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Category: College

Mizzou drops third straight with loss at Mississippi State

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Quinndary Weatherspoon scored a team-high 20 points as Mississippi State defeated Missouri 74-62 on Saturday night.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Bulldogs (15-6, 3-5 SEC). Abdul Ado and Nick Weatherspoon each had 12 points for Mississippi State while Tyson Carter added 10 points.

Kassius Robertson had 20 points to lead Missouri (13-8, 3-5) while Kevin Puryear added 10 points.

“I was really pleased tonight with our effort,” said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. “We got off to a rocky start, offensively, but found our way back. In the first half, our bigs did a good job of scoring and in the second half, it came from the perimeter. We only attempted 16 shots on 3 pointers, which is nice. We have to keep getting it inside to have that balance.”

Nick Weatherspoon scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Bulldogs while Lamar Peters finished with a career-high nine assists. Nick Weatherspoon was 0 of 5 from the field in the first half before making 5 of 8 shots in the final half.

“My coaches came to me and said the first half was over and to not focus on it,” said Nick Weatherspoon. “We all know I had a bad first half and they told me to just go play my game. I knew my jumper was not working so I tried to sneak behind the defense.”

The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 6-0 run and never relinquished the lead the remainder of the game. Missouri did get within five points twice in the second half but the Bulldogs closed the game out on a 10-4 run.

Mississippi State shot 54.7 percent for the game, including 66.7 percent in the second half. Missouri shot just 45.6 percent for the game and had 19 turnovers. The Tigers did hold a 34-27 advantage on the backboards while Mississippi State had 15 turnovers.

“We had a five-point lead late in the first half,” said Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin. “We gave that up and didn’t get it going early in the second half. We had a lot of breakdowns on defense late in the first half and it carried over to the second half.”

The first half featured four lead changes and three ties. Missouri jumped out to a 17-10 advantage in the opening seven minutes before Mississippi State responded with an 11-4 run to tie the game at 21.

The Tigers then reeled off eight straight points to regain the lead at 29-24 only to see Mississippi State tie the game at 31 following Holman’s buzzer-beater to end the first half.

Mississippi State shot 42.3 percent in the first half and has nine turnovers. Missouri show just 39.4 percent in the first half and had seven turnovers.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers have now lost four of their last five SEC games. The road only gets tougher for Missouri with a trip to Alabama on Tuesday and the Crimson Tide are fresh off a win over No. 12 Oklahoma.

Mississippi State: After losing five of their last six SEC games, the Bulldogs were in dire need of a conference win. Mississippi State is now 14-1 at Humphrey Coliseum this season.

UP NEXT

Missouri remains on the road and will travel to Alabama on Tuesday.

Mississippi State returns to the road as the Bulldogs travel to South Carolina on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

MWSU women lose at Northwest; Bearcats snap 15-game skid

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MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team’s longest win streak over any current MIAA opponent came to an end Saturday at Northwest Missouri.

The Griffons’ (10-10, 3-8 MIAA) win streak over the rival Bearcats (2-17, 1-10) ended at eight games with a 56-53 loss. Missouri Western took its rival to the wire, trailing by one after a KeShara Scott free throw with 42 seconds left. Scott got a steal on Northwest’s ensuing possession, giving Missouri Western the ball with 38 seconds to go, down 54-53. The Griffons would eventually turn it over, before committing two fouls that resulted in two Northwest Missouri free throws. Dossou Ndiaye missed a three point attempt with three seconds remaining that was rebounded by Mania Timson, but the Griffons couldn’t get another shot off.

NOTABLES
– Northwest’s win was its first in the MIAA this season and snapped a 15-game losing streak by the Bearcats

– It was the Griffons’ first loss in Maryville since 2014

– The Griffons made three more field goals in the game than Northwest (25-22) and shot 50 percent from the field

– Northwest was 7-of-8 from the free throw line while the Griffons were just 1-of-3

– Missouri Western went 1-for-9 from three-point range; Northwest Missouri went 5-of-11

– Rebounding was even and the Griffons out-scored Northwest Missouri 38-20 in the paint

– Dossou Ndiaye led the Griffons with 14 points and eight rebounds

– KeShara Scott also had eight boards to go with 11 points and a team-high three assists

UP NEXT
Missouri Western returns to the MWSU Fieldhouse after playing three-straight games on the road to host Lindenwood (9-11, 2-10) on Feb. 1.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 5 Kansas builds big lead, holds on to defeat Texas A&M

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has white-knuckled its way to the top of the Big 12.

