Missouri Basketball junior guard Jordan Clarkson was named the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week on Monday, earning the weekly honor for the third time this season.

Clarkson has led No. 25 Mizzou to an 11-1 start, including a thrilling, 68-64, road win at North Carolina State on Saturday night. The win was just Missouri’s second ever on the road in ACC country, accompanying an 87-73 win at Maryland on Jan. 24, 1989.

Clarkson scored a team-leading 21 points and dished four assists with just one turnover in the win at PNC Arena. Clarkson was masterful in the final 8:29, scoring 11 of his 21 points to help eliminate a 53-43 deficit and lift the Tigers to the four-point win.

Clarkson banked home a three-pointer to ignite an 11-1 run to tie the game. He then gave Missouri its first lead of the night on a three-point play with 3:50 remaining. His second three-pointer countered a Ralston Turner trey and put Mizzou back up, 60-59, with 2:55 left. The San Antonio native concluded his 11-point surge with two free throws with just 19 seconds left to push Missouri’s lead to 65-62.

Clarkson is the SEC’s first three-time winner of the Player of the Week honor this year. He also won the recognition on Nov. 18 following a 31-point night against Southern Illinois and on Dec. 9 after averaging 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in wins against West Virginia and UCLA.

Not to be overlooked was strong play from Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross, Johnathan Williams, III and Ryan Rosburg. Rosburg helped the Tigers win the battle on the boards for the ninth time this year, as did Williams, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. Ross contributed his first double-double of the season with 11 points and a career high-tying 13 rebounds and Brown again showed his mettle late in the ball game, hitting a back-breaking trey to put Mizzou up 63-62 with less than a minute to go. It was the second consecutive game the Oakland native has hit a late-game triple with the Tigers trailing in the final seconds. Brown finished with 17 points and three boards.

Missouri returns to action on Saturday afternoon at 4p.m. against an improving Long Beach State club. The 49ers have won three straight games thanks to the addition of former UCLA guard Tyler Lamb. Lamb is averaging 22.0 points in his three games with LBSU and has helped the club to wins over USC and a road win at Nevada.

— MU Sports Information —

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Missouri coach Frank Haith learned how his 25th-ranked Tigers would respond both to a loss and to a hostile road environment Saturday night.

Jabari Brown hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 55.1 seconds left to help Missouri beat North Carolina State 68-64, rallying from 10 down in the second half to win in its first true road game of the year.

”We wanted to have a game like this going into (Southeastern Conference) play,” Haith said. ”Obviously we’ve had some high-level games already: UCLA, Illinois and West Virginia. But those were either at neutral sites or home games, so it was important for us to have a game like this as we move into SEC play.”

Things didn’t look promising for Missouri for much of the night. The Tigers seemed unable to stop N.C. State leading scorer T.J. Warren. They played what Haith called probably their worst half of the year in the first half. They twice trailed by 10, the second time coming with 8:56 left.

Yet the Tigers hung around until Brown and Jordan Clarkson made the late plays that put Missouri in control.

”Coach just told us to stay composed and keep playing and just do what you do,” Clarkson said. ”If you knock down 3s, if you rebound, you’ve just got to keep doing that. We knew the shots were going to fall at the end.”

Brown’s 3 over Wolfpack freshman Anthony ”Cat” Barber was the biggest shot in a back-and-forth final 4 minutes that saw the teams trade the lead three times before Brown’s shot made it 63-62.

Brown was 1-for-5 from behind the arc before his big shot.

”I’m comfortable,” Brown said. ”I’ve got confidence in myself. Most of my shots weren’t falling, so I knew I was bound to hit a couple.”

Clarkson scored 21 points to lead the Tigers (11-1), including a three-point play with 3:51 left that gave Missouri its first lead and two free throws with 20.1 seconds left that gave Missouri a 65-62 edge.

Brown finished with 17, while Johnathan Williams hit a free throw with 3.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and effectively seal the win.

Missouri was coming off its first setback, a 65-64 loss against Illinois in which the Illini hit two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to spoil the Tigers’ perfect start. Beating the surging Wolfpack (9-3) was a good way to bounce back in the team’s next-to-last nonconference game before opening SEC play against Georgia on Jan. 8.

