Congrats to RS-Freshman Noah Surtin, who was named Big XII Wrestler of the Week after his 3-0 performance at the Collegiate Duals Dec 20-21.

From MUTigers.com:

Ranked No. 15 at 125 pounds by Intermat at the time of the duals tournament, Surtin finished a spotless 3-0 including two top-15 ranked upsets. He started the tournament with a dominating performance against Binghamton’s Nick Curley, winning by tech fall in the early in the second period.

He followed up the effort with a win against the fifth-ranked wrestler in convincing fashion, beating North Carolina State’s Jakob Camacho 7-4 with an exclamation-point take down as the third period expired. Surtin finished his run at the Duals by beating Lehigh’s No. 11 Jaret Lane 10-4 in a match Surtin controlled from the first whistle.

Also, Happy SEC Opener to Men’s Hoops, who kick things off this evening against No. 18 Kentucky. As you know, the Tigers will be taking on Coach Cal’s ‘Cats without Head Coach Cuonzo Martin, who is temporarily sidelined with the Covid. In Lila Bromberg’s new post for the KC Star, she mentioned that even though Zo hasn’t been with the team in person, he’s remained in touch with acting head coach Cornell Mann the other assistants about practice plans.

“Really the timeline hadn’t been much different other than making sure that we talk to Coach about the practice plan, make sure that we get together as assistants and put together and execute the practice plan to make sure that our guys are physically healthy — and they are — mentally healthy — and they are,” Mann said.

As for the Tigers’ progress this season, to which there have been some, Coach Mann provided some insight:

“Sometimes the scoreboard may trick you into thinking you’re not getting better, but we are getting better,” Mann said. “Sometimes it’s incremental, sometimes in some pretty big spots. And so I think they feel that, so I think that builds confidence. I think the confidence is continuing to get better.”

It’s going to be a tough, tough task taking on the Wildcats, especially on the road in what’s expected to be a packed Rupp Arena, but I’m excited to watch just the same. You can catch video of Coach Corn’s media time at PowerMizzou.

Yesterday at Rock M

• Nate’s last Beyond the box Score looks at Mizzou’s new-look 2022 squad, which lost a game in 2021?
• A new Dive Cuts discusses the defense’s struggles and the Illinois second half debacle.
• Matthew J Harris’ new Film Study further goes into the Tigers’ surprising defensive struggles.

More Links:

Hoops

• The Columbia Tribune’s Eric Blum wrote about Mizzou matchup with Kentucky, writing If Missouri stands any chance at winning inside Rupp Arena, Kobe Brown will have to be at his best.
• The Post Dispatch’s Dave Matter has got your game preview, and revealed his new SEC rankings on Opening Day. Additionally, Matter wrote that without Martin, Mizzou opens SEC play against rebuilt, balanced Kentucky.
• The Missourian’s Anthony Kristensen said Cornell Mann is ready to fill in as MU prepares for Kentucky.
• Mizzou Women’s Hoops is trying to pack the stands for their SEC Opener against South Carolina on Thursday. If you want to check it out, they’ve got a great deal on tickets below. Additionally, I was given a BUNCH of tickets for the game from a former staffer, so if you are interested in attending, please reach out ASAP!

• Mizzou commit Christian Jones had a good day on the court with the East St Louis Flyers on Monday evening.

Other Mizzou Sports

• According to MUTigers.com, junior Yu-Ta Tsai and freshman Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson are taking part in the Orlando International Amateur event, which features just under 200 of the top amateur golfers from the United States and across the globe and takes place today through December 30.
• PowerMizzou’s Sean Williams updated the Top 20 state rankings for 2023 prospects, while Mitchell Forde wrote a quarterback position reset.

Former Mizzou Players in the Wild

• The G-League Showcase in Las Vegas is on hold until after the new year, so we’ll have to wait to see how Tilly and DRUUUUU do in 2022.
• Quin Snyder’s Utah Jazz took on the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, and won, 110-104. Jordan Clarkson played 32 minutes and scored 23 points on 9-21 shooting (2-7 from 3) with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers.
• Best of luck to the former Tiger!

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