COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Three years ago, Drew Lock’s freshman season ended with a dismal performance in a blowout loss to Arkansas in a chilly downpour. A losing season coupled with the retirement of longtime coach Gary Pinkel had the quarterback questioning whether Missouri was the right school for him.

On Friday, only the opponent and the weather was the same. Lock threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to guide Missouri to a 38-0 victory over Arkansas in his final home game. After a rocky start to his career, Lock has led the Tigers to two straight winning seasons and positioned himself to be a high NFL draft pick, which explained Denver Broncos general manager John Elway’s presence at Friday’s game.

“The best way to put it is it just felt right walking off the field,” Lock said.

Missouri (8-4, 4-4 SEC) held Arkansas (2-10, 0-8 SEC) to just 187 total yards and broke the game open by converting two second-quarter turnovers into 14 points.

Lock completed 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards. He went over 3,000 passing yards for the third straight season. With a bowl game left to play, Lock’s career total of 11,820 passing yards is second in SEC history to Georgia’s Aaron Murray, who threw for 13,166 yards from 2010-13.

“He’s done a heck of a job of being Drew, being what we need him to be and playing really well at a high level,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said. “He left his mark.”

Lock had plenty of help on both sides of the ball against Arkansas. Emanuel Hall caught six passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Larry Rountree carried 29 times for 119 yards to go over 1,000 yards on the season.

Arkansas had no answer. Starting quarterback Ty Storey threw an interception into the chest of linebacker Terez Hall in the second quarter, setting up Missouri’s second touchdown. On the next series, Missouri defensive tackle Jordan Elliott sacked Storey and forced a fumble that Akial Byers recovered in the end zone to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead. Elliott, who entered the game without a sack, racked up three against the Razorbacks.

“I did not think we played well up front,” Arkansas coach Chad Morris said. “We’ve got guys that have been playing those positions all year long. … Our inability to sustain some blocks was disappointing and put us behind the chains.”

REVOLVING QBS

Morris made a change at quarterback in the second quarter, inserting freshman Connor Noland in place of Storey, who is a junior. Storey completed 4 of 7 passes for 24 yards, and Noland was 5 of 17 for 98 yards.

“Connor did some good things,” Morris said. “Thought he got the ball out of his hand, hit some throws that were good to see. Obviously missed a few, but I thought the more he played, he got more comfortable.”

Freshman John Stephen Jones, the grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, took over for the final two series of the game.

ARKANSAS CONNECTION

Missouri’s most noteworthy player from the state of Arkansas, running back Damarea Crockett, did not play against the Razorbacks for the third straight year. He was suspended in 2016 and was injured for the last two meetings. But three other players from the home of the Razorbacks — Fayetteville — made contributions for the Tigers.

The biggest was Byers, a sophomore defensive end who scored his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery.

“It just came to me,” Byers said. “Good things happen when you run to the ball.”

The fact it came against his hometown team wasn’t lost on him.

“That made it way more special,” Byers said.

Barrett Banister, a freshman walk-on from Fayetteville who has carved out a role as a possession receiver, caught two passes for 12 yards. Backup quarterback Taylor Powell, who replaced Lock in the fourth quarter, completed 1 of 2 passes for 6 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arkansas: It was a rough debut season for Morris. The Razorbacks posted their fewest wins since going 2-8 in 1952.

“I knew that this was the toughest league in college football, and it definitely did not disappoint,” said Morris, who spent the previous three years as the SMU head coach. “It did exactly what I thought was going to happen. You’ve got to have depth, and you better have some speed.”

Missouri: In an effort to boost sagging attendance, Odom publicly offered to buy tickets to Friday’s game for any fans who wanted to attend. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Missouri took orders for 5,537 tickets, with an estimated cost of $138,425. But heavy rain and temperatures in the 40s no doubt kept fans away as attendance was announced at 52,482 but appeared far smaller than that.

“Weather-wise, it wasn’t perfect, but I am thankful for the folks that were in the stands,” Odom said. “For those that showed up, hats off to you.”

UP NEXT

Arkansas: Morris will have plenty of time to put the finishing touches on a promising recruiting class that already has 24 verbal commitments and is ranked No. 12 nationally by Rivals.com.

Missouri: The Tigers will play in their second straight bowl game and their 11th in the last 14 years.

— Associated Press —

ESTERO, Fla. — Deja Church scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half and Michigan coasted to a 70-54 upset over No. 21 Missouri in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday night.

The Wolverines (4-0) dominated the first half, scoring the first nine points and breaking away to a 37-14 lead at the break. The Tigers (3-2) had a run of 11 missed shots stretching from the second into the third quarter and made just five of their first 31 shots (16.1 percent).

