ST. JOSEPH – Due to travel issues with the Missouri Southern women’s basketball team, Wednesday night’s women’s basketball game has been postponed until Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
Wednesday’s men’s game between the two teams will be played as scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
— MWSU Athletics —
CARBONDALE, Ill. – A pair of free throws by Aaron Cook with 4.1 seconds left in overtime gave Southern Illinois an 81-80 victory over visiting Missouri State her Wednesday, in a game in which the visiting Bears put forth one of their best efforts of the season.
Missouri State (17-11, 7-8 MVC) was led by Jarrid Rhodes who pumped in a career-high 21 points behind five 3-pointers, while Alize Johnson secured his 18th double-double of the year with 15 points, 16 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists.
SIU was led by Armon Fletcher’s 22 points, while Sean Lloyd produced 21, including 20 in the second half.
MSU had opportunities at the end of regulation and overtime to win the game. Rhodes’ 3-pointer before the final buzzer at the end of regulation rimmed out to force the extra period. The shot came after the Bears erased a five-point deficit with 3:29 to play.
After Cook’s free throws in overtime, MSU got the ball to Jarred Dixon, who scored 15 off the bench for the visitors. He drove all the way to the rim, and Obediah Church grabbed his miss and put it in the basket for what briefly looked like a game-winner for MSU. But a video replay showed Church’s put-back came after the horn, giving SIU its seventh straight win in the long-rivaled series.
MSU knocked down 12-of-29 (.414) from 3-point range, including three by freshman Mustafa Lawrence who tallied 11 points. It marked the second-highest 3-point output of the year by MSU.
The Bears were 28-of-62 (.452) overall and made a season-high 92.3 percent at the foul line on 12-of-13 makes. MSU also out-rebounded the Salukis 40-33.
SIU (18-10, 10-5 MVC) shot 50 percent in the second half to overcome a slow start and finished 31-of-70 (.443) overall and 8-of-19 (.421), including three treys by Marcus Bartley. SIU was 11-of-13 (.846) at the stripe.
In the first half, the Bears drained three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to charge out to a 16-5 lead. MSU would finish the first stanza with a 46.4 percent effort from the field and 7-of-14 performance from beyond the arc.
But the Salukis chipped away, collecting five threes of their own and using a 15-6 run to end the half and go into the intermission leading the Bears, 35-34. Fletcher’s desperation jumper at the buzzer banked hard off the glass but found the net to give the home club its first lead of the night.
There were nine ties and 16 lead changes in the contest.
MSU returns to JQH Arena on Sunday to begin its final home stand of the season. The Bears take on Drake at 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU before entertaining Bradley on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the home finale.
— MSU Athletics —
ST. JOSEPH – Weather concerns in St. Joseph and Bentonville, Arkansas have created schedule changes for both Griffon baseball and softball this weekend.
The Arkansas-Monticello 9-State Classic in Bentonville has been cancelled. Due to the cancellation, Griffon softball will now host Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth in doubleheaders on Feb. 17 and 18. The softball team’s home opening doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 15 is still on as scheduled. Northwest Missouri will also come to St. Joseph to participate in the quad crossover, playing Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State on Feb. 17 and 18.
Baseball has pushed its home opener back one day and will now open with a doubleheader against St. Cloud State on Feb. 17 at noon. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to be a seven inning game. If that game goes more than seven innings, the second game of the doubleheader will become a seven inning game. The Feb. 18 series finale is still scheduled for noon.
Due to conflicts created by the schedule changes, specific details on live stats and video streaming for the revised schedule are to be determined.
