Whit Merrifield (photo/KCRoyals.com)

Michael Taylor had three hits, including a homer, drove in three, and threw out two runners at the plate as the Royals outscored the Rangers 14-10 in the season opener before an announced attendance of 9,155 fans at Kauffman Stadium. Kyle Isbel had three hits and drove in a pair in his big league debut. Whit Merrifield also contributed three hits, including a solo shot, and two RBI, while Jorge Soler homered and drove in two.

The first inning is not one Rangers or Royals pitchers will care to remember. Each team sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs in the first. Texas starter Kyle Gibson retired only one of the eight batters he faced, allowing five runs on four hits and three walks before being pulled. Royals starter Brad Keller was charged with six runs and retired four of 14 batters, giving up nine hits and walking two before being yanked with one out in the second.

Third baseman Hunter Dozier left the Royals’ Opening Day victory with a bruised thumb. Manager Mike Matheny said he is hopeful Dozier can play tomorrow after the Royals are idle today. Mike Minor will start the second game for KC.

The Drury Lady Panthers nearly pulled off another comeback in the Elite Eight, but this time the rally came too late as Lubbock Christian defeated Drury 69-59 for the NCAA-II National Championship on Friday night at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

The Lady Panthers ended their year 24-2 and is the NCAA-II Runner-Up for the second time in program history. The Lady Chaparrals took the national title and completed their season with an undefeated record at 23-0.

Lubbock Christian’s national championship seemed inevitable as Drury trailed 60-39 with 6:26 remaining. But the Lady Panthers, who forced a 28-point swing in the national quarterfinals against Charleston and never led in the semifinals until the second half before advancing past Lander, incredibly worked their way back into the contest and Allie Clevenger’s three-pointer with 57 seconds left brought DU within four, 63-59.

The Lady Chaps hit free throws down the stretch, however, to hold off the Lady Panthers. [Read more…]

Mizzou guard Aijha Blackwell (33)
Zach Bland/Mizzou Athletics

Mizzou Women’s Basketball (9-12, 5-9 SEC) lost a fourth-quarter lead and fell to Fresno State (17-10, 12-6 MW), 78-75, in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. Mizzou led by as much as 20 with 5:14 left in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 26-13 in the game’s final 10 minutes to take the win.

TIGERS
Sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell  paced the Tigers with 16 points and eight rebounds while matching a season-high with five assists.

Redshirt senior forward Shannon Dufficy scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds while sophomore guard Lauren Hansen added 10 points and was 2-of-3 from the three-point line.

Mizzou Men’s Basketball dropped a hard-fought matchup to No. 8 Arkansas, 70-64, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee. Both teams committed 41 combined turnovers and 45 combined fouls in a physical matchup.

Senior forward Jeremiah Tilmon joined the Mizzou 1,000-point club, after notching nine points on the night. Junior Xavier Pinson led the Tigers with 14 points, accompanied by two assists, two boards and a steal. Senior guard Dru Smith posted 11 points, five assists, three steals and a rebound. Sophomore Kobe Brown chipped in six points, 11 boards, three steals, two blocks, and an assist in an all-around effort.

Mizzou was outrebounded by the Razorbacks, 36-31. Arkansas guard JD Notae led all scorers with 27 points, including a game-sealing offensive putback off the glass with 1:19 remaining.

The 17th-ranked and top-seeded Missouri State Lady Bears opened Missouri Valley Conference Tournament play Friday with a 70-59 victory over eighth-seeded Southern Illinois at TaxSlayer Center.

The Lady Bears (21-2) won their 17th game in a row to advance to the Valley Tournament semifinals for the 22nd time, with MVC Player of the Year Brice Calip scoring 17 points to surpass 1,300 in her career, Abby Hipp tallying 11 and Elle Ruffridge adding 10.

The first quarter saw four ties and seven lead changes to a 17-17 deadlock, and Missouri State took the lead for good when Calip and Hipp combined for a 7-0 run to open the second period for a 24-17 lead with 8:21 on the clock.

