Missouri junior guard Jordan Clarkson was named the National Player of the Week by College Sports Madness on Monday. Clarkson, a 6-foot-5 point guard, led Mizzou to victories over West Virginia (80-71) and No. 17 UCLA (80-71) this week, averaging 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals.

Clarkson pushed his streak to five consecutive games scoring at least 20 points, hitting for 25 vs. West Virginia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge before going for 21 in the win over the nationally-ranked Bruins. Clarkson grabbed a season high six rebounds in the win over the Mountaineers and dished a season high six assists in the victory over UCLA.

The wins pushed Missouri to 9-0 on the year, the second time the Tigers have been 9-0 under the direction of Head Coach Frank Haith.

Clarkson, a Tulsa transfer, is currently leading the Southeastern Conference in scoring (20.2 ppg.), just ahead of teammate, Jabari Brown, who ranks third in the league at 19.4 points per game. Clarkson is also fourth in the SEC in assists per game (3.8) and ranks No. 10 overall in field goal percentage (.515) and No. 2 at the foul line (.884).

Missouri returns to action on Sunday at 6 p.m. vs. defending MAC-West champions, Western Michigan. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

— MU Sports Information —

The University of Missouri football team (11-2 overall and Southeastern Conference East Division champions) has accepted an invitation to play in the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, set for Jan. 3rd 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, 2nd place in Big 12), is set for 7 p.m. (central time) and will be televised nationally on FOX.

The Cotton Bowl appearance will mark Mizzou’s 11th New Year’s Day (or later) bowl game in program history, and its first since playing in the 2008 Cotton Bowl against Arkansas.  The invitation is a reward for an outstanding season which saw the Tigers post one of the top turnaround years in the nation, going from 5-7 in 2012 to 11-2 – a 6-1/2 game improvement.  This is MU’s 30th alltime bowl appearance.

“We are honored and excited to accept a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl,” said Head Coach Gary Pinkel, who will be making his ninth bowl game appearance in 13 seasons at Mizzou.  “We know first-hand just how great of a trip this is, and how first-class of an operation the Cotton Bowl runs.  We have a chance to play an outstanding team in Oklahoma State, and this is an opportunity to finish up a special season in front of a great Mizzou crowd,” Pinkel said.

This will mark the 78th Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Tigers will be making their third appearance in the tradition-rich game.  Mizzou rolled to a 38-7 win over Arkansas in the 2008 game, as TB Tony Temple rushed for a Cotton Bowl-record 281 yards and four touchdowns against the 25th-ranked Razorbacks.  That win closed a stellar season for Mizzou, who finished with a 12-2 record and a school-best final ranking of 4th in the final polls.  Mizzou’s other appearance in the Cotton Bowl was back in 1946, when Texas claimed a 40-27 victory.

“Mizzou is very pleased to be part of the 78th annual Cotton Bowl Classic,” said Director of Athletics Mike Alden.  “The Cotton Bowl is one of the iconic bowl games in all of college football, and it will be a great reward to our team to have the opportunity to play in AT&T Stadium.  We have an outstanding alumni base in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I know our fans will be excited to see the Tigers come their way once again,” he said.

The Mizzou Athletic Ticket Office will begin taking public orders for the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic beginning Monday, Dec. 9 at 12 p.m. online at www.mutigers.com. Fans may also order over the phone by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Columbia), but are strongly encouraged to order on-line to ensure prompt service.  Participating team ticket allotments are 12,500, and tickets are priced at $140 apiece.

Tiger Scholarship Fund members and season ticket holders who have already ordered tickets through pre-sale opportunities will receive information tonight about their orders.  Pre-sale orders must be finalized before Noon Monday (Dec. 9th) before the public sale begins.

The Mizzou Alumni Association and PrimeSport have teamed up to offer the official Mizzou Cotton Bowl travel packages. Fans and alumni interested in the tour options are encouraged to visit the bowl travel website at www.mizzousportstravel.com. A variety of packages, options, and amenities are available including game tickets while supplies last. Fans may also call 1-800-558-5527 to book or for more information.

