Ratliffe has just 55 missed shots in 209 attempts with three perfect games, going 6 for 6 against Oklahoma, 7 for 7 against Binghamton and 8 for 8 against Villanova. He was 10 for 11 against Northwestern State, too, and then the truly impressive stats, given the competition:10 for 12 against Texas and 11 for 14 in the first Baylor meeting.
''Ricardo is our horse down low,'' teammate Kim English said. ''He sets the tone on the glass, and that's big for us.''
The only other stinker came against Mercer, when Ratliffe was just 1-for-6.
Far from a one-trick pony, Ratliffe leads Missouri with 6.8 rebounds per game. He and English are tied for second in scoring at 14.0 points.
Plus, he gets praise from his coach for eliminating concentration lapses that used to bog down his game and for running the floor ''as well as any big man in the country.''
''He's been able to say `next play,' and that's a huge improvement for Ricardo,'' Haith said. ''We don't have success if we don't have Ricardo's play.''