Missouri welcomes No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday night

Everyone wake up and put on your Tuesday best! The No. 1 team in the country is coming to town!

Missouri hosts the newly minted No. 1 Auburn Tigers on Tuesday evening, just one day after the Tigers achieved the top spot in the Associated Press’ rankings for the first time ever. We’ll have more in our preview later this morning. But to put it in short order, there’s a reason for this. Auburn is bringing a balanced roster with plenty of star power. Probably not surprising given their ranking, huh?

Auburn’s jump in the rankings came after the Tigers beat No. 12 Kentucky 80-71 on Saturday to win their 15ht straight game. They rallied out of a 10-point first-half deficit and used an 11-2 run midway through the second half to take control and jump ahead — which allowed them to roll to the nine-point win. Walker Kessler dropped 19 points and seven rebounds for Auburn while shooting 8-of-10 from the field, and K.D. Johnson added 17 points.

In his weekly Power Ranking of all the SEC programs, Dave Matter put Auburn at No. 1 ahead of their meeting with Missouri.

Like never before in team history, the Tigers are positioned for an SEC championship and No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn is elite defensively and the nation’s best shot-blocking team.

Should be... fun?

Yesterday at Rock M

• In which Matt W. dissects the film from Mizzou’s weekend loss to Alabama
• In which BK tells us a bit more about the commitment of one Tyrone Hopper
• In which Lauren recaps Missouri’s hot-shooting win over Texas A&M

More Links:

• After the Tigers moved to 15-5 on the season, Chris Kwiecinski at the Columbia Tribune listed the things we’ve learned about Robin Pingeton’s Tigers this season. One of them included a frank assertion of who the team’s best player is:

[Hayley] Frank and [Lauren] Hansen’s offensive prowess from the perimeter is a reason why the Tigers are successful this year.

But that doesn’t change how Blackwell is the best player on the team.

Blackwell’s rebounding skills are among the best in the nation, and her time playing guard earlier in her career gives her a sense of how to defend players both at the perimeter and inside the paint.

He also mentioned the plethora of offensive weapons, one of whom is shooting over 50 percent (!!!!) from three in conference play. Any guesses?

• Anyone else getting excited to watching softball dingers again?

• The 2021 Missouri Golfer’s Association Golfer of the Year? One of Mizzou’s own, of course!

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