Missouri-Auburn lineups, broadcast, tipoff time, facts and figures
Auburn at Missouri
WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
TV/RADIO: SEC Network; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Projected starters
P No. Missouri Ht. Yr. PPG
F 21 Jordan Barnett 6-7 Jr. 11.0
F 24 Kevin Puryear 6-7 So. 11.9
F 25 Russell Woods 6-8 Sr. 7.7
G 11 K.J. Walton 6-3 So. 7.6
G 15 Jordan Geist 6-2 So. 6.3
P No. Auburn Ht. Yr. PPG
F 24 Anfernee McLemore 6-7 Fr. 3.5
C 50 Austin Wiley 6-11 Fr. 7.7
G 1 Jared Harper 5-10 Fr. 13.7
G 5 Mustapha Heron 6-5 Fr. 16.2
G 23 TJ Lang 6-7 Jr. 4.6
ABOUT MISSOURI (5-9, 0-2 SEC): The fight the Tigers showed — literally and figuratively — at Georgia was encouraging, but the bottom line was another loss for third-year coach Kim Anderson’s squad. According to kenpom.com, facing Auburn at home is the most-winnable game remaining on Mizzou’s schedule and one of only three games with an expected win percentage greater than 33 percent. Building momentum and re-establishing confidence are at stake for the Tigers, who also are eager to snap a six-game losing streak overall and a seven-game slide in SEC games dating back to last season. Junior forward Jordan Barnett continues to surge. He’s scored at least 15 points and grabbed at least nine rebounds in each of the last three games. Barnett has overtaken Frankie Hughes, who 1 of 11 from the field and 0 of 8 from three-point range since being benched for the Lipscomb game and pulled from the starting lineup, to become Mizzou’s second-leading scorer.
ABOUT AUBURN (10-5, 0-3 SEC): The other Tigers’ 6-foot-7 freshman forward Danjel Purifoy, who suffered a sprained ankle Saturday in an 88-85 loss at home against Mississippi, didn’t travel to Missouri. He is Auburn’s third-leading scorer on the season at 13.7 points and the second-leading rebounder at 5.8 boards. Purifoy also ranked third in assists at 2.2 per game and second in steals at 1.5 per game. Austin Wiley — a 6-foot-11, five-star prospect, who graduated from high school at semester and immediately joined third-year coach Bruce Pearl’s squad — has adapted quickly to the college game, averaging 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in six games. The same is true for freshman guard Mustapha Heron, who has scored in double figures in all 15 games this season and established a program record for double-digit scoring performances to begin a career. Auburn, whose football team lured away former Mizzou cornerbacks coach Greg Brown this week, owns wins against Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Connecticut this season.
Tod Palmer: 816-234-4389, @todpalmer
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Missouri-Auburn lineups, broadcast, tipoff time, facts and figures."