REVISED SCHEDULES
SOFTBALL
Saturday, Feb. 17, 10 a.m. doubleheader: Missouri Western vs. Minnesota State
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2 p.m. doubleheader: Northwest Missouri vs. Minnesota Duluth
Sunday, Feb. 18, 10 a.m. doubleheader: Missouri Western vs. Minnesota Duluth
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m. doubleheader: Northwest Missouri vs. Minnesota State
BASEBALL
Saturday, Feb. 17, Noon doubleheader vs. St. Cloud State (first game of DH scheduled for seven inning)
Sunday, Feb. 18, Noon single 9-inning game vs. St. Cloud State
— MWSU Athletics —
ATLANTA – Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham has been named one of 30 men’s basketball players to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Late Season Team competing to receive the 50th Citizen Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tip Off Club announced Wednesday. Graham is vying to become the third Jayhawk to win the Naismith Trophy with Danny Manning claiming the honor in 1988 and Frank Mason III last season.
Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I averaging 17.0-plus points, 7.0-plus assists, 1.5-plus steals and fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native is fifth nationally in assists per game at 7.2 and he is second the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7. Graham is scoring 19.0 points per game in Big 12 play and averaging 17.5 points in all games, which is third in the Big 12. He is second in the conference in assists (7.2), eighth in free throw percentage (82.7), fifth in 3-point field goals made (3.0) and fifth in steals (1.7).
Graham recently became the 22nd player in KU history to record 1,500 career points. He currently sits in 20th place of that category at 1,531 while his 537 assists are 10th and his 180 steals are also 10th on the KU career books. Graham is the third player in school history to tally 1,500 points, 500 assists and 175 steals in a career. KU All-Americans Darnell Valentine and Kirk Hinrich are the only other Jayhawks to hit those numbers. Valentine had 1,821 points, 609 assists, 336 steals from 1978-81 and Hinrich recorded 1,753 points, 668 assists, 206 steals from 2000-03. Additionally, Graham sits third on the KU career 3-pointers made list, currently at 263.
From this list of 30, the Naismith Trophy’s 10 semifinalists will be revealed on Feb. 28, and only those 10 players are eligible for the group of four finalists, which will be released in mid-March. Fans, once again, will be able to vote for their favorite player by visiting naismithtrophy.com/vote between March 19-30 to cast their ballot, and the fan component counts for five percent of the overall final vote. The 50th Citizen Naismith Trophy will be awarded on April 1 in San Antonio, during the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Players come from 10 conferences with the Big 12 and BIG EAST leading the way with five players apiece.
Citizen Naismith Trophy Late Season Team
Name, School (Class, position)
Deandre Ayton, Arizona (Fr., F)
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Fr., F)
Mohamed Bamba, Texas (Fr., F)
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State (Jr., F)
Joel Berry II, North Carolina (Sr., G)
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier (Sr., G)
Mikal Bridges, Villanova (Jr., G/F)
Miles Bridges, Michigan State (So., G/F)
Bryce Brown, Auburn (Jr., G)
Jalen Brunson, Villnova (Jr., G)
Jevon Carter, West Virginia (Sr., G)
Gary Clark, Cincinnati (Sr., F)
Mike Daum, South Dakota State (Jr., F)
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (Sr., C)
Carsen Edwards, Purdue (So., G)
Vince Edwards, Purdue (Sr., F)
Keenan Evans, Texas Tech (Sr., G)
Marcus Foster, Creighton (Sr., G)
DEVONTE’ GRAHAM, KANSAS (Sr., G)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (So., G)
Tra Holder, Arizona State (Sr., G)
Chandler Hutchison, Boise State (Sr., G)
Kevin Knox, Kentucky (Fr., F)
Jock Landale, St. Mary’s (Sr., C)
Caleb Martin, Nevada (Jr., F)
Luke Maye, North Carolina (Jr., F)
Collin Sexton, Alabama (Fr., G)
Landry Shamet, Wichita State (So., G)
Allonzo Trier, Arizona (Jr., G)
Trae Young, Oklahoma (Fr., G)
— KU Athletics —
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri held an 11-point lead with 5:39 remaining against No. 21 Texas A&M. Then came the press, which has caused Missouri problems recently.
The Aggies trimmed the lead to one within three minutes, and stole an inbound pass down two with 14 seconds left. Texas A&M’s Robert Williams missed a put-back layup and the Tigers escaped 62-58 Tuesday night.
