MSSU men to close home slate Saturday against Pitt State

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will play host to Pittsburg State this Saturday and the Lions will honor their five seniors for Senior Day in the last home game of the season. The game will also be the last regular-season home game for head coach Robert Corn. Tip off from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 3 pm. 

Game Information

Teams:     Missouri Southern (18-5/12-4 MIAA) vs. Pittsburg State (7-16, 3-13 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014
Tip-Off: 3:00 pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett & Platt AC (3,240)
Series Record: Southern leads 48-44
Coaches: Robert Corn (406-304 overall/at MSSU). Kevin Muff (55-53, overall and at PSU)

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: Southern leads the series 49-41 and have won six of the last seven against SBU after dropping the previous nine games in a row against the Bearcats.This has been a series of streaks as from the 1976 season through the 1984-85 season, the series saw the two teams have streaks of six, seven then six again. SBU's largest win streak was nine, while the Lions' largest streak is nine done from the 98-99 season through the 2001-02 season. Southern is 30-16 at home, while 18-25 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.

MIAA Team Ranks: The Lions lead the MIAA in scoring margin, blocks and offensive rebound percentage, while ranking second in rebounding offense, field goal percentage and rebounding margin. The Lions rank third in scoring, defense, steals and offensive and defensive rebounds. Southern ranks fourth in assists, field goal defense, free-throw percentage and rebounding defense, while ranking 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 fifth in steals. Slim Magee leads the MIAA in field goal percentage, while ranking third in blocks, ninth in free-throw shooting and tenth in rebounding. Jordan Talbert ranks fourth in rebounding and blocks, while ranking 30th in scoring. Lane Barlow ranks tenth in assists, while ranking 11th in assist-turnover ratio and 15th in steals. Austin Wright is fourth in three-point percentage, while Greg Renfroe ranks 19th in rebounding. 

National Ranks: The Lions, as a team, rank 12th in scoring margin, 13th in field goal percentage, 15th in blocks per game, and 19th in free-throws made. Southern ranks 23rd in total blocks, 28th in rebound margin, 32nd in scoring offense, 38th in free-throw attempts and win loss percentage, 48th in free-throw percentage and 50th in assists per game.

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 1,503 points, moving in front of Matt Olson for 8th place all-time in scoring at Southern. He needs 18 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 213, 45 behind Hiram Ocasio for third place. 

Nearing 1,000: Jordan Talbert comes into the Southwest Baptist game with 973 career points, needing 17 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 .649 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 406 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 45-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.  

Three Point Galore: Southern hit 15 three pointers against Southwest Baptist, tying a school record. The team shot 71.4 percent from beyond the arc, just missing the record for three-point field goal percentage in a game.

Big Time Scoring: The Lions have scored 90 points in ten games this season and have had nine different games where they have won by 20 or more points. 

Up Next: The Lions will go on the road for the final two games of the season, traveling to Lindenwood on Thursday and finishing the regular season at Lincoln on Saturday.