It was raining threes

(Hallelujah!))

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. As I watched Robin Pingeton’s Tigers take on No. 20 Tennessee in the first half, I couldn’t help but have that song stuck in my head. Haley Troup was shooting the lights out, and her teammates couldn’t help but join in. Shannon Dufficy, Lauren Hansen, and Shug Dickson each made 2 shots behind the arc. The Lady Vols (I hate that they choose to include “lady” in their name) left Hayley Frank open several times, and an open HF is never good for an opponent; she had 3 herself.

The first three quarters were great for the Tigers, and it really looked like they could pull off the upset, but the Vols’ Rennia Davis turned it on in the fourth quarter and Missouri just couldn’t hang on. Haley Troup, who had been a walking bucket all night, had a chance to get the Tigers within 1, but missed a layup (sounds familiar), and the Tigers ultimately fell 78-73 in their home finale.

Overall, while the Tigers made 12 threes and shot 40% from behind the arc, they were out-rebounded 25-46 (yikes). Falling just short has been a common occurrence this season for the Tigers, but I really think big things are to come for them in the future.

Speaking of big things, if you happened to watch the game, you would have heard from a familiar former Tiger, Jordan Roundtree (and Hickman assistant coach), who was on the call on SEC Network +. So cool!

The Tigers wrap up their regular season on Sunday against Mississippi State. MS State is having a very surprising season, as they are only 5-6 in the SEC and 10-7 overall.

Here’s the recap from MUTigers.com.

On to the Links! With no Men’s Hoops tomorrow, we’ll have loads of content on our non-revenue sports, which are not written about enough, so stay tuned for that.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Sam wrote about Mizzou’s rescheduled Senior Day, which will feature a matchup against the Cheatin’ Will Wades. I’d love nothing more than to win (and have him face serious repercussions for his role in the NCAA mess)
• Aaron identified the three most critical players on the 2021 Mizzou Football squad.
• COMING UP: a new Rock-M-Tology from Sammy, another recruiting reset from BK, and some surprise non-revenue sports content (!!)

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More Links:

Football

• PowerMizzou: Gabe posted a new 2021 unofficial scholarship chart ahead of spring ball kicking off, and for subscribers, Chad Simmons updated readers on when to expect Rivals 250 St. Louis prospect Toriano Pride to commit.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave outlined five storylines to monitor during spring football.
• A few former Tigers responded to ESPN’s request to show a sports photo they’ll always remember. First up: LDW!

And Lorenzo Williams! (LOVE this one)

Hoops:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dave Matter’s back with a new weekly chat, talking a lot of hoops and football, as well as the schedule change... Man, I wish the Tigers were playing this weekend. Hochman asked, how mad will March make Mizzou and SLU fans? Both teams inconsistent heading into huge month.
• Columbia Missourian: Joel Lorenzi detailed Sterk’s interest in renegotiating Martin’s deal, among other topics.
• KC Star: Blair Kerkhoff covered the schedule change and in the new KC SportsBeat podcast, On the new episode of SportsBeat KC, the Star’s beat writers talk about the only area team to win on Tuesday, and they talk to Jim Sterk.
• Columbia Tribune: Eric Blum was busy, writing that AD Jim Sterk is open to extending Cuonzo Martin, as well as the news that Mizzou will host LSU on March 6.
• Women’s Hoops was selected to the SEC Community Service team for its work to promote equality and social justice. Way to go, ladies! (MUTigers.com)
• Cool stat from the Florida win on Sunday!

• Jeff Borzello outlined some of the changes that have been put into place for the NCAA tournament. You can read the article in full at NCAA.org.

Swimming & Diving News

• The SEC Championships continue over at MizzouRec, and the Andrew Grevers’ team did AWESOME on Thursday night, bringing home SIX top 5 finishes, including two second place finishes. The Tigers sit in 5th place with one day of competition remaining. (MUTigers.com). From Coach Grevers:

”Tonight we came ready to party and have a good time. Lots of smiles, lots of fun, lots of celebrating and cheering, and the result was a ton of fast swims. It was great to see Danny (Kovac) set a new school record in the 100 fly but it was also great to see all those podium finishes. The relay was phenomenal, getting second place at the end. We’re certainly building momentum to go into the last day.”

• Let’s check out some of the results, shall we?

First up, TWO top 8 finishes in the 100 Breast from Ben Patton and Freddie Rindshoej!

A new school record for the mustached man, Danny Kovac? That’ll do!

Big best time for Jack Dubois in the 400IM, and what an improvement!

Other Mizzou Sports

• Gymnastics takes on Georgia at 7pm this evening, and it’s Senior Night! You can watch the action on the SEC Network.

• Soccer captured its spring opener win against Creighton on a goal from Julissa Cisneros, who knocked in the 19^th goal of her career. She is now 10^th in goals scored in Mizzou history. (MUTigers.com)
• Wrestling will go for their tenth MAC title in their conference championships this weekend. The matches will take place on ESPN+. (MUTigers.com)

Miscellaneous Sports News

• According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, a Kansas senator introduced new NIL legislation that will, among other things, gives players expanded medical coverage, the right to transfer once without penalty, lifetime scholarships, and the ability to return to school post-draft.
• The FBI probe continues to hand down sanctions, and South Carolina is next on the list. Cough-cough... when’s Will Wade’s turn?

• Mike Singer of The Denver Post wrote a really great story on Michael Porter, Jr, who “got tired of people saying he doesn’t play defense.” Great read.

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