COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Kim Anderson has gotten a vote of confidence from athletic director Mack Rhoades.

Rhoades said Wednesday that he met with Anderson earlier in the week to share “expectations” for next season. Rhoades said Anderson got the job under difficult circumstances, with little talent left after Frank Haith left for Tulsa.

“No one is satisfied with the number of wins our team has earned in the past two seasons,” Rhoades said. “No one wants to win more than coach Anderson.”

Rhoades said he expected Anderson to serve as a “role model” for students.

Anderson said he looks forward to the challenge of putting the school back on the map. He is a former star player and Norm Stewart assistant at the school, which he said “holds a special place in my heart.”

Anderson said he and Rhoades have met several times in recent weeks.

“Mack understands the challenges we’ve faced and has been very supportive,” Anderson said.

Missouri was 10-21 this season, losing its last five in a row, and won just nine games in Anderson’s first season. The school also admitted to NCAA violations dating to 2011 and banned itself from the postseason this year along with vacating all 23 wins from the 2013-14 season.

“No one is more disappointed than me, but no one is more motivated to get this program competing at a high level again,” Anderson said. “Our goal remains to compete and to win at the highest level and to do so with integrity and class.”

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball [12-3] topped Alabama A&M [2-12], 5-3, thanks to a strong performance from RHP Ryan Lee [Grandview, Mo.], who earned his second win of the season. The Tigers took advantage of four two-out RBIs and got a pair of two-out RBI singles from freshman Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) to take an early 4-0 lead before holding on late.  At 12-3, Mizzou is off to its best start since 2008.

Lee allowed three earned runs in a career-high 6.2 innings pitched.  He also struck out a career-high four batters while allowing only one walk. The only Alabama A&M hitters to reach base in the first five innings reached on a walk, a bunt, and a hit batter.

Brumfield drove in two runners on a 2-4 performance from the plate. 1B Zach Lavy [Auxvasse, Mo.] also managed to drive in two, going 1-3 with a walk, and had a big two-out RBI single to plate a pair in the first inning.

Lee opened the game with an easy first inning, retiring the side on only nine pitches.  The Tigers then got on the board with a two-RBI single from Lavy with two outs.

LF Johnny Balsamo [Kansas City, Mo.] got on base with a two-out walk in the second inning in his first D1 start.  After stealing second, he was driven in on a single from Brumfield.

Following a hitless third inning for both teams, Lee surrendered his first hit of the game in the fourth on a well-placed bunt by Alabama A&M shortstop J.T. O’Reel.  O’Reel was subsequently caught stealing second base. Brumfield then slapped a single up the middle to drive in Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) for his second RBI of the game in the bottom half of the inning.

Lee continued to dominate with a hitless fifth inning. After the Tigers failed to get on base against relief pitcher Allen Belue, Alabama A&M began to get to Lee in the sixth inning. With two outs, the Bulldogs tallied two singles, a double, and then another single to drive in two runs. To open the bottom of the sixth, Lavy and Harris were both hit by pitches from Bulldogs reliever Caleb Roberts, and then each moved up a base on a wild pitch. DH Brian Sharp [Liberty, Mo.] drove in Lavy on a groundout to second to extend the lead to 5-2.

After striking out the opening two batters of the seventh, Lee allowed two singles. RHP Cole Bartlett [Williamsburg, Ind.] entered the game in relief. O’Reel’s third single of the day drove in a run before Bartlett was able to get Ramsey to ground out to first.

Despite allowing no hits in the eighth, Alabama A&M managed to load the bases because of fielding errors. Sharp came in to relieve Bartlett with two outs and managed to finish the inning without allowing any runs to cross the plate. Bulldogs pitcher Josh Burchell cruised through the bottom of the eighth with a 1-2-3 inning.

Sharp closed the game out without allowing a baserunner to earn his third save of the season for the Tigers.

Mizzou will continue its home stand this weekend when they host Youngstown State for a three-game series.  The first game will begin on Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball freshman forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.) was named to the 2016 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team, announced Tuesday by the league office. Puryear put together a standout debut season for the Tigers, compiling 355 points (11.5 average) to rank sixth on Mizzou’s all-time freshman scoring chart.

Puryear posted double-figure point totals in 21-of-31 games, starting all of Mizzou’s contests during his initial collegiate campaign. The Blue Springs South product averaged 11.2 points per game in SEC action, posting two of his three 20-point games in league play.

“It’s a complete honor, especially considering the other freshmen around the conference,” Puryear said. “I’m most happy to bring this recognition to Mizzou, my school. It certainly means a lot to me individually, but nothing would be possible without my teammates. We’re excited for next season and the preparation begins immediately.”

Puryear scored 22 points at Alabama (Feb. 6), shooting a season-high 9-of-17 from the field and grabbing six rebounds. He followed that with a season-high 23 points at Arkansas (Feb. 20), hitting a season-best 10-of-11 free throw attempts.

