Together As One

Matt Lawrence and Leo Lyons have been through a lot together as Missouri Tigers. It's time to add a Sweet 16 to that list, too.

Getty Images

Matt Lawrence and Leo Lyons have been with Missouri basketball from the Quin Snyder departure to the current renaissance.

Matt Lawrence says Leo Lyons can't rap. Leo Lyons counters that Matt Lawrence can't dress.

Both are probably dead on.

From each other's likes and dislikes all the way to their rapping abilities and clothing styles, there's little that Lawrence and Lyons don't know about one another. It's a closeness that is the result of spending their first two years at Missouri as roommates—"We definitely needed a break from each other," Lawrence said—and a total of four seasons together as teammates.

The two are key elements of Missouri's first Regional Semifinal appearance since 2002, Lyons as a 6-9 starting forward averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG, and Lawrence as a 6-7 guard averaging 9.0 PPG. Making it even sweeter is some of the experiences Lawrence and Lyons previously lived through in Columbia.

It started with previous coach Quin Snyder's unexpected departure during their freshmen season, and then the distractions began to mount—two fights (one at a nightclub, one at a Dairy Queen) involving teammates, and star forward DeMarre Carroll getting shot in the ankle.

The distractions were a nuisance, but the constant losing was perhaps the most painful.

"Me and Leo have been through a lot," said Lawrence. "We saw the program at its lowest low."

That abyss, both believe, was late into their freshmen season. Missouri had defeated Kansas in overtime on Jan. 16, 2006 and looked to be in pretty good shape with a 10-5 record. From there, the Tigers lost six consecutive Big 12 games, won one and then lost four more. They finished the year 12-16 after being knocked off in the opening round of the conference tournament.

"It was like losing didn't matter," said Lyons. "People were happy with moral victories."

"Me and Leo have been through a lot. We saw the program at its lowest low."

Lawrence remembered, "I was like, 'Oh, my God,' Man, I don't think it can get any worse than that year."

With them sharing similar feelings about the team's path and also sharing the same dorm room, Lawrence and Leo often talked about how things were going. They wanted to stay in Missouri—Lawrence is from St. Louis, and Lyons is from Kansas City, Kansas—but there were discussions about transferring.

"I wanted to quit more than a few times," Lyons said. "Matt and I got through it together. Not only were we roommates for two years, but we were both from around here. His family would come in, and I'd be with them. He would be with my family, too. We were always there for support."

It was that bond that pushed me through three years of adversity. While it would have probably led them through a fourth year if the circumstances hadn't changed, both are grateful things finally did get better.

Missouri has used coach Mike Anderson's "fastest 40 minutes in basketball" to turn around its losing ways. The Tigers finished 12-4 in the conference this season, marking the first time in Lawrence's and Lyons' career they finished over .500 in the Big 12.

From their regular-season record to upsetting Oklahoma on an emotional senior day at Missouri to winning to the Big 12 Tournament to victories over Cornell and Marquette in the NCAAs, Lawrence and Leo have enjoyed every second of their senior seasons.

"I definitely think it's surreal," Lawrence said. "The turnaround is unbelievable. A lot of people thought it'd take longer than this."

While both did agree on the lowest point of their careers, both didn't on the highest, which is more like the pair who are called brothers because of their constant bickering.

"I thought at first it was senior night when we beat Oklahoma," Lawrence said. "Then it was winning the conference tournament. Now, we just got to the Sweet 16."

Lyons said, "There hasn't been a highest point. Not yet. We're still hungry."

It's a hunger that doesn't have Missouri agreeing with most that Memphis will be heading to the Elite 8. The two teams are very similar in style, but Lyons does see a difference that he believes could make the difference.

"They got talented players who were all-Americans," Lyons said. "We look at ourselves as a team. Five all-Americans doesn't mean you're a team. You have to play balanced."

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine