COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — There wasn’t much of a size difference between the biggest and smallest Texas A&M players on the court against Missouri on Saturday night, so Aggies coach Billy Kennedy changed his defensive strategy at halftime. The Aggies started switching screens at every position, and that helped them erase a 12-point, second-half deficit and beat the Tigers 68-59.

“We were forced to play small pretty much all night,” Kennedy said. “We were switching ball screens, and that threw them off a little bit, especially their young guards, young perimeter guys. We were fortunate it gave them some problems.”

Wendell Mitchell scored 20 points to help Texas A&M (9-13, 2-8 Southeastern Conference) end a six-game conference losing streak. Christian Mekowulu added 15 points and 10 rebounds, TJ Starks scored 15 and Savion Flagg finished with 12 points.

The Aggies were missing forwards Josh Nebo, who had posted double-doubles in points and rebounds in two of his last three games, and John Walker. Kennedy said Nebo has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee and Walker was ill.

Missouri (11-11, 2-8 SEC) was also shorthanded. The Tigers’ second- and third-leading scorers did not play. Sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon missed the game because of lingering pain from emergency wisdom teeth removal on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Mark Smith missed his fifth straight game after spraining his ankle on Jan. 23.

Missouri opened a 37-25 lead when Torrence Watson made a 3-pointer with 17:39 left in the game.

“We’ve been down before,” Mitchell said. “We just had to play a little harder and execute on defense, honestly. I felt like we came out and executed defensively.”

The Tigers couldn’t solve the switching defense, as their guards dribbled into traffic and committed nine second-half turnovers.

“If they’re switching, let’s get the ball inside to our bigs and make a play. . It just didn’t happen,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Starks broke down Missouri’s defense with drives to the basket. He found Flagg outside the 3-point arc in transition, and Flagg’s shot gave Texas A&M the lead at 46-44 with 7:23 left. The Aggies pulled away with the help of 14-of-17 shooting from the foul line.

Javon Pickett led Missouri with 15 points, and Watson and Jordan Geist each scored 12.

“We let them get their head up out of the water, and they kept going,” Watson said. “We gave them a chance. We should have put our foot down.”

COMING UP SMALL

Missouri junior forward Reed Nikko made his first career start and gave a solid effort, with eight points and two blocked shots, but he fouled out after 19 minutes. Nobody else could fill the void inside. Kevin Puryear scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. Mitchell Smith and K.J. Santos combined for zero points and one rebound. The Aggies outrebounded the Tigers 34-25.

Missouri’s aimlessness on offense was illustrated by its lack of free throws. The Tigers attempted only four.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: This was the second time in SEC play that the Tigers squandered a double-digit second-half lead at home. On Jan. 26, Missouri led LSU by 14 points with just over two minutes left in regulation and lost in overtime.

Texas A&M: For just the fourth time this season, Starks wasn’t in the starting lineup. He contributed little until the final seconds of the first half, when he hit a 3-pointer to cut the Aggies’ deficit to 30-21. That seemed to give him a boost, as he scored nine points in the second half.

“TJ played well coming off the bench,” Kennedy said. “He did a good job sharing the ball, and he did a good job on defense on Geist. Last time, Geist hurt us so much. Him and Chris Collins did a really good job guarding Geist.”

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers face Arkansas on Tuesday at home.

Texas A&M: The Aggies play host to Georgia on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored six of her 22 points in the final minute of overtime and Missouri ended No. 18 Texas A&M’s seven-game winning streak Thursday night with a 70-65 win.

Cunningham had a steal on the opening possession of overtime and then grabbed an offensive rebound that led to Lauren Aldridge’s 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 64-61 lead. Missouri went on to miss its next five shots before Cunningham hit a 15-footer from the right wing with 32 seconds left.

Texas A&M, which missed its first eight shots in overtime, finally got a basket from Ciera Johnson on the third attempt in the following possession to pull within 66-63 with 17.9 seconds left. Cunningham made two free throws seconds later and after another A&M basket she clinched it with two more at 5.4 seconds.

