Tigers Return Home to Host SEMO on Sunday

The Missouri men’s basketball team returns to Mizzou Arena this weekend for a matchup with in-state foe Southeast Missouri State. Tipoff on Sunday is set for 3 p.m. on SEC Network.

PROMOTIONS
• The Mizzou coaching staff is set to wear green ties in support of the Fight for Literacy campaign.
• The Fight for Literacy provides books, resources and tutoring to help kindergarten through third-grade students in Columbia learn to read through the Heart of Missouri United Way.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is a perfect 8-0 to open the 2022-23 campaign, earning its first road win of the year on Tuesday, 88-84, at Wichita State.
• Graduate student D’Moi Hodge leads four Tigers in double figures with 16.9 points, while also registering a team-best 3.1 steals per game.
• Senior Kobe Brown is second with 13.0 points to go with a Mizzou-leading 5.5 rebounds.
• Graduate student Nick Honor leads the Tigers with 3.4 assists per game.
• MU ranks fourth nationally with 92.6 points per game, while allowing 71.9 on the defensive end.

ABOUT THE REDHAWKS
• Southeast Missouri State enters with a 5-3 mark during the 2022-23 campaign.
• The Redhawks have lost their last two games to UC Davis and Milwaukee.
• Phillip Russell leads four Redhawks who average in double figures, scoring 14.6 points and 4.3 assists per game.
• Kobe Clark collects a team-best 9.5 rebounds.
• SEMO is averaging 70.4 points per game, while allowing 62.4 points.

SERIES HISTORY
• Mizzou is a perfect 8-0 all-time against its in-state foe, winning all eight contests in Columbia.
• The schools are meeting for the first time since the 2014-15 season when Mizzou emerged with a 65-61 victory.

TIGERS VERSUS OVC
• Missouri is 39-1 all-time against schools in the Ohio Valley Conference, including a 38-1 mark in Columbia.
• The Tigers have won their last six meetings over OVC foes, including three victories this season – Southern Indiana (97-91), Lindenwood (82-53) and SIU Edwardsville (105-80).

UNDEFEATED AT 8-0
• The Tigers are enjoying their best start in nearly a decade.
• Mizzou’s 8-0 start to the year marks the team’s longest winning streak since starting the 2013-14 season with a 10-0 record.
• Missouri is one of just 15 teams in the nation (of 363 schools) that remains unbeaten on the year.

EXTRA POSSESSIONS
• Taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers has been a key to Mizzou’s 8-0 start – none more evident than the most-recent game.
• The Tigers earned their biggest win of the season Tuesday at Wichita State, 88-84 – overcoming the Shockers shooting 54.1 percent thanks to 20 forced turnovers (to just eight for MU).
• It led to a 29-18 advantage in points off turnovers and 26-7 edge in fastbreak points in the OT win.

NO. 1 IN TURNOVER MARGIN
• Tuesday’s performance was nothing new for Mizzou as the team ranks first nationally with a turnover margin of +10.2.
• The Tigers have won the turnover battle in all eight games this season, including by at least 10 in 6-of-8 contests.
• Prior to the season, the Tigers finished plus-10 in turnovers six times in the last 364 games.
• It has led to MU posting a 218-90 advantage in points off turnovers (average of 27.3 to 11.3).

DEFENSIVE DISRUPTION
• The Tigers have been the one to force the issue and extract the opposing turnover.
• The Tigers currently lead the country with 14.1 steals per game, while placing third overall by forcing 21.8 turnovers per game.
• MU has posted at least 15 steals in each of the last five games (16 in the last four) – its longest streak of double-digit steals since 2011-12 and the first time in school history with at least 12 in five-straight contests.

NO. 4 SCORING OFFENSE
• Offensively, the Tigers own one of the nation’s top attacks this season.
• Mizzou enters the weekend with the No. 4 scoring offense in the country, averaging 92.6 points per game.
• The Tigers are also scoring their points thanks to an efficient attack that is making their shots.
• MU leads the SEC in both field goal percentage (51.2) and effective field goal percentage (58.5), ranking 10th and eighth nationally, respectively.