Missouri-Mississippi men’s basketball preview
Mississippi at Missouri
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 3 | Johnathan Williams III | 6-9 | So. | 12.5 |
C | 45 | Keanau Post | 6-11 | Sr. | 3.6 |
G | 12 | Namon Wright | 6-5 | Fr. | 5.5 |
G | 14 | Keith Shamburger | 5-11 | Sr. | 8.5 |
G | 15 | Wes Clark | 6-0 | So. | 10.1 |
P | No. | Mississippi | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 4 | M.J. Rhett | 6-9 | Sr. | 6.5 |
F | 11 | Sebastian Saiz | 6-9 | So. | 7.3 |
G | 1 | Martavious Newby | 6-3 | Jr. | 3.7 |
G | 32 | Jarvis Summers | 6-3 | Sr. | 14.6 |
G | 42 | Stefan Moody | 5-10 | Jr. | 15.0 |
▪ WHEN/WHERE: 3 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
▪ TV/RADIO: Fox Sports KC; KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM)
▪ ABOUT MISSOURI (7-13, 1-6 SEC): The Tigers have lost six straight games since opening SEC play with an overtime win against LSU. It matches the longest streak in program history since a six-game skid during Quin Snyder’s final season in 2005-06. There are signs Missouri is close to breaking back into the win column, including a hard-fought loss to Arkansas and a 16-point loss to Kentucky (a 33-point improvement from the season’s first meeting). Continued strong play from sophomore Wes Clark, who is averaging a team-high 12.7 points in SEC play is a good place to start in the quest for a victory.
▪ ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (13-7, 4-3 SEC): The Rebels have a penchant for playing close games in conference. Five of Mississippi’s seven SEC games have been decided by six points or fewer. Coach Andy Kennedy’s squad had lost the first three tight contests, but the Rebels seem to have turned a corner with wins against Florida (72-71) and Mississippi State (79-73) in the last week. Mississippi is lethal at the free-throw line, shooing nearly 80 percent as a team, so Missouri has to rein in its tendency to foul.
| Tod Palmer, tpalmer@kcstar.com
This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Missouri-Mississippi men’s basketball preview."