Mizzou

The Mizzou vs. South Carolina men’s basketball game, originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12, but postponed due to weather related travel issues for the Tigers, has been TENTATIVELY rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 13, at 12 p.m. CT, at Colonial Life Arena, pending the weather permitting Missouri’s travel to Columbia, S.C., on Saturday. Both South Carolina and Missouri have worked alongside the SEC office in working to reschedule the contest.

A final determination on the tentative rescheduled matchup will be announced on Saturday afternoon.

The UMKC men’s basketball team wrapped up the 2018 non-conference portion of its schedule with an 89-53 loss to host Creighton University (9-4) tonight at the CHI Health Center Omaha. The Roos (5-10) were led by Brandon McKissic’s 11 points and three steals. Xavier Bishop and Rob Whitfield complimented McKissic in the scoring column with 10 points apiece.

The Roos head back to campus for the WAC opener against Chicago State on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. CT. The game marks the first time UMKC will play all conference games at Swinney Center.

“Creighton’s ability to make three’s made them very difficult to defend,” said UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson. “It opened up driving lanes and other high percentage shots. We have to regroup and get ready for a tough conference season beginning January 5th.”

Early on, the teams traded baskets until Creighton managed an early 9-4 advantage. But a 3-pointer by Bishop sparked a 10-5 spurt to bring the Roos to a 14-14 tie at the 11:31 mark.

Creighton took control of the game from that point with rebounding and 3-point shooting. After UMKC’s Brandon Suggs hit a jumper in the lane, the host Bluejays went on an 28-10 run and ran to the locker room with a 42-24 halftime lead.

UMKC trimmed the deficit to 12 (42-30) with three-straight buckets to start the second half. Bishop hit two runners in the lane and McKissic converted a Creighton turnover into a dunk and the Roos were back in it.

But that was short-lived as Creighton quickly pushed the lead back to 20-plus points (54-34) at the 14-minute mark. The Bluejays never let the lead shrink below 20 the rest of the way.

Bishop was the team leader with three helpers. Marvin Nesbitt Jr., came off the bench to grab a career-high tying eight rebounds.

Creighton finished with 39 rebounds compared to UMKC’s 16. Martin Krampelj led the Bluejays with eight boards. Also, the Bluejays connected on 10-of-20 three-point field goals, which was in range of their season average and No. 4 ranking in the NCAA of 12.2 made treys.

Ty-Shon Alexander captured game-high honors with 19 points, while Davion Mintz had 13 and Krampelj added 11. The Bluejays shot a scorching 61.8 percent from the floor, including 65.5 percent in the second half.

The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 38-31, on Sunday night football at CenturyLink Field.

Kansas City lost two fumbles and committed eight penalties as the Chiefs failed for the second time to secure the AFC West.

Russell Wilson passed for 271 yard and three scores as Seattle clinched a Wild Card berth.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 273 yards and three TDs to lead Kansas City, which failed to keep up with the Seahawks’ offense.

Damien Williams rushed for 103 yards in defeat. The Chiefs are on a two-game slide.

Missouri’s Kevin Puryear runs into the arm of Illinois’ Kipper Nichols in the first half of the 38th Annual Braggin’ Rights game at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on December 22, 2018. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Mizzou Men’s Basketball beat Illinois in the Annual Braggin’ Rights game, 79-63, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Illini at the Enterprise Center on Saturday Night.

East St. Louis, Ill., native Jeremiah Tilmon was dominant all night long, pouring in 16 points and snaring 12 rebounds, registering his second straight double-double and his fourth in six games.

Senior guard Jordan Geist was the leading scorer for the Tigers, collecting 20 points, 12 of which came off of three pointers (4-of-8 3FG).

Illinois native Javon Pickett was also excellent in his Braggin’ Rights debut, going for 16 points, a new career-high, while shooting a blistering 87.5 percent from the field. Pickett also had four rebounds and an assist.

Mizzou’s five-game win streak is its longest since Jan. 31-Feb. 13 of last season. The Tigers used their usual recipe of dominance on the glass and prowess from beyond the arc to extend their winning streak while taking back Braggin’ Rights. Mizzou outrebounded the Illini 37-31 while making 11 three-pointers to Illinois’ eight.

