The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Missouri
No. 7 Women's Basketball preview: Missouri [March 21, 2016]
03.21.2016 | Women's Basketball
Longhorns and Tigers meet at 8:15 p.m. CT on Monday in the Frank Erwin Center.
No. 7/7 Texas Longhorns (29-4) vs. Missouri Tigers (22-9)
NCAA Second Round
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
Time: Monday, March 21, 2016 | 8:15 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, Nell Fortner)
Radio: 104.9 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Tickets | Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio
AUSTIN, Texas - The No. 7/7 University of Texas women's basketball team looks to advance to its 13th all-time NCAA Sweet Sixteen when the Longhorns face Southeastern Conference foe Missouri on Monday in the NCAA Second Round at the Frank Erwin Center. Tip-off is slated for 8:15 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
Texas (29-4) is looking to reach 30 wins in a season for the first time since going 30-5 in 2003-04. The Longhorns are coming off an 86-42 win against Alabama State in the NCAA First Round on Saturday, which tied for the largest NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
The Longhorns are making the program's 21st all-time appearance in the NCAA Round of 32 and Texas is 12-8 in that round. UT is making its 29th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and holds a 36-27 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games, including a 20-9 mark when the game is played at home.
"We're obviously excited to be playing another day, and excited to be in Austin," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "After we got through halftime [against Alabama State], I was extremely pleased with the thought of how energetic and together that our team played. Missouri is going to be a tough challenge for us."
Texas is led in scoring by sophomore guard Brooke McCarty, who is averaging 11.8 points per game in a team-high 30.4 minutes per game. She has led the Longhorns in scoring a squad-best 10 times this season.
Senior center Imani Boyette follows with 11.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounding (9.0 rebounds per game) and blocked shots (3.0 blocks per game). Boyette needs one more block to become just the second player in school history (Ashley Gayle is the other) to reach 100 blocks in a single-season. She also needs two more blocks to join Gayle as just the second player in school history to reach 300 career blocks.
Sophomore guard Ariel Atkins adds 10.2 points per game, while junior center Kelsey Lang is the team's second-leading rebounder at 4.7 boards per game. Senior guard Celina Rodrigo has dished out a squad-best 122 assists, while McCarty has logged a team-high 43 steals.
Texas and Missouri, former Big 12 Conference foes, meet for the 25th time in the history of the two programs with the Longhorns leading the all-time series 22-2. The teams last met Feb. 28, 2012, a 75-62 Texas victory.
Missouri (22-9) earned its first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years on Saturday night with a 78-69 win against BYU in the NCAA First Round. The Tigers set a program NCAA Tournament record by shooting 57 percent from the field.
QUICK NOTES
• The Longhorns are a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history (1983, 1984, 1989, 2003) and are 10-4 all-time as a No. 2 seed. It is Texas' best NCAA Tournament seed since earning a No. 1 seed in 2004.
• Texas ranks fifth in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with 1,010 all-time victories.
• Five Longhorns earned recognition on the All-Big 12 teams. Imani Boyette and Brooke McCarty were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, Ariel Atkins was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Empress Davenport and Celina Rodrigo were named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
• The Longhorns are 6-4 (.600) this year against top-25 teams, including a 2-3 (.400) mark against the top-10.
• The Longhorns have reached 29 overall victories for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
• Texas tied the school record for most Big 12 Conference wins at 15. The 2002-03 team finished 15-1 in Big 12 play.
• The Longhorns have won 15 games this season by 20 or more points.
• Texas has either tied or won the rebound battle in 27 of 33 games this season. The Longhorns rank 17th in the nation in rebound margin at +9.5.
• The Longhorns have scored 60 or more points in 29 of 33 games this season.
• Texas has shot 50 percent or better from the floor this season in six games.
• The Longhorns are 25-0 this season when holding their opponents to 60 or fewer points.
• All 13 available Texas players have seen action in 12 games this season. Against Alabama State, for the first time this season, all 13 players scored.
• Texas leads the Big 12 Conference (all games combined) in turnover margin at +2.2.
• The Longhorns have had nine different leading scorers across their 33 games this season.
• Senior center Imani Boyette ranks 10th nationally in blocked shots with 99 this season.