Amber Smith had 18 points for Missouri (17-7, 6-4 Southeastern Conference). Cunningham had 12 rebounds.

Chennedy Carter had 29 points for Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3) but she was 10 of 23 from the field, missing her last nine shots. Kayla Wells added 18 points.

The Aggies shot 31 percent for the game and Mizzou was at 39.

— Associated Press —

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee has matched the longest winning streak of Rick Barnes’ 32-year head coaching career.

Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams scored 13 points each as the top-ranked Volunteers defeated Missouri 72-60 on Tuesday night to earn their 17th straight victory, extending a school record. Barnes’ only other 17-game winning streak came in 2009-10 at Texas.

“You’ve got to give these guys credit,” Barnes said. “They’ve done the work, put it in. Now we’re getting toward the end of the regular season, we’re halfway through the conference season, I guess. It’s only going to get tougher, and I think we know that.”

The Vols (21-1, 9-0 SEC) want to make sure the similarities to that Texas team end there. That 2009-10 Texas squad started 17-0 and earned a No. 1 ranking but finished 24-10 with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss.

Tennessee extended the longest active Division I winning streak by spoiling Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin’s return to Knoxville.

Martin coached Tennessee to a 63-41 record from 2011-14 but never completely won over the fan base. He left for California after leading the Vols to an NCAA regional semifinal appearance, turning down an offer of a raise and an extension.

Although Martin had split two meetings with Tennessee since taking over Missouri’s program in 2017, neither of those games was in Knoxville. Before the opening tip, a “Thank You Cuonzo: Welcome Back to Rocky Top” message appeared on the video board.

“It felt good,” Martin said. “A lot of good relationships, and I’ve maintained those. You try to keep it within a game, but it was good emotions for me. It really was.”

Jordan Bowden had 12 points and Jordan Bone added 11 for Tennessee. Bone also had seven assists.

Javon Pickett scored 12 points, Jordan Geist had 11 and Xavier Pinson added 10 for Missouri, which lost for the fourth time in the last five games.

Tennessee earned this latest win even as Barnes conceded his team looked lethargic at times.

“I don’t know if it was because it was a 9 o’clock game or what, but it kind of felt like everybody was tired or something like that,” Bowden said. “But it’s just about us going about our business and doing what we’ve got to do.”

Missouri (11-10, 2-7) made five straight shots to take an early 17-13 lead and then missed 16 of its next 17 shots as Tennessee went on an 18-2 spurt.

After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, Missouri chipped away and got Tennessee’s lead down to 39-35 after Jeremiah Tilmon’s tip-in with 18:29 left. Tennessee responded by scoring 11 straight points and stayed in front by at least eight points the rest of the way.

“It wasn’t for us about playing the No. 1 team,” Martin said. “It was a team in our league, a talented team, an experienced team, battle tested. I thought the effort was there, but we just didn’t have enough.”

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Tilmon’s ability to stay on the floor and avoid foul trouble offers encouragement for the rest of the season. Tilmon played just nine minutes before fouling out of an 87-63 loss to Tennessee on Jan. 8. The 6-foot-10 forward had eight points, five rebounds and only two fouls in 27 minutes Tuesday. After struggling with foul trouble much of the season, Tilmon is averaging 14.3 points over his last four games.

Tennessee: The Vols’ bench got a boost from Yves Pons, who scored six points and had back-to-back baskets during Tennessee’s 18-2 run in the first half. Pons, who made 13 starts before moving to the bench on Jan. 26, had gone scoreless in the previous four games.

MEDICAL REPORT

Missouri guard Mark Smith missed a fourth straight game with an ankle injury. Smith averages 12.6 points to rank second on the team.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts Texas A&M on Saturday.

Tennessee hosts Florida on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) is one of 20 athletes named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 list, as announced by ESPN. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year, presented by Wendy’s, the nation’s top individual honor.