It took hopping out of conference play to finally breeze to a comfortable win.

Svi Mykhailiuk poured in 24 points, Malik Newman added 15 and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks built a big lead on Texas A&M in the first half before sustaining it most of the way in a 79-68 victory Saturday.

Lagerald Vick added 10 points, and Udoka Azubuike had a couple of rim-rattling dunks, as the Jayhawks (17-4) — so accustomed to sweating out down-to-the-wire games this season — won their fourth straight in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and 10th in a row over the Aggies.

“Oh, we sweated,” Mykhailiuk said, smiling.

Just not a whole lot. The Jayhawks built a 45-27 halftime advantage, kept the gap nearly that wide in the second half and managed to breathe easy in the final minute for a change.

“It wasn’t as easy,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said, “as I would have hoped.”

Tyler Davis had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Texas A&M (13-8), which began the season 11-1 with wins over Big 12 foes West Virginia and Oklahoma State. But after ascending to No. 5 in the AP poll, coach Billy Kennedy’s club has lost seven of its last nine in a calamitous freefall.

“I really think Kansas played as well as any team we’ve played all year, the way they shared the ball,” Kennedy said. “I think the Mykhailiuk kid, he made some special 3s, and giving up 10 3s in the first half was really hard to overcome against a good team.”

Robert Williams added 11 points, nine boards and four blocks for the Aggies, whose only win over Kansas in 22 tries came in 2007, before they bolted the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

The Jayhawks took control with a 10-0 run midway through the first half, stretching a 20-18 lead into a 30-18 advantage behind the kind of 3-point barrage that has become so common this season.

At one point, they had hit nine of their first 13 from beyond the arc.

Mykhailiuk had three in the first half, part of his 17 points in 17 minutes, as the Jayhawks shot 53 percent from the field and took a 45-27 lead into the break against one of the nation’s best defenses.

“It seemed like every back-breaking play, we’d get a bad bounce and they’d hit a 3,” Kennedy said. “Every bounce, every play, they made it, and that’s the mark of a good team.”

Kansas kept the pace hot in the second half, creating run-outs every time the Aggies missed a shot — and there were plenty of them. And even when they were forced to set up offense, the Jayhawks managed to get high percentage shots, including a rim-shaking dunk by Azubuike early on.

Azubuike had barreled through Davis before slamming it home, then straddled the Aggies’ big man as he dropped back to the floor. He gave him a mean mug, too, that earned him a technical foul.

The Aggies finally clawed within 72-62 on free throws by Davis with 4:40 to go, but Marcus Garrett scored on a driving layup and Azubuike added a baby hook to restore the Jayhawks’ advantage.

The Aggies never managed to get within single-digits down the stretch.

DOKE’S TECHNICAL

Self was not happy with Azubuike’s technical foul, which he called “selfish.” The play also took some of the fire out of the big guy, who had a big first half but was quiet in the second. Azubuike ended up with eight points, six boards and four blocks in 22 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Texas A&M tried to establish its size in the paint, but the Jayhawks made up for their lack of size with scrappiness. The Aggies’ guards were outhustled to seemingly every loose ball, and that put too much pressure on Davis and Williams to make things happen in a game that hardly suited their style.

Kansas bounced back nicely from a late collapse at Oklahoma, showing a bit more moxie than the Jayhawks have in recent weeks. They had a 15-2 edge on fast-break points, and they hung with the bigger Aggies on the boards in a positive sign for a team that has struggled to rebound.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M plays Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Kansas visits Kansas State on Monday night.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State rallies to defeat Georgia 56-51

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MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Over the last week or so, Kansas State fans have taken to social media and used the hashtag of #DeanWolf to support the star forward Dean Wade as he’s led the charge during Kansas State’s three game winning streak.

In the final minutes against Georgia on Saturday the hashtag #DeanWolf came alive and so did the Wildcats.

Wade scored six of his 20 points as Kansas State outscored Georgia 12-2 in the final 6:11, winning 56-51 in Bramlage Coliseum in the annual challenge between teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.

For this Kansas State team, games like they had against Georgia were ones that they had seen before. A back-and-forth contest that would see the Wildcats eventually fade down the stretch but in this game, the team showed the maturity and experience.