It looked good, I thought it was going in,” Missouri’s Kassius Robertson said. “Just in case, we all boxed out. It rimmed out, we got a little lucky.”
For the first 30 minutes, Missouri (18-8, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) played solid defense and clean offense. At halftime, the Tigers had committed just two fouls and three turnovers. Robertson led the Tigers with 16 points and Jordan Barnett added 15.
Missouri turned the Aggies over 16 times and committed just nine fouls. The Tigers scored 12 points off Texas A&M turnovers.
“I thought Missouri’s defense, their ball pressure and our inability to get the ball inside to Tyler Davis was the big key of the game,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
Texas A&M (17-9, 6-7) came in ranked fourth nationally averaging 41.76 rebounds per game. The Aggies won the rebounding battle 46-30, but Davis picked up his second foul with 11:07 remaining in the first half and played limited minutes after.
Davis’ absence allowed Missouri’s Jeremiah Tilmon to flourish, scoring a season-high 14 points.
T.J. Starks and Admon Gilder led the Aggies with 14 points each. Robert Williams had nine rebounds for Texas A&M. The Tigers held Texas A&M to just 32 percent from the field in the first half, including 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: A&M’s four-game winning streak, which included wins over Auburn and Kentucky last week, ended. After scoring more than 80 points in each of its last four games, Texas A&M was locked up by Missouri’s defense.
Missouri: The Tigers continue to climb the SEC standings. Mizzou is fourth, a half-game behind second. When its offense doesn’t turn the ball over, Missouri can be a scary opponent.
FLIPPED THE SCRIPT
Texas A&M big men Davis and Williams dominated Missouri in the post in the two teams’ first meeting on Jan. 20. The Aggies fouled out both Tilmon and forward Jontay Porter.
On Tuesday, Tilmon outscored both of Texas A&M’s starting bigs. This time, it was Davis in foul trouble, and the Tigers were able to keep the points in the paint battle at 28-26 in favor of the Aggies.
“Last game, they got the best of me,” Tilmon said. “This game, I just went out there and played ball. The ball was coming my way, I was feeling really confident.”
IT’S NEVER EASY
On Saturday, Missouri held a 79-67 lead over Mississippi State with just over 90 seconds left in the contest. The game ended up going to overtime after the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run. The Tigers won in overtime.
“We find ways to make it very interesting,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.
“Now, we can’t inbound the ball,” Robertson said. “That’s our new problem. We’ve got that on the board and we’ll try to fix that.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
No. 21 Texas A&M has a chance to remain in the polls with a potential rebound victory against Arkansas on Saturday. But its poll position is definitely in trouble after the loss to Missouri.
The Tigers, on the other hand, would put themselves in great shape for a top-25 ranking with a victory on the road against LSU Saturday. Missouri received 14 votes in the latest AP poll, and has now beaten three top-25 teams in the past four weeks.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M: Plays at Arkansas on Saturday.
Missouri: Tigers take their winning streak on the road to LSU on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Kansas responded to arguably its worst loss of the year with a much-needed win in a hostile environment — one that kept the Jayhawks within reach of Big 12-leading Texas Tech.
Performances like the one they put forth on Tuesday night are a big reason why the Jayhawks win the Big 12 every year.
Udoka Azubuike scored 19 points, Malik Newman had 17 and 13th-ranked Kansas bounced back from a brutal loss at Baylor by beating Iowa State 83-77.
Lagerald Vick scored 16 points for the Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4 Big 12), who shot 48.4 percent from the floor and committed just seven turnovers.
Azubuike led the way, hitting 9 of 10 shots and adding three blocks.
“Whenever we need a big basket, we know we can go into the big fella,” Newman said.
Kansas took a five-point lead into the break after Nick Weiler-Babb’s long 3 to end the half was waved off, and it quickly jumped ahead by 11 early in the second half.
The Cyclones chipped away at that deficit at times, even getting as close as three, but the Jayhawks pushed their lead to 76-63 with 4:46 left on back-to-back alley-oop dunks by Azubuike.