Last season, Cunningham was named to the Wooden Award preseason top 30, midseason top 25, late season top 20 and the national ballot.

The watch list will be narrowed to 15 finalists and will be revealed before the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the Wooden Award will be announced April 12 at the College Basketball Awards.

Cunningham was named the SEC Player of the Week on Jan. 21 and is averaging 17.8 points per game over her last 15 contests. The SEC honor was a conference-leading 10th for Cunningham, and the fourth time she has been named the SEC Player of the Week. In 2015-16, Cunningham earned a conference record six Freshman of the Week honors. On the season, Cunningham ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring with 16.6 points per game.

Cunningham scored 30 points and drained a season-high six three-pointers in Mizzou’s 74-65 win over Auburn on Jan. 27, moving the Tiger senior into third-place on Mizzou’s all-time scoring list with 1,928 points. She surpassed Julie Helm, who scored 1,925 points from 1996-00. Cunningham also reached 200 made three-pointers in the game, becoming just the third player in Mizzou history to reach that mark.

Cunningham’s 30-point game was her second of the season, and the ninth of her career. She is the SEC’s only player this season to record multiple 30-point games, and now has the third-most 30-point games of any Mizzou player (nine), trailing only Renee Kelly’s 16 and Joni Davis’ 13. In Cunningham’s 30-point performances, Mizzou is 7-2 overall.

Cunningham is the SEC career active scoring leader with 1,942 points, and ranks sixth in career rebounds (626) and seventh in assists (361). Among program records, Cunningham currently ranks second in career three-point percentage (.407), third in scoring (1,942 points), third in free throw percentage (.829), third in three-pointers made (204), fourth in career points per game (16.6) and fifth in assists (361).

Last season, Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention and All-SEC First Team honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. 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).

Mizzou returns home to Mizzou Arena to face No. 18 Texas A&M on Thursday, Feb. 7. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jeremiah Tilmon scored 19 points and Missouri fended off a second-half comeback attempt to defeat Vanderbilt 77-67 Saturday night.

As the contest crept under four minutes with Vanderbilt down just five points, Missouri freshman Torrence Watson drilled a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Jordan Geist knocked down a trey of his own on the next possession to put the Tigers up by 68-59.

Missouri (11-9, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) set the tone on offense in the first half, shooting 48.4 percent from the field. Tilmon and three Missouri freshmen — Watson, Javon Pickett and Xavier Pinson — led the charge, scoring 29 of the Tigers’ 37 first-half points. Tilmon compiled his highest points total since Dec. 18, when he scored 23 against Xavier.

Vanderbilt (9-12, 0-8) struggled in the first half, shooting just 34.8 percent and missing all 10 of its 3-point attempts. But a couple of hot stretches — including a mid-half 11-0 run to cut Missouri’s lead to three — helped the Commodores stay close down the stretch.

Aaron Nesmith scored 19 points and Saben Lee added 15 for Vanderbilt. But those were the only two who could find rhythm, and the Commodores couldn’t produce enough offense to complete the comeback.

The Tigers entered the contest averaging 17 turnovers per game in conference play. But Missouri gave the ball up just nine times against Vanderbilt. Its first turnover did not come until the 6:08 mark in the first half. The Tigers now move to 8-0 this season when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent.

BIG PICTURE

Vanderbilt: Chalk this one up as another close loss in the midst of a nasty nine-game losing streak for the Commodores. After starting the season 9-3, Vanderbilt is having a difficult time finding ways to win.

Missouri: It wasn’t easy, but the Tigers took care of business in a game they needed to win. Missouri had lost six of its previous seven games, so a victory against the conference cellar-dweller was crucial.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt stays on the road to face Arkansas on Tuesday.

Missouri visits No. 1 Tennessee on its home court Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Jared Harper scored 16 points while Chuma Okeke and Bryce Brown each had 14 to help Auburn snap a three-game losing streak with a 92-58 rout of Missouri Wednesday night.

