COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Mark Smith scored 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting from 3 and Missouri triumphed over Central Arkansas 68-55 in its season opener Tuesday night.

Smith — a University of Illinois transfer — kicked off his sophomore campaign with a bang, providing the main source of offense for the Tigers in his team debut.

After trailing 5-3 to start, Smith led the Tigers on a 15-0 run to open up a commanding lead, drilling a trio of 3-pointers to fuel the stretch.

Missouri’s defense took care of the rest, limiting the Bears to 33 percent shooting.

Despite Smith’s strong performance, Missouri’s offense was held to just 32.4 percent shooting in the first half. The Tigers improved in the second half, shooting 55.6 percent.

The offense missed the versatility of sophomore forward Jontay Porter. The Tigers lost Porter to a torn ACL and MCL in a scrimmage with Southern Illinois in October.

Missouri’s lack of scoring at times opened up windows for the Bears to climb back into the game. Central Arkansas trimmed Missouri’s lead to four with 4:57 to go in the first half and seven with 10:51 in the second. The Tigers pulled away with an 11-1 run midway through the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Central Arkansas: The Bears missed the presence of last year’s top two scorers, Jordan Howard and Mathieu Kamba. Howard scored 25.1 points per game and Kamba averaged 13.8.

Missouri: This team is bound to endure some growing pains with the loss of Porter and the addition of a flurry of new faces. Missouri’s offense progressed as the game went on and the defense played a solid 40 minutes.

UP NEXT

Central Arkansas plays its first home game Thursday against Hendrix College.

Missouri hits the road for a matchup against Iowa State.

— Associated Press —

MACOMB, Ill. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 31 points and No. 16 Missouri opened the season Tuesday night with an 89-64 win over Western Illinois.

Lauren Aldridge and Amber Smith added 14 points apiece for the Tigers, who scored the first four points of the game and never trailed.

Annabel Graettinger and Olivia Kaufmann had 18 points apiece for the Leathernecks.

Missouri, which had a 52-32 rebounding advantage, held Western Illinois to 29 percent shooting (17 for 59). The Tigers went 33 for 71 (46.5 percent).

Missouri is the first Power Five team to play at Western Illinois since 1997.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football senior QB Drew Lock is the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, announced Monday (Nov. 5) by the league office. This marks the first time this season that Lock has earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week.

Lock led Mizzou to the program’s first road win over a ranked team since 2014, as he threw for 250 yards (the most against Florida this year) and three touchdowns (the most against Florida this year) in a convincing 38-17 win in the Swamp at No. 13 Florida.

He completed 24-of-32 passes with no turnovers against a defense that came into the game ranked eighth nationally in turnovers gained (18 total), and his QB rating of 171.56 came against a defense which came into the game ranked 23rd in pass efficiency defense (110.42 rating).

His 250 passing yards were the most against the Gators in 15 contests while his three TDs match the most by a single QB against Florida since Sept. 24, 2016, when Tennessee QB Josh Dobbs had four. In the 31 games since Dobbs threw for four TDs vs. the Gators’ lauded secondary, only five times has a QB thrown for three TDs in a game – Lock has done so twice in that span after throwing three in a 45-16 win over the Gators a year ago. The others to do so are Kentucky’s Stephen Johnson, Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur and Georgia’s Jake Fromm.

Lock’s QB rating of 171.56 last Saturday was his best against an SEC team this season while his 75 percent completion percentage matched his best ever in an SEC game (he did so against Florida last year as well). Since 2009, Florida has allowed opposing QBs to complete 75 percent of their passes just three times in 124 games. Lock has two of those three games. The other was Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel during his Heisman season in 2012.

Mizzou’s 38 points and 471 yards of total offense marked season highs against the Florida defense, which came into the game ranked 20th in scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game, and 28th in total defense (336.5 ypg).

Lock completed passes to 10 different receivers on the day, and he also converted a couple of critical third downs on scrambles to move the chains.

Lock’s big day moved him into third place on the SEC career touchdowns chart, with 90, and he passed Tim Tebow and Chris Leak of Florida (88 each) and Tennessee’s Peyton Manning (89) on the way. He also moved past Florida’s Danny Wuerffel into sixth place on the SEC passing yardage chart, with 11,089 yards.

