Well... you can’t win em all.

Especially with that ridiculous officiating. My God, it was abysmal. Even Sam commented on it, and he normally doesn’t say much about it. So did everyone’s favorite former walk on, Jarrett Sutton. (Update: it appears Sutton deleted his tweet)

And Souichi Terada, who had a more humorous take.

Also, side note— did the announcers really grate on anyone else’s nerves?!? They REALLY love Auburn. And Sharife Cooper. You’d think he was the next LeBron or MJ or something. Granted, he is VERY good, but wow... it was a lot. (insert eye roll)

Anyway, loss aside (Auburn was actually favored in this one, y’all), let’s look at the good stuff that happened, because there was good stuff. (and bad stuff, but I’ll leave that to Matt & Sam)

Let’s talk about Dru! Big congrats to the SEC Player of the Week AND 1,000 point scorer, DRUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Smith!

And let’s talk about one of my personal faves... Jeremiah Tilmon! DINO JAMMIES with another double-double and SIX BLOCKS. Terrible free-throw shooting night aside (because it really was horrendous), he and Dru really put in the work Tuesday evening. Javon also had a great night, with 13 off the bench on 6/10 shooting.

On to the Links! Everyone, just breathe. We’ve got plenty of season left.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Dive Cuts is back, and Sam & Matt are hoping that this will be a quiet week for Mizzou Hoops.
• Josh looked at how Sharife Cooper has done wonders for the other Tigers team in his game preview.
• Jacob had your game thread. (Confession: I didn’t read it to see the level of meltdown)
• Kortay recapped the game with post game quotes from HCCM and Dru Smith.
• COMING UP: Sam’s Study Hall is coming, and BK has a piece on new Mizzou hire, Steve Wilks.

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More Links:

Football

• Saturday Down South: Adam Spencer took a shot at projecting the Tigers’ 2021 starting lineup.
• News Tribune: Colin O’Brien wrote that Drink & Wilks hope to be a winning combination for the Tigers.
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum wrote that Mizzou’s DC believes he’s in the right spot.
• PowerMizzou: For subscribers, Sean Williams rounded up Mizzou’s latest offers.
• According to the SEC, 2021’s media days will be moved from Nashville to Hoover. The event will take place in late July.
• The SEC football schedule will be released (on TV!) today at 2pm.

• Off-season vibes. Keep up the hard work, guys!

Hoops

• The Athletic: In a MUST READ (I’m not kidding) piece for The Athletic ($$), friend of Dive Cuts, CJ Moore, went in-depth with Jeremiah Tilmon & HCCM to discuss his growth and how we are finally seeing what he can do, after all this time. It’s INCREDIBLE, y’all.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave wrote a great article about Kobe Brown, who’s finding his niche in Mizzou’s front court. BenFred, in his new chat, answered readers’ questions about Mizzou hoops, among many other regional sports topics. Dave Matter, in his postgame wrap up, said there was too much Cooper for Mizzou. AND in Hochman’s new “Ten Hochman,” he explains the NET ranking system while talking about how Mizzou is racking up the Quad 1 wins.
• PowerMizzou: In “This Week in Mizzou Hoops,” Mitchell wrote about Mizzou’s rise to second in the standings, while Gabe posted video of the postgame press conference and Mitchell had a postgame report. Subscribers can listen to/watch the Burgers’ Smokehouse Dance Class, where Gabe dissects the game and takes questions from callers.
• The Maneater: Jack Soble wrote in his preview that the goal is to slow down No. 2. (so, about that...) Mason Arneson wrote about Jordan Wilmore’s impact on his community, writing that he’s built to give back. This is a great story.
• KC Star: Souichi covered the snapping of Mizzou’s three-game win streak.
• Columbia Missourian: Joel Lorenzi, in his recap, wrote about Sharife Cooper stealing the show.
• Cuonzo Martin has found himself in the running for National Coach of the Year, according to Spencer Parlier of NCAA.com.
• Check out these wonderful pictures captured by Mizzou Hoops during the team’s trip to the National Memorial for Peace & Justice. The one of Kobe reading the quote on the wall is particularly awesome.
• Draft Express posted this great highlight film of Xavier Pinson after his awesome performance against Tennessee. Enjoy!

• Don’t forget about Women’s Hoops, who face two road games this week. First up is at Florida on Thursday, followed by a trip to No. 14/15 Kentucky on Sunday. Really hoping they can get over the hump, as they have a good team... they just need more time to practice together and build some chemistry.

Other Mizzou Sports

• Larissa Anderson’s group finds themselves ranked in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll.

• Anthony Kristensen of The Maneater wrote about the quick improvement of TigerStyle’s freshmen.
• Men’s Track and Field is ranked No. 24, according to MUTigers.com. Five athletes contributed to this ranking, with senior Ja’Mari Ward leading the way as he currently sits third nationally in the long jump.

Other Sports News

Tuesday was a somber day as the sports world recalled the tragic anniversary of that fateful helicopter trip of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the other passengers. Throughout the country, NBA teams and sports writers alike posted some great tributes —in video, in writing, and in their performances that evening (looking at you, Trae Young). Here are some of the ones I loved, and I’m sure I missed some. It’s one of those days, unfortunately, that many of us will never forget.

• Jerry Bembry of The Undefeated remembered the legend one year after his death by compiling Eight on Eight: A Collection of Stories of Kobe Bryant’s Impact on Everyday People.
• This one REALLY got me. ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and her team put together this great, great piece on Kobe with stories from some of the game’s brightest stars.

• My favorite podcast, The Old Man & The Three, compiled Kobe stories from many of their guests the past year, and put them in a YouTube video. Here’s a snippet of it. (Warning: language)

• NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley narrated this wonderful video for Uninterrupted.

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