Hoopin’ and Hollerin: Tigers hit the road again

Mizzou WBB searches for first SEC win in pair of games away from home

For the first time since November 15, the Mizzou women’s basketball team (11-5, 0-1 SEC) will play a true road game. The task only gets harder as they travel for two straight, including one against a top 25 foe.

The Tigers are looking for their first SEC win after running into the juggernaut that is South Carolina women’s basketball. Here’s what we learned from that first matchup before diving into Mizzou’s two opponents coming up this week.

Master the Midrange

As we march further and further into the 21st century (happy 2025, everyone), the sport of basketball continues to grow and evolve. At the pro level, this has resulted in a focus on extreme efficiency, meaning the vast majority of shots are taken either from three or from inside the paint.

While this sort of playstyle has been met with plenty of criticism, scoring in the NBA and the WNBA continues to rise. This trend has begun to trickle down to the college level on both the men’s and the women’s sides. Robin Pingeton was ahead of the curve, as her teams have been known for their three-point proficiency. This year has been no different, as the Tigers rank No. 9 in the nation with a three-point percentage of 38.7%.

But that proficiency is never guaranteed. Mizzou struggled beyond the arc against South Carolina, finishing 5-16. But they couldn’t find any success inside either, finishing with 24 points in the paint and 13-41 on two-pointers. South Carolina’s length was a major disruption, blocking six of Missouri’s attempts. This may be a problem moving forward, as Mizzou is one of the smaller teams in the conference.

So if the Tigers struggle to get to the paint and struggle to make their threes, they’ll need to find another option. By moving to the midrange, it decreases the chances of those shots getting blocked and is an overall higher-percentage shot than pulling up from three, especially when the team is struggling behind the line.

Against tougher opponents, the Tigers need to get creative. One way to do that is master the midrange.

Keep Rollin

Alabama (14-1, 1-0 SEC) has lived up to expectations this season, suffering only one loss on the road against Cal. The Tide pushed past Florida in the SEC opener 79-69 at home. Like in Mizzou’s game, the team that controlled the paint controlled the win. Alabama led in points in the paint 38-26 including 12-4 in the first quarter, starting the game with a bang.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff transfer Zaay Green put on a clinic, leading the team with 27 points along with six assists. Green has led the team by averaging 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists.

As a whole the Crimson Tide have a diverse scoring market with four different double-digit scorers. One additional piece to the roster is Sarah Ashlee Barker, a 2024 First Team All-SEC member and a preseason 2025 First Team All-SEC member as well. Barker has continued to perform this season with 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.

If Mizzou hopes to pull off the major upset, they need to bottle the duo of Green and Barker.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

The second game of the road trip is a trip to the Peach State against Georgia (8-7, 0-1 SEC). The Bulldogs have faced one of the most difficult schedules in the non-conference with five separate Power Five opponents. But Georgia did themselves no favors, losing three games by upset against Georgia State, Hampton and my hometown team, Colorado State.

The Bulldogs opened SEC on the losing end, falling on the road at the hands of Vandy 108-82. This marked the first time that Georgia has given up 100 points this season. It came down to the Bulldogs’ inability to defend their opponents without fouling, committing 22 fouls which resulted in 31 free throws.

But it wasn’t all negative as four separate players hit double-digits for the Dogs in the loss. Asia Avinger stood out with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. She leads the team on the season with 68 assists, frustrating opponents as a dynamic weapon. Leading the team in scoring this year is freshman Mia Woolfolk. She made a strong impression with 20 points in her SEC debut.

While it’s never easy to gather wins on the road in the SEC, Mizzou will have one of its best chances in this matchup.

Player to Watch: De’Myla Brown

As the season has gone along, the playing time for De’Myla Brown continues to rise. She has played double-digit minutes in her last five games, including 12 in the SEC opener against South Carolina.

Brown is averaging 5.1 points per game, with a major part of her game coming on three-pointers. This season she is currently shooting at 50% on about 1.5 threes per game. As SEC play continues, I expect to see her gain more and more playing time. If she is to earn those minutes, those triples need to keep falling.

Mizzou matches up against No. 19 Alabama at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5 in Tuscaloosa.