Lock and the Tigers return home this Saturday (Nov. 10) to host Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. on ESPN 1550.

— Mizzou Athletics —

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s lone bright spot after another lopsided loss to Missouri: It won’t have to face Drew Lock again.

Lock picked apart Florida’s defense for the second straight year, throwing three touchdown passes to lead the Tigers to a 38-17 victory against the 13th-ranked Gators on Saturday

Lock completed 24 of 32 passes for 250 yards, with scoring throws to Albert Okwuegbunam, Kam Scott and Emanuel Hall that stunned the Swamp. His best performance in league play this season came a week after a heartbreaking loss on the final play against Kentucky.

“These situations a lot of time in sports mirror how your life can go,” said coach Barry Odom. “You’re going to be faced with adversity. You’re going to be faced with hard times. This game was decided long before the ball was kicked off.”

Lock, a senior and projected first-round draft pick, was equally effective against Florida in a 45-16 victory last year. He will head to the NFL with six touchdowns passes and an interception in his final two games against the Gators.

“This feels really good,” Lock said. “It’s hard to put into words. It was a different week for us. You kind of had that feeling there’s no way you lose that football game (to Kentucky). I think after a loss like that, there’s no way you can go in and lose a game.

“There’s no way I can feel any worse than I did last Saturday, so I wasn’t going to let that happen again. And none of these guys were going to let that happen. That was our mindset coming in this week.”

Florida also was hoping to rebound after a 36-17 loss to Georgia eliminated it from contention in the SEC East. But the Gators came out flat and didn’t find a spark until it was too late.

Coach Dan Mullen benched starting quarterback Feleipe Franks late in the third quarter — the home crowd cheered wildly — and backup Kyle Trask promptly directed a 75-yard touchdown drive in which he converted two fourth downs. Trask found Josh Hammond in the end zone on the second one for a 7-yard score that made it 35-17.

After the game, Mullen sounded like he would stick with Franks moving forward.

“Everybody’s going to have some good days and bad days,” Mullen said. “I’m certainly not here pointing the finger that he was terrible. And we didn’t pull him because he was terrible. We pulled him `cause the offense wasn’t moving and we wanted to see if somebody else could get it done and put Kyle put in, not because of his individual, personal performance.”

Franks completed 7 of 22 passes for 84 yards. Trask was 10 of 18 for 126 yards.

The Tigers (5-4, 1-4) led 21-10 at halftime and sealed their first SEC win in 2018 with three consecutive scoring drives in the third quarter.

Mullen called the back-to-back losses by a combined 40 points a “reality check.”

“It’s a little bit of a reality check of where we are with the guys,” Mullen said, pointing to consecutive wins against Mississippi State and LSU. “If we come out and play really well as a team in all three phases, we’re good enough to play with anybody out there. If we don’t, we’re not.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Missouri: The Tigers beat Florida for the fourth time in the last six meetings, including twice on homecoming. All six have been blowouts, with Florida’s 21-3 victory in 2015 being the closest contest.

Florida: The Gators opened a three-game homestand with a dud and looked lost on both sides of the ball, ending with the worst loss in Mullen’s first year.

LOCK’S BEST

Lock showed why he’s considered a top NFL talent. His 41-yard throw to Hall down the sideline was perfect, setting up a touchdown run in which Lock held the defensive end before pitching the ball. And his TD throw to Okwuegbunam came after a pre-snap read and adjustment.

He’s been at his best against Florida. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 228 yards and three TDs in last year’s rout.

He hadn’t been nearly as sharp against the SEC this season, completing 50 percent of his passes for 732 yards, with one touchdown and five interceptions against Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky. Getting Hall back was a big boost. He missed the last four games with hip and groin injuries.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida could drop out of the Top 25 poll after back-to-back lopsided losses to Georgia and Missouri.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hosts Vanderbilt with a chance to become bowl eligible.

