Mizzou Basketball Hosts Iowa State in SEC/Big 12 Challenge

The Missouri men’s basketball renews an old conference rivalry on Saturday, hosting No. 12/13 Iowa State as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. First tip at Mizzou Arena is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

PROMOTIONS
• Saturday’s game is a Tiger Stripe at Mizzou Arena with all fans encouraged to wear either Black or Gold depending on what section they are sitting.
• It is also Star Wars Day with the first 1,000 fans receiving a voucher for a free lightsaber
• In addition, the Mizzou softball team will be signing autographs prior to the game.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is 15-5 and 4-4 in SEC action – receiving votes in both national polls.
• The Tigers earned an 89-77 victory in their most-recent contest Tuesday at Ole Miss.
• Kobe Brown leads Mizzou with 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season.
• Overall, five Tigers score in double figures with D’Moi Hodge (14.5), DeAndre Gholston (10.2), Noah Carter (10.1) and Isiaih Mosley (10.0) following Brown.
• Nick Honor leads Mizzou with 3.3 assists.
• Mizzou ranks 10th in the country with a scoring offense of 83.4, while allowing 76.0 points.

ABOUT THE CYCLONES
• Iowa State, ranked No. 12/13 in the latest polls, is 15-4 on the season and 6-2 in Big 12 play.
• The Cyclones are coming off an 80-76 home win over No. 5 Kansas State on Tuesday.
• Jaren Holmes leads Iowa State with 13.5 points, while Gabe Kalscheur is right behind with 13.1.
• Aljaz Kunic has collected a team-best 5.9 boards, while Tamin Lipsey leads ISU with 4.7 assists.
• While the Tigers own one of top defenses in DI, Iowa State is ninth in the country with a scoring defense of 59.5 – scoring 71.1 points offensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to the 1908-09 season, Mizzou holds a 150-86 all-time advantage over the Cyclones, including an 85-21 edge at MU.
• At 236 meetings, Iowa State is tied as MU’s second-most played series (played Kansas 269 times and Kansas State 236), while the Tigers’ 150 wins are their most over any single school.
• The home team has won all three meetings since Mizzou left the Big 12 for the SEC, including a 67-50 win for Iowa State last season.

TIGERS VERSUS BIG 12
• A former member of the Big 12 Conference, MU owns a 160-146 all-time mark against the league.
• While in the Big 12, the Tigers posted a 157-134 record from 1996 to 2012 (139-119 in regular season and 18-15 in postseason).
• Since joining the SEC, Mizzou is 3-12 against Big 12 opponents.

MU IN SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE
• In the final year of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the Tigers own a 2-3 all-time mark in the series.
• The home team has won all five Mizzou games in the challenge, with the Tigers claiming wins over West Virginia (2013) and TCU (2021), while falling at Oklahoma (2014), West Virginia (2020) and Iowa State (2022).

THROWBACK JERSEYS
• The Tigers will be donning a throwback look for a throwback rivalry on Saturday.
• As longtime conference foes, Mizzou is breaking out its Block M jersey – worn by the Tigers during their Big Eight days from 1973 to 1996.
• During its 23 seasons wearing the design, Mizzou posted a 483-233 record with eight conference titles and 15 NCAA Tournament bids.
• Eight All-Americans also wore the uniform in addition to 24 NBA Draft selections.

TOP-10 SCORING OFFENSE
• One of the biggest keys to success this season for Mizzou is owning a top scoring attack.
• Mizzou enters the game ranked 10th nationally with an offense of 83.4 points.
• In fact, the Tigers’ 83.4 points currently ranks as the sixth-best mark in school history and their highest in 33 years.

TARGETING 70 POINTS
• While the Tigers are averaging well over 80 points this season, the magic number is just 70 for MU.
• MU has won its last 18 games when scoring at least 70, including a perfect 14-0 mark this year.
• On the opposite end, Mizzou is just 1-5 this year when held under the target – losing 23 of its last 24 games overall with 69 or fewer points.

TRIPLES EQUALS SUCCESS
• Missouri’s performance beyond the 3-point arc has largely been a key to success.
• The Tigers are shooting more than 16 percent better from beyond the arc in wins with more than five more makes per game.
• In Tuesday’s win over Ole Miss, the Tigers made 16 triples – their most ever in a SEC game.
• MU is 12-0 with eight triples in a game (2-5 with fewer), 11-0 when making at least 33.3 percent (3-5 when lower) and 9-0 when making more than its foe (2-1 with the same, 3-3 with fewer).