That capped a run of six straight makes for the Jayhawks — who also held Iowa State without a field goal for over four minutes down the stretch.
“We took too many bad shots in the first half,” Kansas Bill Self said. “You’re going to shoot a good percentage if you throw it inside a lot.”
Freshman Cameron Lard scored 19 points with 11 rebounds for Iowa State (13-12, 4-9). But freshman Lindell Wigginton, who burned the Jayhawks for 27 points in their first meeting, was held to 12 points on 3 of 12 shooting. He also had five turnovers.
Weiler-Babb had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists after missing four games with knee tendinitis.
“We knew they’d come in here focused. They’re a resilient group,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said of Kansas. “We weren’t good enough on the defensive end.”
THE BIG PICTURE
Kansas: This was a game KU couldn’t afford to lose if it hoped to keep its quest for a 14th straight conference title alive. The Jayhawks’ next three games: at home to West Virginia and Oklahoma and on the road at Tech, will likely determine their fate. Still, seeing the Jayhawks respond in a crucial spot as the season draws to a close is something their Big 12 rivals have seen over and over again.
Iowa State: The Cyclones encountered a Kansas team with something to prove after it got waxed by Baylor 80-64 over the weekend. That’s a tough combination to overcome in a rebuilding year — though Lard’s monster game, on the heels of being named Big 12 newcomer of the week on Monday — was highly encouraging.
THE NUMBERS
Devonte’ Graham finished with 13 points for Kansas, but he was just 3 of 16 from the field. The rest of the Jayhawks combined to shoot 27 of 46. …Iowa State’s Donovan Jackson was just 1 of 9 from the field. …Svi Mykhailiuk had 10 points for the Jayhawks. …The Cyclones shot just 3 of 16 on 3s, but Zoran Talley had his best game of the year. He scored 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting
HE SAID IT
“For (Graham) to go 3 for 16, and we were able to put him on our back for a change…and come out with the (win), it’s big — and it just speaks to how good our team can actually be when everything is clicking,” Newman said.
UP NEXT
Kansas hosts the Mountaineers on Saturday.
Iowa State travels to face Kansas State on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer Jr. was driving to the basket, making 3-pointers from the corner, hitting mid-range jumpers. The guy seemed unstoppable.
“When you get in a rhythm, everybody knows it and they throw you the rock and you don’t think you can miss,” Palmer said after scoring 24 of his 26 points in the second half of Nebraska’s 70-66 win over Maryland on Tuesday night. “Guys were doing a great job finding me.”
Palmer, just 1 for 6 from the field in the first half, was 9 of 13 after halftime and combined with Isaiah Roby for 35 of the Cornhuskers’ 40 second-half points.
Palmer scored 15 straight points for the Huskers (20-8, 11-4 Big Ten) over a 10-minute span that ended when Roby hit one of two free throws with 2:57 left for a 64-59 lead. Roby had all 11 of his points in the second half and added 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. He also blocked three shots.
“James, he got cooking,” Nebraska point guard Glynn Watson Jr. said. “That was big. And (Palmer and Roby) both made some plays at the end. Roby did a better job in the second half being aggressive, and that was the key to winning.”
Nebraska secured its first 20-win season since 2008. It was the first time since 1993 that the Huskers posted their 20th win in the regular season.
“It’s great,” coach Tim Miles said, “but we’re not planning on stopping here. I’ve told our guys a week ago that if you counted wins, you’ve done it wrong. If you think, `Oh, I think we can win 21 or 20 this year,’ you need to get your mind free of that and keep playing and keep winning.”
The Terps (17-11, 6-9) had a chance to take the lead with a minute to play, but Watson blocked Anthony Cowan Jr.’s 3-point try. From there the Huskers hit six straight free throws after making only seven of their first 13.
Bruno Fernando led the Terps with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Huerter added 12 points and Darryl Morsell had 11.
“Another tough loss for us on the road,” Terps coach Mark Turgeon said. “We keep competing out here and losing by three or four. I thought we were going to get over the hump tonight.”
