Bears coach gets to challenge his teacher, MU coach Anderson

Missouri coach Mike Anderson and the Tigers host Central Arkansas today at Mizzou Arena.
Missouri coach Mike Anderson and the Tigers host Central Arkansas today at Mizzou Arena.

The student finally gets a crack at the teacher.

Central Arkansas coach Corliss Williamson was a key player in Arkansas' run to a national championship in 1994 under coach Nolan Richardson.

Missouri coach Mike Anderson was Richardson's top assistant at the time.

Now the first-year coach of the Bears wants his team to see what an up-tempo, pressure-oriented basketball team looks like.

The Bears (3-7) will get their chance at 7 p.m. tonight (KOMU-TV) when they take on the 13th-ranked Tigers (9-1) at Mizzou Arena.

"We want our guys to get a chance to play against a team that plays the kind of basketball that we are trying to emulate," Williamson said. "They play the up-tempo style we want to play as well as anyone in the country.

"We want to get to that level and this game will help us see where we are and what we need to improve on to get there."

Missouri is coming off an 81-62 win over Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Laurence Bowers led the Tigers with 17 points, while Marcus Denmon added 16.

Phil Pressey, who started for suspended guard Michael Dixon, chipped in with eight points and led the team with seven assists.

Denmon leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.4 points per contest. Ricardo Ratliffe is pulling down a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game and scoring nearly 12 points a game.

The Bears are coming off a 70-60 loss to Grambling State last weekend in the Etech Lumberjack Classic at Stephen F. Austin.

Central Arkansas is led in scoring by senior guard Imad Qahwash, who's averaging 11.8 per game off the bench.

The Bears also have losses to Oklahoma State (69-57) and Missouri State (101-61).