The season-opening win over Wofford (Nov. 13) was a sign of things to come for Puryear, as he scored 20 points in his collegiate debut. He made 8-of-14 from the field (1-of-3 3PT, 3-of-4 FT).

Puryear recorded the first double-double of his career during conference play, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the 76-61 win over Auburn (Jan. 9).

“We’re really proud of Kevin, because his focus and work ethic have been great examples for his teammates to follow,” head coach Kim Anderson said. “Knowing Kevin, he will not see this as an award as much as he sees it as further motivation to continue improving. He’s ready for next season to start now.”

A significant part of Puryear’s game was especially exemplary, as he finished the season ranked third in free throw percentage in league games, hitting on 87.1 percent (61-of-70). The top freshman foul shooter in the conference, Puryear converted 83.6 percent (102-of-122) of his overall free throw attempts to rank fifth in the SEC.

Voted on by the league’s coaches since 2000, Puryear is Mizzou’s first-ever SEC All-Freshman Team selection and is the program’s first conference postseason honoree since the 2013-14 season.

— MU Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) has accepted an invitational to play with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team for the second consecutive summer, as announced Monday by Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson and USA Baseball. Houck, a Preseason All-American and Preseason All-SEC pick, spent last summer with the Collegiate National Team and he is the first Mizzou player to earn a spot on the team twice.

Houck is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA this season and has struck out 24 batters over 22.0 innings, walking just four batters. He was a consensus Freshman All-American in 2015 after going 8-5 with a 3.49 ERA while pitching more innings than any other freshman in college baseball at the end of the regular season. His eight wins were the most by any Tiger pitcher since 2011 and the most for any a Mizzou freshman since Kyle Gibson in 2008.

He was sensational with Team USA a year ago, earning USA Baseball’s International Performance of the Year for starting and throwing four perfect innings in a combined no-hitter against Cuba. In all, he Houck Team USA starters in ERA (2.16) and led the team in innings pitched (16.2) and strikeouts (14) while limiting batters to just .213 hitting and owning a 14-1 strikeout-walk ratio.

USA Baseball will release the full team throughout the course of the spring and competition will begin this summer.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball freshman UTIL Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) has been named SEC Freshman of the Week, as announced Monday by the league office. This is the second consecutive week that a Mizzou player has earned this distinction after OF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) was named SEC Freshman of the Week last Monday.

Sharp was sensational last week, guiding Mizzou to a 4-1 record over five games. He picked up his second career win and second career save on the mound while hitting .333 with three runs and two RBI in the Mizzou lineup last week. Sharp earned the save Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, helping preserve Mizzou’s third shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory. He then picked up the win on Friday night after pitching the ninth inning before SS Ryan Howard’s (St. Charles, Mo.) walk-off homer lifted Mizzou to the 7-4 win. It is the second consecutive week that Sharp has tallied a win and a save as Mizzou’s closer.

At the plate, Sharp had a pair of multi-hit games on the week, driving in runs in two games, including a big, two-out, RBI single over UAPB to give Mizzou a 2-0 lead.

Sharp and Mizzou host Alabama A&M in a midweek series beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Taylor Stadium.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (11-3) won the final game of its series with UIC (4-7), 13-5, in dominant fashion with four Tigers going yard in the win. It was the first multi-home run game for Mizzou since May 2, 2015 against Ole Miss and also the most runs scored by a Mizzou team since that game as well.

CF Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.), 1B Zach Lavy (Auxvasse, Mo.), C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) and SS Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) all homered for Mizzou as it scored a season-high 13 runs, its most since an 18-1 win over Ole Miss on May 2, 2015. That backed freshman starter Michael Plassmeyer (St. Louis, Mo.) who earned his first career win on Sunday.

Plassmeyer took the mound for Mizzou, opening the game with an eight-pitch inning. He finished the game throwing 6.0 innings with four strikeouts, no walks and four earned runs to record his first career win.

Bond dominated for Mizzou, hitting 2-for-3 on the game and driving in three RBI and tying his season-high RBI per game. His moment of the game came in the fourth as he launched a two-run blast into the bullpen for his second home run of the year.

UIC struck early with a pair of singles that put two runners on base. Alex Dee stepped up to the plate and drove a run in with a single to left field.

Howard opened the third frame with gapper to right center that landed him on second. Ring then stepped up and drove a bomb over the left field wall to drive in two runs and record his first homer of the season.

Mizzou continued to dominate as Lavy started off the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer over the left wall, tallying his first home run of the year. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) then singled to right field to set up Bond’s homer.

UIC threatened in the sixth with a single to left field that allowed a run to cross the plate. The Flames followed up with a double down the left field line by Cody Bohanek to knock in two runs.