As for N.C. State, it was a hard one to swallow.

The Wolfpack had won seven straight games, including a win at SEC member Tennessee 10 days earlier. But after leading 53-43 on freshman Kyle Washington’s jumper with 8:56 left, N.C. State just didn’t do enough to keep its hold on to a likely win.

Warren, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top scorer at 23.9 points per game, finished with 24 points on 11-for-23 shooting with 13 rebounds. But Warren didn’t score for the final 12 minutes and didn’t even take a shot in the final 5:50.

”I think we were in control,” N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. ”You’ve got to give those guys credit. They stepped up and made some big shots. They’re difficult to defend because they’re so good at going to the basket. You’re playing them to drive it because you have to respect their ability to drive the ball to the basket, then they stepped up and made some big-time 3s.”

Desmond Lee added 12 points for N.C. State while Washington scored all 10 of his points after halftime. Ralston Turner also had two key 3-pointers during those final minutes after making just one shot to that point.

The first 3 answered Clarkson’s three-point play to give N.C. State a 59-57 lead. But Clarkson hit one over Tyler Lewis at the 2:55 mark to put Missouri back up 60-59.

Turner followed with another 3 that put the Wolfpack up 62-60 with 1:39 left, only to see Brown respond with the go-ahead shot.

The Wolfpack has plenty to regret after this one. In addition to Warren’s quiet finish, Barber had a chance to put N.C. State back in front moments after Brown’s 3 only to come up short on the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity at the foul line with 26.8 seconds left.

Clarkson followed with his two free throws to push the lead to three, then Tony Criswell added two more that made it 67-62 with 7.4 seconds left.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rayvonte Rice pulled his jersey over his head during the celebration, showing off an Illinois tattoo.

”It was a big game,” Rice said after Illinois beat No. 23 Missouri 65-64 in the annual Braggin’ Rights game Saturday.

Rice got a chance to celebrate because teammate Tracy Abrams kept his emotions in check. Abrams made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left for the decisive points.

”I was very confident,” Abrams said. ”I went to the line confident I’d make them.”

Abrams scored a season-best 22 points and Rice added 14 points for Illinois (10-2), which snapped a four-game losing streak in the 33rd renewal of the annual neutral-court matchup.

”The emotion of that environment can get you to maybe do some things or make a play that’s not there, that’s the one thing I’ve come to understand,” said Illinois coach John Groce, who’s 1-1 in the series.

”A lot of times it comes down to toughness and players making plays.”

Jordan Clarkson had 25 points, six rebounds and a career-best eight assists for Missouri (10-1), which entered the game as the lone unbeaten school in the SEC. Earnest Ross added 13 points.

Missouri coach Frank Haith said twice that his players would be ”sick” when they reviewed the game.

”It is emotionally draining,” Clarkson said. ”That’s a tough way to lose. But we got to have short-term memory.”

Illinois scrambled on its final possession but got a bit of a break when Abrams was fouled by Johnathan Williams III driving the lane. Abrams was 7 for 10 at the line.

Jabari Brown’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go gave Missouri a 64-63 lead and answered a 3-pointer from Illinois’ Jon Ekey with 48 seconds left.

”It was definitely intense out there,” Ekey said. ”Probably one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of.”

Missouri mishandled its final possession. Tony Criswell’s inbounds pass was behind Clarkson and Criswell ended up with a desperation 3-point attempt from well beyond the line that missed everything at the buzzer. Clarkson was the intended shooter.

”Tony didn’t make a really good pass,” Haith said. ”I thought if we’d have gotten that play off clean, he would have had a chance to make a play.”

The point total was a season-low for Missouri, which scored 72 or more its first nine games but beat Western Michigan 66-60 in its previous game.

Illinois was unranked for the pre-Christmas game for the first time in four years, and perhaps learned from a loss at No. 15 Oregon its last time out.

The last four years, the schools entered with a combined 72-7 record. Illinois leads the series 21-12.

Among those attending were Hall of Fame baseball manager Whitey Herzog, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and the football coaches from both schools, Missouri’s Gary Pinkel and Illinois’ Tim Beckman.

The schools traded runs in the second half that kept it tight, 10-1 by Missouri to go up by near the midway point and 9-0 by Illinois with a pair of three-point plays by Abrams for a two-point lead with 6:17 to go.