Mizzou will enjoy a week off over the holidays, playing next against Morehead State at Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.

Mizzou Women’s Basketball utilized a 24-5 third quarter outburst to lift itself to victory, 67-45, over Illinois on Friday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Mizzou led by one at halftime, but came out of the locker room firing in the second half, shooting 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the field and 55.3 percent from deep (5-for-9) to pull away from the Fighting Illini and claim victory. The win was Mizzou’s second consecutive win in the series between the two schools, and the first in Champaign since Jan. 3, 1993.

Junior guard Amber Smith led all scorers with 16 points and pulled in a game-high nine rebounds in the victory. Freshman guard Akira Levy joined Smith in double figures for the Tigers, scoring a career-high 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals.

Mizzou Men’s Basketball won its third straight contest on Friday evening, riding a dominant second half to an 80-64 victory over Oral Roberts at Mizzou Arena. It was a balanced attack offensively for head coach Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers, as six different players scored in double figures en route to Mizzou’s first 80-point performance in regulation since the Tigers beat Stephen F. Austin 82-81 last season.

Sophomore guard Mark Smith led the Black & Gold with 14 points, while freshman guard Torrence Watson matched his career-high with 12 points behind perfect 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Senior guard Jordan Geist, sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon and senior forward Kevin Puryear also each chipped in with 12 points apiece.

Mizzou will conclude its five-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 18, as the Tigers face off against Xavier at Mizzou Arena. Tip-off against the Musketeers is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Friday, November 30, 2018
3:00 p.m. Class 2 Blair Oaks def. Lathrop, 54-0
7:00 p.m. Class 4 Ladue Horton Watkins def. MICDS, 48-11
Saturday, December 1, 2018
11 a.m. Class 3 Cardinal Ritter vs. Trinity Catholic
3:00 p.m. Class 1 Hayti vs. Lincoln
7:00 p.m. Class 5 Vianney vs. Fort Osage

Mizzou Football finished the regular season 8-4 (4-4 SEC) after earning a dominant, 38-0, win over SEC West rival Arkansas Friday afternoon on a rain-soaked Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.

On senior day, a day when the program’s 19 seniors were honored while playing their final home game, it was Mizzou’s defense that was dominant from start to finish. The Tigers posted 8.0 tackles for loss, including a season-high 5.0 sacks, 4.0 of which came in the first half. Mizzou limited the Razorbacks to 187 total yards, including just 52 on the ground.

Mizzou senior QB Drew Lock, playing in his final home game, went 16-for-25 for 221 yards and a TD while rushing for two more scores. He exited the game in the fourth quarter to a standing-ovation from the crowd.

Mizzou has finished the regular season 8-4, marking the 17th time in program history that Mizzou has finished with eight wins in the regular season. Head coach Barry Odom is the first Mizzou head coach to win at least seven games in two of his first three seasons since Warren Powers (1978-80).

TURNING POINT

Saint Louis dropped a narrow 75-73 decision to Pitt on Wednesday in the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn, New York.

SLU, which was receiving votes in the AP top 25, falls to 4-1. Pitt improves its record to 6-0.

Jordan Goodwin led the Billikens with 16 points and eight rebounds. He was 8-for-11 from the field and also dished out a team-best four assists.

Hasahn French registered his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He tied his career-high with six blocked shots.

Javon Bess (12 points) and D.J. Foreman (10 points, seven rebounds) also scored in double figures for Saint Louis, which won the rebounding battle 43-36.

KC Hankton (five points) and Ingvi Gudmundsson made their Billiken debuts in the Pitt game. Demarius Jacobs also played after missing the last two games with an injury.

Pitt had a seven-point lead late in the first half before a Foreman layin cut the Billikens’ deficit to five at the break (38-33 in favor of Pitt).

SLU began the second half with a 7-2 spurt, and from that point, neither team would lead by more than three points in the game until the final seconds. In the second stanza alone, there were nine ties and 10 lead changes.

The game came down to the wire. The Billikens had the ball down by two with 18 seconds remaining. Hasahn French was fouled, and he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Pitt was quickly fouled and made the ensuing free throws to go up 74-70 with four seconds left.

