South Carolina State at No. 12 Missouri
University of Missouri
Missouri-South Carolina State capsule
December 16
| P | No. | S. Carolina St. | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
| F | 22 | Matthew Hezekiah | 6-11 | Jr. | 12.2 |
| F | 30 | Darryl Palmer | 6-7 | Fr. | 7.7 |
| G | 1 | Khalif Toombs | 5-9 | Sr. | 14.1 |
| G | 5 | Adama Adams | 6-1 | Jr. | 14.0 |
| G | 10 | Patrick Myers | 6-2 | Fr. | 6.9 |
| P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
| C | 42 | Alex Oriakhi | 6-9 | Sr. | 10.8 |
| F | 21 | Laurence Bowers | 6-8 | Sr. | 16.9 |
| F | 33 | Earnest Ross | 6-5 | Jr. | 9.1 |
| G | 14 | N. Webster-Chan | 6-7 | Fr. | 5.7 |
| G | 1 | Phil Pressey | 5-11 | Jr. | 13.0 |
• WHEN/WHERE: 7 tonight at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
• TV/RADIO: Metro Sports; KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM )
• ABOUT MISSOURI (8-1 overall, 0-0 in SEC): Missouri has won four games since an 84-61 loss to Louisville in November, the latest being a convincing 68-38 win over Tennessee State on Dec. 8. That game was more than a week ago, so the Tigers should be well-rested tonight.
• ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (4-6overall, 0-1 in MEAC): The Bulldogs, losers of their last three games and five of their last six, are clearly struggling. Junior big man Matthew Hezekiah has been a consistent low-post threat, while guards Khalif Toombs and Adama Adams have flashed some scoring ability.
• BOTTOM LINE: About the only thing that should scare Missouri about this matchup is the fact South Carolina State is from the same conference — Mid-Eastern Athletic — as Norfolk State, which beat the second-seeded Tigers in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Aside from that, this looks like a likely win. Despite facing only one high-Division I team this year — the Bulldogs lost to Maryland 61-46 on Dec. 8 —they have been outrebounded 366-346, a bad omen against a Missouri team constructed to pound the boards and protect the rim.
| Terez A. Paylor, tpaylor@kcstar.com
