Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we’re talking about Ken Pomeroy.
If you’re a basketball person, you probably know about KenPom, perhaps the country’s leading college basketball analytics site. We’re big fans around here, so it’s always a treat when the new rankings come out ahead of the season. That day was Sunday, and Mizzou is sitting pretty in the Top 30.
While the Tigers are losing a lot of production, they’re returning two of the conference’s best players in Anthony Robinson II and Mark Mitchell, plus quite a few young
depth pieces who could take a developmental leap in 2025-2026. And, as Watkins pointed out in the forums over at Rock M+, Mizzou’s calamitous 2023-2024 season might still be weighing on the model’s overall assessment of the Tigers.
There’s still plenty left to play for on the gridiron. But won’t it be nice to have hoops back too?
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
Schools like Missouri have seen the benefit of the rules change. And Eli Drinkwitz has been at the forefront in embracing the new rules. The gulf between the top of the sport and the rest of the teams in their conferences has shrunk, but Alabama still has inherent advantages over a school like Missouri. That’s why it’s important to not go out there and get smoked every time you play one of those teams.
The next step? Landing the KO punch in one of these heavyweight bouts.
Beau Pribula summed up the game best in the postgame press conference: “There were plenty of mistakes that could have been the difference.”
At the very least, Mizzou seems to be aware of the fact that they didn’t get outplayed. They were simply out-executed. That can be fixed.
… a win at Auburn would probably right much of the “wrong” that Mizzou did to its resume this past weekend, and they’ll no doubt be motivated to show the committee that they should still be in the conversation.
Sure would be nice to get one over on one of the Iron Bowl teams, wouldn’t it?
[Auburn] seemed to grab momentum out of thin air in the middle of the fourth set, going on a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead. Auburn held the reigns for a good minute before the score read 21-17 in its favor. Sullivan called a timeout and her Tigers came out to score six straight. Auburn things up at 23-23 on the ensuing two points, but Mizzou dialed in and got kills from deMarrais and Ariail to seal the match.
Sure would be nice for Mizzou to grab control in the fourth “set” next weekend too.
[Natayla] Hodge was initially offered by Robin Pingeton, but was immediately reoffered by Harper under the change. The four-star point guard is from Knoxville, TN, a perfect fit for Harper geographically. Earlier this summer Hodge was given a 91 overall grade from ESPN scouts; that grade has since been upgraded to a 92.
Hodge is the third member of Kellie Harper’s first full class as Mizzou’s head coach.
- Over at Rock M+, we’ve got Mizzou Hoops player previews on Jacob Crews and Sebastian Mack in the spotlight, the new KenPom ratings, and some chatting about the PFF player grades.
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