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Missouri
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
Missouri played a top-30 schedule and had some impressive performances against highly-ranked teams early. Then Kareem Rush got injured and Quin Snider's bunch had to regroup at the end of the season when he returned in time for the Big 12 tournament. Mizzou finished 9-7 in Big 12 play and managed to go 4-3 without their leading scorer and All-Conference performer. Rush missed seven games late in the season with a thumb injury, returning to the lineup for the season finale. With Rush in the lineup, the Tigers knocked off Iowa State (in an epic four-overtime instant classic) and Kansas at home. Missouri also took Illinois to overtime in a neutral-site game and went on the road to beat Indiana, becoming just the ninth non-conference opponent ever to win in Bloomington. Player to Watch The biggest key for the Tigers will be the health and ability of Kareem Rush to play with a "cast" on his thumb. Rush led the league in scoring (21.0) before hurting ligaments in his right thumb. When fully healthy, Rush can shoot the jumper or attack the rim, and averages nearly seven rebounds per game and shoots over 80 percent from the free-throw line. He also finished fourth in the conference in 3-pointers per game (2.45), fifth in 3-point percentage (.419) and 15th in steals (1.36).With the Ball Rush is option No. 1, but the Tigers found other options in his absense. Guard Clarence Gilbert led the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game (3.04) and was fourth in the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg). Brian Grawer shot 41.2 percent from 3-point land and averaged 15.1 points in Rush's absence. Wesley Stokes was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team and put up 12.6 points per game while Rush was out. Fellow freshman Arthur Johnson was good for nearly nine points per contest inside and finished second in the conference with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game. Defending the Ball Missouri's quick guards make it hard for opponents to get good looks from the outside, and consequently the Tigers were second in the conference in 3-point field goal defense at .316. Things are no easier inside as the Tigers were second in the league in blocks per game (4.1) with Johnson leading the way by averaging better than two blocks per game. Brian Grawer is also a good individual defender and needs just six steals to become the Missouri career leader.Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None Playing to Expectations Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .720 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report 1985-2000: The Tigers were the only "miss" this year for the Professor of Bracketology, but it had nothing to do with a less-than-stellar NCAA history. Missouri, in fact, has not exceeded its seed in any of 11 tourney visits since 1986. Among other sins, the Tigers lost first-round games to double-digit seeds three times in four years (1987, 1988, 1990). More recently, they hold the unofficial record for most 8/9 games. This will be their fourth in a row. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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After the game, Mike Krzyzewski and Quin Snyder exchange compliments (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
