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The home crowd welcomed Ricky Clemons back to the Missouri lineup this week, then sparked his team to victory.
He won't be receiving a warm reception Saturday, and getting a win should be considerably more difficult when the 21st-ranked Tigers visit No. 4 Texas.
Clemons was coming off a one-game suspension when he returned to the team Tuesday, and found his scoring touch just in time to help Missouri (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) beat Iowa State 64-59.
The junior point guard, averaging 17.0 points and 5.4 assists, was reinstated Monday after being charged with choking a 20-year-old woman last week. He got a thunderous round of applause from the home fans at the Hearnes Center after being introduced, and after a rough start, scored six of his 15 points in a 13-0 run that put Missouri up 60-50 with 2:45 to play.
``When I went out there I was a little anxious, but I respect the people and I know the people respect me,'' said Clemons, who was 5-of-19 from the field. ``It meant a lot to me.''
The crowd will not be as friendly in Austin as Clemons tries to lead the Tigers to an upset of the Longhorns (12-2, 3-0), winners of seven in a row.
``I'm prepared for it,'' Clemons said. ``You're never welcomed on the road, so it's like before. Just block out the people and try to continue what we're doing, keep playing well.''
Clemons will be matched up with possibly the best point guard in the Big 12.
T.J. Ford leads the conference with 7.3 assists per game and he's averaged 18.0 points since Big 12 play began.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore is coming off a standout performance in last Saturday's 89-61 rout of Texas A&M. Ford made all seven of his free throws and used an array of pull-up jumpers, layups and one thunderous dunk to score a career-high 25 points.
``When he starts making shots, we're a hard team to guard,'' Texas coach Rick Barnes said of Ford, who also had six steals. ``He just has a great feel for the game.''
Ford is helped by another capable scoring guard in Brandon Mouton, who has averaged 13.9 points during Texas' seven-game win streak. Clemons has the same luxury because his starting backcourt mate -- Ricky Paulding -- contributes 16.9 points per game.
This contest also presents an intriguing matchup inside as Arthur Johnson, who leads Missouri with 17.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, battles Texas center James Thomas, who averages a conference-best 11.3 boards and 10.4 points.
Texas, which has won the last four meetings with Missouri, has won its eight home games by an average of 21.2 points.
Updated on Friday, Jan 24, 2003 5:25 pm, EST
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