Time for another non-revenue sports hodgepodge

There’s a lot going on with our non-revenue sports. Mid-MO has some unsavory weather in store this weekend — it’s supposed to be cold and wet today — so they’re adjusting the baseball team’s weekend schedule against Texas Southern. Kortay will have the preview in the morning, and as he has quickly learned, it’s hard to write previews when there’s not much available on the opponent.

From Ethan Burke’s preview at The Missourian:

Texas Southern (7-3) is coming off an 8-5 road loss to Houston on Tuesday. Prior to the loss against the Cougars, Texas Southern went on a six-game winning streak with sweeps against Wiley College and Randall University.

In a final tune-up before the home slate kicks off, Mizzou Softball heads to the great (?) state of Oklahoma for the OSU/Tulsa Invitational, where they will spend Friday in Stillwater, facing Maine (4-5) at 2:30pm (moved due to weather) and #3 Oklahoma State (13-1) after that, before heading to Tulsa for their remaining games against Maine (round 2) and two against Tulsa (7-8). It appears that all but the first game against Maine will be available either on ESPN+ or YouTube Live, so we’ll actually be able to feast our eyes upon the Tigers! HOW AMAZING. My preview will be up before the games start.

And finally, we’ve reached the elephant in the room. What becomes of head coach Robin Pingeton and her basketball program after that epic collapse in the fourth quarter of their opening game in the SEC Tournament? Facing off against Arkansas for the third time this season, and in the no. 8-9 seed of the tourney for the second year in a row, would the Tigers finally come out on top in this one? For the first time in 10 meetings? Hell, Mizzou has beaten South Carolina more times in their last 10 meetings than the Tigers have beaten the Hogs. Let that one sink in for a minute. The only team the South Carolina Gamecocks have lost two in TWO YEARS is Missouri. Yet Missouri can’t seem to beat Arkansas.

I wanted it to be different, you guys. I thought it was going to be different. The Tigers were up by 8 in the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks were dealing with injuries and foul trouble, and Missouri seemingly had control of the game. Until they didn’t. They stopped making shots — that missed layup by Lauren Hansen when Mama could’ve/should’ve taken the damn shot herself? OOF. As Man of March Jon Rothstein likes to say, it was the “epitome of brutality.” That missed shot was the beginning of the undoing.

The loose thread in your sweater that you just start to pull at until suddenly you realize you have a pile of string in front of you and no way to put it back together. That shot (or lack thereof), and what transpired the remainder of the fourth, allowed the Razorbacks to get right back into it. They hit a trey to cut the lead to three, and just kept going from there. The Tribune’s Chris Kwiecinski said it was a 16-0 run. SIXTEEN TO ZERO. IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF A GAME YOU ALMOST HAD IN HAND. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?!? And why does this keep happening? The Hogs were limping into the finish and Mizzou just seemed to stand back and allow it to happen. Why? WHY?!?

As Kwiecinski pointed out, the loss wasted good games from Rosie, Frankie, and Hansen. And while Lo had the Missed Shot Heard ‘Round the World SEC, she also had 19 points. And this may have been the Australian’s best game. From Chris K:

Smith had nine points in the third quarter and was a catalyst in pushing MU’s lead to nine with 1:40 remaining in the third. Those nine points kick-started MU into an 11-0 run ending the third, which gave the Tigers control of the game going into the fourth quarter.

“I thought she had a really good year,” Pingeton said. “This was a huge year for her. She did a great job all year long from a rebounding standpoint.”

It’s just so sad.

So the Tigers await their fate. Are they destined for the WNIT for the third consecutive year? Will they even get to host? Doubt it. Will they even be invited? We don’t know. What becomes of Robin? Does DRF have a coach list in her pocket that she’s just been waiting to use? I assume she does, given she had DG in her mind all along when she got rid of her friend Cuonzo Martin last year.

Coach P has a buyout of something like 1.2 million if they cut her loose before the contract is up, and I honestly can’t blame the athletic department if Des wants to move on. Really. Or, does she realize that the Tigers have (at least right now), all of their pieces returning but Troup, and have a very good recruiting class coming in, and allow her to fight for her job? Again, I just don’t know. I have so many questions. What does it look like if Coach P is fired? Does the team dismantle? I truthfully really like Robin the human. I am just not sure how much faith I have anymore in Robin the coach, and wonder what the team looks like with someone else at the helm. I’ll continue to support the team regardless of the decision.

It’s honestly so exhausting.

On to the Links!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Adeen recapped the latest WBB blemish: Arkansas rides 4th quarter performance to knock Mizzou WBB out of SEC Tourney with 85-74 win while Lauren previewed the matchup.
• Harris attempted to make sense of the NET rankings.
• Sam’s Study Hall talked about avoiding walk-on bombs. It was weird, guys.
• Dan’s latest reviews the offense’s position battles.

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More Links:

Hoops

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read Matter’s newest (subscriber) chat | Latest collapse eliminates Mizzou women’s basketball from SEC tournament (Dave Matter) | *MUST READ* How Mizzou Athletics became fan-focused, spurred Mizzou Arena’s basketball sellout spree (Calum McAndrew)
• Columbia Missourian: Missouri closes out its regular senior with second meeting against Ole Miss (Jaden Lewis)
• Columbia Tribune: Mizzou falls apart in SEC Tournament, leaving team to wonder what’s next (Chris Kwiecinski)
• PowerMizzou: Stats that stood out against LSU (Drew King)
• SENIOR DAY FESTIVITIES ARE UPON US! Mizzou Hoops is celebrating its seniors with some nice little tribute videos. See: Noah Carter | Tre Gomillion | Remember, everyone who could be gone will be honored in the ceremony. But they could also come back (except Tre, Dree, Ben & D’Moi)
• Congrats, Benny Buckets! Read more at MUTigers.com.

