Mizzou WBB (6-3) hit the beach for the Emerald Coast Classic, finishing the tournament in third place after a 1-1 finish. The Tigers have been hard at work all month, playing nine games during the month of November. That marathon scheduling continues this week, with three games at seven days.
Luckily for Robin Pingeton's squad, they won't have to leave the comforts of Columbia. The road ahead includes a pair of solid mid-majors and the first addition of the SEC-ACC Challenge.
No more blabbering, let's begin.
In case the subtitle didn't give it away, the first opponent is the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (yes, in Jacksonville, Alabama). After an opening road loss to Arizona State, the Gamecocks bounced back with four consecutive wins against mid-major opponents. Unfortunately for these C-USA folks, the near 70-point win over Sewanee no longer counts as an SEC win.
So far Jacksonville State hangs their head on their defense, holding opponents under 60 points in their last four games. The one snafu came against the previously mentioned Arizona State, who hit 74.
There's no true star on this Gamecocks roster, with eight players scoring between 6-12 so far on the year. But one player to watch is leading scorer Mya Barnes. The senior averages 11.2 points and is currently shooting 55.6% from three. Barnes is a player that can turn Jacksonville State from a challenge to a serious upset potential.
For the first SEC-ACC Challenge, Mizzou WBB gets a chance to look in the mirror. When moving to the ACC, SMU clearly did not factor in how it affected their WBB team. Last season they finished 14-16, finishing near the bottom of the American and making it nowhere near the postseason.
Currently the Mustangs sit above .500 at 5-3, but are currently 0-2 against power opponents thanks to losses against Arizona State (mentioned again!) and Minnesota during the Briann January Classic in Tempe, Arizona. The biggest weakness of SMU is its ability to make triples, sitting at 25.9% on the year. this sort of inefficiency from beyond-the-arc can make it difficult to go on extended runs in a hurry.
Your obvious offensive leader is Texas native Nya Robertson. The junior has been lights out, cracking double digits in every game so far and four games over 25. She's not afraid to force the issue, frequently in the teens in FGA. It's very clear that Robertson is going to get hers, so Coach P's goal should be to limit the others from contributing their part.
Closing the week of WBB fun in Mizzou Arena is the visitors of Northern Illinois (3-3). The Huskies are the queens of the close game, as five of their six games have been decided by 10 points or less. The only outlier was a 91-73 loss to Iowa, their only Power 4 foe to date.
Northern Illinois is a team nefarious for its turnovers, committing 18.8 per game with an assist/turnover ratio at 0.8. The team's biggest strength is the long ball, shooting 41.2% from the 3-point line as a team.
As a team they are anchored by Chelby Koker. After playing in the open, Koker missed the next three games before returning to the lineup against Milwaukee. In her two games back the graduate guard has been limited, seeing around 20 minutes of action opposed to the 34 she saw in the opener. But this limited action does not make her less dangerous; Koker finished with 16 points in the team's most recent game in a nailbiting loss to UIC.
With one more week to recover, it's not impossible that Koker will be back to play 30-plus minutes against Mizzou. Either way, she should be at the top of the scouting report for Pingeton.
The Tigers open this stretch against Jacksonville State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Mizzou Arena on SECN+.