Missouri defeated #20 Oregon 83-75 in a non-conference game in Omaha. Xavier Pinson led the Tigers with 22 points. Pinson scored 19 of his team-high 22 points in the second half to lead five Tigers in double figures. Mizzou shot 46.2 percent from the field and committed just seven turnovers.

The Tigers jumped out to a big lead in the first half with a 14-2 run and lead by 11 at the break, but Oregon cut the lead to five as Mizzou went a stretch of missing 15 straight shots before a three-pointer by Pinson ended the drought. Pinson followed with a nifty spin move in the lane and a 4-point play in the ensuing minutes to help secure the victory.

Mizzou is 6-and-0 all-time against the Ducks and Mizzou Athletics points out, the Tigers picked up their first win away from home against a ranked opponent since beating No. 10 Illinois on Dec. 22, 2012.

Missouri will return to the court Sunday to play at Wichita State who won their home opener 85-80 home over Oral Roberts, who the Tigers easily beat in the season opener.

The Denver Broncos will have a quarterback this week. ESPN reports all three Broncos QB’s on the COVID-19 list tested negative again Tuesday and can now return to practice. The Broncos were without starter Drew Lock as well as Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles during Sunday’s 31-3 home loss to the Saints after fellow quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for the virus last week.

The trio were identified as high-risk close contacts to Driskel and forced to quarantine. The Broncos will return to practice Wednesday as they get set to visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Due to a combination of a positive test and subsequent contact tracing within the Mizzou Women’s Basketball program, the program canceled games against Morehead State (Dec. 2), TCU (Dec. 6) and at Texas Tech (Dec. 10).

Mizzou will look to return to the court on Sunday, Dec. 13, when the Tigers host No. 21/25 Missouri State at Mizzou Arena. It will be the first of three-straight nonconference games for Mizzou before beginning its 16-game SEC slate. The Tigers will open the conference schedule with a home matchup against Alabama on Thursday, Dec. 31.

Mizzou Men’s Basketball has added a matchup with No. 20 Oregon on Wednesday, Dec. 2, in Omaha, Nebraska. The Tigers and Ducks will square off at 8 p.m. CT on Fox Sports 1. No fans will be in attendance. Mizzou is 5-0 all-time against Oregon, beating the Ducks, 106-69, in 2009, and 83-80 in 2010. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on a neutral court.

After this game, the Tigers head to Wichita State for a game on Sunday and then on Dec 9 at home against Liberty.

The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Oregon coach Dana Altman who had a run at Creighton from 1994-2010. In 1983, Altman accepted the head coaching position at Moberly (Mo.) Junior College, with a three-year run resulting in a staggering 94-18 record (25-9 in 1983-84; 35-5 with a third-place finish at the national tourney in 1984-85; and a 34-4 mark in 1985-86 with a sixth-place finish at nationals).

The last time Mizzou played in Omaha, they were upset as the number 2 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament under Frank Haith in 2012.

The SEC selected their Player of the Week honors for Week 10 and Mizzou’s QB Connor Bazelak picked up honors along with the woman who made history on Saturday in the same game.

Sarah Fuller, PK, Vanderbilt

Fuller made history Saturday, becoming the first woman ever to officially take the field during a football game in a and major conference football game. Served as the Commodores’ primary kicker during the team’s contest at Missouri.
She took the opening kickoff of the second half against the Tigers, as her perfectly-executed kick sailed 30 yards and was downed at the Missouri 35-yard line. She joined the likes of New Mexico’s Katie Hnida and Kent State’s April Goss as the only females to appear in a Football Bowl Subdivision contest.

FRESHMAN
Connor Bazelak, QB, Missouri

Was sensational as he improved to 5-1 as a starting quarterback in his young career … Was highly productive and efficient despite not throwing a touchdown Saturday, going 30-of-37 (81%) with 318 passing yards. It stood as his second game this season with a completion percentage greater than 81% and 300-plus passing yards … Since 2000, Bazelak and Chase Daniel, a 2007 Heisman finalist, are the only Tiger QBs with multiple contests of 81% or higher completion percentage.
He was the first Mizzou QB to complete 30 passes in a game since Kelly Bryant did so in last year’s season-opener at Wyoming. In his six career starts, Mizzou’s freshman QB is now 134-for-183 (73.2%) for 1,416 yards and five touchdowns against only one INT, most importantly winning five of those six games.

Outkick’s Joe Kinsey makes the argument that Vanderbilt using Sarah Fuller, the school’s soccer goalkeeper as their kicker for Saturday’s game against the Missouri Tigers, was nothing more than a publicity prop for a team that was headed to an 0-8 record. Following the game on Sunday, it was announced head coach Derek Mason was fired.

ESPN’s Courtney Cronin held a Zoom chat with Fuller after the game and Fuller explained that she gave a halftime speech to the team.

I just got off a Zoom call with Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller, who detailed the halftime speech she gave and the reception it received.

“I had coaches come up to me and say ‘I’ve been wanting to say that for awhile now,'” Fuller said. pic.twitter.com/AjoEEjJbeh

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) November 29, 2020

Clay Travis, host on Fox Sports and main contributor to Outkick stoked the flames by tweeting, “Have you ever heard of any kicker on any football team giving a halftime speech and ripping the team for their effort and energy? I haven’t. This had to factor into Derek Mason getting fired. Had to:”

Have you ever heard of any kicker on any football team giving a halftime speech and ripping the team for their effort and energy? I haven’t. This had to factor into Derek Mason getting fired. Had to: https://t.co/N4nC14cJ6Z

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 30, 2020

The first thought I have is that sometimes we need an outsider to point out to us all the good that surrounds us even when we think our situation is horrible. Here’s a football team that had lost their way this season with seven losses and headed to their eighth by halftime. Sarah was given a rare opportunity to step into a college football program. The opportunity was a dream come true to her. What’s wrong in pointing out that no matter how bad things seem, these guys are getting an opportunity that not people get and to take advantage of it, celebrate it and enjoy even the minor accomplishments?

What’s concerning was that if the coaching staff was approaching Fuller after the speech to say they’ve been wanting to say the same things for quite a while, then why didn’t they? It’s no surprise then that the head coach was fired after the loss. The Vandy football team needs a new direction and a new voice and perhaps it took a person on the outside, like a championship soccer player to point it out.