Illinois climbed out of an early hole behind 3-point shooting, hitting six of its first 10 – by six players – and led 31-27 at the half. Missouri led 8-0 and had a nine-point cushion at 15-6 after Rice’s second foul with 13:47 to go in the half.

”I thought we looked a little tentative,” Groce said. ”They came out like gangbusters.”

Illinois answered with a 10-0 run the next 3 1/2 minutes, including 3-pointers from Kendrick Nunn and Abrams, and scored seven in a row late in the half for a six-point lead ended by Clarkson’s driving basket with 5 seconds to go.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou Football senior defensive end Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been honored by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as a First Team All-American, completing a run of five First Team All-America honors to become just the second unanimous All-America selection in school history. According to NCAA record books, Sam joins Mizzou all-time great Danny LaRose, who starred for the Tigers from 1958-60 and earned unanimous All-America recognition in 1960.

Fellow senior cornerback E.J. Gaines (Independence, Mo.) earned Second Team All-America from the FWAA after a standout final season in the Black & Gold. Gaines leads the Tigers with his four interceptions and ranks third on the team with 68 tackles. A First Team All-SEC selection, Gaines’ four pickoffs ranks tied for fourth in the league.

Along with the FWAA honor, Sam picked up major All-America selections from the Walter Camp Football Foundation on Thursday, Dec. 12, Sporting News on Friday, Dec. 13, Associated Press on Dec. 17, and America Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Wednesday, Dec. 18. This comes after Sam earned the AP’s Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and was a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award.

The 33rd First Team All-American in Mizzou Football history and seventh under head coach Gary Pinkel, Sam heads into the Tigers’ final game of the 2013 season, the 78th Annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, leading the SEC in both quarterback sacks (10.5) and tackles-for-loss (18.0). He ranks in the Top 10 nationally in both of those categories.

No. 8 Mizzou kicks off the Cotton Bowl against No. 13 Oklahoma State on Friday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m., televised nationally by FOX.

— MU Sports Information —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jabari Brown scored 15 points while Jordan Clarkson and Earnest Ross both added 12 to help No. 24 Missouri defeat Western Michigan 66-60 on Sunday.

Missouri (10-0) looked rusty at times after an eight-day break for final exams and clung to a 47-45 lead with 10:46 remaining. Tony Criswell’s jumper two minutes later capped a 9-0 run as the Tigers pulled away.

Missouri stretched its NCAA-best homecourt winning streak to 25 games and has won 80 straight games against nonconference opponents at Mizzou Arena dating to the 2005-06 opener.

St. Louis native David Brown led Western Michigan (5-4) with 18 points and Shayne Whittington added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Missouri scored 80 points against West Virginia and then-No. 18 UCLA in its previous two games, but struggled to maintain that momentum into Sunday.

The Tigers made 50 percent of their shots (23 of 46), but only scored two points during a seven-minute stretch in the first half before Clarkson hit one of two free throws with 3:47 before the break.

Missouri also committed nine turnovers and yielded five offensive rebounds in the first half to Western Michigan, which trailed 31-22 after 20 minutes despite shooting 9 of 34.

The Tigers’ defense, though, continued its strong start to the season. The team has yet to allow an opponent to shoot better than 44.3 percent from the field this season, and only Hawaii has topped 71 points.

Western Michigan only shot 2 of 16 from 3-point range in the first half after scoring just 35 points in a loss at Northwestern on Dec. 7. The Broncos finished at 30 percent (21 of 70) overall.

The Broncos started the second half on an 11-4 run to pull within 35-33, but couldn’t quite catch Missouri.

Missouri now waits another six days to play its next game, the annual Braggin’ Rights game in St. Louis against Illinois.

— Associated Press —

The University of Missouri football program has a proud history of outstanding teams and high-caliber players over the years.  Add another one to the list of all-time great Tigers, as senior DE Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been named a Walter Camp Football Foundation First-Team All-American, for his stellar play in 2013.  Sam becomes the 33rd First-Team All-American in school history, the seventh at Mizzou for Head Coach Gary Pinkel, and the school’s first defensive selection since former great Justin Smith in 2000.