Florida: Continues a three-game home stretch against South Carolina.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball closed out their exhibition slate on Thursday evening with a 74-59 victory over Washburn. The Mizzou offense found its grove in the fourth quarter, as the team shot 59 percent from the field in the closing frame to finish off the visiting Ichabods.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) spearheaded the Mizzou offense with 22 points and eight rebounds (five on the offensive glass). Junior guardAmber Smith (Shreveport, La.) contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds to record a double-double in just 19 minutes played. Freshman guard Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) chipped in 10 points, while redshirt senior guard Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.) and junior guard Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) scored seven and six points, respectively. Cunningham and Smith combined to grab 18 of the teams’ 38 total rebounds, while Aldridge, Levy and Smith dished out nine of the Tigers’ 15 total assists.

TURNING POINT
Mizzou and Washburn played a tight game for the majority of the contest, but that changed with a Chavis three-pointer from top of the key with 46 seconds left to play in the third quarter. Then, a buzzer-beating three pointer from Cunningham on the subsequent possession put the Tigers up by seven to end the third period. From there, the Black & Gold offense came alive in the final period of play, as they outscored in the Ichabods 23-15 in the final 10 minutes of action.

TOP TIGERS
Cunningham led Mizzou’s offense, scoring a team-high 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds. The hometown senior turned in another solid shooting performance, going 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc.

Smith tallied a double-double with 17 points on 57 percent shooting, while also recording 10 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. The Shreveport, La., native was on fire in the second half, scoring 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

After an impressive debut as a Tiger on Monday against Missouri Western, Levy contributed valuable minutes off the bench, filling the stat sheet with 10 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes of action.

GAME NOTES

• Cunningham shot 50 percent (3-for-6) from the three-point line. The two-time All-SEC selection shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc in both exhibition contests this season.
• Cunningham, Levy and Smith all scored in double-digits for the second game in a row. The deadly offensive trio combined for 49 points on 59 percent shooting in tonight’s game.
• The Tigers shot a notable 50 percent from the field, improving on a 44 percent performance from Monday’s exhibition matchup against Missouri Western.

UP NEXT

Mizzou kicks off the regular season on Tuesday when the Tigers pay a visit to Macomb, Ill. to take on Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Western Hall.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball was picked to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday by the league’s coaches, as the league office announced its 2018-19 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Senior Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and junior Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) each garnered All-SEC Preseason honors, as Cunningham was named to the Preseason First Team All-SEC and Smith to the Preseason Second Team All-SEC.

Mizzou was picked to finish fifth behind Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Each team picked ahead of the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, with South Carolina making the Elite Eight and Mississippi State ending the season as the national runner-up. Mizzou was also tabbed to finish fifth in the SEC in the preseason media poll on Oct. 16.

Just like in the preseason media poll, Cunningham was one of three players to receive votes for the Preseason SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award, which ended up going to Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan.

Cunningham was named Preseason All-SEC First Team for the third consecutive season. In 2017-18, Cunningham averaged 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as she earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors for the second consecutive season. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159). Cunningham continue to climb up the Mizzou record book in her senior season, as she currently ranks No. 8 in all-time scoring (1,563 points), No. 4 in career 3-pointers made (153), No. 4 in PPG (16.6), No. 5 in free throws made (386), No. 3 in three-point percentage (.404), No. 3 in free throw percentage (.839) and No. 8 in field goal percentage (.508).

Smith, the 2016-17 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, started all 32 games for Mizzou as a sophomore in 2017-18, averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Smith scored a career-high 27 points vs. LSU (Jan. 4) on 11-for-18 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. She grabbed five rebounds in 15 contests and corralled 10 rebounds in four games.

As a team last season, Mizzou earned a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1984-86. Head Coach Robin Pingeton’s squad spent the entire season in the Top 25, ranking as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches’ Poll, their highest ranking in that poll in program history.

Preseason Coaches’ Predictions
1. Mississippi State
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Mizzou
6. Texas A&M
7. Kentucky
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Alabama
11. Arkansas
12. Florida
13. Vanderbilt
14. Ole Miss

Player of the Year
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State

First Team All-SEC
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Mizzou
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M.

