/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72273411/Narrower_Daily_Links_Draft_3.0.png)
While the softball team awaits their postseason fate, Bieser Ball (27-20, 7-17 SEC) still has a few weeks left. Starting tonight at 6pm, they’ll face off against Georgia (28-21, 10-14 SEC), who claimed a series victory over Tennessee last weekend as well as a midweek W over USC Upstate. Missouri is also trending up at the moment, having taken two of three from defending College World Series champ, Ole Miss, last weekend.
One more home weekend of #Mizzou baseball ⚾️at Taylor!
— Mizzou Baseball (@MizzouBaseball) May 11, 2023
✅ Beat Georgia buttons (Friday)
✅ Senior Day (Saturday-pregame)
✅ Mother's Day/Boone Electric Cooperative Family Funday (Sunday)
️ https://t.co/kU3DCAcNa1#MIZ | #C2Ehttps://t.co/oyvhvDoTA8
Per MUTigers.com, Friday will be the 27th meeting between the two teams with Georgia holding a 15-11 edge. The Dawgs have taken 9 of the last 11 games in CoMo (ew), though Mizzou took two of three from them in Athens last season.
This series represents another much-needed opportunity for the Tigers to build upon what they hope will be an NCAA-worthy resume. The Tigers currently sit in 12th place in the conference and are in line to make the SEC Tournament in Hoover. They will finish the season undefeated in midweek games (check out the thread from Matt Michaels I’ve linked to). They have an RPI of 47 and currently project as OUT of the NCAA field. Georgia sits 29th in RPI, so any number of wins this weekend would be a boost to their chances and could help them reach the NCAA Tourney again for the first time since 2012.
For more on the matchup, check out Kortay’s preview, which will be out early this morning!
⭐️FIVE-STAR PERFORMERS⭐️
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) May 11, 2023
Here are 5 players I'm watching this weekend after big weeks: presented by @TheNECBL
1. Nolan Schubart, @OSUBaseball
2. Zack Lee, @UKBaseball
3. Nate Humphreys, @DBU_Baseball
4. Nick Lorusso, @TerpsBaseball
5. Luke Mann, @MizzouBaseball
Speaking of baseball, it’s been a hot topic of convo around here after Dave Matter wrote an excellent piece for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the team, the pressures, and head coach Steve Bieser. The piece was so enlightening that it was the subject of many a question in Matter’s new chat as well.
Listen, we all know our baseball team lags behind the rest of the conference in every way— in money, in facilities, in talent, in history, in weather... They have a 21-year-old stadium that seats 2,200 and sits atop of very steep hill that catches the worst wind. The location is far less than ideal, and parking is a joke. The field is a mess and needs turf. Signs don’t accurately tell spectators where to sit. They play in a much cooler climate far different than the southernmost SEC schools. They take commercial flights. They have farther to travel. They have an overwhelming lack of NIL deals. All of this sounds like a ringing endorsement to come to Mizzou to play baseball, right?
Well, not so fast. Despite all [waves arms wildly] this, Bieser actually recruits well. His upcoming class is ranked in the top 25, and he consistently recruits at a top 40 level.
Per Matter’s article, earlier this year, the university hired a global consulting firm to study ways Mizzou can invest in athletics projects. Bieser is understandably excited to hear about the results of the firm’s study, but in the meantime, he’s got to work with what he already has. Attendance is up— they will blow their attendance figures out of the water (they are up over 1K more than last year with three more home games remaining). And the team he has is at the edge of good.
“We’ve seen how the administration’s been able to get out and build those relationships and the requirements for the coaches to be out there on the ground level to build those relationships and what that does for your attendance,” Bieser added. “For us playing in front of 2,500 at this stadium it’s huge. It sounds like it’s packed and there’s energy in the stadium.”
From the chat, after Dave was asked about the shortcomings:
The flight situation is pretty bad. As much emphasis as sports science has put on sleep, it’s not healthy for athletes to be getting home at 3 or 4 a.m. after a baseball series - when they’re expected to attend class the next day and begin a week of prep for baseball. And here’s the real downside to some of these spending shortages: The word gets around to other players around the country - which can be especially demoralizing in the age of the transfer portal. That’s a concern for the staff. Players talk. They know what’s happening at other schools more than ever before. Mizzou’s current roster has players who previously played at Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Arizona. They don’t want to earn an SEC-wide reputation as a place that’s cheap.
I cannot recommend this piece enough. It’s very, very good.
“We’ve got to find a way to get over the top. I really do believe the administration is on board. They know what we need.”
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) May 11, 2023
NEW at @stltoday - Why Steve Bieser believes in #Mizzou baseball's upside despite hefty challenges in SEC https://t.co/JfKrPvRMhL via @stltoday
On to the Links! M-I-Z! Beat U-G-A!
Yesterday at Rock M
- 2023 Win Totals for SEC East Football
- How much does high school recruiting REALLY matter?
- Check out Brandon Kiley, Rock M’s very own local celebrity
Looking for some comfortable new shirts? Look no further than #FinsTeam!A group of 3 fishing friends sick of seeing plastic bottles in the water decided to build a company to turn the bottles into shirts. Mine is made from 14.5 bottles!
— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) May 11, 2023
Check ‘em out: https://t.co/0sqM2RfQpI pic.twitter.com/gKx3XUXTSV
More Links:
Hoops
- PowerMizzou: Players to watch at EYBL Session 3 (Drew King)
- Columbia Missourian: Charlie Ward details what Anthony Robinson II brings to Missouri (Jaden Lewis)
- A nice poll from our own Parker Gillam:
Who do you want to see #Mizzou MBB play in the SEC vs. ACC Challenge next season?
— Parker Gillam (@gillam_parker) May 11, 2023
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read Dave Matter’s (subscriber) chat. The excerpt below is from Matter, when asked about losing out on notable transfers, including Jimmy Bell:
I don’t think Dennis Gates panics about anything. They’ve missed on some high-profile targets, but that’s part of recruiting. I certainly wouldn’t panic about missing on Jimmy Bell. He seemed like an odd fit for the system Gates wants to run and I’m not sure he’s the kind of athlete they want at the five position.
Kobe Time
- Detroit draft talk:
6’8 Missouri Kobe Brown has been gaining traction as a potential mid/early second rounder.
— Pistons Draft Talk (@PDTScouting) May 11, 2023
He’s listed at 6’8/250 and it’s insane to consider he played the guard role a lot during his time at Mizzou
Averaged 16/6/3 on 55/45/80 splits
The 23 year old could rise in the combine pic.twitter.com/z1Rd4cAfrX
- Kobe in Indy tomorrow
Pacers hosting pre-draft workout No. 1 on May 12.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 11, 2023
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
Jaime Jaquez (UCLA)
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
Liutauras Lelevicius (Zalgiris II)
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
Football
- PowerMizzou: Missouri trending for three-star DB Dre Kirkpatrick, Jr. (Sean Williams) | Points of emphasis: Quarterback passing depth (Jarod Hamilton)
- Love this from Rake!
- We see you, Hop!
@tyron_hopper #MIZ pic.twitter.com/4RumuTq2P9
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) May 11, 2023
Other Mizzou Sports
- ALL SPORTS: Congrats to the 100 Spring (and Summer) student-athlete graduates who will be donning their caps and gowns today thru Sunday, per MUTigers.com!
- SOFTBALL: What are Mizzou softball’s chances of earning a NCAA Regional berth? (Chris Kwiecinski, Columbia Tribune)
- BASEBALL: Mizzou baseball hosts Georgia with postseason looming large (Ethan Burke, Missourian) | Baseball cancels final nonconference contest against Indiana State (MUTigers.com)
Schedule Update #MIZ | #C2E ⚾️https://t.co/O6OTUuZtAw
— Mizzou Baseball (@MizzouBaseball) May 11, 2023
- TRACK & FIELD: Mizzou women’s track and field lead field after Day 1 of SECs (Joel Boenitz, Missourian) | Way to go, Sophia! A silver at the SEC Championships!
Bringin’ home the hardware
— Mizzou Track & Field (@MizzouTFXC) May 12, 2023
Sophia Rivera claims second in the javelin with a mark of 55.98m (183-08) pic.twitter.com/Ntnrx27t1Y
Jenna Schwartz claims fourth in the 10,000m with a time of 35:40.66 pic.twitter.com/3aG10JopiN
— Mizzou Track & Field (@MizzouTFXC) May 12, 2023
- MEN’S GOLF: Mizzou men’s golf’s Crockett makes All-SEC team (Kortay Vincent, Missourian) | Charlie Crockett earns All-SEC Second Team honors for Men’s Golf (MUTigers.com)
Congrats to @charliecrock1 for earning second-team All-SEC honors on Thursday, becoming the fifth Tiger in program history to receive the accolade since joining the league! #MIZ ⛳️
— Mizzou Men's Golf (@MizzouMensGolf) May 11, 2023
https://t.co/xKTkI6HVeC pic.twitter.com/ea1QBzFBDf
Former Tigers
- Fired hoops coach Mike Anderson seeks $45.6M from St. John’s (Myron Medcalf, ESPN)
- Vikings counting on ex-MU corner Evans, other second-year players to anchor secondary (Dave Campbell, Associated Press)
- Michael Porter Jr. and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the next round of the playoffs with a 125-100 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
MPJ with a tough finish pic.twitter.com/jzxKj0yQw2
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 12, 2023
24 minutes | 10pts on 4-10 FG and 0-4 from 3PT | 5 REB (3 def) | 2 PF | +11
UP NEXT: more basketball!
- Big congrats to Tony Temple and Gary Pinkel for being inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame!
2 moments.
— Ben Arnet (@BenArnetKOMU) May 11, 2023
2 wins that helped define the Pinkel Era of #Mizzou Football.
2 reasons why Pinkel & Tony Temple entered the @CottonBowlGame Hall of Fame.
More in the https://t.co/JpABUvMwIX pic.twitter.com/swkdqdn0yo
Special day celebrating Tony Temple and Gary Pinkel being inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame! #MIZ pic.twitter.com/QafoWPvTL1
— Brad Loos (@BradLoos_MIZ) May 11, 2023
Tony Temple, who set the Cotton Bowl record for rushing, might have set the record for longest HoF speech. This was cool: He named the starting O-linemen from the 2007 team: Luellen, Madison, Spieker, Gregory, Brown. "They cannot go without recognition for how great they were."
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) May 11, 2023
If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
(** RockMNation has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though RockMNation may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.**)
Loading comments...