Griffon Men Host Lindenwood University Saturday, February 1

Game Notes | Lindenwood Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Griffs will look to get back to the .500 mark on the Saturday with a big MIAA game on Saturday afternoon. They will take on the Lindenwood Lions who makes the trip over on Saturday for a 3:30 PM tip. If you can't make it to the game, listen live on the Griffon Sports Network KFEQ 680 AM, on-line at gogriffons.com or on your mobile device via the Griffon Athletics App.

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 138-97 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 six players scoring seven or more points a game. Three players average double digit numbers with Ryan Devers leading the way at 17.7 points per game. Cortrez Colbert and Adarius Fulton are averaging 13.4 and 10.8 points respectively. Devers has scored in double figures in 13 straight 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 17 of 18 games.
• The Griffons have struggled to rebound the ball getting outrebounded by 6.3 a game. They have just 31.6 rebounds to their opponents 37.9. In thier last two victories they outrebounded their opponents. On Wednesday they outrebounded Lincoln 39-19 with 10 coming on the offensive end of the floor. Against Southwest Baptist the outrebounded the Bearcats 44-30 with 13 coming off the offensive end of the floor.
• The Griffons have 55 less turnovers than it's opponents and 34 more steals. Nine players have at least four steals this season.
• The shooting very well from the free throw line making 70.2-percent (337-480) on the season. In the victory against Lioncoln they made 17-of-21 attempts. 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 4-3 since 1994-95 on January 29 going 1-1 at home and 3-2 on the road. Wednesday was the first meeting between the two schools on the 29th. The Griffons last game on the 29th was in 2011 when they fell 87-74 at Washburn. Their only home game was in 2005 when they fell 72-66 against Washburn.
• The Griffons are 2-2 since 1994-95 on February 1 going 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. The Griffons have not played the Lions on the 1st. The Griffons last game on the 1st was in 2010 when they upseet the 3rd ranked Fort Hays State Tigers 75-69 in St. Joseph, Mo.
• 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 - Lincoln:
Weiberg is 1-0 against the Blue Tigers and 1-0 at home. Lincoln head coach John Redmond is 2-5 against the Griffons. Both of his wins came during the 2011-2012 season.

The Series vs. the Blue Tigers:
This was the 32nd meeting between the two schools as the Griffons hold a 27-5 advantage. The Griffons are 16-2 in St. Joseph, 10-2 in Jefferson City and 1-1 on a neutral court.

Coaches vs. Each Program - Lindenwood:
This marks the first meeting for coach Wieberg and the Lindenwood Lions. Lindenwood head coach Brad Soderberg is 1-0 against the Griffons after winning last season in St. Joseph by a score of 78-69.

The Series vs. the Lions:
The Griffons are 0-1 against the Lions as the 78-69 loss in St. Joseph on January 16, 2013 was the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Record vs. Ranked Oppoents:
This season the Griffons are 1-2 against ranked opponents. Two of the three 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 fell 105-71 against #22 Missouri Southern in Joplin on January 25, 2014. The Griffons are getting outscored 88.7 to 72.3 in those games and outrebounded 41.0 to 25.7. They have turned the ball over 15 less times and have four more steals. They have struggled from the free throw line making just 43-of-72 attempts to their opponents making 74.7-percent (65-87). Ryan Devres has scored 13.3 points per game and snared 5.3 rebounds while Cortrez Colbert has scored 10.7 points per game shooting 50.0-percent (11-22) 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 181 times for an average of 9.5 per game. When the Griffons have turned the ball over less than their opponents they are 7-7 this season. When they turn the ball over the same amount of more they are 2-3. Their last two MIAA victories came when they turned the ball over more than their opponents. Against Southwest Baptist and Lincoln.

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 84, 54 and 33 assists respectively. The Griffons have 251 assists on the season and when they dish out 15 assists or more the Griffons are 5-2 this season and when they have less than 15 assists they are 4-8.

Got to Rebound:
With being undersized the Griffons have to rebound the ball. They are getting outrebounded by 6.3 a game. The Griffons have been outrebounded in all but four of their games this season. When they either outrebounded or keep the rebounding margin under ten they are 8-4 on the season.

Struggles on the Road:
The Griffons have struggled on the road this season going 0-7 and 0-6 in the MIAA. They are shooting just 39.2-percent (166-424) and are getting outscored 87.3-73.4. They have 43 less assists on the road and 19 less blocks. They do have 16 less turnovers and 3 more steals but are getting outrebounded by 79. They have 167 personal fouls to their opponents 131 and have been outscoed by 54 in the first half and 43 in the second half on the road. Devers is averaging 16.9 points per game while Fulton and Colbert are averaging 13.2 and 10.6 points pn the road.

Balanced Scoring
When the Griffons have four or more players score in double figures they are 7-5 on the season with all their losses coming on the road against Illinois-Springfield, Northeastern State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern.

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 next week when they travel to Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday, February 5 to take on the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in Maryville, Mo. Game time is set for 7:30 pm. They will be at Lindenwood on Saturday, February 8 for an MIAA match up in St. Charles, Mo. Game time is set for 3:00 pm.

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Griffon Men Host Lindenwood University Saturday, February 1