Freshman Jason Horton

Dec. 10, 2004

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Tip-off: 2:00 p.m.

Arena: Norm Stewart Court at the Mizzou Arena (15,061)

TV: Mizzou Sports Network (Chris Gervino, play-by-play: Norm Stewart, analyst)

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

Rankings: Neither squad was ranked in the AP or ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Series: First Meeting : Last Meeting: First Meeting

Coaches:

Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 104-67 at MU and overall (6th season).

Montana: Larry Krystkowiak (Montana '86) 3-3 at UM (1st season) and overall.

Mizzou vs. the Griz: Tigers Welcome Montana to Mizzou Arena

The University of Missouri men's basketball squad (4-4) continues its current five-game home stand on Saturday when it welcomes the Montana Grizzlies (3-3) to Mizzou Arena. The Tigers have won two of their last three and look to go in to finals week with some momentum as the Holidays begin dropping their latest contest to Arkansas on Tuesday, 62-52 in Columbia.

Sophomore Linas Kleiza continues to anchor the Tigers' offensive efforts averaging 14.8 points per contest while pulling down a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. He recorded his second double-double of the season against Arkansas with 14 points and 11 rebounds and has registered 11 assists and 20 rebounds over the course of the Tigers' last two games. Freshman Marshall Brown had the best outing of his young career against Arkansas with a career-best 10 points and three rebounds while knocking down two of the Tigers' three 3-point shots on the evening.

Mizzou plays five of their next six contests at home. They are 2-1 during their current five-game home stand and look to improve to 5-2 at home this season. The game, which is set for a 2 PM tip, will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and former Tiger great Gary Link on the call. Chris Gervino and former coaching icon Norm Stewart will be handling the broadcast duties on the Mizzou Television Network. The Tigers are 2-0 this season (including a preseason game with Northwest Missouri State) with Gervino and Stewart on the call.

Quick Hits

Head coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 105 at Mizzou ... This is the first meeting between the two schools ... The Tigers will play five of their next six contests at home ... The lone venture from the Mizzou Arena will be a visit to St. Louis on Dec. 22 for the Busch Braggin' Rights game against Illinois ... Junior Jimmy McKinney has now started 64 straight regular season games for Mizzou, dating back to Dec. 30, 2002 against Valparaiso ... ten of the Tigers' opponents were ranked or receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and three (Illinois, Oklahoma State and Kansas) were ranked in the top five ... juniors Kevin Young and Jimmy McKinney are the only Tigers to have started all eight games this season for Mizzou

About the Grizzlies

The Grizzlies enter Saturday's contest at 3-3 overall and winners of three of their last four. Their latest win came on Tuesday night when they held off a pesky SEMO squad in Cape Girardeau on the strength of 15 points from leading scorer and rebounder Kamarr Davis (13.3 ppg., 6.8 rpg.). Montana's early season schedule has been an impressive one with a trip to Gonzaga and a visit from Santa Clara already under their belt prior to their trip to Missouri.

Under the direction of first-year head coach and former Montana player Larry Krystkowiak, the Grizzlies are shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three (34-of-105). This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Series - First Meeting

A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. Arkansas

The Tigers held the Razorbacks to their lowest point total of the season (62) while holding them 18 points below their season scoring average. However, 3-19 shooting from three-point land by the Tigers doomed Mizzou efforts as they fell for the fourth time this season. Below are a couple other notes of note from the game.

Missouri Team Notes vs. Arkansas

* With their win tonight, Arkansas tied the all-time series at 17 wins apiece for each school.

Arkansas took the previous meeting between the two teams on the hardwood, a 75-46 victory in Fayetteville in 1997.

* This was the first meeting between the two schools in the Quin Snyder era.

* The Tigers are now 8-14 all-time against teams from the Southeastern Conference.

* The Tigers are now 12-9 all-time, including 1-2 versus Arkansas, in games played on December 7.

* The Tigers were held without a field goal for the first 7:48 of the game. They found themselves down by only a three-point margin, however, after freshman forward Marshall Brown drained the team's first shot from the field.

* After falling down 6-0 to open the game, Mizzou went on a 12-2 run, over 9:34, to take the lead.

* The Tigers allowed Arkansas to shoot only 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from long distance, the lowest mark by any of their opponents on the year.

* The Tigers tallied a season-high 13 steals, but a season-low nine assists.

Missouri Player Notes following the Arkansas Game

* Freshman forward Marshall Brown collected Mizzou's first five points from the field.

* Though junior guard Jimmy McKinney missed his first free throw attempt of the game, it was only the 37th misfire from the charity stripe of his career. He is 151-of-188 from the line in a Mizzou uniform.

* Freshman forward Marshall Brown drained two shots from behind the arc in the first half, matching the career high for three-point field goals made he set against Murray State on November 28. He finished with those two three-point field goals.

* Sophomore forward Linas Kleiza had more rebounds (seven) than points (four) in the first half.

* Freshman guard Marshall Brown's eight points in the first half eclipsed his career-best six he recorded on two previous occasions this season. He finished with 10 points.