Sam ranked among the most disruptive defensive players in the nation this year, and his play was a key factor in Mizzou’s surge into the top-10.  He led the Southeastern Conference in both quarterback sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (18.0), ranking in the top-10 nationally in those categories.  He was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press recently, and was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Lombardi Award and the Hendricks Award.  He has 45 tackles in 13 games this season, including nine quarterback pressures, two pass break ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, which he returned 21 yards for a touchdown in a win at 7th-ranked Georgia in October.

“Wow, what a great honor, I’m really grateful to be selected and for our team to be recognized like this,” said Sam.  “It’s been a really rewarding season, especially after what we went through a year ago, and I feel like this validates all of the hard work we put in and all of the sacrifices we made as a team.  My name is on the award, but that wouldn’t happen without everyone else pulling in the same direction together, and I want to thank all of my teammates and coaches for helping push me and for their support,” he said.  Sam will be receiving his Parks, Recreation and Tourism degree this Saturday.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Michael,” said Head Coach Gary Pinkel.  “He’s a walking example of a ‘never-say-quit’ attitude; he’s the kind of player you want others to emulate when they see him on film and how relentless he is.  I also think the positive energy he brings to the team has been contagious, he’s helped others elevate their play this year, and that’s been really important for our team,” he said.

Sam becomes the seventh First-Team All-American at Mizzou under Pinkel.  The previous list includes: Martin Rucker, TE (2007), Jeremy Maclin, All-Purpose (2007, 2008), Chase Coffman, TE (2008), Danario Alexander, WR (2009), Grant Ressel, PK (2009) and Michael Egnew, TE (2010).

— MU Sports Information —

Mizzou Football senior defensive end Michael Sam (Hitchcock, Texas) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches. The First Team All-SEC Tiger defender has turned heads in 2013 as he currently leads the conference in both sacks (10.5) and tackles-for-loss (18.0) and resides in the top 10 nationally in those categories. Sam shares the SEC coaches’ honor with Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley.

Sam is the first Mizzou player in program history to earn a conference defensive player of the year award from league coaches. Overall, he is the second Tiger to ever win conference defensive player of the year honors, matching former standout Jeff Gaylord, who won the Associated Press award in the Big Eight in 1981. Sam claimed the AP honor on Tuesday.

Sam was recognized three times during the season with weekly SEC awards, twice as the league’s defensive line player of the week (Sept. 28, Oct. 5) and once as its defensive player of the week (Oct. 19). All three weekly awards followed impressive 3.0-sack performances from Sam (vs. Arkansas State, at Vanderbilt, vs. No. 22 Florida).

Sam and Mizzou next play in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, set for Friday, Jan. 3 in Arlington, Texas, at the world-renowned AT&T Stadium. Kickoff for the game, which will pit the Tigers against former conference foe Oklahoma State (10-2, second place in Big 12), is set for 7 p.m. (central time) and will be televised nationally on FOX.

— MU Sports Information —

University of Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel has been recognized for the outstanding job his program has done in the 2013 season.  Pinkel has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year for Region 2, in acknowledgement for his Tigers putting together an 11-2 season which included an Eastern Division championship in the Southeastern Conference.

Additionally, Pinkel has also been named one of eight finalists for the prestigious Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year, as awarded by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).  The winner will be announced on Monday, Dec. 16th, and Pinkel will be considered along with fellow finalists Art Briles (Baylor), David Cutcliffe (Duke), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), George O’Leary (UCF) and David Shaw (Stanford).

Pinkel has guided Mizzou to one of its top seasons in program history in 2013.  After being picked to finish sixth in the seven-team SEC East in the pre-season, his Tigers went 11-1 in the regular season, and turned in a 7-1 mark in SEC play to claim the East Division outright – marking MU’s fourth division title in the last seven years (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013).  Mizzou reached as high as 5th in the weekly polls, and after last week’s defeat to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, the Tigers landed 8th in the final Bowl Championship Series season poll.  Pinkel’s 101 wins at Mizzou in 13 seasons have him tied with former Coach Don Faurot for most in school history.  He’ll go for sole possession of the record on Jan. 3rd, when his team plays in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic against former conference foe Oklahoma State.

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2013 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2014 AFCA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14.

— MU Sports Information —