Missouri Southern men to play at St. Joseph Saturday

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball program, having already clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament, will look to move up in the standings as the Lions head north to take on Missouri Western on Saturday. Tip off from the MWSU Fieldhouse is slated for 3:30 pm. 

Game Information

Teams:   Missouri Southern (16-5/10-4 MIAA) @ Missouri Western (9-13, 4-10 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014
Tip-Off: 3:30 pm
Location: St. Joseph, Mo.
Site: MWSU Fieldhouse (3,750)
Series Record: Western leads 43-42
Coaches: Robert Corn (404-304 overall/at MSSU). Brett Weiberg (9-13, overall and at MWSU)

Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: 97.9 FM Big Dog - Mike McClure - Play by Play
Internet Audio: www.mssulions.com
Webcast: www.mssulions.com
Live Stats: livestats.prestosports.com/mssu
Lions on Facebook:  Facebook.com/missourisouthernlions
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball

The Series: Missouri Western leads the overall series 43-42, however the Lions have won the last ten out of 13 matchups.  Southern is 32-11 at home, but just 10-32 in St. Joseph. Southern defeated Western in the final regular season game of 2007 in a winner take all game to gain a spot in the MIAA Tournament.Western dominated the series from 1988-1999 when the Griffons won 16-of-21 games. The Lions, however, have won 18 of the last 29 games. 

MIAA Team Ranks: The Lions lead the MIAA in scoring, scoring margin, and blocks, while ranking second in rebounding margin and field goal percentage. Southern ranks third in rebounding, steals, offensive rebounds and scoring defense, while ranking fourth in free-throw shoting, field goal defense, assists, rebounding defense and defensive rebounds. The Lions rank fifth in turnover margin and three point defense.

MIAA Individual Ranks: Marquis Addison ranks 11th in the MIAA in scoring, while ranking third in free-throw shooting and seventh in steals. Jordan Talbert ranks fifth in rebounding and third in blocks, while ranking third in offensive rebounds and 30th in scoring. Slim Magee leads the league in field goal percentage andranks fourth in blocks, while Greg Renfroe is 18th in rebounds. Lane Barlow ranks eighth in assists, ninth in asst./turnover ratio, and 13th in steals, while Austin Wright ranks sixth in three-point shooting.

National Ranks: The Lions, as a team, 13th in scoring margin, 15th in field goal percentage, and 16th in free-throws made. Southern ranks 21st in blocks per game, 24th in scoring, 28th in free-throw attempts and 30th in rebounding margin. The team ranks 35th in total blocks, 43rd in assist per game, 44th in win-loss percentage and 45th in free-throw percentage.

Passing 1,000: Marquis Addison became the newest member of the 1,000 point club at MSSU with 20 points against Central Missouri last season. He currently has 1,456 points, moving in front of Matt Olson for 8th place all-time in scoring at Southern. He needs 65 points to pass Chris Tucker for 7th all-time and is the fourth Lion in the past three seasons to pass 1,000, joining Jason Adams, Skyler Bowlin and Keane Thomann.  

Moving Up: With his first steal at SBU, Marquis Addison moved into rare company as one of only four players to ever play at MSSU with 200 or more steals. He currently sits in fourth place all-time in career steals with 210, 48 behind Hiram Ocasio for third place.

Nearing 1,000: Jordan Talbert comes into the Missouri Western game with 945 career points, needing 55 to hit the 1,000 point mark.  

Career Numbers: Both Jordan Talbert and Marquis Addison are climbing the career lists in MSSU Basketball history. Addison sits at No. 8 in the career scoring list, No. 2 in career free-throw percentage and No. 4 in steals. Talbert ranks second in career blocks, and third in career rebounds. His 61 blocks last season are No. 1 on the all-time list, while Slim Magee's .662 field goal percentage is on target to break that mark this season.  

Corn Wins No. 400: Coach Robert Corn won his 400th career game on Jan. 15, 2014 in a 70-50 win at home over Lindenwood He now has 404 wins and is second among active coaches (Bob Chipman). 

Three Point Streak: The Lions failed to make a three-pointer at Arkansas Tech in their match-up in 2012-13. It was the first time in 403 games that Southern had failed to hit a three pointer, dating back to Jan. 20, 1999 against Missouri S&T. The Lions have had a three in 43-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.
 

Points a Plenty: With the 101 points scored against Ottawa, it is the first time in the program's history the Lions have scored at least 100 points or more in three-straight games. The Lions have scored 100 or more in 66 games in the program's history, including six times in the 85-86 season and five times this season.  

Up Next: The Lions will come back home for the final two home games of the regular season when Southern plays host to Southwest Baptist on Wednesday, Feb. 19 and Pittsburg State on Feb. 22.