* Freshman forward Kalen Grimes' five points matched the career high he set against Creighton on November 23.

* Freshman guard Jason Horton set a career-high assist mark by dishing out six dimes, besting the mark of four he set against Houston on November 16.

* Junior forward/center Kevin Young is 8-of-11 from the free throw line in the last two Mizzou games.

* In the Tigers' last two outings combined, sophomore forward Linas Kleiza had 20 rebounds and 11 assists.

A Step in the Right Direction

One of the main focuses of the Tigers' efforts has been and will be improving on the defensive end. The Razorbacks were averaging nearly 78 points per contest heading into last Tuesday's game and were hitting their three-point attempts at a 42.4 percent clip. Even though the final outcome wasn't what the Tigers had hoped for, they did make strides on the defensive end holding Arkansas to only 62 points (16 points off of their average) and shut down U of A from three (12.5 percent - 1-of-8).

The Youth of the Tiger Nation

Even though the Tigers came up on the short end against Arkansas on Tuesday night, they were encouraged by the play of the members of the freshmen class. As a group, they combined for 19 points and six rebounds. Marshall Brown was one of two Tigers to reach double figures in scoring with a career-best 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field while Jason Horton registered a career-best six assists and four points in 35 minutes. Kalen Grimes was extremely efficient scoring five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field in only eight minutes.

"Cap"-tain Consistency

Junior Kevin Young (his teammates call him Cap) has started each of the Tigers' first eight contests and has been a solid contributor so far. Young ranks fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. He has recorded five or more rebounds and five or more points in five games this season. He scored a career-high eight points against Houston in the second round of the Guardians Classic. Young leads the squad in field goal percentage, connecting on 50.0 percent from the field and is improving from the free throw stripe as he knocked down 5-of-7 free throws against Oakland.

2 Good

Senior Jason Conley had his best - albeit one of the shortest - outings of the season against Oakland. The 6-5 native of Silver Spring, MD, scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field including 4-of-6 from three in only 19 minutes of playing time against the Grizzlies. He also recorded five rebounds on the day and has recorded five or more rebounds in five of the Tigers' eight games. Overall, Conley's numbers have been solid offensively as he is knocking down 45.5 percent of his shots including 40.0 percent of his three-point field goal attempts.

Shouldering the Load

Linas Kleiza has recovered fully from a shoulder separation he experienced half way through last season and it looks as though he will be shouldering a major part of the Tiger offense this season. The All-Big 12 Preseason Honorable Mention recipient has been amazing offensively so far this season and continues to improve on defense.

Kleiza recorded the fifth double-double of his career against Arkansas with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. He broke out of mini-scoring funk with 13 points, nine boards and nine assists against Oakland while turning the ball over just one time, something he has been focusing on improving all season. He is definitely Mizzou's most versatile player as he leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg.), rebounds (8.6 rpg.) and assists (25).

Kleiza just missed a double-double against Murray State when he scored nine points and recorded a team-high seven boards.

He flirted once again with the fifth double-double of his career against Houston when he went for nine points and nine boards. The Kaunas, Lithuania, native had his best night as a Tiger in the scoring column against Davidson when he scored 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting including four three pointers.

Kleiza recorded the fourth double-double of his career against Houston, scoring 19 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. He just missed another double-double in the season opener with 17 points and nine rebounds against Brown.

Houston ... They Had A Problem

After shooting only 34.8 percent from the field in the opening round of the Guardians' Classic against Brown, the Tigers' sharpshooters came out in full force on Tuesday against Houston. Mizzou shot a rather warm 50.0 percent from the field in the contest including 12-of-23 from three. The 12 three-point field goals was the Tigers best three-point field goal production since last season when they knocked down 13 bombs in the route of UNLV in February.

Tigers Deliver in Second Half Against Brown

In UPS' latest advertising campaign, they pose the question "What can brown do for you?" We will tell you exactly what Brown did for the Tigers ... and no postage is necessary. What the Bears did for the Tigers was give them their first look at an extended zone while also mounting a discipline, poised attack to climb within one point at 33-32 at halftime.

However, after allowing Brown to shoot over 50 percent in the first half, the Tigers held BU to only 30 percent field goal shooting in the second stanza. The Tigers were extremely active in the passing lanes, forcing the Bears into 22 turnovers (14 of which came in the first half) and scored 23 points off of those turnovers.

The Tiger offense also kicked into gear in the second half with Thomas Gardner scoring 13 of his 19 points in the contest. Gardner was 5-of-8 in the second stanza and also pulled down eight boards on his way to recording a career-high 12 rebounds on the night.

Where Were You When ...

While we are not sure who ordered the first batch of nachos from the concession stand or who was the first to christen the men's room ... we do have a list of "firsts" that took place against Central Missouri State on Nov. 4 at the Mizzou.

* The first point and first free throw in Mizzou Arena history came at 19:27 of the first half when sophomore forward Linas Kleiza knocked down his first shot from the charity stripe.

