Joplin, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will continue non-conference action with a matchup against Oklahoma Wesleyan Saturday afternoon. Tip off from
Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 3 pm.
Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (8-3, 4-0 MIAA) vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan (7-8, 4-4 KCAC)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016
Tip-Off: 3:00 pm
Location: Joplin, Mo.
Site: Leggett & Platt Athletic Center (3,240)
Series Record: First Ever Meeting
Coaches: Jeff Boschee (46-26 overall/at MSSU). Mark Molder
Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - ESPN Joplin - 101.3, 103.5 FM, AM 1560; KXMS 88.7 FM
Internet Audio: www.mssulions.com
Live Video: www.mssulions.com
Live Stats: www.mssulions.com
Lions on Facebook: Facebook.com/mososports
Lions on Twitter: @mososports; @mssumensbball
The Series
This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
NCAA Individual Stat Leaders
CJ Carr is seventh nationally in total steals, 11th in steals per game, 18th in total field goal attempts, 19th in scoring, 22nd in total points, 34th in total assists, 35th in free throws made, 40th in total field goals made and 47th in assists per game. Elyjah Clark is 38th in three pointers per game and 43rd in total three's made.
NCAA Team Stat Leaders
Southern ranks eighth in turnover margin, while ranking 23rd in scoring, 25th in turnovers (fewest) per game, 26th in free throws made, 28th in free throw percentage, 40th in both offensive rebounds per game and turnovers forced, 42nd in total three's made, and 46th in three's per game.
MIAA Individual Leaders
Carr leads the MIAA in steals per game and total steals, while ranking second in assists per game, total assists, total field goal attempts, and scoring. He ranks third in total field goals made and total points, as well as free throws made. Clark is second in three pointers per game, while ranking third in three point attempts.
MIAA Team Stat Leaders
The Lions lead the MIAA in offensive rebounds per game, scoring and turnover margin, while ranking second in three point attempts, free throw percentage, three pointers per game and turnovers forced. The team ranks third in fewest turnovers, free throws made, total three pointers made and turnovers per game (Fewest).
There's Our Rebounds
For the fifth time this season (fourth in a row), the Lions won the rebound battle as they held a 42-37 advantage against Arkansas Tech. In the last four games for the Lions, Southern has out rebounded its opponents by a margin of 9.8, including 4.8 on the offensive boards. Those offensive rebounds have led to 16.8 second-chance points per game over the last four for the Lions.
LJ's Night At The Boards
LJ Ross had a career-night against Nebraska-Kearney as the junior from Tulsa had 19 rebounds in the game against the Lopers, besting his previous career-high of 13 set earlier in the year against Minnesota State.
Red-Hot Freshman
Elyjah Clark is second on the team in scoring this year with 15.3 points per game and he ranks 12th in the MIAA in that category. However, he is the top-scoring freshman in the entire MIAA.
Give Me That Ball
The Lions lead the MIAA in turnover margin, while ranking second in turnovers forced and third fewest turnovers themselves. Southern is forcing 17.1 turnovers per game this year, with a turnover margin of 5.8.
Let's Try That Again
The Lions lead the MIAA in offensive rebounds this year, averaging 13.3 offensive boards per game. That equates to 16.2 second-chance points a game.
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 123-straight games since Arkansas Tech in 2012-13.
Game of Firsts
Against Arkansas Tech, the Lions scored 90 plus points and lost for the first time this year and just the second time under Jeff Boschee. They also allowed 100 plus points at home for the first time since the 2009 season.
New Starting Five
For the first time in program history (since joining the NCAA), the Missouri Southern men's basketball program started five entirely new players to the roster the first two games to the season this year. All five players in the starting lineup did not play last year at MSSU.
D2 SID's Regional Ranking
After going 8-3 to start the season, the Lions are at No. 6 in the Division II SID's regional rankings this week.
Keep Em Low
The Lions held Lindenwood to just 55 points which is a season-low for any MSSU opponent. The 55 points are the lowest allowed in a single-game for Southern since 48 in the 2014-15 season against Benedictine and the lowest against an MIAA opponent since 54 against Northeastern State on Jan. of 2015.
4-0 Start To MIAA
MSSU is off to a 4-0 start in league play for the first time since the 2010-11 season when the Lions went 4-0 to start MIAA play.
New School Record
The Lions set a new school record with 42 attempted three pointers against Missouri S&T. The mark surpassed the 34 set last season against Washburn.
Lions On The Radio
The majority of the Lions games this season can be heard on the Missouri Southern Radio Network in Joplin. Partnering with ESPN Joplin, the Lions can be heard on 101.3 FM, 103.5 FM, 88.7 FM and AM 1560.
Lions on TV
All Missouri Southern conference home games will be brought to you live this season courtesy of KGCS TV in Joplin. Fans can catch the action over the air live on Digital Channel 22 as well as on local cable systems.
Up Next
The Lions will be back in action on Jan. 2 when Southern plays host to Randall University. Tip off from Robert Corn Court inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center is slated for 7:30 pm.