Auburn (14-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) used a dominant second half to end the slide that sent the team tumbling out of the Top 25 following a six-week run in the Top 10. This one was actually close for the first 20-plus minutes.

Auburn matched its season-high with 41 3-point attempts and made 16 to help pick apart the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, especially after halftime.

Okeke had a career-high 12 rebounds and Brown made four 3-pointers.

Missouri (10-9, 1-6) got 15 points from Jeremiah Tilmon and 11 apiece from Jordan Geist and freshman Xavier Pinson, who made his first start. No. 2 scorer Mark Smith missed the game with an ankle injury.

Okeke scored 11 points in the final 7:32 of the first half to stake Auburn to a 34-31 lead that only grew when the rest of the team heated up, too.

Auburn’s offense snapped out of its funk for a 3-point flurry. Samir Doughty hit one 3 and Brown added two more, all in a 1:15 span, to push the lead to double digits for the first time.

Auburn made seven 3s in the first seven minutes after the half to help turn the game into a rout.

It was the most 3s Auburn had made since hitting 18 in the opener against South Alabama.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Has dropped three straight and six of its last seven games. Made just nine shots in the second half (32 percent).

Auburn: Heated up after a lackluster first half to snap its three-game skid. Had plenty of empty seats after Auburn’s fall from No. 7 to unranked.

INJURED STARTERS

Auburn center Austin Wiley (lower right leg) and Missouri’s Smith (ankle) both remained out with injuries. Wiley has sat out the past four games but wasn’t wearing a boot on the bench. Smith, who has missed two games in a row, leads the SEC in 3-point percentage.

PURIFOY’S GAME

Danjel Purifoy had his best game since returning from an NCAA suspension that kept him out last season and the start of this one. He scored eight points and made two 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts Vanderbilt Saturday night.

Auburn hosts in-state rival Alabama Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) is the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Tuesday. Cunningham averaged 23.5 points per game in Mizzou’s games against nationally-ranked Kentucky (Jan. 24) and Auburn (Jan. 27), and recorded her ninth career 30-point game Sunday.

Cunningham has now won a conference-leading 10 weekly honors in her career. This is the fourth time she has been named the SEC Player of the Week. In 2015-16, Cunningham earned a conference record six Freshman of the Week nods.

Cunningham scored 30 points and drained a season-high six three-pointers in Mizzou’s 74-65 win over Auburn Sunday, moving the Tiger senior moved into third-place on Mizzou’s all-time scoring list with 1,928 points. She surpassed Julie Helm, who scored 1,925 points from 1996-00. Cunningham also reached 200 made three-pointers in the game, becoming just the third player in Mizzou history to reach that mark.

Cunningham’s 30-point game was her second of the season, and the ninth of her career. She is the SEC’s only player this season to record multiple 30-point games, and now has the third-most 30-point games of any Mizzou player (nine), trailing only Renee Kelly’s 16 and Joni Davis’ 13. In Cunningham’s 30-point performances, Mizzou is 7-2 overall.

The Tiger senior also scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished two assists against Kentucky on Jan. 24. Cunningham was efficient in her shooting over the week, as she shot 51.9 percent from the field (14-for-27), 47.4 percent from three (9-for-19) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (10-for-12).

Over her last four games, the two-time All-America Honorable Mention is averaging 23.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 85.0 percent (17-for-20) from the free throw line. On the season, Cunningham is leading the team in scoring (16.6 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg), while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game.

After being the nation’s only player to shoot better than 54 percent from the field, 45 percent from three and 83 percent from the free throw line in 2017-18, Cunningham has been shooting efficiently once again this season. Cunningham is shooting 48.4 percent from the field (118-for-244), 40.2 percent from three (47-for-117) and 80.5 percent from the free throw line (82-for-105).

Mizzou returns to action on Monday, Feb. 6, when the Tigers head to LSU for a road contest in Baton Rouge, La. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 30 points — 21 in the first half — and No. 25 Missouri blitzed Auburn early and made it hold up in a 74-65 win on Sunday.