BIG PICTURE
Maryland: The Terps’ fading NCAA Tournament hopes might have been dashed with their seventh straight road loss.
Nebraska: The Huskers are resting firmly on the NCAA bubble and absolutely needed this win. They got it, thanks to Palmer and Roby’s efforts in the second half.
WATSON HIT 1,000
Watson went over 1,000 career points when he hit two free throws with six seconds left. The junior from Bellwood, Illinois, has 1,001 in 93 career games.
“I haven’t been playing that well offensively, so I try to bring it on defense,” Watson said. “It means a lot to have 1,000 points, but it doesn’t mean anything if we’re not winning.”
KEY NUMBERS
Nebraska has won 11 conference games for just the fifth time in program history. … NU has won a season-high six straight games, all in conference play. The last Nebraska team to win so many in a row in conference play was in 1997-98, when the Huskers won their final six Big 12 games. … Palmer tied a school record with 24 second-half points. … Fernando had a career-high five assists for Maryland. … The Terps held a 40-28 advantage in points in the paint.
UP NEXT
Maryland hosts Rutgers on Saturday. It’s the teams’ only meeting this season.
Nebraska visits Illinois. The Huskers beat the Illini 64-63 in Lincoln on Jan. 15.
— Associated Press —
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 18 points with four 3-pointers, Jordan Frericks had 15 points and eight rebounds, and No. 13 Missouri beat Arkansas 84-58 on Monday night.
For the first time since 1984-87, Missouri (20-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) has three straight seasons with 20-plus victories.
Jordan Chavis added 12 points off the bench for the Tigers, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor with 11 3-pointers. Hannah Schuchts scored 10.
Missouri made 9 of its first 10 shots, including 6 of 7 from distance, to take a 31-10 lead. It was 49-29 at halftime after shooting 60 percent from the field and the Tigers led by 31 with 4:31 to go in the game.
Jailyn Mason scored 15 points and Bailey Zimmerman added 14 for Arkansas (12-13, 3-9), which fell to the Tigers 88-54 on Jan. 21.
The game originally scheduled for Sunday was postponed due to the Tigers’ weather-related travel issues.
— Associated Press —
COLUMBIA, MO. – Sunday’s Mizzou Women’s Basketball game at Arkansas was postponed and has been moved to Monday, Feb. 12, at 6 p.m. CT in Fayetteville, Ark.
The postponement was due to travel issues as icy conditions prevented the Tigers from safely traveling to Arkansas.
Arkansas is working with the SEC Network to televise Monday’s game on SEC Network Plus. Fans who had tickets to Sunday’s game will be allowed to use those for Monday’s game.
— Mizzou Athletics —
ST. LOUIS – Missouri State standout Alize Johnson (Sr., Williamsport, Pa.) was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon.
Johnson helped the Bears to a 2-0 week and +18.0 scoring margin after averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game on the week.
He tallied 28 points behind five 3-pointers in the Bears’ 19-point win at Indiana State on Feb. 5, with a career-high four blocks. He followed that performance with 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in MSU’s 17-point home win over Evansville on Feb. 10. He was also 7-for-7 at the free throw line against the Aces while racking up his 17th double-double effort of the year.
Johnson was an even 11-for-22 from the field on the week and converted 12-of-13 (.923) free throws with a 6.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and three steals.
Also noteworthy for the preseason MVC player of the year was Saturday’s performance pushing him over 900 career points. He became just the 34th player in program history to do so and just the fifth two-year player.
This week’s accolades mark Johnson’s third MVC Player of the Week honor this season, also earning the distinction on Dec. 26 and Jan. 15, and the fifth such honor of his career. The only MSU player to win the MVC Player of the Week award more than Johnson is Kyle Weems (2008-12) who won it six times in his career.
Southern Illinois’ Kavion Pippen was named Newcomer of the Week
Johnson and the Bears (17-10, 7-7 MVC) return to conference action Wednesday at Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. in a key Valley contest in Carbondale. The Bears then return home Feb. 18 and Feb. 21 to close out the home slate.
— MSU Athletics —
