Game Notes | MSSU MBB Page | Live Stats | Live Radio | Live Video

St. Joseph, Mo. - The Griffon men return to action on Saturday, January 25 with a road contest against #22 Missouri Southern. The game will be at 1:00 pm in Joplin, Mo. at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. 

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 44th season of Griffons men's basketball
• This marks the first season in 25 years that the MWSU basketball team will be playing under a new head coach. Brett Weiberg is in his first season at MWSU and 8th season overall. He is 137-96 as a head coach with the previous seven seasons being at Northern Oklahoma College. He is just the 4th head coach in MWSU history and had  a 27-4 record last season at Northern (Okla.).
• The Griffons have been balanced in the scoring category with five active players scoring eight or more points a game. Three players average double digit numbers with Ryan Devers leading the way at 17.5 points per game. Cortrez Colbert and Adarius Fulton are averaging 13.5 and 10.9 points respectively.  Devers has scored over 20 points in three of his last five games including 35 in the Griffons victory over Nebraska-Kearney. The 35 points was the first time a Griffon did that since 12/19/10 when P'Allen Stinnett scored 33 against Washburn. The last player to score over 35 points was Reggie Bunch when he scored 38 on March 1, 2008 against Missouri Southern. He has scored in double digits in 12 straight games and 16 of 17 games.
• The Griffons have struggled to rebound the ball getting outrebounded by 7.1 a game. They have just 31.7 rebounds to their opponents 38.8. The did outrebound Southwest Baptist in their last game 44-30 with 13 coming off the offensive end of the floor.
• The Griffons have 52 less turnovers than it's opponents and 41 more steals. Seven players have at least four steals this season.
• The shooting very well from the free throw line making 70.5-percent (304-431) on the season. In their victory over SBU they made 38-of-50 for 76-percent. The 38 makes and 50 attempts. The record for free throws made in a game is 40 which was set against Central Missouri on February 1, 1992 and the record for free throws attempted is 52 against Northwest Missouri State on February 13, 1991.
• The Griffons are 3-1 since 1994-95 on January 25 going 2-1 at home and 1-0 on the road. The Griffons have not played the Lions on the 25. The last time they played on January 25 was in 2012 when they beat the Emporia State Hornets 72-66 in Emporia, Kan.
• The Griffons were picked to finish 11th in the MIAA preseason coaches poll and 12th in the preseason media poll while the Tigers were picked 1st in both preseason polls. 

Coaches vs. Each Program - MSSU:
This marks the first meeting for coach Wieberg and the Missouri Southern Lions. Missouri Southern head coach Robert Corn is just 21-24 overall against the Griffons since becoming the Lions head coach in the 1989 season.

The Series vs. the Lions
This is the 85th meeting between the two teams with Missouri Western holding slight lead in the series, 44-40. The Griffons and Lions have battled close as of late. MWSU's win on Dec. 7, 2011 was just the third by the Griffons in the last 12 contests. The Lions defeated the Griffons last season in Joplin, Mo. by a score of 95-69.  MWSU is 33-11 at home and 11-29 in Joplin.  The Griffons have lost seven straight in Joplin with their last victory coming on January 28, 2006 by a score of 80-63.

Record vs. Ranked Oppoents:
This season the Griffons are 1-1 against ranked opponents. Both games were played in St. Joseph, Mo. The Griffons fell 82-64 against #13 Midwestern State on November 16 before defeating #15 Fort Hays State 82-79 on December 7. The Griffons are getting outscored 80.5 to 73 in those games and outrebounded 40.5 to 27. They have turned the ball over 10 less times and have four more steals. They have struggled from the free throw line making just 27-of-44 attempts to their opponents making 76.6-percent (36-47). Ryan Devres has scored 13 points per game and snared six rebounds while Cortrez Colbert has scored 11.5 points per game hooting 52.9-percent (9-17) from the field.

Taking Care of the Ball
In order for the Griffons to be successful this season they have to keep the turnovers down. So far this season they have done just that turning it over just 160 times for an average of 9.4 per game. When the Griffons have turned the ball over less than their opponents they are 7-6 this season. When they turn the ball over the same amount of more they are 1-3. Their only victory when turning the ball over more then their opponents was against Southwest Baptist.

Dishing the Rock
The Griffons have been very good at getting their teammates involved. Guards Ryan Devers, Cortrez Colbert and Adarius Fulton have dished out 79, 49 and 31 assists respectively. The Griffons have 224 assists on the season and when they dish out 15 assists or more the Griffons are 4-2 this season and when they have less than 15 assists they are 4-7.

Got to Rebound
With being undersized the Griffons have to rebound the ball. They are getting outrebounded by 7.1 a game. The Griffons have been outrebounded in all but three of their games this season. When they either outrebounded or keep the rebounding margin under ten they are 7-4 on the season.

Struggles on the Road
The Griffons have struggled on the road this season going 0-6 and 0-5 in the MIAA. TheY are shooting just 39.1-percent (141-361) and are getting outscored 84.3-73.8. They have 28 less assists on the road and 12 less blocks. They do have 11 less turnovers and 3 more steals but are getting outrebounded by 60. They have 150 personal fouls to their opponents 109 and have been outscoed by 33 in the first ahld and 30 in the second half on the road. Devers is averaging 17.3 points per game while Fulton and Colbert are averaging 13.2 and 10.8 points pn the road.

Balanced Scoring
When the Griffons have four or more players score in double figures they are 6-4 on the season with all their losses coming on the road against Illinois-Springfield, Northeastern State, Emporia State and Pittsburg State.

Griffon Wins Against Top-25 Ranked Teams:
Since 2001-2002 the Griffons have defeated 15 teams that were ranked in the top-25 which includes their biggest upset yet on Dec. 7 in the fieldhouse when they defeated No. 1 Missouri Southern 75-67.
12/07/13 vs. #15 Fort Hays State - 82-79 OT
02/06/13 @ #17 Washburn - 79-74
01/12/13 vs. #24 Northwest Missouri State - 71-58
12/7/11 vs. #1 Missouri Southern - W, 75-67
12/11/10 vs. #6 Fort Hays State - W, 78-77
02/01/10 vs. #3 Fort Hays State - W, 75-69
02/24/09 vs. #2 Central Missouri - W, 55-49
12/18/09 vs. #12 Drury - W, 91-84 in High Desert Classic in Las Vegas
11/21/09 vs. #17 Central Oklahoma - W, 83-79 in Hillyard Tipoff Classic
2/19/05 @ #6 Central Missouri - W, 70-68
12/29/04 vs. #6 Washburn - W, 73-70
1/29/03 @ #18 Washburn - W, 68-67
1/23/02 vs. #13 Missouri Southern - W, 80-73
1/2/02 @ #4 Washburn - W, 95-92
1/30/02 vs. #11 Washburn - W, 73-71
2/4/02 @ #3 Northwest Missouri State - W, 64-59

Up Next
The Griffons return to action with two home games next week. On Wednesday, January 29 they host the Lincoln Blue Tigers before ending the week with a home contest against the Lindenwood Lions. Wednesday's game is scheduled to tip at 7:30 pm with Saturday's at 3:30 pm.