Cunningham scored 13 of Missouri’s first 18 points as it built an 18-0 lead. Cunningham made her first four shot attempts with three coming from behind the 3-point arc. Missouri (16-6, 5-3 SEC) didn’t score until Janiah McKay’s layup with 1:32 before the end of the first. Missouri led 23-2 at the end of one as Auburn shot 1 of 14 from the field. Missouri finished with a 17-5 rebounding advantage at the end of one.

Missouri led 43-23 at halftime and Cunningham was 6 of 9 from distance. Missouri made 11 of its 12 3s before intermission.

Auburn showed some fight late and narrowed the deficit to 69-61 on Daisa Alexander’s 3 with 89 seconds left capping a 14-3 run that started with Alexander’s 3 four minutes prior.

McKay led Auburn (15-5, 3-4) with 23 points.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Skylar Mays and the No. 25 LSU Tigers amazed their coach with a big rally.

Mays scored 11 points of his 24 points in the last three minutes of regulation and LSU overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 2:08 to force overtime in an 86-80 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.

“That happens one out of 500 times maybe, and that may be generous,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “Like I told our guys in the locker room: `We’re out of mulligans after this. Any deposits we put in the bank due to our hard work, we used them all here today.”

Mays had a personal 9-0 run that began with a 3-pointer with 2:08 left.

“They were up big, so we knew we had to get more possessions in the game, so we started to run-and-jump a little bit,” Mays said. “We were able to get steals.”

Ja’Vonte Smart made two 3-pointers in overtime and scored 14 points for the Tigers (16-3, 6-0 Southeastern Conference). Naz Reid also had 14 points, and Tremont Waters added 13.

With LSU down 71-70, Waters missed a contested shot on a drive. Missouri’s Ronnie Suggs was called for a foul battling for the rebound, sending Emmitt Williams to free throw line with 2.2 seconds left. He missed the first and made the second.

Smart had two of LSU’s three steals in the final two minutes.

“They just had a little more pressure, and I think it sped us up,” Missouri point guard Jordan Geist said. “As a senior, I’ve got to make sure our guys are under control. I’ve got to take care of the ball, as well.”

Geist led Missouri (10-8, 1-5) with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremiah Tilmon added 15 points, and Javon Pickett had 13.

In overtime, Smart hit consecutive 3-pointers to give LSU the lead for good.

“When I made that first one, I just felt like I could go for another one,” Smart said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Sophomore guard Mark Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game and the SEC’s most accurate 3-point shooter at 47.5 percent, sat out with a left ankle injury. Smith twisted the ankle Wednesday night late in a loss at Arkansas. Freshman Torrence Watson got his first career start in Smith’s place.

LSU: LSU kept pace with Tennessee at the top of the standings. The teams meet on Feb. 23 in Baton Rouge. LSU is 6-0 in conference play for the first time since 2006.

UP NEXT

Missouri: At Auburn on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Taylor Murray had 13 of her 21 points in the third quarter and No. 15 Kentucky turned back No. 25 Missouri 52-41 on Thursday night.

Tatyana Wyatt added 11 points for the Wildcats (17-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference), who trailed 21-18 after an ice-cold first half.

Murray scored the first three baskets of the second half to put Kentucky on top for good. She added a basket and three free throws in a 7-0 run and the score was 36-28 after three quarters.

Wyatt hit a 3-pointer that made it a 10-point game early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers cut the deficit to five midway through the quarter, but Wyatt and Murray both had offensive-rebound baskets and Missouri missed its last seven shots.

Sophie Cunningham led Missouri (15-6, 4-3), which lost its second straight, with 17 points.

Kentucky wore specially designed shoes as part of the We Back Pat promotion. Assistant coaches Niya Butts and Kyra Elzy both played and assisted at Tennessee when Pat Summitt was the coach. The shoes were accented in orange and had Summitt’s picture on them.

— Associated Press —