by Mizzou Matt
WACO, TX- The University of Missouri sauntered in to Waco, Texas ranked 5th in the country. 3rd ranked Baylor, who suffered their first loss of the season on the road at Kansas, looked for revenge. Two teams with two losses between them. Someone had to go.
Ricardo Ratliffe went off for the Tigers, scoring a career-high 27 points. Phil Pressey, who had a very nice assist to Ratliffe to go into the half, finished the game with 18 points, 7 assists and 6 steals. Ratliffe also grabbed eight boards while blocking two. Marcus Denmon (15) and Kim English (10) were the other two Tigers in double digit scoring. The older Pressey Brother, Matt, finished with 9, Michael Dixon had 6, and Steve Moore chipped in a well-earned 4 of his own.
The Tigers led by ten with about two minutes to play, but Baylor quickly dropped that to only a couple. A missed Denmon free throw made Tiger fans' hearts skip a beat, and as the second one went in to give the Tigers a 4-pt lead, an audible exhale could be heard from all around Mizzou Nation. They could allow a three, and still win, and that's exactly what happened as Baylor scored a 3-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded to make it a one point loss. Tigers with the win, 89-88.
"That's what makes our league so great. There's no easy game," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Hopefully we'll get back to rebounding a little better, trying to get to the free-throw line like we were for most of the year, and then go from there."
Drew, who was given a technical foul in the second half, has lost two straight games after leading Baylor to their best start in program history (17-0). "I deserved it," Drew said. "I didn't cuss at him though."
Mizzou coach Frank Haith had nothing but praise for his squad. "Obviously this was a great win for us," coach Haith said. "Our guys showed tremendous poise down the stretch. Throughout the game, we played with great toughness."
The win is the fourth straight for Mizzou after losing on the road to Kansas State. Next for the Tigers is a road game in Stillwater, OK against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The game is Jan. 25th, with the tip off slated for 6:30p/CST, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Today's game was the first-ever sellout crowd in program history for Baylor basketball.
Missouri also defeated Texas A&M on Monday, Jan. 16th, by the score of 70-51.
Women search for first conference win
COLUMBIA, MO- The Missouri women's basketball program continued their search for their first conference victory tonight against Oklahoma State, but that search has been prolonged by another game as they drop a heartbreaking 62-58 game in Mizzou Arena.The Lady Tigers fall to 10-7, 0-6 on the year.
A season-high 3,015 showed up for the game, as Christine Flores dropped a game-high 20 points. Morgan Eye also contributed with 11 points of her own. Next on the schedule for the Lady Tigers is Texas, in Austin, on the 25th. Tip is 7p/CST.
OLYMPIC UPDATE
COLUMBIA, MO- The wrestling team was not in action this week, but the gymnastics squad hosted the 16th ranked Denver Pioneers in their annual Pink Out on Friday the 20th. Mizzou won all four event titles, with Racheal Updike claiming top honors on vault, beam and floor. Allie Heizelman won on bars as the Pioneers' Melody Pulgarin Linero took home the all-around title. Mizzou upset Denver 194.725-194.625 and move to 3-0 on the year.
Softball will enter the 2012 campaign ranked #1 in the Big 12's preseason poll. Season tickets are on sale now.
