Big men maul Missouri with high scoring, rebounding

When Texas standout freshman Kevin Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Missouri a month ago, nobody thought much of it. After all, Durant is averaging nearly 25 points per game this season.

But now that other Big 12 Conference big men have had similar performances against Missouri (15-9, 4-7 Big 12 Conference), the problem has become obvious for coach Mike Anderson.

Last weekend, Kansas forward Julian Wright had a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds against the Tigers. Baylor forward Kevin Rogers finished Wednesday’s game against Missouri with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

Durant, Wright and Rogers are all athletic players for their size. The three are tough matchups for any team. But Missouri has had an even harder time than most teams slowing down athletic big men this season.

The biggest challenge for the Tigers has been keeping these types of players from getting offensive rebounds, leading to easy looks at the basket. Wright had eight offensive rebounds against Missouri Saturday and Rogers had seven for the Bears on Wednesday.

“My biggest concern right now is what took place in the second half (against Baylor) that enabled them to get to where they started attacking the glass,” Anderson said. “Matt Lawrence, he’s got to rebound for us if he’s going to be in the lineup. We’ve got to get a couple of other guys on the boards.”

When Missouri travels to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 18 Oklahoma State (19-6. 5-5 Big 12) on Saturday, it will be facing another athletic big man: Mario Boggan. A 6-foot-7 forward, Boggan, leads the Cowboys with 21 points per game. But what will make him tough to defend is his ability to play both out on the perimeter and near the basket.

“We’ve got to be able to match up somehow,” Anderson said. “Hopefully we’ve got some guys that can step out and guard out on the perimeter as well. He presents a tremendous problem because he can do that (play on the perimeter). Not only that, he’s tremendous around the basket.”

Boggan, along with guard JamesOn Curry (18.2 points per game), will be leading an Oklahoma State team that has struggled recently. The Cowboys, who have lost three of their past four games, are coming off a 29-point loss at Texas.

Saturday’s game will be the second consecutive time that Missouri will play an opponent that has yet to win a Big 12 road game. But unlike Wednesday’s game against Baylor, the Tigers will be the team playing away from home. Since Missouri’s opponent is Oklahoma State, that difference is significant.

“They have a really good team,” Missouri forward Marshall Brown said. “They’ve been struggling as of late. But we can’t look past them at all, especially going into Stillwater. …Stillwater’s definitely one of the toughest places to play in the conference, or better yet the country.”

While the Cowboys are still winless on the road, they are undefeated at home. They are 5-0 in conference home games and 14-0 overall this season at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“It’s a tremendous atmosphere. Hopefully we’ll have the energy to match the energy of an Oklahoma State team that lost on Big Monday,” Anderson said. “I’m sure they’ll be charged up. For our guys, it’s a tremendous challenge. They’re a ranked team. They play awful well at home.”