Men’s Basketball Hosts South Carolina Saturday

The Missouri men’s basketball team returns to Mizzou Arena to host South Carolina in a weekend matinee matchup. The SEC contest is slated for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network.
 
PROMOTIONS
• The Cardinals Caravan is making an appearance at Mizzou Arena on Saturday.
• Current players Lars Nootbaar, Matthew Liberatore, John King and Michael Siani will be available to meet and sign autographs (kids 15 and under only), starting at 1 p.m.
• A Mizzou/Cardinals poster is also available as a giveaway on Saturday.
• Fans can also celebrate the New Year with four tickets for $24 in the student section.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri enters the contest with an 8-7 overall record, including a 0-2 mark in SEC play.
• MU lost on Tuesday at No. 6 Kentucky, 90-77. Three Tigers scored at least 18 points with Noah Carter leading the way with a season-best 20.
• Graduate guard Sean East II leads Mizzou overall with 17.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.
• Carter is second on the team with 12.1 points, while leading the Tigers with 6.1 rebounds.
• Overall, four Tigers are scoring in double figures as Tamar Bates (10.7) and Nick Honor (10.7) following East and Carter’s lead.
• The Tigers own a scoring offense of 76.0 points with a scoring defense of 72.8 points.
 
ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS
• The Gamecocks, who are receiving votes in both national polls, enter the weekend with a 13-2 overall record and 1-1 mark in SEC play.
• South Carolina is coming off a 74-47 loss at Alabama Tuesday, ending a six-game winning streak.
• Meechie Johnson leads USC with 18.0 points with B.J. Mack (12.9) and Myles Stute (10.2) also scoring in double figures.
• Mack also leads South Carolina with 5.2 boards, while Ta’lon Cooper has a team-best 4.4 assists.
• The Gamecocks are averaging 73.1 points, while allowing 63.7.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• In 16 all-time meetings between the two schools, Missouri holds a slight 9-7 edge in the series.
• The Tigers have also won six of seven meetings at Mizzou Arena, including the last three contests.
• Four Tigers scored in double figures in an 83-74 victory last season, led by 19 from Kobe Brown.
 
TOP 3-POINT THREATS
• The Tigers feature two of the nation’s top 3-point shooters in Sean East II and Tamar Bates.
• Of all players in the country with at least two 3-point attempts per game, East is fourth at 53.7 percent and Bates is 18th at 50.0 percent.
• The Tigers are the only team with two players in the top 20.
 
MOST IMPROVED AWARD
• Sean East II has put his name in the conversation as one of the nation’s most improved players.
• East leads the Tigers with 17.3 points per game – ranking fifth in the SEC and 114th nationally.
• The guard has increased his scoring by 10.0 points per game – easily the highest mark in the SEC.
• East, who averaged 8.4 points in his first three seasons, owns career-best marks in shooting percentage (55.6) and 3-point percentage (53.7).
 
MR. CONSISTENT
• The good news is that the Tigers can expect for Sean East II to consistently be leading the way.
• East leads Mizzou with 13 double-digit scoring games and six contests with 20-plus points.
• In addition, East has scored 15-plus in 10-straight games – the longest run by a Tiger since Jordan Barnett also had a 10-game run in 2017-18.
• The last Tigers to go at least 11-straight games with 15-plus points is Jabari Brown, who had a 14-game streak in 2013-14.
 
BATES CATCHES FIRE
• Junior transfer Tamar Bates has become a much-needed weapon for the Tigers as of late.
• Bates has scored in double digits in each of the last five games – he had never gone more than two-straight with at least 10 points prior to the run.
• Over the five-game stretch, Bates is tallying 18.0 points per game after scoring 7.1 points the season’s first 10 contests.
• Bates has raised his season scoring average to 10.7 points this season, ranking third on MU.
 
BACK TO NORMAL
• After enduring a mini shooting slump, graduate forward Noah Carter has regained his touch.
• Carter is shooting 54.5 percent from 3-point range the last two games (6-11) and 45.5 percent overall – averaging 16.5 points (including a season-best 20 points Tuesday at No. 6 Kentucky).
• In the previous five-game stretch, Carter made just 8.7 percent of his triples and 30.8 percent overall – averaging 8.8 points.
• Overall, Carter ranks second on the team with 12.1 points this season and third with 21 triples.
• Carter’s ability to make the three has been key to MU success as the Tigers are 25-7 in his career when he makes one and 8-9 without a triple.