Sports Blog — February 4, 2010
Missouri women's basketball stumbling on the road in conference play
The Missouri women’s basketball team took on 10th-ranked Texas A&M on Wednesday in its eighth conference matchup of the season. The Aggies edged out the Tigers, 65-55, putting Missouri at 11-10 overall and 1-7 in conference.
Texas A&M beat Missouri at their own game, winning the turnover battle that the Tigers always seem to win. The Missouri women turned the ball over 19 times to the Aggie’s 14, also leading to an advantage in points off turnovers for Texas A&M.
Senior forward Jessra Johnson led the team with 15 points, but the Tigers’ 1-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc may have sealed their fate. Senior forward Amanda Hanneman continued her shooting slump, missing all four of her 3-point attempts.
The road conference loss is nothing new for Missouri women’s basketball. Since Big 12 play began this year, they have yet to get a win in an away game and are 0-4 in such contests this season. In fact, the Tigers have just one road win in conference in the past three seasons.
This history of foregone road trips includes multiple seasons in which Missouri failed to win even one conference road game, with this year shaping up to possibly be just the same.
The cold streak is not just a recent trend for the Tigers. Since Big 12 play began 14 years ago, the Missouri women have struggled on the road against conference teams, with a dismal 26-81 record in those games since it all began in 1996.
The Tigers will look to turn things around on Sunday, Feb. 7, as they take on nationally-ranked Iowa State at Mizzou Arena.
Wrestling matchup previews
The No. 18 Missouri wrestling team stayed hot last weekend with a 22-16 victory over Nebraska to start off Big 12 competition with a win. Missouri has now won five-straight duals heading into a huge weekend of dual play against No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 4 Oklahoma State. These duals are the last home matches of the season for the Tigers.
On Saturday, Missouri will wrestle Oklahoma as part of the 2010 Beauty and the Beast Event. Oklahoma brings in two wrestlers ranked in the top ten for their weight class: junior No. 3 Zach Bailey at 141 pounds and senior No. 6 Eric Lapotsky at 197 pounds. The Missouri wrestlers at both of these weight classes are ranked, but neither is ranked in the top ten.
At 141 pounds, junior No. 19 Todd Schavrien will have the difficult task of facing Bailey. Schavrien is coming off of a 3-1 victory last against Nebraska
At 197 pounds, redshirt freshman No. 15 Brent Haynes will face Lapotsky. Haynes has already pulled off one big upset this season, defeating senior Patrick Bond of Illinois in November.
On Sunday, the Tigers will face an even tougher test against Oklahoma State, who brings in four wrestlers ranked in the top ten for their weight class. Seniors No. 3 Max Askren and No. 6 Nick Marable will each be tested by top ten opponents on Sunday, Askren at 184 pounds and Marable at 165 pounds.
The biggest match of the weekend comes in the heavyweight bout on Sunday, where defending national champion No. 8 Mark Ellis will face senior No. 1 Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Ellis bested freshman No. 19 Tucker Lane 7-2 last weekend.
Missouri coach Brian Smith plans to use the same lineup that he used against Nebraska in both duals this weekend. This lineup includes freshman Eric Wilson at 125 pounds, who is just 2-3 since becoming the third different Tiger to start at that position this season. The only other starter who was not in the opening day lineup for Missouri is sophomore Scott O’Donnell at 149 pounds.