* The first field goal, a two-point shot, in Mizzou Arena history came at 18:25 of the first half, courtesy of senior guard Jason Conley.

* The first dunk in Mizzou Arena history came at 17:24 in the first half, when sophomore forward Linas Kleiza slashed through the lane and raised for a two-handed flush.

* The first points of freshman forward Marshall Brown's career came at 15:36 of the first half when he converted a layup after being fouled. The first free throw of his career came moments later as he completed the three-point play.

* The first opponent point in Mizzou Arena history came at 16:40 of the first half, when senior forward Mike Suggs sank the second of two free throws. It was also the first points of Suggs' Mules career.

* The first opponent field goal in Mizzou Arena history came 13:23 of the first half, by junior forward Dwight Williams.

A Peek at the Mizzou Arena

On September 21, 2002, a new and exciting phase for Missouri Basketball began with the groundbreaking for a brand new, $75 million state-of-the-art facility. The new arena is an imposing place to play for opposing teams and provides unbelievable options for the Tigers when it comes to player development. In addition to more seating, with a capacity of 15,061, there are a host of other exciting additions:

Ø 26 Luxury Suites

Ø State-of-the art training room

Ø Expanded locker room facilities complete with film room and player lounge

Ø Practice gym

Ø Basketball office complex

Ø Box office and team store

Ø Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame

Mizzou Arena houses all the up-to-date technologies desired in a modern sports facility. Both men's and women's basketball programs have video game film viewing theaters; all coaches offices and meeting rooms have cable TV hook-ups and both private (suites, clubs) and public (concession stands, retail store) areas throughout the arena have direct-game and cable televisions in place. Adjacent to the west side truck dock are dedicated and secured television production and satellite truck parking areas with permanent patch-in panels. The audio-video room within the arena is also linked to Missouri's two major sports venues - the Hearnes Center and Memorial Football Stadium. The arena contains a center-hung scoreboard-video board as well as 30" high video ribbon board located above the luxury suites where the lower and upper seating bowl transition occurs.

New Editions

No, I am not going to break into a rendition of "Cool it Now" or "Candy Girl" (as much as you all would enjoy that) but Mizzou has two members of its staff that are beginning new editions of their careers. And like the group "New Edition," you might say that the newest members of the Tiger coaching family are old school.

Associate Head Coach Melvin Watkins joined the Tigers in July after six years as head coach at Texas A&M and a two year stint as head coach at UNC-Charlotte. Watkins has brought a wealth of experience and energy to the Tiger bench. The other new face on the Tiger bench is assistant coach Jeff Meyer, who most recently was an assistant at Butler University for three years. Meyer brings 25 years of coaching experience to Mizzou including 16 years as a head coach at Liberty University. He also joined the Tiger bench in July.

Coach Quin Snyder

6th Year at MU

104-67

In his sixth year at the helm of the Mizzou basketball program is Quin Snyder. Missouri's 15th head coach, Snyder has built a program that has joined the upper echelon of college basketball. With a focus on developing players academically, physically, skillfully and socially, Snyder's squads have enjoyed trips to the post season in each of the last five seasons including four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou has averaged exactly 20.0 wins per contest during Snyder's five-year tenure at Mizzou. The intense competitor the Tiger players call "Coach Q" won his 100th career game last season when Mizzou defeated Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament. He became the fourth coach in Mizzou school history to reach the 100-win plateau and Snyder will have a great opportunity to add to that total with a contract that will keep him as a fixture on the Tiger bench through 2007-08.

Heading into 2004-05, Mizzou returns several of its top players from a year ago including senior Jason Conley, junior Jimmy McKinney and sophomores Thomas Gardner and Linas Kleiza. Snyder and his staff have also gathered a sixth straight Top 25 recruiting class to augment the already talented roster. Mizzou has moved to a new state-of-the-art home this season, the Mizzou Arena, which holds around 15,000 rowdy Missouri fans and gives the Tigers an unbelievable opportunity to build on the foundation of success that has been established.

Given the success and excitement Snyder's squads have generated in his five years at the helm, it is not surprising that Tiger fans are looking for big things from Mizzou in 2004-05. In 2003-04, Snyder led the Tigers to wins over Top 20 teams such as Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. He also saw his second recruiting class of Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Travon Bryant and Josh Kroenke complete outstanding careers at Mizzou. Johnson and Paulding both jumped into the Top 10 on the Tiger scoring charts and Johnson finished his career as the Tigers' all-time leader in blocked shots and rebounds. That outstanding class also finished their career having played in the most NCAA Tournament contests of any class in school history with eight.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Snyder, 37, attended Mercer Island High School in the state of Washington. A two-time state player of the year, Snyder led the team to the 1985 state championship. During this time, Mercer Island achieved a No. 1 ranking in USA Today's high school polls. Snyder was named a McDonald's All-America player, being the first ever chosen from the state of Washington.

Snyder and his wife, the former Helen Redwine, a native of Charlotte, N.C, have one son, Owen Redwine Snyder, born on December 25, 2002.