MSSU men to open NCAA play Saturday against Fort Hays State

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern men's basketball program will head to Mankato, Minn. this weekend to compete in the NCAA Central Regional as the Lions will face off with Fort Hays State in a first-round matchup. Tip off from the Taylor Center in Mankato is slated for Noon on Saturday, March 15. 

Game Information

Teams:   #19 Missouri Southern (24-5) vs. Fort Hays State (22-7)
Date: Saturday, March 15, 2014
Tip-Off: 12:00 pm
Location: Mankato, Minn.
Site: Taylor Center (4,800)
Series Record: Fort Hays leads 27-17
Coaches: Robert Corn (412-304 overall/at MSSU). Mark Johnson (268-112, overall and at FHSU)

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: Fort Hays holds a 27-17 advantage over the Lions. Prior to the 2007-08 season,  all of the games came when both teams were in the CSIC. Hays has won the last four games in a row.The Tigers have had two separate streaks of five wins in a row. Southern dropped seven straight games from 1982 to 1985 and have lost 13 out of the last 15 games with the Tigers with the last meeting taking place in 1989. The largest margin of victory for the Lions came on two consecutive games on Feb. 18, 1977 and Feb. 3, 1978 when Southern defeated the Tigers by identical 15 point margins. The largest margin of victory for the Tigers came in the 1987-88 season when Hays defeated Southern twice by the margins of 26 and 44 points. At home, Southern is 13-7 against the Tigers. The Lions are 4-16 in Hays and are 0-4 in neutral site games.  

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

MIAA Individual Ranks: Marquis Addison ranks ninth in scoring, while ranking 13th in field goal percentage, fifth in both free-throw shooting and steals and 13th in three-pointers made per game. Slim Magee leads the league in field goal shooting, while ranking fifth in rebounding, second in blocked shots and 28th in scoring. Jordan Talbert is fourth in rebounding, 29th in scoring, fourth in blocks and fourth in offensive rebounds, while Austin Wright ranks second in three point percentage and third in three pointers made per game. Lane Barlow ranks seventh in assists, ninth in steals and seventh in assists/turnover ratio. 

National Ranks: The Lions, as a team rank fifth in FG percentage, 8th in 3FG percentage, ninth in scoring margin and tenth in scoring offense. They rank tenth in blocks, 15th in free-throws made, 26th in rebound margin and 27th in total assists, while ranking 32nd in assists per game. Slim Magee ranks 26th in total blocks and 32nd in blocks 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 1,613 points, putting him in front of Keane Thomann for sixth all-time and he is 51 behind Skyler Bowlin for fifth all-time. He is the fifth Lion in the past three seasons to pass 1,000, joining Jason Adams, Skyler Bowlin, Jordan Talbert and Thomann.       

Super Slim: Slim Magee was chosen as the 2014 MIAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He averaged 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and shot 83 percent from the field in the tourney.

Coming From Behind In the MIAA Tournament: Missouri Southern trailed at halftime in every game of the MIAA Tournament this year, but the Lions came-from-behind in every game to take the title.   

Passing 1,000 II: Jordan Talbert comes into the Kearney game with 1,030 career points and joins Addison as one of five Lions in the last four years to pass 1,000.

Career Numbers: Both Jordan Talbert and Marquis Addison are climbing the career lists in MSSU Basketball history. Addison sits at No. 6 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 .673 field goal percentage is on target to break that mark this season, and his 60 blocks rank second in a single-season. Austin Wright currently has the best single-season and career three-point percentage numbers ever. 

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 412 wins and is second among active coaches (Bob Chipman). 

Corn is 2014 MIAA Coach of the Year: Head coach Robert Corn won his fourth MIAA Coach of the Year honor this week. He has helped the Lions to nine, 20-win seasons and 16-straight trips to the MIAA Tournament and five trips to the NCAA Tournament. 

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 51-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.  

1,000 points/700 rebounds: With his eight rebounds against Nebraska-Kearney, Jordan Talbert joined rare company at Southern as only the third person in school history to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. He joins both John Thomas and Chris Tucker as players to accomplish the feat. 

Lions in the MIAA Championship Game: Missouri Southern has played in the MIAA Championship game four times in the program's history. The Lions are 2-2, winning the title in 1993 and 2000 and falling in the title game in 2005 and 2011. 

Leading at the Half: The Lions have led the game at the half in 23 of the 26 games this season, going 20-3 when that happens. 

Outshoot the Opponents: Southern has out-shot their opponents in 22 of 27 games played this year, going 22-0 when that happens.

Big Time Scoring: The Lions have scored 90 points in 12 games this season and have had 11 different games where they have won by 20 or more points. 

Lions in the D2 Poll: Southern jumped back in the NABC Division II poll this week at the No. 19 spot. The Lions finished the 2011-12 season at  No. 23 in the final poll. The No. 1 ranking in 2012 was the highest the program has ever been ranked. Southern has been ranked 56 times in the program's history. The most consecutive weeks the Lions have spent in the poll is 23-straight weeks, which covers part of the 2010-11/2011-12 seasons.