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Geist scores a career high in Tigers win over Georgia.

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Missouri advanced in the SEC Tournament with a 71-61 opening-round victory over Georgia in Nashville.  Jordan Geist led the Tigers with a career-high 30 points.  Xavier Pinson added 15 points for Mizzou.  Missouri moves on to face Auburn today in the second round of the tourney.  Mizzou’s point guards accounted for 45 of the Tigers’ 71 points on Wednesday night. Mizzou converted 24-of-29 free throws, with Pinson and Geist going a combined 16-of-19 at the charity stripe.

Missouri took the lead for good at 45-43 on a Kevin Puryear basket with 12:05 left. Neither team led by more than seven points until the final four minutes of the game.

The Tigers face Auburn, a team they lost to by a final of 92-58.  It is the most points Mizzou has allowed this season.

Record setting Drury and defending champ UCM among four women’s programs in D-II national tournament

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For the third straight season, Central Missouri Jennies Basketball will be playing in the NCAA Tournament. They learned Sunday as the NCAA announced the field of 64. The Jennies are the No. 3 seed in this upcoming weekend’s Central Region tournament which will be held in Hays, Kan. They will take on No. 6 Lindenwood. Friday, March 15.

UCM went 22-5 in the regular season and were the number two seed in the MIAA Championships Tournament. The second-seeded Jennies won two games and took on the No. 1 seed Fort Hays State Tigers Sunday afternoon for the crown, where the Tigers prevailed 63-56.

The Jennies will be making their 22nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. They’re 27-20 all-time in NCAA Tournament games with seven NCAA Central Region Championships. The Jennies of course claimed last year’s Central Region Championship on their way to winning the NCAA National Championship in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The top-eight teams in the Central Region advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Central Region is comprised of the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conferences. The winners of the three conference tournaments all received automatic bids, those were Fort Hays State, Southwestern Oklahoma State and Minnesota-Duluth.

This year’s regional will be played Friday March 15 through Monday March 18. Fort Hays State, who won the MIAA Conference Tournament earned the No. 1 seed, will host the entire Central Region Tournament.

CENTRAL
Rank School Overall DII Record In-Region Record
1 Southwestern Oklahoma State 27-1 27-1
2 Fort Hays State 24-1 24-1
3 Central Missouri 22-5 20-4
4 Minnesota State University Moorhead 25-5 23-5
5 Minnesota Duluth 21-6 21-6
6 Emporia State 19-7 19-7
7 Lindenwood (Missouri) 20-6 20-6
8 Pittsburg State 18-7 17-7
9 Concordia-St. Paul 19-7 19-7
10 East Central 21-7 21-7

Drury won their third straight Great Lakes Valley Conference championship on Sunday winning the same way they have all season – with their defense. The Lady Panthers completed their three-peat holding sixth-seeded Bellarmine to 48 points in a 94-48 win in the GLVC title game at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Drury improved to 31-0 setting a program record in consecutive wins, and they became the first team in GLVC history to win three-straight tournament championships as well as complete an undefeated conference regular season to go with a postseason crown.

MIDWEST
Rank School Overall DII Record In-Region Record
1 Drury 28-0 26-0
2 Lewis 24-3 24-3
3 Grand Valley State 24-2 24-2
4 Ashland 26-2 26-2
5 Truman 21-6 19-6
6 Southern Indiana 18-8 18-8
7 Kentucky Wesleyan 19-6 19-6
8 Michigan Tech 20-8 20-8

Number one Northwest Missouri State hosting NCAA regionals

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The undefeated Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Central Region of the 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament.  The Bearcats won their fourth straight MIAA tournament.

The Central Region will take place March 16 (four games), March 17 (two games) and March 19 (regional final) in Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri. It is the third straight season that Northwest will serve as the region’s host.

Northwest will be taking part in its 19th NCAA tournament. It is the Bearcats’s seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament under 10th-year head coach Ben McCollum. The Bearcats are 32-0 in 2018-19 and have won six consecutive MIAA regular season titles to go with the four straight MIAA tourney crowns. Earlier today, Northwest secured the MIAA’s automatic bid the regional with an 82-53 win over Washburn in the tournament championship game.

Northwest will match up against No. 8 seed Minnesota State, Mankato, on Sat., March 16, at 6 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

The Elite Eight will be held in Evansville, Indiana, on March 27-30 at the Ford Center.

NCAA Central Region

1. Northwest Missouri State (Host)
2. Northern State
3. Washburn
4. St. Cloud State
5. Southern Nazarene
6. Missouri Southern State
7. Southeastern Oklahoma
8. Minnesota State, Mankato

Saturday, March 16
Noon: No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 6 Missouri Southern (Session 1)
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Northern State vs. No. 7 Southeastern Oklahoma State (Session 1)

6 p.m.: No. 1 Northwest Missouri vs. No. 8 Minnesota State, Mankato (Session 2)
8:30 p.m.: No. 4 St. Cloud State vs. No. 5 Southern Nazarene (Session 2)

Sunday, March 17
5 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Tuesday, March 18
7 p.m.: Regional Championship Game

Jennies cruise in MIAA opening win

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Paige Redmond, Megan Skaggs and Morgan Fleming, critical players in the Jennies national championship run from a year ago, combined for 58 points as Central Missouri beat Central Oklahoma 80-47 in their opening game at the MIAA tournament in Kansas City. Central Missouri, 23-5, will return to action 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

Number one Bearcats hold on at MIAA Tournament

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The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat men’s basketball team thwarted an upset attempt by Emporia State University in the quarterfinals of the 2019 MIAA Tournament, 82-79.

