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Good little known historical MU conf tourney story
Posted on: March 12, 2025 at 10:29:41 CT
FIJItiger MU
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most long time fans recall Chris Heller's emergence to lead MU to an unlikely tournament title in 1993. A lesser know story is that of Stan Ray, who essentially did the same thing about 15 years earlier.
https://www.rockmnation.com/2010/3/7/1358963/memorable-mizzou-postseason
An exit in the post-season tournament’s first game would put an end to the misery, as the seventh-seeded Tigers, who had not won on an opponent’s floor all year, traveled to Ames for a rematch with Iowa State.
Then things got weird, starting with an unlikely promise.
Stan Ray’s career had been star-crossed. As a freshman, his play foretold an almost certain stardom. The league’s rookie of the year, he nearly helped the Tigers into the Final Four. Then, with the world as his oyster, Ray lost his academic eligibility as a sophomore. His grades recovered in his junior year, but his game suffered, thanks to a broken hand suffered early in the season. While Larry Drew and Clay Johnson carried the team, Ray tried his best to contribute, but the cast on his hand might as well have been an anchor. Though he trudged through a tough year, Ray showed some surprising swagger as post-season approached. Before the conference tournament, Ray slid a note under his coach’s door. "I know you don’t have any confidence in me," it read, "but I’m going to prove everybody wrong and take this team to the NCAA Tournament."
The game at Ames followed a familiar pattern. Mizzou built a double-digit halftime lead, only to watch it vanish. But this time, the Tigers stiffened. With the scored tied at 63-63, with less than a minute to play, and with the ball in Larry Drew’s hands, Missouri played for one shot. As time ticked away, Drew found Clay Johnson on the baseline. The high-flying senior elevated and drilled a jump shot. By the time Johnson’s feet hit the floor, the Tigers were in the second round.
Ray didn’t look particularly prophetic yet, not with two games to go. But he began to seem positively prescient when Missouri met Nebraska in the semifinals. With the Tigers down by three points in the last two minutes, Ray took over. He stole a pass and sprinted the length of the court to cut the lead to one point, and then scored again to put the Tigers on top. When the final buzzer sounded, Missouri owned a 61-58 win and a spot in the final.
There they met Kansas State, and the story turned stranger than fiction in a game that went to overtime. The score remained tied with 1:36 left in the extra period, when Ray sank two free throws. Thirteen seconds later, he hit two more. Then, with 44 seconds left, he made another pair to give Missouri a three-point edge. The Tigers won, 71-68, and Ray, who recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds, was named tournament MVP. Missouri’s sleeping giant, fully awakened, made good on his pledge and put his team in the NCAA field.
The inclusion of Missouri, with its 14-15 record, was anathema to those who deplored the rise of post-season conference tournaments, like the Chicago Sun-Times columnist who wrote "Missouri’s presence in the tournament stands as an embarrassing tribute to college basketball’s latest folly."
Despite their critics, the Tigers played like they belonged. Round one pitted them against 15th-ranked Utah, and the Tigers led, 63-55, with just over six minutes to play, before the Utes rallied to force overtime. Clay Johnson, Larry Drew and Brad Droy each scored in the extra period, but Utah matched Mizzou shot for shot. Sadly, Missouri’s luck ran out in the second overtime. Utah’s Buster Matheney scored 10 quick points, and the Tigers tumbled, 86-79. Clay Johnson, in his final game at Mizzou, scored 30. Stan Ray snatched 12 boards, but managed just four points. Alas, he had not promised a national championship.
https://www.rockmnation.com/2010/3/7/1358963/memorable-mizzou-postseason
An exit in the post-season tournament’s first game would put an end to the misery, as the seventh-seeded Tigers, who had not won on an opponent’s floor all year, traveled to Ames for a rematch with Iowa State.
Then things got weird, starting with an unlikely promise.
Stan Ray’s career had been star-crossed. As a freshman, his play foretold an almost certain stardom. The league’s rookie of the year, he nearly helped the Tigers into the Final Four. Then, with the world as his oyster, Ray lost his academic eligibility as a sophomore. His grades recovered in his junior year, but his game suffered, thanks to a broken hand suffered early in the season. While Larry Drew and Clay Johnson carried the team, Ray tried his best to contribute, but the cast on his hand might as well have been an anchor. Though he trudged through a tough year, Ray showed some surprising swagger as post-season approached. Before the conference tournament, Ray slid a note under his coach’s door. "I know you don’t have any confidence in me," it read, "but I’m going to prove everybody wrong and take this team to the NCAA Tournament."
The game at Ames followed a familiar pattern. Mizzou built a double-digit halftime lead, only to watch it vanish. But this time, the Tigers stiffened. With the scored tied at 63-63, with less than a minute to play, and with the ball in Larry Drew’s hands, Missouri played for one shot. As time ticked away, Drew found Clay Johnson on the baseline. The high-flying senior elevated and drilled a jump shot. By the time Johnson’s feet hit the floor, the Tigers were in the second round.
Ray didn’t look particularly prophetic yet, not with two games to go. But he began to seem positively prescient when Missouri met Nebraska in the semifinals. With the Tigers down by three points in the last two minutes, Ray took over. He stole a pass and sprinted the length of the court to cut the lead to one point, and then scored again to put the Tigers on top. When the final buzzer sounded, Missouri owned a 61-58 win and a spot in the final.
There they met Kansas State, and the story turned stranger than fiction in a game that went to overtime. The score remained tied with 1:36 left in the extra period, when Ray sank two free throws. Thirteen seconds later, he hit two more. Then, with 44 seconds left, he made another pair to give Missouri a three-point edge. The Tigers won, 71-68, and Ray, who recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds, was named tournament MVP. Missouri’s sleeping giant, fully awakened, made good on his pledge and put his team in the NCAA field.
The inclusion of Missouri, with its 14-15 record, was anathema to those who deplored the rise of post-season conference tournaments, like the Chicago Sun-Times columnist who wrote "Missouri’s presence in the tournament stands as an embarrassing tribute to college basketball’s latest folly."
Despite their critics, the Tigers played like they belonged. Round one pitted them against 15th-ranked Utah, and the Tigers led, 63-55, with just over six minutes to play, before the Utes rallied to force overtime. Clay Johnson, Larry Drew and Brad Droy each scored in the extra period, but Utah matched Mizzou shot for shot. Sadly, Missouri’s luck ran out in the second overtime. Utah’s Buster Matheney scored 10 quick points, and the Tigers tumbled, 86-79. Clay Johnson, in his final game at Mizzou, scored 30. Stan Ray snatched 12 boards, but managed just four points. Alas, he had not promised a national championship.
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Good little known historical MU conf tourney story - FIJItiger MU - 3/12 10:29:41