MU has shot at history

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Next up for Missouri -- a chance to make a little NCAA history.

The Tigers, who finished sixth in the Big 12 in the regular season, are on quite a postseason roll, scoring two lopsided upset victories in the West Regional. With a win over UCLA in San Jose on Thursday, they would become the first No. 12 seed to reach the round of eight.

"I'm really proud of what this team has become," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said after Saturday's 83-67 win over No. 4 Ohio State. "Right now, this is an incredibly hungry team."

Hungry and confident.

The Tigers, who opened the tournament with a 93-80 win over Miami, are playing the way they did at the start of the season, when they ran off nine straight wins and climbed to No. 2 in the polls.

Snyder said this week he knew back in December the Tigers weren't that good, referring to the 9-0 start as "ignorance and bliss."

The Tigers (23-11) proved him right, going a mediocre 12-11 the rest of the season.

But something happened between the Big 12 tournament -- where Missouri lost to Texas in the second round -- and Albuquerque.

"They just started listening more attentively," Snyder said. "I just think they are taking everything in on a deeper level. As a group, they have more depth now."

Forward Kareem Rush, the team's leading scorer, said the Tigers didn't let their struggles divide them.

"We stayed together. We're persevering and now we're playing well," Rush said.

Rush took an elbow in the mouth in the win over Miami. The hit opened up a cut that required 21 stitches, but Rush still played 34 minutes against Ohio State, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Rickey Paulding added 20 points and nine boards as the Tigers overwhelmed Ohio State on the boards by a 52-28 margin. That's the most rebounds against the Buckeyes this season.

"An understatement is that we were beaten by a much better team," said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien. "They were more physical, they were quicker. We kind of ran into a buzzsaw."

Ohio State guard Brian Brown, who led the Buckeyes with 19 points, was equally impressed.

"Those guys are dangerous because they're unconscious," Brown said. "They shoot the ball whenever they feel like it."

Justin Gage, a 6-foot-4 reserve forward, also had nine rebounds in Missouri's win over Ohio State (24-8). Gage plays on Missouri's football team and was an All-Big 12 tight end last season. The Tigers' spring football practices started Saturday, but Gage will have to catch up, because the Tigers are in the round of 16 for the first time since 1994.