Dec. 20, 2004

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Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.

Arena: Savvis Center (22,153)

TV: ESPN 2 (Brent Musburger, play-by-play; Steve Lavin, analyst)

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

Rankings: Illinois is ranked #1 in both the ESPN/USA Today Poll and the Associated Press Poll. Missouri is not ranked in either poll.

Series: Illinois leads, 22-12 : Last Meeting: Ill., 71-70, Dec. 23, 2003 in St. Louis, Mo.

Coaches:

Missouri: Quin Snyder (Duke '89) 106-67 at MU and overall (6th season).

Illinois: Bruce Weber (Wisconsin-Milwaukee '78) 36-7 at Illinois (2nd season) and 139-61 overall (7th season)

Tigers and Illini Tangle for Braggin' Rights

The University of Missouri men's basketball squad (6-4 overall) makes its annual visit to St. Louis for the Busch Braggin' Rights game on Wednesday night to face off with No. 1 Illinois at the Savvis Center. The Tigers have won four of their last five contests and two in a row entering the game and are in search of their first win away from Mizzou Arena this season. Mizzou is coming off of an inspired, comeback win over Indiana on Sunday in Columbia, 56-53. After trailing by as many as 17 in the second half, the Tigers used 83.3 percent shooting (10-of-12) from the field and 23 trips to the free throw line in the second half to come away with the win.

Sophomore Linas Kleiza led the Tiger charge once again, scoring a game-high 18 points on the strength of 12-of-16 shooting from the free throw line on the afternoon. Kleiza is averaging 16.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, both of which lead the Tiger cause. Freshman Marshall Brown also had a great outing against the Hoosiers, scoring a career-best 11 points while knocking down two threes and throwing down a huge dunk at the end of the game to put the wraps on the contest.

Wednesday's tilt will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network with Mike Kelly and former Tiger great Gary Link on the call. The Tigers will also be making their first appearance on national television as the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin on the call for the `Deuce.'

After winning three straight Braggin' Rights games from 1997 to 1999, the Tigers have dropped four in a row to the Illini including last year's 71-70 setback.

Quick Hits

The Illinois game will be Mizzou's 11th contest of the season; they did not play Game 11 last season until Jan. 10 against Texas A&M ... The Tigers are 6-2 at Mizzou Arena this season, but are 0-2 away from home ... sophomore Linas Kleiza has led Mizzou in scoring, rebounding or in both categories in nine of its ten games so far this season ...Kleiza has scored eight points or more in 13 of the last 15 games he has played in ... Mizzou scored its most points (87) and shot its best percentage (47.8 percent) of the season against Montana ... Head coach Quin Snyder is looking for win number 107 at Mizzou ... St. Louis native and junior Jimmy McKinney has now started 66 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 ... Mizzou played four schools from the Big 10 last year, going 2-2 against them ... The Tigers are 11-9 against Big 10 schools under head coach Quin Snyder and are 1-4 against the Illini in his six year tenure ... Mizzou will be facing its first ranked opponent of the season on Wednesday.

About the Fighting Illini

The Illini enter the 24th Busch Braggin' Rights game undefeated at 10-0 and are the No. 1 team in the land. They have been absolutely dominant thus far, defeating opponents by an average of almost 22 points per game and are outshooting the opposition, 53.4 percent to 40.6 percent. In fact, the Illini's closest contest this season was against Arkansas, who the Tigers faced earlier this month, when they defeated the Razorbacks 72-60. Anchored by a starting lineup that features two seniors and three juniors, the Illini have handed out a remarkable 222 assists on the year and are a 43 percent shooting squad from three point land.

Led by second year head coach Bruce Weber, the Illini have won four straight over Mizzou. Senior forward Luther Head (15.8 ppg.) leads five Illini that are averaging better than 9.6 points per contest.

Series - Illinois leads, 22-12 - Last Meeting: Ill., 71-70 in St. Louis, MO on 12/23/03

A Look at the Last 10 Meetings

2003 - Illinois, 71-70

2002 - Illinois, 85-70

2001 - Illinois, 72-61

2000 - Illinois, 86-81 OT

1999 - Missouri, 78-72

1998 - Missouri, 67-62

1997 - Missouri, 75-69

1996 - Illinois, 85-69

1995 - Illinois, 96-85

1994 - Missouri, 76-58

A Look Back ... Mizzou vs. Indiana

After shooting a paltry 23.1 percent (6-26) from the field in the first half against the Hoosiers, Mizzou connected on 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) field goals in the second stanza as it came back after trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half. The Tigers held the Hoosiers' leading scorer, sophomore Bracey Wright (17.8 ppg. heading into the game) to only 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and converted 15 Hoosier turnovers into 19 points. Below are a couple other notes of note from the Indiana contest ...