Howard answered in the bottom of the seventh with a deep homer to left off the scoreboard, his third of the year and second of the series. That got the ball rolling for Mizzou as it added two more runs in the seventh and four in the eighth off Harris’ second double of the game. A single by Bond to center field drove in Lavy and put a cap on Mizzou’s day on offense.

RHP Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) entered the game for Mizzou, throwing one strikeout with no walks and just two hits against nine batters faced, bringing his ERA down to 1.35 on the season.

Mizzou opens a two game series with Alabama A&M on Tuesday, March 8th beginning at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Dorian Finney-Smith scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds as Florida defeated Missouri 82-72 on Saturday.

Chris Chiozza added 17 points, eight assists and a season-high seven rebounds as the Gators spoiled Missouri’s senior night, which paid tribute to the team’s lone senior, forward Ryan Rosburg. Rosburg finished with 11 points and four rebounds, marking his eighth double-digit scoring performance in the last nine games.

Florida (18-13, 9-9) opened the game on a 21-6 run and maintained a double-digit lead throughout much of the game, enjoying a 44-28 halftime lead.

Chiozza scored Florida’s first eight points of the second half, including a 3-pointer that spurred a 13-6 run, giving the Gators a 21-point lead, their largest of the night. Chiozza was 5 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, despite making his first field goal with 1:40 seconds remaining in the first half.

Namon Wright led the Tigers (10-21, 3-15) with 19 points. Terrence Phillips had 10 points, 10 boards and seven assists.

Phillips was assessed a technical foul at the 14:05 mark for arguing a shooting foul called against Russell Woods, resulting in four free-throw attempts for the Gators. Devin Robinson sank both attempts from the initial foul by Woods and Kevarrius Hayes made 1 of 2 free-throws as a result of Phillips’ technical. Robinson finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

Missouri found new life following Phillips’ technical, using a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 11 points with under 10 minutes to play. Florida slowed its tempo following the Tigers’ run, trading baskets as they whittled the clock. But Missouri continued to battle, using a late 10-0 run to cut the deficit to seven points with 1:03 seconds remaining. KeVaughn Allen made all four of his free-throw attempts and Kasey Hill made 1 of 2 in the final minute. Allen finished with 13 points and Hill added nine.

Despite the loss, Missouri outrebounded Florida 40-37 and shot 45 percent from the field to the Gators’ 43 percent. Florida accounted for the scoring difference by attacking the basket, shooting 25 of 33 from the free-throw line, while Missouri was 11 of 20 at the line.

—

TIP-INS

Florida: Finney-Smith has posted at least 20 points and eight rebounds in five games this season, the most by a Gator since Marreese Speights did so seven times during the 2007-08 season. …John Egbunu has dunked 67 times this season, joining Speights and Joakim Noah as the only players in school history with at least 60 dunks in a single season. …Florida’s strength of schedule ranks sixth in the NCAA RPI.

Missouri: Phillips had four assists in an 80-71 loss at LSU March 1, becoming the eighth player in school history to record 100 assists in their freshman campaign. …Rosburg made his 70th career start in his 127th game for Missouri. …K.J. Walton made his seventh career start and his first since a 94-61 home loss to Arkansas Jan. 12. Walton had seven points and four rebounds in 23 minutes.

UP NEXT

Florida: The eighth-seeded Gators face No. 9-seed Arkansas in SEC tournament on Thursday.

Missouri: 2016-17 season.

— Associated Press —

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jazmine Jones led a balanced attack with 10 points and ninth-seeded Auburn held off eighth-seeded Missouri 47-45 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

Auburn was holding the 47-45 lead when Brandy Montgomery had her shot blocked by Missouri’s Sophie Cunningham with 24 seconds left. Missouri worked the ball inside but it was deflected out of bounds with 2.3 seconds left. On the inbounds play under the basket, Cierra Porter cut down the lane for the inbounds pass but her contested layup was short off the rim and time ran out.

Auburn (19-11) plays league-champion and second-ranked South Carolina on Friday.

Morgan Stock hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Missouri (21-9) and Lindsey Cunningham added 11. Missouri had 20 turnovers and shot just 35 percent, 25 in the second half.

Auburn shot 42 percent, 37 in the second half when it outscored Missouri 18-17.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball (8-2) won its home opener over Arkansas Pine-Bluff (0-8), 2-0, on Wednesday night (March 2) thanks to a strong start by sophomore RHP Ryan Lee (Grandview, Mo). The win was the sixth straight victory and the third shutout of the year for Mizzou, which returned to Taylor Stadium after going 7-2 during an 11-day road trip in Florida.

Lee picked up the win, pitching a career high 6.1 innings of shutout baseball, striking out three and walking one while giving up just four hits to earn the first victory of his career. He also struck out a career-high three in the win.

