Mizzou Opens SEC Play Wednesday versus No. 19/17 Kentucky

The Missouri basketball team returns to action Wednesday, opening SEC play by hosting No. 19/17 Kentucky. Tipoff at Mizzou Arena is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

PROMOTIONS
• Red Panda is set to perform at halftime of Wednesday’s game.
• The first 1,000 students will receive a free black glow M t-shirt.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is 11-1 after 12 non-conference games to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
• The Tigers are coming off a dominating win over No. 16 Illinois, 93-71, last Thursday.
• Kobe Brown led the Tigers over the Illini with 31 points, eight assists, five boards and four steals.
• Overall, five Tigers score in double figures for MU with D’Moi Hodge averaging a team-best 16.7 points, followed by Brown with 14.4.
• Brown also leads Mizzou with 5.7 boards, while Nick Honor averages a team-best 3.4 assists.
• Mizzou owns the nation’s fourth-ranked scoring offense at 88.8 points, while allowing 74.7 points.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• Kentucky enters SEC play with an 8-3 record and is ranked 19th in the most-recent AP poll
• The Wildcats are coming off an 88-68 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 21.
• Oscar Tshiebwe leads UK with 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
• Antonio Reeves is second with 12.8 points, while four Wildcats average in double figures overall.
• Sahvir Wheeler averages a team-best 6.3 assists.
• The Wildcats average 78.7 points per game, while allowing 64.4 defensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• Kentucky owns a 14-2 edge in series history with a 10-2 edge since Mizzou joined the SEC in 2012.
• The Wildcats defeated MU in Lexington one year ago but the Tigers claimed a 75-70 win the last time the schools played in Mizzou Arena in 2021.
• Dru Smith led MU to the win with 26 points, seven boards and five assists two years ago.

TIGERS IN THE SEC
• Mizzou is set to open its 11th season of play in the SEC.
• MU owns a 63-115 all-time record (.354 winning percentage) since joining the conference prior to the 2012-13 campaign (nine SEC wins would later be vacated from the 2013-14 season).
• In its opening conference game of the season, the Tigers own a 3-7 record, including a 2-4 mark when played in Mizzou Arena.

11-1 START
• The Tigers are currently enjoying one of their best starts in years.
• Mizzou’s 11-2 start is tied for its second-best in the last 40 seasons – only the 2011-12 team had a better start by winning its first 14 games.
• Overall, it marks the sixth time in the last 40 years that MU has won at least 11 of its first 12.
• It is also the 21st time in the last 50 seasons that MU has won at least 11 non-conference games (first since 2013-14) – 18 of the 21 previous occurrences resulted in NCAA Tournament bids.

BRAGGIN’ RIGHTS HISTORY
• Mizzou is coming off its most impressive game of the year with a record-breaking win over Braggin’ Rights rival and 16th-ranked Illinois, 93-71.
• The 22-point victory is MU’s largest over Illinois (previous high was 18 in 1994), while also marking MU’s biggest win over a ranked team since a 92-53 victory versus No. 20 Cal on Nov. 22, 2011.
• Senior Kobe Brown also turned in a 31-point performance against the Illini – the most points by a Mizzou player in Braggin’ Rights history (the previous record was 30 by Doug Smith in 1990).

WEEKLY HONORS
• After the 22-point win over No. 16 Illinois last Thursday, Mizzou earned multiple weekly honors.
• The Tigers were named Team of the Week by NCAA.com and Andy Katz.
• Senior Kobe Brown also collected both Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week accolades.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Not only did Kobe Brown score a Mizzou Braggin’ Rights-record 31 points, but he had a complete game with eight assists, five boards and four steals.
• His eight assists are the most by a Tiger this season and a new career-high total, while his four steals are a season best.
• In fact, Brown is the first Tiger to register 30 points and eight assists in a game since Clarence Gilbert had 43 points and nine assists in a four-overtime game on Jan. 13, 2001.
• Brown is second on MU with 14.4 points, first with 5.7 boards and adds 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals.