Tough times for Robin Pingeton and Crew

It’s pretty tough to beat the best. Even when you’ve done it before.

Looking to repeat last year’s upset of South Carolina, Mizzou found much tougher sledding on Sunday, dropping the weekend contest to the Gamecocks 81-50.

Things started well enough for the Tigers, who hung around early on. But it didn’t take long for Dawn Staley’s team to assert their dominance in the second quarter.

The Tigers and Gamecocks traded buckets for the first quarter of action, but South Carolina claimed a 19-17 lead after 10 minutes. Mizzou held the lead for 2:50 of the opening period, with Hansen dropping nine points on a pair of 3-pointers...

The Gamecocks gained separation in the second quarter with an offensive rebounding advantage and strong defense in the post. With under three minutes before the half, the Tigers’ deficit was seven points before South Carolina’s big run bolstered its lead to double figures.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Robin Pingeton acknowledged the locker room was feeling the sting of the loss. However, there’s some hope that the veteran presence in the room will carry them through this tough stretch.

After starting the season 14-2, the Tigers have dropped three consecutive games by 20 points or more. It’s become a disturbing trend of Pingeton’s tenure, to see teams fade down the stretch. With veterans like Hayley Frank, Lauren Hansen and many others having strong seasons, it’s imperative that the run of losses end quickly. (Editor’s Note: these three losses were to three of the best teams in the league, including two undefeated top-5 teams. While losing by a lot is never great, there is a lot to like about this Tiger team as someone who follows them religiously, and a lot of season left. Also worth noting, SC has beaten four SEC opponents by 29+ already this season.)

Taking stock of the Tigers’ season before the bye week. the Columbia Tribune’s Chris Kwiecinski noted that Missouri is still in good shape re: conference standings and a potential tournament bid. If they can stay near the top of the conference, they’ll have every shot to go dancing.

With a bye week coming for Missouri, the Tigers have a chance to reset themselves. Especially as the SEC starts to separate itself.

Only Arkansas and Missouri have three conference wins. Alabama and Georgia have two. Florida, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Auburn and Mississippi State have combined for two conference wins.

The takeaway from this is Missouri is a team good enough to be in the top half of the conference standings. The Tigers found a formula that works in trusting their veteran players while finding where their newcomers can contribute.

Yesterday at Rock M

• In which Karen rounds up the best of the best from last week at Rock M Nation
• In which I argued that Eli Drinkwitz actions mean he’s betting big on 2023
• In which Lauren previewed Mizzou’s eventual loss to South Carolina
• In which Matt Harris ran the numbers on Mizzou’s Saturday loss to Florida

More Links:

• Dennis Gates is back in the lab after two consecutive losses. Hopefully watching all this European ball yields some better results against the upcoming competition.

• Opening weekend brought mixed results for Mizzou Tennis, which swept Tarleton State 4-0 before falling to No. 4 Oklahoma 7-0.
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