For more information about the 2014 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, please visit the official site of the Cotton Bowl, at www.attcottonbowl.com.

— MU Sports Information —

ATLANTA (AP) — Tre Mason struck a pose – a Heisman Trophy pose.

There’s something the Auburn Tigers running back wants even more than an individual award.

A shot at the national title.

Mason rushed for 304 yards and four touchdowns, leading No. 3 Auburn to a wild 59-42 victory over No. 5 Missouri in a Southeastern Conference title showdown Saturday that looked more like a video game.

Auburn (12-1) kept alive its hopes of playing for the national championship, though the Tigers would likely need either top-ranked Florida State or No. 2 Ohio State to lose in their respective conference title games, which began about the time Auburn was wrapping up the shootout at the Georgia Dome.

”We won the SEC championship,” receiver Sammie Coates said. ”What else do you want us to do?”

Added Mason: ”We feel like we beat the best teams …. We feel like we deserve to be in the game.”

The Auburn players headed off to watch the games that could decide their fate, the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in Charlotte, N.C., and the Big Ten title contest in Indianapolis. If Auburn misses out on the big game, it will head to the Sugar Bowl as the SEC champion.

Missouri (11-2) should be in the mix for a New Year’s Day bowl, with the Capital One, Cotton and Outback games among the possible destinations.

”We’re playing our best football right now,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, making his pitch for a trip to Pasadena. ”I don’t know if any other team can say that.”

Auburn is certainly playing its best offensively. The Tigers set an SEC championship record with 677 yards, including 545 on the ground.

Mason had scoring runs of 7, 3 and 1 yards before bursting up the middle on a 13-yard TD that clinched the victory with 4:22 remaining. He carried the ball a staggering 46 times, an easy choice as the game’s MVP. He celebrated by breaking out the familiar Heisman pose, his longshot candidacy getting a huge boost.

”You’re looking at one of the top running backs in college football,” Malzahn said. ”He was a warrior today. Unbelievable.”

In a game where neither team played a lick of defense, Auburn finally stopped Missouri on fourth-and-1 deep in its own territory, setting up Mason’s final score. Chris Davis broke up the pass, not quite as thrilling as his 109-yard return of a missed field goal to beat Alabama, but another huge play for the nation’s biggest turnaround team.

Auburn, which was 3-9 a year ago and didn’t win a game in the SEC, claimed the title in its first year under Malzahn. The Tigers didn’t even need a dramatic finish to do it, holding Missouri scoreless in the final quarter while Mason notched two more TDs to break open a game that was close most of the way.

Missouri had its own impressive bounce-back after struggling its first year in the SEC. But coach Gary Pinkel’s team was denied a quick championship in its new league after leaving the Big 12, unable to slow – must less stop – Auburn’s dynamic offense.

”There’s a real frustration that comes over you on defense when they’re coming after you over and over and over again,” Pinkel said. ”We had trouble stopping it, obviously, and couldn’t get it fixed.”

James Franklin passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while Dorial Green-Beckham hauled in six passes for 144 yards and a couple of scores. Missouri piled up 534 yards – the teams combined for 1,211 yards in a conference supposedly known for defense – but it wasn’t nearly enough against Auburn’s hurry-up spread.

Coming into the game, Missouri was one of the top teams in the nation against the run and ranked second in the SEC behind Alabama. The most yards they had given up on the ground was 184 the previous week in a victory over 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M.

Mason had more yards than that in the first half, putting up 195 by the time he trotted to the locker room and just 6 yards off the SEC championship game record. He broke the mark set by LSU’s Justin Vincent in 2003 on the second play of the second half – and kept right on going from there.

”I’ve never had holes that big to run through,” Mason said, crediting the guys in the trenches. ”No one expected 300 yards. I didn’t expect it.”

Quarterback Nick Marshall shook off two early fumbles, one of which Missouri returned for a touchdown. He ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and passed for 132 yards and another score.