Freshman Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) led the Mizzou offense with two hits and an RBI, good for his second career two-hit game. Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) added a double and a run and Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) added the other Mizzou hits.

Harris put Mizzou on the board in the bottom of the first with his eighth RBI of the season on a groundout to second base, allowing SEC Freshman of the Week Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) to score.

Mizzou got on the board again in the bottom of the fourth inning, after Sharp drove home Benes on a single to left field. Benes reached base by doubling down the left field line. He is now tied for the team lead with three doubles.

RHP Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.) made his team-leading sixth appearance of the season, pitching 1.1 innings with one strikeout and giving up one hit. Bartlett entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. He only needed just one pitch to get Mizzou out of the jam, forcing a pop fly to shallow right field. In the seventh inning, Bartlett got one of his outs by pickoff, his first of the season.

Sharp pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one without allowing any base runners, earning his second save of the season in as many opportunities.

Mizzou begins a four game series with Illinois-Chicago on Friday at Taylor Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ben Simmons’ LSU teammates lowered their gaze, shook their heads and laughed incredulously as Simmons politely floated the remote possibility of returning for his sophomore year.

More than likely, the star 6-foot-10 freshman played his final regular season home game for LSU on Tuesday night, and he made it a good one.

Simmons had 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and LSU held off struggling Missouri 80-71 on Tuesday night to stay alive for at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season title.

“A lot was put on that young man’s plate. … He’s always come to work; he’s been tremendous,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said of Simmons, who has now scored at least 20 points in his past five games and has 21 double-doubles this season. “If he does leave, he’s one of the guys I’ve thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed coaching.”

Fans in the LSU student section chanted, “One more year!” for Simmons, who smiled broadly as he acknowledged them.

“It was kind of funny,” said Simmons, who is widely projected to be the top pick in next summer’s NBA draft. “We’ll see what happens.”

Simmons was 6 of 8 from the field and hit 10 of 11 free throws. Jones said both he and Simmons were disappointed with Simmons’ six turnovers, three of which came as Missouri trimmed a 22-point halftime deficit all the way down to three points.

“But how can you argue with 22 and 14 — 6 of 8 from the field?” Jones added. “That was a tremendous stat line. … He played extremely well outside of that area where we had the turnovers.”

Antonio Blakeney scored 18 points, hitting a late 3-pointer and mid-range jumper to help LSU (18-12, 11-6 SEC) secure what initially looked to be an easy victory before Missouri (10-20, 3-14), which trailed by 22 at halftime, put together a 19-6 run to get as close as three points with less than five minutes to go.

Tim Quarterman scored 11 points with six assists for LSU, which entered the night one game behind SEC-leading Kentucky and Texas A&M, both of whom also won.

LSU shot nearly 53 percent from the field and made 11 more free throws (18-7) than Missouri.

Ryan Rosburg, Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips each scored 13 points for Missouri, which has lost four straight.

Missouri, which turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, played a much more composed second half, shooting 60 percent (18 of 30) and committing just two turnovers during the last 20 minutes in an effort to pull out what would have been its first and only road victory this season.

“Obviously, in the first half we were horrible. We had no energy and turned the ball over too much. We didn’t get back on defense,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “We had a good discussion at halftime and I really wasn’t sure how we would respond.”

K.J. Walton’s 3 pulled Mizzou to 65-62 with 4:48 to go, but Simmons found Blakeney for a 3 on LSU’s next possession, and Missouri was not able to get within four points after that.

“Ben attracted the whole defense and he kicked it out to me,” Blakeney said of his momentum changing 3. “I just tried to knock it down.”

Craig Victor scored 10 points for LSU, which closed out its home schedule with an 8-1 conference record in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri: Missouri will finish its season with a road record of 0-11. … Rosburg has scored at least 10 points in seven of his last eight games. … Walton had 11 points.

LSU: Guard Keith Hornsby was among three players honored before the game on Senior Night, along with guards Josh Gray and Henry Shortess. Hornsby missed his fourth straight game with a groin injury and it remains unclear if he will play in the postseason. … At halftime, the crowd gave a standing ovation for retiring radio play-by-play announcer Jim Hawthorne, who was presented with a framed purple No. 36 jersey to mark the number of LSU basketball seasons in which he called games.

LOPSIDED OPENING

LSU took the lead for good when Victor’s jumper made it 4-2 a little more than two minutes into the game. LSU had its first double-digit lead when Brandon Sampson’s layup made it 21-10 just more than 10 minutes in. Sampson’s 3 shortly after capped a 16-4 run that seemed to mark the onset of a runaway victory for LSU.

Mizzou’s flurry of first-half turnovers included Simmons’ steal that led directly to LSU’s first 20-point lead on Victor’s jumper in the final minute of the opening half.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hosts Florida on Saturday

LSU: Visits No. 22 Kentucky on Saturday.

— Associated Press —