After rocketing up the first few polls of the 2011-2012 season, the No. 13 Missouri Tigers bring their impressive six-game winning streak back to Mizzou Arena Friday against the Northwestern State Demons.
The 7:00 PM game will be televised regionally on the Missouri Sports Network and broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network.
Under new coach Frank Haith, the Tigers have not abandoned the "Forty Minutes of Hell" system, scoring 85.7 points a game, 8th in the nation. They are led by the athletic senior back-court of 6'3 Marcus Denmon and 6'6 Kim English, who each average over 18 points a game on over 50% shooting.
Northwestern State, meanwhile, has struggled to a 4-3 start, losing their only game against a high-major opponent, Cincinnati, by 28 points. They've made two NCAA appearances under 13-year head coach Mike McConathy, including a memorable 14/3 upset of Iowa in 2006.
But they lost the two leading scorers off last season's 18-14 team and have only one player, 6'0 junior guard Shamir Davis, scoring in double digits.
For Missouri, the biggest challenge may be not looking past the Demons to their nationally televised Dec. 6 game in Madison Square Garden against Villanova and their 6'9 250 center Mouphtaou Yarou.