“Basketball is played a lot of different ways, and we want to play up-tempo basketball,” said Missouri head coach Mike Anderson, whose team has forced nearly 20 turnovers a game en route to its 3-0 start.

“We have some versatile basketball players, we’re an attacking team. When we’re on defense we attack and on offense we attack.”

While Anderson says his team’s style is to attack, senior guard Drew Neitzel said the Tigers’ full-court press is more chaotic than anything.

“They play that helter-skelter kind of game where they’re all over the court trapping, running, jumping, just trying to turn you over and get easy buckets,” Neitzel said. “We’re just going to have to take care of the ball and make solid decisions.”

Freshman guard Kalin Lucas said the Spartans have spent practices working on keeping turnovers down and fine-tuning their press break.

“We’ve had seven, eight guys on defense and they’re just running all over the place, we just have to be ready for Missouri because we know they’re going to press the whole game,” he said.

Aside from its press, Missouri’s other big weapon is forward DeMarre Carroll, who averages 19 points and eight rebounds a game.

“When you have to sit out, it gives you the opportunity to set your mind to what you want to do and I think he’s hungry, very hungry,” Anderson said of Carroll, who had to sit out last season after transferring from Vanderbilt. “That’s something that’s meshing with our basketball team and that gives us so much in terms of aggressiveness, hustle, his heart and his leadership.”

One game at a …

If the rankings hold true and the Spartans defeat Missouri and UCLA defeats Maryland in the other semifinal, No. 12-ranked MSU would face the No. 2-ranked Bruins in the CBE Classic Championship.

While the Spartans aren’t overlooking Missouri, they admit it’s hard not to think about a potential matchup with UCLA.

“I can’t wait, I’m very excited,” Lucas said.

“But first we have to worry about Missouri and play one game at a time.”