“I think we have matured a lot, at the end of games we do not panic like we used to,” Wade said. “We are playing strong and confident. Getting a little more experience just helps our confidence and maturity a lot.”

It was a ground out affair for the Wildcats (16-5) who were held well below their season average 77.1 points per contest. Wade picked up his 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting including hitting some clutch second-half baskets down the stretch to help extend the Wildcats lead.

Georgia (12-8) was led in scoring by Yante Maten with 14 points on 6-11 shooting.

Bulldogs took the lead early in the second half and used tough defense, tough shot making, and solid rebounding as they trounced the Wildcats in that category with a 38-27 edge, including 12 on the offensive end alone.

With the Wildcats beginning their climb back into the ballgame, the Bulldog offense stalled as they went 1 of 11 from the field and didn’t pick up their first basket until Derek Ogbeide scored on a layup with 34 seconds left in the ballgame.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: Kansas State showed that they can win those “grind out” games as they scored well below their 83.3 points per game they averaged in the last three contests.

Georgia: The Bulldogs struggles continue as they now have lost five of their last six with the lone victory coming against LSU.

THEY SAID IT: “He is a player who can shoot the three and drive it. He can score mid-range off a fade away or a pull-up and is a very good passer. Because he has good shooters around him it is usually one-on-one so he is able to finish a lot of plays.” — Georgia coach Mark Fox on Wade.

POLL IMPLICATIONS: Kansas State could be in a position to have their first ranking since January of 2017.

STATS AND STREAKS: The win by Kansas State makes them 3-2 all-time in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

UP NEXT

Georgia: The Bulldogs host Florida on Tuesday.

Kansas State: The Wildcats host Kansas on Monday.

— Associated Press —

Palmer scores 28, Huskers pull away from Iowa for 98-84 win

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Chanting Nebraska fans wanted 100 points, but there was no need to go for it when the Cornhuskers got the ball back for their final possession and the clock winding down.

Their 98-84 win over Iowa was good enough Saturday night.

“I won’t apologize to the fans for not getting 100 tonight,” James Palmer Jr. said. “It probably would have been great for them, but we got the win, so be happy.”

Palmer scored 28 points, Isaac Copeland added 23 points and 11 rebounds and Nebraska pulled away in the second half.

Nebraska (16-8, 7-4 Big Ten) scored its most points in a conference game since putting up 99 against Kansas State in 2002 when the Huskers were in the Big 12.

“One thing about Iowa is they can lead you down the path to a shootout,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “They play quick, they see an open shot and it’s going up, and you can have a lot of quick possessions. I didn’t know if we could keep up.”

Iowa (11-12, 2-8), which beat Wisconsin on Tuesday, failed to win consecutive conference games for the first time and left coach Fran McCaffery with 399 career wins.

Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook each had 24 points to lead the Hawkeyes.

Copeland made his first five shots and scored 13 points in the opening 7 1/2 minutes. Seven different Huskers scored as they closed the half on a 23-10 run to grow a 25-24 lead to 48-34 at half.

“Copeland has looked good shooting it all week,” Miles said.

Iowa got within 56-54 early in the second half, with Bohannon scoring seven quick points, 6-foot-11 freshman Luka Garza making a 3-pointer for his first basket of the game, and Ahmad Wagner scoring on a layup to make it a two-point game.

But Palmer started a decisive 15-4 run that broke open the game again. He made back-to-back 3s and scored nine points during the spurt.

Garza, after making his first 3, tried another one a minute later and only hit backboard. After a couple Iowa turnovers and a foul on Nicholas Baer, Nebraska was in control.

“They’re a talented group that shares the ball,” McCaffery said of Nebraska. “They have a lot of good individual players. I don’t see any selfishness there. Copeland and Palmer, they’re the guys, but they give it up.”

Isaiah Roby added 17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals for the Huskers, who are alone in fourth place.

Nebraska already has one more conference win than it did last season.

“I like the demeanor of my team, I like the buy-in,” Miles said.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa: The Hawkeyes have struggled on defense all season and came in allowing 82.6 points per game against Big Ten opponents. Saturday was their worst performance. They gave up a season-high 98 points and allowed Nebraska to shoot an opponent season-best 57.7 percent and make 6 of 8 3-pointers in the second half and 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) for the game.

Nebraska: Palmer has been on a tear the last five games, averaging just under 25 points, and big man Jordy Tshimanga scored a season-high 11 points. Tshimanga was away from the team for two games two weeks ago for personal reasons. Miles said he’s come back playing free and loosely.