Football

• PowerMizzou: Who’s Next in the 2024 Class? (Sean Williams) | Q&A with DT coach Al Davis, Kristian Williams & Darius Robinson (Jarod Hamilton)
• Columbia Missourian: Experience, continuity strengths for MU defense in 2023 (Wendell Shepherd, Jr)
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mizzou football coaching staff excited by veteran defensive squad entering spring practice (Matter)
• That’s fast.

Other Mizzou Sports

• Women’s Swimming: Three women’s swimmers — Katrina Brathwaite & Malin Grosse (200BR), Meredith Rees (100BK), to represent Missouri at NCAA Championships (Zachary Bott, Missourian)
• Wrestling: ‘Tiger style’: MU wrestling’s philosophy for champions (Adam Ryerson, Missourian)
• Softball: Tigers set for tough match-up against Oklahoma State’s Kelly Maxwell (Maddie Orr, Missourian)
• Track: MU’s Nachev finishes 14th at European Indoor Championships (Joel Boenitz, Missourian)
• Club Hockey: The field is set for Nationals. It’s go time.

NBA/G-League Corner

• Jordan Clarkson & Utah Jazz (31-32):

2/28 vs Spurs (L 102-94): not with team

2/25 vs Spurs (W 118-102): 33min | 9pts on 4-13 FG (0-3 3PT) | 3 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 5 TO | +8

2/23 vs OKC (W 120-119 OT): 36min | 24pts on 9-19 FG (2-8 3PT, 4-5 FT) | 4 REB | 6 AST | 4 TO | 5 PF | +0

UP NEXT: Fri, 3/3 vs OKC @7pm | Sun, 3/5 vs OKC @6pm | Tue, 3/7 vs DAL @7:30pm

• Michael Porter, Jr & Denver Nuggets (44-19):

2/28 vs HOU (W 133-112): 23 min | 17pts on 7-11 FG (3-6 3PT) | 4 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 1 PF | +22

2/26 vs LAC (W 134-124): 39 min | 29pts on 12-18 FG (4-8 3PT) | 11 D-REB | 3 PF | +17

2/25 vs MEM (L 112-94): 19 min | 5pts on 2-10 FG (1-7 3PT) | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 TO | 2 PF | -9

UP NEXT: Fri, 3/3 vs Grizzlies @9pm | Mon, 3/6 vs Raptors @8pm | Wed, 3/8 vs Chicago @8pm

• Dru Smith & Brooklyn Nets (34-26):

3/1 vs Knicks (L 142-118): DNP

2/28 vs Bucks (L 118-104): 5 min | 1-3 FG (1-2 3PT) | 1 STL | +1

2/26 vs Hawks (L 127-129) & 2/24 (L 131-87): not with team

UP NEXT: Fri, 3/3 vs BOS @6:30, ESPN | Sun, 3/5 vs CLT @5pm | Tue, 3/7 vs HOU @7pm

• Jontay Porter & Wisconsin Herd (8-15):

2/28 vs SLC (W 120-106): 28 min | 11pts on 4-13 PG (3-7 3PT) | 13 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 4 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PF | -1

2/27 vs SLC (L 135-100): 31 min | 14pts on 5-12 FG (4-6 3PT) | 10 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PF | -22

2/24 vs TEX (W 123-122): 33 min | 10pts on 5-13 FG (0-3 3PT) | 12 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 5 BLK | 3 PF | +6

UP NEXT: Sat, 3/4 vs Bulls @11:30am | Tue, 3/7 vs Orlando @9:30am ESPN+

• Jeremiah Tilmon & 905 Raptors (11-10):

3/2 vs Mad Ants (W 135-125): 2 min | 4pts on 2-2 FG | 1 TO | 2 PF | -4

2/25 vs MCC (L 104-87): 8 min | 2pts on 1-3 FG | 2 REB | 1 TO | 5 PF | -4

2/23 vs WCB (L 108-103): 21 min | 6pts on 2-6 FG | 2 REB | 3 AST | 2 TO | 4 PF | -11

2/22 vs WCB (W 114-110): 26 min | 17pts on 6-8 FG (3-4 FT) | 5 REB | 1 AST | 3PF | 5 PF | +7

UP NEXT: Sat, 3/4 vs Mad Ants @1pm | Mon, 3/6 vs Ignite @6:30pm | Wed 3/8 vs Blue Coats @6:30pm ESPN+

Former Tiger Hodgepodge Season Averages

**I’ll wrap this up with a final season-long statistics outlook for Mizzou’s former players next Friday.

While former East St Louis Flyer Terrence Hargrove, Jr. didn’t end up being a Tiger — I wanted Zo to take him so bad — he did end up a Billiken, and received this great honor on Thursday. For those of you not in the Billikens/Hargrove fan club, he made public this season his mental health struggles with depression. So proud of him for sharing information that can help others, and now he’s won an award for it by the USBWA. Way to go, TJ! Always rooting for you!

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