@MizzouHoops vs. No. 23 South Carolina Up Next at Mizzou Arena

Saturday, January 28

Columbia, Mo.

7:30 p.m. CT

Missouri

South Carolina

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@MizzouHoops vs. No. 23 South Carolina Up Next at Mizzou Arena

1/27/2017 3:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GM20 Notes

Tigers vs. Gamecocks tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network

MIZZOU (5-14, 0-7) GAME DAY - Saturday, Jan. 28
#23 South Carolina (16-4, 6-1) (Full Game Notes)	Mizzou Arena	Saturday	7:30 p.m.	Live Stats Listen Watch Tickets

MIZZOU (5-14, 0-7) GAME DAY - Saturday, Jan. 28

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME

MEDIA

#23 South Carolina (16-4, 6-1)
(Full Game Notes)

Mizzou Arena

Saturday

7:30 p.m.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Basketball (5-14, 0-7) returns home to take on No. 23 South Carolina (16-4, 6-1) on Saturday, Jan. 28, with a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff. Live coverage can be found on the SEC Network and the Tiger Radio Network.

Mizzou won its most recent matchup with South Carolina, 72-67, last season at Mizzou Arena (Feb. 16, 2016).
Youth is a big theme for the Tigers - the entire 2016-17 Mizzou roster is made up of first- or second-year players. Not a single member of the Mizzou program has been with the Black & Gold for three seasons.
Since his insertion into Mizzou's starting lineup, junior forward Jordan Barnett is averaging 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Terrence Phillips ranks first in the SEC in assists per game during league play (5.9). He recorded a career-high 10 vs. Ole Miss (Jan. 21).
Mizzou's second annual #RallyForRhyan Game has been scheduled for the Tigers' game vs. Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 4. Learn more about the opportunity to support pediatric cancer research at MUTigers.com/R4Rgame.
Mizzou is once again cultivating a talented, but young roster during the 2016-17 season. According to KenPom.com, the Tigers rank 338th out of 351 NCAA Division I teams in terms of experience.

OPPONENT - SOUTH CAROLINA

No. 23 South Carolina (16-4, 6-1) enters Mizzou Arena as winners of six of their last seven games. The Gamecocks' only set-back so far in conference play was to Kentucky, 85-69, on Jan. 21.
South Carolina opened its season by winning its first eight games, including a 64-50 win over Syracuse on Nov. 26. Among the Gamecocks notable wins in conference play include Texas A&M, 79-68, on Jan. 7, Ole Miss, 67-56, on Jan. 14 and Florida, 57-53, on Jan. 18.
The Gamecocks are led by senior guard Sindarius Thornwell, who is averaging 19.6 points per game while shooting a scorching 44.9 percent from the field (84-of-147). Sophomore guard PJ Dozier and senior guard Duane Notice also average double figures, scoring 13.9 points and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
Thornwell leads the team in rebounds with 6.9 per game, while sophomore forward Chris Silva is second on the team with 6.1 boards per game. Freshman forward Malik Kotsar leads the team in offensive rebounds with 48, while Silva is second on the team with 44.
South Carolina is averaging 72.2 points and 37.0 rebounds per game through 20 games, allowing 61.2 points and 34.3 rebounds per game to its opponents. Foes of the Gamecocks have shot 37.3 percent from the field and 26.4 percent from the three-point line.

JORDANS GO FOR 18 EACH

Junior forward Jordan Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led Mizzou in scoring at Mississippi State (Jan. 25), with both first-year Tigers dropping 18 points on the Bulldogs.
Barnett had two previous outings of at least 18 points, scoring 18 vs. LSU (Jan. 4) for a then-career high before setting a new personal record with 20 points vs. Auburn (Jan. 10).
Geist's 18 points matched his season-best for the Tigers, which he previously scored in his first start of the season for Mizzou vs. Lipscomb (Dec. 29).
"The Jordans" combined for 36 points at Mississippi State, a new season-high for the duo. Previously, Barnett and Geist's best dual effort was 33 points vs. Lipscomb. Along with Geist's 18, Barnett added 15 points.

COUNT ON #CVL

Sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.) is a deep range threat, but has continued searching for consistency in his second season as a Tiger. VanLeer may have found it in Mizzou's latest four game stretch of SEC games, as he has sank 8-of-13 from three-point territory (61.5 percent).
Known as the gym rat and a son of a coach (VanLeer's father, John VanLeer, coached him at Pacific High School), VanLeer trudged through a rough start to SEC play, scoring zero points and shooting 0-for-3 vs. LSU (Jan. 4), at Georgia (Jan. 7) and vs. Auburn (Jan. 10).
Minutes in the rotation have increased for VanLeer since Mizzou's game at Arkansas (Jan. 14) and the shooter's 28 minutes off the bench at Mississippi State (Jan. 25) were his most since his most recent start (35, vs. Illinois, Dec. 21).

UNHITCH THE PLOW AND GO

Mizzou shot the lights out of Humphrey Coliseum in the opening half of its game at Mississippi State (Jan. 25), hitting on 61.5 percent (16-of-26) of its field goal attempts. For a team that entered the game shooting 38.6 percent from the field in Southeastern Conference action, the first half was a welcome sight.
In fact, the Tigers' opening half in Starkville was its most prolific half of shooting since converting 67.9 percent (19-of-28) of its field goal attempts in the second half of Mizzou's season-opener vs. Alabama A&M (Nov. 13).
In conference action, Mizzou had not shot better than 61.5 percent from the field in a half on the road since the 2012-13 season. Mizzou made a blistering 72.7 percent of its buckets (16-of-22) in the second half at South Carolina on Feb. 28, 2013.

#RALLYFORRHYAN GAME ON FEB. 4

The second annual #RallyForRhyan Game will take place Saturday, Feb. 4, as the Tigers host Arkansas for a 5 p.m. CT tipoff at Mizzou Arena.
Named after Mizzou Men's Basketball coaching staff member Brad Loos' six-year old daughter, Rhyan, the #RallyForRhyan movement began in support of Rhyan's ongoing fight against pediatric cancer.
Last season's first-ever #RallyForRhyan Game raised more than $50,000 dollars towards pediatric cancer research, with a season-high 10,536 fans coming to Mizzou Arena to cheer on the Tigers and offer their support.
The Black & Gold defeated Tennessee, 75-64, to make the first #RallyForRhyan Game (Feb. 13) even more special. Outgoing senior forward Ryan Rosburg scored 21 points in the win, followed by then-freshman forward Kevin Puryear's 17 points.