Bess hit a quick 3-pointer to make it 74-73 with only a few ticks left. Pitt hit its free throws on the other end, but SLU ran out of time and Pitt escaped with the win.

Saint Louis is back in action on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Central Arkansas at Chaifetz Arena. Tip time is 3 p.m., and the game will be televised on FOX Sports Midwest.

Robin Pingeton instructs her team during the Tigers game at Arkansas (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Mizzou Athletics has extended the contract of Head Women’s Basketball Coach Robin Pingeton four years, ensuring she will be on the Mizzou sideline through the 2024-25 season. In her ninth season, Pingeton has built Mizzou into a consistent Top-25 team program, leading the Tigers to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1984-86.

“It has been exciting to watch Robin and her staff restore Mizzou’s proud women’s basketball tradition while making a positive impact in the lives of our student-athletes, and a difference within the Columbia community,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “She is a leader of impeccable integrity, who has re-built this program from the ground up, and I believe this new contract demonstrates Mizzou’s commitment to Robin and rewards her for the success she has enjoyed over the last eight seasons. Robin is a tremendous fit at Mizzou, and I look forward to watching her program continue to graduate its student-athletes at a high level while competing for championships.”

Pingeton owns a record of 150-109 (.579) at Mizzou, and stands 485-266 (.646) overall after leading her alma mater, St. Ambrose, to a 192-76 mark over eight seasons from 1992-2000 and Illinois State to a 144-81 record in eight seasons from 2003-2010. Among active coaches, Pingeton’s 485 career victories rank second among SEC head coaches and 37th overall among Division I head coaches. Her .579 winning percentage at Mizzou ranks second all-time, trailing only Mizzou Hall of Famer Joann Rutherford’s mark of .617 (422-262).

“I am extremely grateful, and appreciative to the University of Missouri for their faith and commitment to myself and my staff,” said Pingeton. “It is an honor to be associated with a great university and community. My family and I are so thankful to have the opportunity to work with great leaders, administrators and student-athletes. I am looking forward to continuing to grow this program and pursuing excellence both on and off the court.”

In her time at Mizzou, Pingeton has coached two All-Americans, 12 all-conference players and two conference freshmen of the year. She was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year following the 2016-17 season and was a top-10 finalist for both the Naismith National Coach of the Year award and the WBCA National Coach of the Year award after an outstanding 2017-18 campaign.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) has earned back-to-back AP All-America Honorable Mention honors under Pingeton’s tutelage. Cunningham concluded her junior campaign by averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and was the nation’s only player to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for 151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159).

Pingeton’s Tigers have achieved much success in the classroom as well, as Mizzou has recorded program-high team GPA’s in back-to-back semesters with marks of 3.34 in the 2017 fall semester and 3.4 in the 2018 spring semester. Pingeton has mentored 57 student-athletes to conference academic recognition, including 34 who have been named to the Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll. In 2014, Lianna Doty was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

In 2017-18, Pingeton led Mizzou to its third straight NCAA Tournament and a 24-8 record, the Tigers’ most wins since the 1983-84 campaign. The 24 victories marked Mizzou’s third consecutive season with at least 22 wins, a feat which had not been accomplished in Columbia since 1982-85. In SEC play, Mizzou won 11 games for the second straight season and finished tied-for-fourth in the SEC. Mizzou’s 22 wins in conference play in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons are the most in a two year span since Mizzou won 24 over the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. Mizzou reached as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press Top-25 during the 2017-18 season, its highest ranking since 1984, and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, its highest ranking in program history. A program-record 11,092 fans were in attendance at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 18, 2018, as the Tigers downed No. 11 Tennessee, 77-73.

Pingeton was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after being selected by both the Associated Press and the league’s coaches for the honor. She steered Mizzou to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a third-place finish in the SEC. It marked the Tigers’ highest finish in league play since joining the SEC and the highest since 1990. Mizzou capped off the special 2016-17 season with a trip to the Big Dance, advancing to the second round with a win over South Florida in the tournament opener.

In 2015-16, Pingeton’s squad capped the season with the program’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. Mizzou entered the Big Dance as a No. 10 seed and knocked off seventh-seeded BYU, 78-69, in the opening round to seal its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001.