Nicole Munger added 11 points and Hallie Thome scored 10 for the Wolverines, who had their largest lead at 53-25 with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

Missouri had 9-2 runs to open and close the fourth quarter but only got as close as the final score. Sophie Cunningham led the Tigers with nine points.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Athletics has extended the contract of Head Women’s Basketball Coach Robin Pingeton four years, ensuring she will be on the Mizzou sideline through the 2024-25 season. In her ninth season, Pingeton has built Mizzou into a consistent Top-25 team program, leading the Tigers to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1984-86.

“It has been exciting to watch Robin and her staff restore Mizzou’s proud women’s basketball tradition while making a positive impact in the lives of our student-athletes, and a difference within the Columbia community,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “She is a leader of impeccable integrity, who has re-built this program from the ground up, and I believe this new contract demonstrates Mizzou’s commitment to Robin and rewards her for the success she has enjoyed over the last eight seasons. Robin is a tremendous fit at Mizzou, and I look forward to watching her program continue to graduate its student-athletes at a high level while competing for championships.”

Pingeton owns a record of 150-109 (.579) at Mizzou, and stands 485-266 (.646) overall after leading her alma mater, St. Ambrose, to a 192-76 mark over eight seasons from 1992-2000 and Illinois State to a 144-81 record in eight seasons from 2003-2010. Among active coaches, Pingeton’s 485 career victories rank second among SEC head coaches and 37th overall among Division I head coaches. Her .579 winning percentage at Mizzou ranks second all-time, trailing only Mizzou Hall of Famer Joann Rutherford’s mark of .617 (422-262).

“I am extremely grateful, and appreciative to the University of Missouri for their faith and commitment to myself and my staff,” said Pingeton. “It is an honor to be associated with a great university and community. My family and I are so thankful to have the opportunity to work with great leaders, administrators and student-athletes. I am looking forward to continuing to grow this program and pursuing excellence both on and off the court.”

In her time at Mizzou, Pingeton has coached two All-Americans, 12 all-conference players and two conference freshmen of the year. She was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year following the 2016-17 season and was a top-10 finalist for both the Naismith National Coach of the Year award and the WBCA National Coach of the Year award after an outstanding 2017-18 campaign.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) has earned back-to-back AP All-America Honorable Mention honors under Pingeton’s tutelage. Cunningham concluded her junior campaign by averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and was the nation’s only player 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).

Pingeton’s Tigers have achieved much success in the classroom as well, as Mizzou has recorded program-high team GPA’s in back-to-back semesters with marks of 3.34 in the 2017 fall semester and 3.4 in the 2018 spring semester. Pingeton has mentored 57 student-athletes to conference academic recognition, including 34 who have been named to the Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll. In 2014, Lianna Doty was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

In 2017-18, Pingeton led Mizzou to its third straight NCAA Tournament and a 24-8 record, the Tigers’ most wins since the 1983-84 campaign. The 24 victories marked Mizzou’s third consecutive season with at least 22 wins, a feat which had not been accomplished in Columbia since 1982-85. In SEC play, Mizzou won 11 games for the second straight season and finished tied-for-fourth in the SEC. Mizzou’s 22 wins in conference play in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons are the most in a two year span since Mizzou won 24 over the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. Mizzou reached as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press Top-25 during the 2017-18 season, its highest ranking since 1984, and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, its highest ranking in program history. A program-record 11,092 fans were in attendance at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 18, 2018, as the Tigers downed No. 11 Tennessee, 77-73.

Pingeton was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after being selected by both the Associated Press and the league’s coaches for the honor. She steered Mizzou to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a third-place finish in the SEC. It marked the Tigers’ highest finish in league play since joining the SEC and the highest since 1990. Mizzou capped off the special 2016-17 season with a trip to the Big Dance, advancing to the second round with a win over South Florida in the tournament opener.

In 2015-16, Pingeton’s squad capped the season with the program’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance. Mizzou entered the Big Dance as a No. 10 seed and knocked off seventh-seeded BYU, 78-69, in the opening round to seal its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2001.

Pingeton Year-by-Year at Mizzou
2010-11 13-18 (.419)
2011-12 13-18 (.419)
2012-13 17-15 (.531) WNIT 1st Round
2013-14 17-14 (.548) WNIT 1st Round
2014-15 19-14 (.576) WNIT 3rd Round
2015-16 22-10 (.688) NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
2016-17 22-11 (.667) NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
2017-18 24-8 (.750) NCAA Tournament 1st Round
2018-19 3-1 (.750)

9 Seasons 150-109 (.579)

— Mizzou Athletics —