UPDATE: Drama!  Rutherford pulls off a minor comeback and wins in OT, 31-30.

Time to get started with Round One of the Mizzou 25 Coaches Edition!  It's time to determine who was the best, most likable, most influential Mizzou coach in the last 25 years!  Competitors were seeded by more normal methods this time (as opposed to the chronological seeding of the Players Edition), and over the next week and a half, we'll be plowing through the first round matchups.

Click here for the bracket.

5/5: 1 Norm Stewart vs 16 Cindy Stein
5/6: 8 Joann Rutherford vs 9 Jay Miller
5/7: 5 Rick McGuire vs 12 Brian Hoffer
5/8: 4 Wayne & Susan Kreklow vs 13 Brian Blitz
5/9: 6 Gene McArtor vs 11 Larry Smith
5/10: 3 Brian Smith vs 14 Jared & Rebecca Wilmes
5/12: 7 Tim Jamieson vs 10 Jake Jacobson
5/13: 2 Gary Pinkel vs 15 Quin Snyder

And yes, some of these matchups should be massive blowouts.  Oh well.

Let's get rolling!

8 Joann Rutherford vs 9 Jay Miller
	vs
1975-98		1988-02
Career Record at Mizzou: 422-261 Five Best Seasons: 1977-78 - 26-6 (AIAW Satellite III 2nd Round) 1981-82 - 24-9 (NCAA Sweet 16) 1982-83 - 24-6 (NCAA 1st Round) 1983-84 - 25-6 (NCAA 1st Round) 1985-86 - 20-12 (NCAA 2nd Round)		Career Record at Mizzou: 556-309 Five Best Seasons: 1988 - 44-18 1991 - 39-14 (5th, Women's College World Series) 1992 - 41-14 (Final Ranking: #16) 1994 - 40-23 (7th, Women's College World Series) 1997 - 47-16 (Big 12 Champions)
The female Norm Stewart and the Mother of Mizzou Basketball (she took over during the Mizzou women's second season in existence), Rutherford prowled the sidelines for 23 seasons at Mizzou, winning 422 games and amassing a .618 win percentage.  She won 20+ games for 8 straight seasons in the 1980s, coached the two greatest Tiger ladies of all-time (Renee Kelly and Joni Davis), and reached the NCAA Tournament six times.		The coach of Mizzou’s only Big 12 champion, Miller led Mizzou to a .643 win percentage (556-309) over his fifteen seasons in black and gold.  His program caught fire in the mid-‘90s, going 242-121 from 1994-99, winning a Big 12 regular season championship and tournament in 1997.  Two of his squads qualified for the Women's College World Series, placing 5th in 1991 and 7th in 1994.