Northwest (30-0 overall) forced a pair of turnovers in the final nine seconds to hold on to advance to the semifinals on Saturday at Noon. The first turnover came on an in-bounds pass from ESU’s Kam Rowan with :09 left when Trevor Hudgins deflected the pass back into Rowan’s hands. Then Ryan Welty tipped the in-bounds pass from ESU’s Kooper Glick with :02.7 left to secure the three-point victory for the Bearcats.

MIAA Player of the Year Joey Witthus and league Freshman of the Year Trevor Hudgins paced the Northwest offensive attack. Witthus poured in 27 points, including 14-of-18 at the free throw line. Hudgins made 9-of-21 field goals and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Northwest drained 32-of-39 at the line, while ESU made 16-of-21.

Sophomore Ryan Hawkins collected his 10th double-double on the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Northwest will take on the winner of the No. 4 Fort Hays State-No. 5-Lincoln game on Saturday at noon. FHSU and Lincoln will play Friday at noon for the right to advance to the semifinals.

Drury men rally for big second half comeback

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Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Drury Panthers managed to turn around their quarterfinal game against Indianapolis and advance to the Great Lakes Valley Conference semifinals with a 71-65 win over the Greyhounds at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois on Thursday.  The fifth-seeded Panthers earned their 20th win of the year improving to 20-10 while Indianapolis, the number four seed in the tournament, fell to 19-10.

Drury’s 20-win season marks the 11th time in Steve Hesser’s 15 seasons the team has reached that total.

The Panthers will play the winner of regular-season champion Lewis and eighth-seeded Truman State in the semifinals on Saturday at noon at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Northwest Missouri sweeps men’s conference honors

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Northwest Missouri swept the Postseason Awards after it completed the first ever 19-0 conference record and first undefeated conference season since 1966-67. The Bearcats are also the first team since Missouri Southern in 2011 to have the Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Joey Witthus was selected as the MIAA Player of the Year. Witthus led the conference in made three-point field goals with 90 and three-point field goals per game at 3.2. He also ranked top-ten in scoring, free-throw percentage and minutes played.

Ryan Hawkins was the association’s Defensive Player of the Year. He helped the Bearcats to allow an MIAA best 61.8 points per game and sit atop of the conference for steals and turnover margin. Individually, Hawkins led the league with 67 steals, 2.3 steals per game and 211 defensive rebounds.

Trevor Hudgins was the Conference’s Freshman of the Year. He was second for assists per game with 5.4 and ranked top-five in the MIAA for field goal percentage and Assist/Turnover Ratio. Hudgins was also top-ten in scoring and free-throw percentage for the season.

Ben McCollum led Northwest to its sixth consecutive MIAA Regular Season title. NW ranked first in scoring defense, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, steals, turnover margin and Assist/Turnover Ratio. They ranked second in scoring and field goal percentage defense. For McCollum, its his fourth straight MIAA Coach of the Year award and fifth in his career.

2018-19 MIAA Men’s Basketball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year – Joey Witthus – Northwest Missouri, Senior
Defensive Player of the Year – Ryan Hawkins, – Northwest Missouri, Sophomore
Freshman of the Year – Trevor Hudgins – Northwest Missouri
Coach of the Year – Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri

GLVC basketball tournament begins today. Drury is top seed in the women’s bracket.

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The 2019 GLVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Tournaments return to the Vadalabene Center on the campus of former league member Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, March 7-10.

The 2019 GLVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Tournaments will feature eight men’s and eight women’s squads that will have earned an invitation based on its GLVC Point Rating System rating. On Thursday, March 7, the men’s quarterfinals will take place with four games at noon, 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. CT. Friday’s action will feature the four women’s quarterfinal contests at the same times.

Both the men’s and the women’s semifinals will commence on Saturday, March 9, as the men take to the court at noon and 2:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

The men’s GLVC Champion will be crowned at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, followed by the women’s final at 3:30 p.m.

Both winners will earn the Conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional.

#BillPollockShow – #Mizzou men and women looking for strong finishes for different reasons

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Thanks for listening and please subscribe to the Bill Pollock Show podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Sound Cloud and Facebook

Starting off with my prediction that came true on Salvy’s surgery for the Royals
Hot takes from Cardinals pitchers Jack Flaherty and Alex Reyes
Mizzou men’s basketball. Jordan Geist and Kevin Puryear reflect.
Mizzou women’s basketball. Sophie Cunningham straight up honest about wanting to beat Florida…I love it.

#BillPollockShow — Kelly Bryant kept an open mind and decided to give #Mizzou a look (PODCAST)

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Kelly Bryant spoke after the first spring practice and said he was actually enjoying the snow.  It was a nice ice-breaker question to get the media familiar with the new starting QB at Mizzou.

However, if you would have asked Bryant about snow and Missouri a few months ago, his answer was quite different.  He had no interest in moving to the state of Missouri.  Yet, something about Mizzou kept pulling him closer to Columbia.

It was his opportunity to work with Derek Dooley on offense, a little nudging from another transfer Jonathan Nance formerly of Arkansas and the Mizzou coaching staff for keeping it real.

We’ll go through the hot takes together on today’s podcast.

Thanks for listening and please subscribe to the Bill Pollock Show podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Sound Cloud and Facebook