Missouri Team Notes vs. Indiana

* With the win by Missouri, the all-time series between IU and MU is now tied at nine wins each.

* Missouri has won the last three games against Indiana and five of the last six meetings between the two teams.

* Freshman Marshall Brown's three-pointer with 6:58 left in the first half was the first three-point basket made by either team in the game. The two teams were a combined 0-for-9 prior to Brown's basket.

* Indiana used a 10-0 run over a 2:09 stretch at the end of the first and start of the second half to build a 33-16 lead.

* Mizzou went on a 16-2 run over an 8:21 span in the second half to cut the Indiana lead to 35-32 with 10:45 left in the game.

* Junior Jimmy McKinney's free throw with 1:42 left in the game gave MU its first lead (50-49) since it was up 7-4 with 17:11 to go in the first half.

* Mizzou scored the final four points of the game to take the three-point victory.

* Missouri has won four of its last five games and improves to 6-4 on the season.

* The Tigers are 11-9 against Big Ten schools under Head Coach Quin Snyder and are 3-1 against the Hoosiers in his six-year tenure.

* Mizzou's 16-point first half was the fewest points it has scored in a half since it scored 16 against Kansas State on January 16, 2001.

Missouri Player Notes

* Linas Kleiza has led Mizzou in scoring, rebounding or both categories in nine of MU's 10 games this season. He led the Tigers with 18 points against Indiana.

* Junior Jimmy McKinney made his 66 th consecutive start on Sunday.

* Freshman Marshall Brown set a career record with 11 points against the Hoosiers on Sunday.

* Kleiza set career highs in both free throws made and free throws attempted with a 12-for-16 showing from the line.

Doing it with Defense

One of the main focuses of the Tigers' efforts has been and will be improving on the defensive end. Its no secret how the Tigers have gone 4-1 over the course of the last five games. Mizzou has given up only 58.6 points per contest during that stretch and has held its opponents to 29.4 percent shooting from the field. That newly found defensive mind set will definitely be put to the test as Illinois is averaging 84. 3 points per game and is shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Mizzou recorded its best defensive performance of the season against Indiana, holding the Hoosiers to just 53 points, the lowest total the Tigers have allowed this season. Mizzou held Indiana's leading scorer Bracey Wright to just 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting and forced 15 Hoosier turnovers.

Against Montana, the Tigers held the Griz to only 38.3 percent shooting from the field while also blocking a season-high seven shots. They allowed only one Grizzly to reach double figures in scoring and nabbed nine steals in the win.

Against Arkansas, the Razorbacks were averaging nearly 78 points per contest heading into the 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). In fact, after giving up eight three-point field goals per game during the first seven contests of the season, the Tigers have allowed just 10 three pointers over the course of the last three games and held Indiana, Arkansas and Montana to a combined 27.2 percent from three (9-of-33).

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.

After scoring just three points in the opening half against Indiana, Kleiza poured in 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half including 12 free throws in the win. Over the course of the last three games, the Lithuanian sensation has averaged 19.3 points per contest for the Tigers.

He had the best offensive game of his career against Montana, scoring a career-best 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. 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 (16.2 ppg.), rebounds (7.5 rpg.) and is second on the squad in assists (25).

The Youth of the Tiger Nation

The freshmen on the Tiger roster have started to really assert themselves on the court for Mizzou. Over the course of the last five games, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes, Jason Horton and Glen Dandridge have combined to score 25.6 percent of the Tigers points (83-of-324) and all four of them have set or equaled career highs in points during that stretch. The latest to do so was Brown, who knocked down 4-of-4 shots from the field including two huge threes on his way to 11 points to help in Mizzou's come-from-behind win over Indiana.

Two of the four members of the class (Brown and Horton) have started this season and all of them are playing at least 6.0 minutes per contest.

`Cap'-tain Consistency

Junior Kevin Young (his teammates call him Cap) has started each of the Tigers' first 10 contests and has been a solid contributor so far. Young ranks fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 4.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. He has recorded five or more rebounds and/or five or more points in seven 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 48.6 percent from the field and is improving from the free throw stripe as he knocked down 5-of-7 free throws against Oakland.

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

106-67

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.