The lead changed hands seven times. Missouri’s last gasp was Franklin’s 5-yard touchdown run, followed by a two-point conversion, that closed the gap to 45-42 heading to the final period. But Auburn dominated the final 15 minutes behind the play of Mason.

Late in the game, when Auburn had finally wrapped it up, Mason got a hug on the sideline from Auburn’s greatest back, Bo Jackson.

”He’s one of the better players ever to wear an Auburn helmet,” Malzahn said, referring to Mason, not Bo.

”Thanks, coach,” Mason said.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri guard Earnest Ross thinks it’s ”pretty cool” when he makes 3-pointers. His teammates agree, especially when they’re dropping in big games.

Ross scored 20 points and finished 5 of 11 from beyond the arc to help Missouri upset No. 18 UCLA 80-71 on Saturday.

His third 3-pointer with 14:46 remaining gave the Tigers their first lead in more than 16 minutes.

The shot bounced off the front of the rim before going in, helping Missouri (9-0) overcome an eight-point halftime deficit.

”As I continue to shoot and see shots go in, it makes the basket get a little bit bigger,” Ross said. ”When I’m in a rhythm, I just think I’m in a pretty good groove and I just continue to keep shooting.”

Sometimes that thinking gets Ross into trouble with coach Frank Haith, who prefers to see him use his 6-foot-5, 228-pound frame to drive the lane and score in the paint.

”I’m pretty liberal with our guys taking shots,” Haith said, ”but I want them to understand we were much better shooting the ball because we ran our offense in the second half.”

The win extended Missouri’s NCAA-best, home-court winning streak to 24 games and the Tigers’ run of 79 consecutive wins against non-conference opponents at Mizzou Arena. The victory was the first in that stretch against a nationally ranked team.

Jordan Adams scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds and Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine each added 13 points for UCLA (8-1), which lost in its first game on an opponent’s court this season.

”I think a couple guys, including myself, took some tough shots, which is not fair to our teammates,” Anderson said. ”It made it much easier on our opponents. That’s not the basketball we play. We’ve played though big games and we’ve just got to get better at that.”

Jabari Brown scored 22 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 for Missouri. Johnathan Williams III grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Tigers gain a 47-30 advantage on the boards and remain the only unbeaten team in the Southeastern Conference. The team is off to its best start since the 2006-07 season.

Missouri trailed 43-35 at halftime after committing 12 turnovers and shooting 41.7 percent from the field. Back-to-back fastbreak dunks by Ross and Brown brought the Tigers within 49-45 with 16:44 remaining. After UCLA’s Tony Parker converted a free throw, Ross hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Tigers their first lead since 11:20 left in the first half.

Brown’s 3-pointer about 5 minutes later expanded Missouri’s lead to 67-62, and UCLA couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

”They just beat us there first,” Adams said. ”We tried our best to get every rebound. Some didn’t bounce our way. Hopefully with practice, we will continue to get better with that.”

UCLA entered the game averaging a Pac-12-leading 90.6 points, including 98.8 in its last four contests. The Bruins made 15 of 30 attempts in the first half, but only converted 8 of 31 attempts – including 0-for-8 from behind the arc – after the break.

”Our offense just didn’t move,” first-year UCLA coach Steve Alford said. ”The ball stopped a lot. We were in a pretty good rhythm in the first half, and for whatever reason, we stopped moving the ball offensively in the second half.”

The teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes before a 3-pointer by Bryce Alford sparked a 14-0 run that gave the Bruins a 30-17 lead with 6:47 left before the break. Missouri scored the next 11 points, but UCLA countered with eight for a 38-28 lead. LaVine finished the run with a thunderous windmill dunk.

Both schools played in the Las Vegas Invitational last week and were selected co-champions after defeating Nevada and Northwestern in Nevada. UCLA and Missouri agreed to not play each other ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

The game ended a home-and-home series after UCLA defeated the Tigers 97-94 in overtime at Pauley Pavilion last Dec. 28.

— Associated Press —