The teams combined for 12 total points the rest of the period to a 28-25 Lady Bears advantage at halftime, and MSU’s lead remained from 1-7 until closing the third quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 50-40.

Missouri State shot 8-for-10 from the field in the third period and then 7-for-10 in the fourth, maintaining the margin at eight points or more in the final frame with Mya Bhinhar leading the way with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

MSU’s 75 percent second-half shooting raised the team figure to 48 percent for the game, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range. The Lady Bears won the rebounding battle 32-21, with Hipp’s six rebounds leading the way and nine players grabbing multiple boards.

Bhinhar added a team-high three assists without a turnover and Jasmine Franklin grabbed three steals. The defense made SIU (9-16) the Lady Bears’ 21st opponent in 23 games to score below its season average.

Missouri State will play its semifinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday against fifth-seeded Bradley.

Mizzou guard Dru Smith (12).
Mizzou Tigers vs. Florida Gators at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL. on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Zach Bland/Mizzou Athletics

Mizzou Men’s Basketball redshirt senior Dru Smith and senior Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr., earned All-SEC recognition from the league’s coaches, as announced Tuesday by the Southeastern Conference office. Smith was named first-team All-SEC and to the league’s All-Defensive team, and Tilmon, Jr. was named second-team All-SEC.

Smith and Tilmon, Jr., mark the first pair of Tigers to earn All-SEC honors in the same season since Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson in 2014. Smith is the first Tiger to claim a spot on a league All-Defensive Team since Mizzou joined the Southeastern Conference and the first since 2012 when Michael Dixon did so in the Big 12.

Smith becomes Mizzou’s first All-SEC first-team selection since Kassius Robertson in 2018 and the Tigers’ fourth since joining the league (Phil Pressey – 2013, Brown – 2014, Robertson – 2018). He led the SEC in steals for a second consecutive campaign with 2.1 thefts per game in league play. Additionally, he ranked third in assists (4.2 APG), 13th in scoring (14.8 PPG), fourth in free throw percentage (.839) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Smith was a three-time SEC Player of the Week during the regular season, the only player in the conference to nab the honor three times. He’s averaging 14.1 points, 3.4 boards, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals, one of just seven players nationally hitting all those marks this season. He scored in double figures 18 times in 23 games, leading Mizzou in scoring, assists and steals. Smith did all that while being tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player night in and night out.

Tilmon, Jr., earned his first career SEC postseason honor after averaging 12.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a senior. The dominant big man shot a blistering 63.5 percent from the field, the 17th highest single-season field goal percentage in Southeastern Conference history. The 63.5 percent clip also matches the sixth-highest single-season field goal percentage in Mizzou history and the highest since Alex Oriakhi’s 63.9 percent clip in 2012-13.

Tilmon, Jr., finished the campaign ranking fourth in the SEC in rebounds, third in offensive boards and seventh in blocks. He led the league in double-doubles with seven. Tilmon, Jr., enters the postseason needing 14 points to become the 47th member of Mizzou’s 1,000-point club and the sixth Tiger in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks (Arthur Johnson, Laurence Bowers, Steve Stipanovich, Doug Smith and Jevon Crudup).

Smith, Tilmon, Jr., and Mizzou launch the postseason with the SEC Tournament this week in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. No. 7-seed Mizzou will face 10-seed Georgia on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

CBS, in partnership with the Southeastern Conference, has announced that the annual Battle Line Rivalry Game presented by Shelter Insurance between Mizzou and Arkansas will be played Friday, November 26, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark., with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. (Central).

The game had been played on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year from 2014 through 2019 before COVID-19 forced alternations to both teams 2020 All-SEC schedule.

The two programs will meet for the 13th time in 2021. The Tigers have won the last five meetings and lead the overall series, 9-3, after last year’s come-from-behind 50-48 walk-off victory in Columbia. Arkansas’ last series victory was a 28-3 decision in Columbia during the 2015 season.