MEET THE COACHES

Fans were on their feet at halftime when the new Nebraska football assistant coaches walked through the tunnel and were introduced on the court. Head coach Scott Frost was a no-show, however.

QUOTABLE

“We shoot 50 percent from the field, 43 (percent) from 3, 20 assists on nine turnovers against a team that’s up in us. You’re on the road. You come back. There’s a lot of good. And 84 points on the road should keep you in the game. But we give up 98.” — McCaffery.

UP NEXT

Iowa hosts Minnesota on Tuesday.

Nebraska visits Wisconsin on Monday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri State falls at home to Southern Illinois

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Armon Fletcher scored 18 points, including a layup with 6.7 seconds left, to lift Southern Illinois to a 79-77 win over Missouri State on Saturday night.

Kavion Pippen, who added 17 points, got the ball on the low block before finding Fletcher cutting down the lane. Jarrid Rhodes missed a potential winning 3 for the Bears as time ran out.

Missouri State was down by 11 at the half and 10 with 11 1/2 minutes to play before finally tying the game twice with less than two minutes to go.

Southern Illinois (14-9, 6-4 Missouri Valley conference) made 8 of 13 3-pointers and shot 64 percent (30 of 47) from the field.

Alize Johnson had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears (15-8, 5-5), who shot 58 percent in the second half but couldn’t slow the Salukis offense. Obediah Church had two blocks to break the school record of 167 set by Danny Moore (1996-99).

— Associated Press —

Mizzou fires softball coach Ehren Earleywine

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Head Softball Coach Ehren Earleywine has been relieved of his coaching duties, Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk announced Friday.

“I met with Coach Earleywine this morning and informed him of our decision to make a change in leadership within the softball program effective immediately,” Sterk said. “We do not take action of this magnitude without careful thought and consideration, however, we have lost confidence in Coach Earleywine’s leadership to foster the type of healthy environment we expect for our student-athletes, and as a result, believe it is in the program’s best interest to make a change at this time.

“Since my arrival at Mizzou, I have had a chance to consider concerns within the softball program that arose before my time and observe Coach Earleywine’s leadership of our program,” he added. “This decision was based upon a culmination of leadership concerns, not just one incident, which caused me to reevaluate his position within our softball program at this time.”

In 11 seasons as the Tigers head coach from 2007-17, Earleywine compiled a record of 482-182 (.726), while guiding the program to 11-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with eight NCAA Super Regionals and three Women’s College World Series trips.

“While we are appreciative of the many successes Coach Earleywine’s teams have enjoyed on the field during his Mizzou tenure, we had serious concerns about the culture within the softball program and the experience our student-athletes were being provided as a result,” Sterk said. “I recognize that the timing is less than ideal, but I did not believe I could hold off in making a decision to ensure that our student-athletes experience a constructive environment that is consistent with the department’s expectations and values.”

Earleywine will be paid based upon the terms of his contract, which expires June 30, 2018, and an interim successor for the 2018 season is expected to be appointed early next week.

Missouri opens the 2018 season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., against San Jose State, Feb. 8.

— MU Athletics —

No. 11 Missouri women lose road game at No. 21 Georgia

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ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Caliya Robinson recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and No. 21 Georgia celebrated its return to the Top 25 by beating No. 11 Missouri 62-50 on Thursday night.

Que Morrison had 17 points and Haley Clark had 14 in the Lady Bulldogs’ sixth straight win.

Georgia (18-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) broke a second-place tie in the league with Mizzou (17-3, 5-2). Sophie Cunningham led the Tigers with 20 points.

With 1:21 remaining, Robinson missed two free throws. Morrison rebounded the second miss and passed back to Robinson, who made a layup for a 56-48 lead.

Georgia entered the Top 25 this week for the first time since Feb. 9, 2015.

Georgia made only one of its last 11 shots from the field in the third quarter. Missouri’s Amber Smith sank a 3-pointer late in the period to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 40-39.

The Lady Bulldogs opened the final period with a 10-3 run that included back-to-back baskets by Mackenzie Engram.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou gets blown out by No. 19 Auburn 91-73

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jared Harper scored 21 points, Bryce Brown and Desean Murray each added 16, and No. 19 Auburn pulled away from Missouri in a 91-73 victory Wednesday night.

