TUESDAY’S GAME BASICS
Oklahoma (10-2) and Missouri (13-0) open Big 12 Conference play Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. The Sooners, whose only loss in the last seven games came by one point at Cincinnati, are 3-2 away from home this season. Missouri, ranked No. 7 and 6 in the AP and coaches’ polls, is just one of four undefeated teams in the country (as of Sunday). Tuesday’s contest will air on the Sooner Radio Network (KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City; KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa) with Toby Rowland and Mike Houck announcing. The game will be televised by the Mizzou Sports Network (will be carried by FS Oklahoma Plus and ESPN Full Court) with Chris Gervino and Jon Sundvold calling the action.
PREVIEWING MISSOURI
Ranked No. 7 and No. 6 in the AP and coaches’ polls, 13-0 Missouri is one of four undefeated teams in the country and is off to its best start since the 1981-82 season when it began 19-0. The Tigers lead the country in field goal percentage (.517) and rank No. 3 nation- ally in scoring (86.2 ppg), No. 4 in steals (10.1 spg), No. 7 in free throw percentage (.766) and No. 13 in 3-point field goal percentage (.404). They are 8-0 at home (have won those contests by an average of 28.4 points) and have won 25 of their last 26 at Mizzou Arena.
Missouri is led by the senior backcourt tandem of Marcus Denmon and Kim English. Denmon averages 18.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting .500 from the field, .448 from 3-point range and .909 from the free throw line. He ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring and second in 3-pointers per game (3.0). English averages 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting .528 from the field, .524 from 3-point range (ranks first nationally; minimum 2.5 makes per game) and .717 from the foul line.
Senior forward Ricardo Ratliffe leads the country with his .761 field goal percentage, and averages 14.2 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Despite his shooting success from the field, he owns a .576 free throw percentage.
Sophomore point guard Phil Pressey averages 9.8 points and Big 12 highs of 6.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He also paces the league with his 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio
Junior guard Michael Dixon comes off the bench to average 12.5 points and 3.0 assists in 25.9 minutes a game. He is averaging 18.0 points over the last four contests. He ranks 12th in the country with his .912 season free throw percentage.
Head coach Frank Haith is in his first year at Missouri after guiding Miami (Fla.) to a 129-101 (.561) record the last seven seasons.
OU-MISSOURI SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma leads 112-95 in the all-time series with Missouri, but the Tigers hold a 60-29 advantage in Columbia. MU has won seven of the last 11 overall meetings since OU rattled off nine straight victories from 1998 to 2002 (the nine-game streak culminated with an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight win in San Jose, Calif.). The Sooners have lost five straight in Columbia by an average of 8.8 points. OU’s last win there came in 2001 (63-61 at the Hearnes Center) on Jameel Heywood’s buzzer-beater.
LAST YEAR VS. THE TIGERS
The Sooners committed 18 turnovers to Missouri’s seven and dropped an 84-61 decision in Columbia last year in the teams’ only meeting. Nine different Tigers scored at least six points, led by Michael Dixon’s 16 and Ricardo Ratliffe’s 13. Cameron Clark led OU in scoring with 16 points (added five rebounds) and was followed by Tyler Neal’s 14 points (second-highest total of the season) and Steven Pledger’s 10. Point guard Carl Blair contributed six points and team highs of nine rebounds and four assists.
