GAME GUIDE: Missouri and Marquette

COLUMBIA — The Missouri Tigers take on the Marquette Golden Eagles at 3:50 p.m. *Sunday in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in Boise, Idaho.

The No. 6-seed Eagles barely escaped a first round upset at the hands of Utah State. The No. 3-seed Tigers, meanwhile, came out sluggish in the first of their game against Cornell. But the athleticism of the Tigers carried them a 78-59 win.

Here are some links to cool stories to enliven your tournament-watching experience as Missouri tries to march through the field of 65 for the first time in six years.

Stuck in the office: If you can't watch the game live from your sofa or friendly neighborhood pub, you can catch all the game live at the NCAA's web site. You might need to download software, but there is a link and it is easily removable from your hard drive.

Statistically driven: If you're a stat geek, Kenpom.com is the place for you. The site is devoted to breaking down how efficient a team is on offense, defense and other statistical categories. Missouri has been among the top 10 all season in overall efficiency. If the idea of looking at that many statistics is enough to fry your brain, the site provides an explanation of how the system works. It's cool to see how teams in the tournament compare to one another.

Catch-up: If you missed a story or just want to learn more about the Tigers tournament experience, here is the Missourian's coverage.

Muddling Through: ESPN's Graham Watson writes that Missouri beat Cornell largely due to its "sheer athletic ability." The effort was different for a team that touts itself as playing "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball."

Memory Lane: The Tigers and Eagles tangled in 2003 during an epic second round matchup that featured sterling performances by DeWayne Wade (now a star with the NBA's Miami Heat) and Ricky Paulding. The Tigers lost in overtime, but it took Marquette hitting all of its shots to seal up the win. Six years later, Paulding hopes the Tigers can pull off a win.

Breaking his slump: Kim English got his shooting touch back against Cornell and helped key a run that gave Missouri some breathing room against the Big Red.

Playing catch-up: Get to know what has transpired with the Eagles over the past several weeks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's blog.

Opposites repel: CBS analyst Bill Frieder tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the Missouri-Marquette features teams with contrasting styles. He tells the Jorunal-Sentinel that the No. 3-seed Tigers have the advantage in terms of depth and that No.6-seed Marquette has the upper-hand when it comes to tournament experience.

They're ready: The Eagles' Lazar Hayward thinks that Marquette should be fine, whether point guard Dominic James plays, against Missouri's pressure defense. "...Of course, it’s going to be a different look, and it may be a little bit difficult for our team, but it’s not a hard adjustment.”

Old hat: Marquette's Maurice Acker has been filling in for injured point guard and team leader Dominic James. The Chicago native transferred from Ball State, where his was the Mid-American Conference rookie of the year, after a coaching change. His numbers this season are similar to those he posted as a starter for the Cardinals.

Need something to do?: Missourian reporter Andrew Van Dam hails from Boise and offers a guide about sites to see and things to do for fans attending the games this weekend on The Watchword blog.

Ready to Pounce: USA Today reports that the Tigers are looking to make some noise in the tournament and write a new chapter that helps the program forget  a painful loss to UCLA on a last-second shot by UCLA's Tyus Edney in the second round of the 1995 NCAA tournament in Boise.

The road to Boise: The Tigers recount their season-long trek to returning to the NCAA tournament.

Easy to focus: Missouri coach Mike Anderson says that distractions shouldn't be a problem for the Tigers and that the location helps prevent them.

Cornell

Happy in Ithaca: Steve Donahue might not have the grandest facilities, top-of-the-rung recruits or make loads of money, but Joe Posnanski writes that coaching Cornell in the Ivy League is an experience that an experience he wouldn't trade.

Heading West: Cornell reserve forward Jon Jaques writes about the Big Red's trip to Boise on his blog for The New York Times.

Preparing for Pressure: The Big Red have tried to ready themselves for Missouri's pressuring style of play by picking up the tempo in practice, including the use of a sixth defender.

Slightly Seasoned: Cornell does have one advantage over the Tigers: tournament experience. This is the second straight year the Big Red have made the field of 65 teams.