1. Sophie Cunningham named to preseason Wooden Award Watch List.

Like she was last year, Missouri women’s basketball star Sophie Cunningham is one of 30 players named to the preseason Wooden Award Watch List.

A year ago, Cunningham was named to the preseason watch list, midseason Top 25, late season Top 20 and the final national ballot, Missouri’s release stated.

The Mayor of Columbia started her final term in office with 31 points and eight rebounds in Missouri’s 89-64 win at Western Illinois on Tuesday night. It goes without saying (BUT I’M GONNA SAY IT ANYWAY) that more performances like that will keep Cunningham in the heart of the race for the most prestigious yearly college basketball award.

2. Brick Haley gets some much-deserved love, too.

Haley — Missouri’s defensive line coach — was nominated for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. Haley is one of 52 nominees, so there’s still a long way to go, but it’s good to see Haley getting this kind of attention.

Missouri’s defensive line has quietly become one of the better units in the SEC, and its play against the run all season has been one of the highlights. People know about Terry Beckner, but under Haley’s tutelage, players like Akial Byers and Tre Williams are quickly becoming rising stars.

3. The absence of Emanuel Hall hurts even more with stats like this.

THANKS BILL.

How different does this season look like if Hall was healthy and available for Georgia, South Carolina (NOT ALABAMA) and Kentucky?

4. Lock doesn’t make the cut for the O’Brien Award

The Davey O’Brien Award announced its 16 semifinalists on Wednesday, and Drew Lock was not among them.

Not really much to gripe about with the list, though. The semifinalists have all put numbers better or comparable to Lock; the Georgia-South Carolina-Alabama stretch really slowed the momentum for Lock’s season, statistically speaking.

Yesterday at Rock M

• Who will be Mizzou hoops’ MVP by the end of the year?

More Links:

• Make sure to check out the Mizzou men’s and women’s hoops preview show over the next few days. Check here for the air times (and get your DVR ready) if you have Fox Sports Midwest or Fox Sports Kansas City.
• Mizzou volleyball was still playing its match against Auburn at print time (i.e., my very early bedtime), but the 24th-ranked Tigers were up 2-0 and led 20-14 in the third set. Make sure you check here to see if they hung on for another win.
• Drew Lock has become a fantastic s*** talker, and he clearly picks up after his father:

Probably needs to spill more popcorn, though. Oh, and ditch that bag. Looks like it has mold on it.