The Missouri Tigers are in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since the 2002 season when the Tigers made it to the Elite Eight.
Mizzou will face Memphis in the West Regional semifinals in Glendale, Ariz. in what should be a titanic match-up of athletic teams that love to get up and down the floor for the entire game.
It has been a season of milestones for the Tigers. As well as winning their first Big 12 Tournament title, the Tigers reached the 30-victory plateau with its second-round victory over Marquette. Standing in the way of another Elite Eight berth are the Memphis Tigers, who feature one of the nation’s top freshman in 6’7” point guard Tyreke Evans. The Tigers also feature a group of long, athletic players such as 6’9” Robert Dozier, 6’10” Shawn Taggart and 6’6” Antonio Anderson. The winner is looking at a probable showdown with Big East powerhouse Connecticut.
This should be a fabulous matchup against a Mizzou team that can go 11-deep in quality players. How about the performance of freshman Kim English against Marquette last Sunday. The one player who I’m looking forward to see 0really step up this weekend is 6’9” senior Leo Lyons. If the Tigers are going to defeat Memphis and Connecticut (presuming they beat Purdue) to get the Final Four, Lyons has to really step forward to give the Tigers that inside-outside play that nobody else on the team can do. Leo can make himself a lot of money this weekend. At 6’9” and 240 pounds, he can be a match-up nightmare with his versatile skill set. He has enjoyed an excellent senior year, but it is now time to bring it up another level. If he does, watch out.
This is also a huge weekend for the Mizzou basketball program from a recruiting standpoint. The further a program gets in the NCAA Tournament, that’s more of the national spotlight that you get for your program as other teams fall by the wayside. A lot of young, impressionable eyeballs will be glued to a team that plays an exciting, up-tempo brand of basketball.
All Stars at Harris-Stowe
The Missouri vs. Illinois Riverwar High School All-Star Basketball Games will be held on Saturday, April 4 at Harris-Stowe State University. Top players from the bi-state area will be featured in the three-game event. The girls game will be held at 3:45 p.m., followed by the I-70 Showdown with St. Louis vs. Kansas City at 6:15 p.m. The Missouri vs. Illinois All-Stars will play at 7:45 p.m. A slam dunk and 3-point shooting contest will also be held at 5:30 p.m. Come and see some of the area’s top high school seniors in action.
Final Foursome
Congratulations to these high school teams that advanced to the Final Four of the recent high school state tournament. Career Academy’s girls finished third in the Class 4 state tournament. The Phoenix became a breakthrough girls program this season under the leadership of head coach Martin Jenkins. The Career Academy boys brought home a fourth-place trophy from the Class 4 state tournament. Hazelwood Central’s girls finished third in the Class 5 state tournament. It was the Hawks first Final Four showing since 1985. The Hawks were a well-balanced team with a lot of size and athletic ability. Nerinx Hall finished fourth in the Class 5 girls tournament. Head coach Mike Slater did a great job of rallying his team after losing the services of top player Mary Beth Mathias to a season-ending knee injury last month.
Watts up
Former Jennings High standout Sanijay Watts led Central Missouri State to a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Louisville this weekend. Watts had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Mules past Southwest Baptist 98-63 in the South-Central Regional Championship game in Warrensburg. The 6’4” Watts is Central Missouri State’s leading scorer at 15 points a game.
Baker’s dozen
Former Whitfield High standout Mike Baker helped lead Franklin & Marshall College to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament in Salem, Mass. The 6’7” Baker averaged 10.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. He had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Richard Stockton College in the national semifinals.
STL in AK/LR
St. Louisans Shanika Butler (Gateway Tech), Channon Haywood (Hazelwood East) and Britteni Williams (Incarnate Word) were members of the Arkansas-Little Rock team that finished with a 26-7 record and won the regular-season title of the Sun Belt Conference. Butler, a sophomore guard, was one of the team’s top defensive players while Haywood and Williams were frontcourt reserves…Former Incarnate Word standout Felicia Chester was a starting forward on DePaul’s NCAA Tournament team. The 6’3” Chester averaged 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and led the Blue Demons in blocked shots.
