clip at the free throw line tops all SEC players. Mizzou is 12-for-16 in the final five minutes of game clock this season at the foul line as a group.
• Mizzou’s depth has made the defense stout and relentless, holding opponents to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 25.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc (2nd in the SEC).

Advertisement