Second Team All-SEC
Malica Monk, Arkansas
Janiah McKay, Auburn
Unique Thompson, Auburn
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Ayana Mitchel, LSU
Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss
Amber Smith, Mizzou
Alexis Jennings, South Carolina
Evina Westbrook, Tennessee

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Terry Wilson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Conrad on the final play to give No. 12 Kentucky a 15-14 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

Kentucky took over on its own 19 with 1:24 left. With 4 seconds left, Wilson threw toward Ahmad Wagner in the back left corner of the end zone. Wagner caught the ball out of bounds, but Missouri cornerback DeMarkus Acy was called for pass interference, giving Kentucky an untimed down that it turned into the winning score.

“Amazing victory by our team,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “Just could not be more proud of this group, the way we just stuck together, played as a complete football team.”

Lynn Bowden Jr. returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown with 5:18 left to pull the Wildcats (7-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) to 14-9.

Kentucky held Missouri (4-4, 0-4) without a first down on eight second-half possessions.

“There’s anger, there’s hurt, there’s sadness — about every emotion on that side of things that you can feel,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “That’s what we have.”

Wilson, who was replaced by backup Gunnar Hoak for part of the second half, completed 22 of 31 passes for 267 yards. Bowden had 13 catches for 166 yards. Benny Snell, who entered the game as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, gained just 67 yards on 19 carries.

Missouri opened a 14-3 halftime lead with two 10-play touchdown drives. Damarea Crockett scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter, and Larry Rountree added a 1-yard TD run just before halftime.

Missouri’s Drew Lock completed 15 of 27 passes for 165 yards.

Kentucky appeared to have squandered its last chance to get back in the game when A.J. Rose was stuffed on a fourth-and-goal run from the 2-yard line with 7:31 left. It was the third failed fourth-down conversion of the game for the Wildcats. But a few minutes later, Bowden returned the punt for a touchdown and the comeback was on.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: The Wildcats keep finding ways to win despite scoring little. Kentucky’s defense has held six opponents under 20 points this season. The Wildcats held the Tigers to just 249 total yards.

Missouri: Barry Odom is 0-7 against ranked opponents in three years as head coach. Lock is 0-9 against Top 25 teams in his four years as a starting quarterback.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kentucky, which was a seven-point underdog to unranked Missouri, is sure to rise in the rankings.

UP NEXT

Kentucky: The Wildcats return home to face seventh-ranked Georgia.

Missouri: The Tigers travel to ninth-ranked Florida.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou sophomore guard Mark Smith (Edwardsville, Ill.) received a waiver from the NCAA on Friday (Oct. 26) granting him immediate eligibility, head coach Cuonzo Martin announced.

Smith has three years of eligibility remaining after playing his freshman campaign at Illinois.

Smith made 19 starts in 31 game appearances, scoring 179 points while averaging 1.4 assists per game as a freshman. He shot 79.6 percent from the free throw line and reached double figures six times.

Smith averaged 21.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 2.1 steals as a high school senior, earning 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year honors. He captained Edwardsville High School to a 30-2 record, reaching double figures 30 times and racking up eight 30-point games.

He received 2017 Illinois First-Team All-State recognition from the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Champaign News-Gazette and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Smith poured in a career-high 45 points in the IHSA Class 4A Sectional Championship game.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou senior QB Drew Lock (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) is a finalist for two major college football awards, announced Wednesday. First, Lock appeared as one of 15 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes to the nation’s top quarterback. Lock also appeared as one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, given to the FBS player who has the most notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

Lock is one of 15 finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Below are the finalists:

• Jake Browning, Washington
• Eric Dungey, Syracuse
• Ryan Finley, NC State
• Will Grier, West Virginia
• Justin Herbert, Oregon
• Drew Lock, Missouri
• Trace McSorley, Penn State
• McKenzie Milton, UCF
• Gardner Minshew, Washington State
• Steven Montez, Colorado
• Shea Patterson, Michigan
• Brett Rypien, Boise State
• Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss
• Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
• Brady White, Memphis

For the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which is one of the nation’s most prestigious awards, Lock is one of 10 finalists. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through December 5. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in early January.

For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

Mizzou Football returns home Saturday to host No. 12/14 Kentucky in an SEC East showdown. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. on ESPN 1550.

— Mizzou Athletics —