Season Stats I Career Stats

Setting the Scene:
The Missouri Western (6-7, 1-6 MIAA) men's basketball team will look to pick up its first victory of the 2012 calendar year on Wednesday night when they take on the Truman State Bulldogs (4-10, 2-5 MIAA) for a 7:30 pm tipoff in St. Joseph. Both the Griffons and the Bulldogs are out to snap four game MIAA losing streaks, having gone winless in league play since December 7th when Western defeated Missouri Southern and Truman beat Southwest Baptist.  Truman is coming off a 65-47 loss at Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon in a game that never grew to more than 11 at any point until the waning minutes as the Bearcats iced the game at the charity stripe. The squad has dropped five straight MIAA road affairs dating back to last season, with the last win coming in St. Joseph on Feb. 19, 2011 against the Griffons. The Griffons fell to Lincoln on Saturday 66-63 and are looking for their first victory in over a month. Last season the Griffons had a five game losing streak in late January.

Scouting the Griffons:
Missouri Western enters Wednesday night ranked last in the MIAA at 1-6 (five games back of MIAA-leading Northwest Missouri) with an overall record of 6-7. The squad started 4-0 in nonconference play before dropping seven of its next nine. The Griffons are led by three players in double-figure scoring, including TJ Johnson at 13.4 ppg, James Harris at 12.2 ppg and Lavonte Douglas at 10.8 ppg. Each of the trio excels in another area, with Johnson shooting 46% with nine blocks, Harris posting a team-high 3.4 assists/ game and Douglas ranking fifth in the MIAA in rebounding at 7.0 per contest. Missouri Western is 5-3 at home on the year, though just 1-3 in MIAA affairs. Their signature win this season came on Dec. 7 in an eight-point win against then-No. 1 MSSU. Harris led all players with 26 points and seven assists in the game. Tom Smith is in his 24th season at MWSU, having compiled a 435-252 record in St. Joseph. He is in his 37th season overall.

The Series:
This marks the 61st meeting between the Griffons and the Bulldogs with the Griffons holding a 37-23 advantage. Western as beat the Bulldogs in five of the last eight meetings with three of the five coming in the fieldhouse. In the last overtime game in the series the Griffons defeated the Bulldogs 90-79 on February 18, 2004 in St. Joseph, Mo. Western holds a 19-10 all-time record against the Bulldogs in the fieldhouse.

The Coaches vs. Each program:
Head Coach Tom Smith holds a 35-10 record against the Bulldogs since being at Western while Matt Woodley is in his first season. Coach Smith is 17-4 in St. Joseph against TSU and 17-5 in Kirksville with two of those losses coming in the last three seasons. Smith is 1-1 in neutral site games against TSU. The Griffons are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings with the Bulldogs.

Losses When Holding Opposing Team to Under 60 points:
The Griffons have only lost 13 games all-time when holding an opponent to under 60 points. Under head coach Tom Smith they have only lost two games holding an opponent under 60 points. Western's first loss under Smith was against Northwest Missouri State on January 5, 2005 by a score of 58-54 in Maryville. The last loss was last Saturday when they fell 59-57 at home against Emporia. This marks just the seventh home game they have lost when giving up under 60 points. The first ever loss was in 1975-76 when they fell 53-52 at Missouri Southern.

On the Internet:
If you can't make it to the game you can watch live stats at WU live stats link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/missouri/mbball/xlive.htm. You can listen to the game at hhttp://www.680kfeq.com/section/view/missouri_western_griffons/89/ and you can watch the game at www.b2livetv.com/partner_members.asp?id=289 for a minimal cost.