Five players scored in double figures for Auburn, including Mustapha Heron — who had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

After the teams went back and forth for the first 25 minutes, Auburn (18-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) used a 20-2 run to put away Missouri. The stretch featured spot-up shooting and a fast-break offense that keys the SEC’s highest-scoring team.

Kassius Robertson led Missouri (13-7, 3-4) with 21 points, but his team hurt itself with 21 turnovers to 10 for Auburn. Jordan Barnett broke out of a scoring slump with 19 points.

Despite outrebounding Auburn 40-31, Missouri had nine shots blocked. Anfernee McLemore had six blocks for Auburn, adding to his conference-leading total of 61.

Missouri relied heavily on 3-pointers, which accounted for 11 of the team’s 21 field goals. Barnett went 5 of 8 and Robertson was 3 for 10 from long range.

BIG PICTURE

Auburn: The Tigers have rebounded nicely from their second loss of the season.

Missouri: Sloppy offense cost Missouri, and in the end, these Tigers simply couldn’t keep up with Auburn. Missouri continues to pride itself on defense, but it hasn’t always been able to make up for its offensive deficiencies.

UP NEXT

Auburn returns home to play LSU on Saturday.

Missouri visits Mississippi State on Saturday, the first stop on a two-game road trip.

— Associated Press —

Copeland scores 23 as Nebraska wins at Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — For all the scoring that Isaac Copeland did against Rutgers, it was one of the little things that gave Nebraska a much-needed road win.

Copeland scored 23 points and came up with a clutch rebound in the final minute to lead Nebraska to 60-54 victory Wednesday night.

Copeland’s rebound of a missed 3-pointer by James Palmer Jr. with 54 seconds to play and the Cornhuskers ahead by two points allowed Nebraska to take time off the clock and led to a layup by Glynn Watson Jr. with 29 seconds that all but sealed the game.

“That was big for us,” said Copeland, who hit 9 of 15 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from long range. “They had the momentum. Palmer got a good shot and he missed it and I got the rebound. Put a fresh 30 on the clock, so it was big for us.

In a game where Rutgers came up a possession or two short, coach Steve Pikiell felt the rebound was a difference maker.

“Huge,” Pikiell said. “Huge. We did a good job. We wanted him taking 3s and not driving it. A long rebound on the 3 and we can’t secure it. There were a couple of guys around the ball, too. Every possession is huge in a one-possession game.”

Palmer added 18 points and Watson Jr. made two clutch layups in the final 2:30 as the Cornhuskers (15-8, 6-4 Big Ten) won their second road game of the season.

Corey Sanders had 14 points to lead Rutgers (12-10, 2-7) but he also was called for an offensive foul on a drive with the Scarlet Knights down by four with 14 seconds to play. Geo Baker and Deshawn Freeman added 10 apiece. Freeland also had a game-high 10 rebounds.

The 23-point performance was Copeland’s second-best game since transferring from Georgetown.

“Isaac is building confidence in his entire game,” Nebraska coach Tom Miles said. “It’s a completely different system in what he is accustomed to. He likes certainty. There is some much uncertainty in the motions and reads and all that stuff. But I think he is doing better and better and better and is more comfortable fitting in and that grows confidence.”

Palmer hit a 3-pointer and Copeland made a three and slammed home a rebound in an 8-0 run early in the second half that gave the Cornhuskers a 41-32 lead with 13:23 to play. They would score three baskets the rest of the way but hung on because Rutgers struggled just as much, finishing the game 22 of 65 from the field, or roughly 34 percent.

Nebraska wasn’t much better, converting roughly 40 percent.

“Neither of us, the two teams, are juggernauts offensively. We’re not going to pretend we’re the Warriors,” Miles quipped.

Isaiah Roby added eight points for Nebraska, including five free throws in the final 8:01.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were picked to finish 13th in the league. Their 15-8 record is tied for the best in the program since the 2010-11 squad had the same mark after 23 games. Keep it up and they might get back the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have struggled shooting all season and it hurt them again. Sanders, Baker and Freeman are the Big 3 and they were a combined 13 of 38 from the field. Starter Issa Thiam was 1 of 10, 0 for 7 from long range. That’s 14 of 48 shooting from four of the five starters. Mamadou Doucoure was 2 of 3 from the field.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: hosts Iowa Saturday.

Rutgers: at Penn State Saturday.

— Associated Press —

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