Following an 88-59 win over Binghamton last week, the Missouri Tigers moved to 6-0 on the season thanks in part to the lights-out shooting of a trio of seniors - Kim English, Ricardo Ratcliffe and Marcus Denmon - on first-year head coach Frank Haith's team. The Tigers will get another chance to refine their scoring before heading to next week's Jimmy V Classic in New York City against Villanova when they host 4-3 Northwestern State tonight.
The team's increased accuracy has pushed the Tigers from No. 25 to No. 12 in the polls. Haith spoke about smart shooting after the win over Binghamton:
"We say it all the time, and Marcus worded it at the last press conference: `great shot, good shot.' And I think it's important that we continue to understand that. And we were almost too unselfish to start this ball game. We were passing up. And I had to tell Marcus, `You understand, I want you to shoot when you're open. When you're open, you need to shoot it.' But it's still a fine line. He and Kim, when they get a rhythm going, he's going to take a couple shots, because that's what guys do when they have a game like he was having. I think with Ricardo, when you put guys in the position where they know they're going to get the ball, I think it's a little different. He knows when he's going to get the ball, he knows when he's got to post because of whatever we're doing, from an execution standpoint. Now you're aware and you're ready to score."
Date/time: Friday, December 2, 7 p.m. CT
Location: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
TV: Fox Sports Midwest (complete listing by region here)
Radio: Tiger Radio Network, 980 AM (complete listings here)
Streaming: none
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