The Morning Commute for Wednesday, January 15th
Welcome to the Morning Commute
Tuesday felt like a watershed day for Tiger Athletics. The hoops team, just one season after going 0-fer in SEC play, pulled off a mammoth 83-82 upset win at 5th-ranked Florida to improve to 14-3 and 3-1 in the conference. Just prior to the start of the game, the Tiger Football team set the tone for the day with a huge recruiting win in the transfer portal.
So today we’re talking about coffee – as in “coffee is for closers.”
That old axiom from the all-time classic Glengarry Glen Ross has a nice ring to it, and maybe a conglomerate like Starbucks should think about sponsoring Coach Eliah Drinkwitz and his staff, because they are closing like madmen in the transfer portal.
If you missed it, Tuesday evening news broke that Damon Wilson II, a sophomore edge rusher from Georgia, committed to play for Drink and the Tigers. He’ll have two years of eligibility at Mizzou, and is a former five-star recruit out of high school who was one of the top remaining available players in the portal.
The portal is a long way from closing for the year, but to this point, the Tigers have assembled one of the top transfer classes in the country, with Wilson choosing MU over Ohio State, of all teams. It never gets old beating Ohio State on the field or off the field, does it?
Here’s a link to a Georgia perspective of what Wilson brings to the table. Most Georgia types felt he was in line to be a starter for the Bulldogs in 2025!
DawgNation report on Wilson transferring to Mizzou.
Better not wait too long to re-up on those football season tickets for 2025!
If you’ve followed the Morning Commute with my Wednesday efforts all season, you know I’m fond of the video group SEC Shorts. While the SEC maybe didn’t have the most prolific season in 2024, the comedy troop sure knocked it out of the park throughout the year. Here’s their latest sendup of the SEC post-season results.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
- It was nerve-wracking to the final gun, but Quentin Corpuel had the recap on Mizzou’s massive 83-82 win at #5 Florida. Live thread was here. If you want to review the pre-game analysis, Quentin had the info here…
The magnitude of this triumph cannot be understated. Mizzou now has a signature win to its name, one that will likely pay massive dividends come Selection Sunday. The Tigers will return home for their next game against Arkansas on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CST.
Wow, just wow. Mizzou got out to a 19-point first half lead, and held a 50-34 edge at halftime. The Gators never got the lead in the second half, but it got quite exciting as the Tigers missed free throw after free throw down the stretch, but Caleb Grill hit a pair of game-clinching freebies with five seconds left to make it 81-79 before Florida hit a meaningless three pointer at the buzzer. Grill was amazing, finishing with a team-high 22 points, including 6-of-10 from three-point range.
The Florida native was ranked as the top available transfer and the No. 5 overall transfer. He’s also tied with Cayden Green for the highest-rated transfer that Mizzou has ever landed. The Tigers currently sport the No. 3-ranked transfer class per On3, trailing only Texas Tech and Ole Miss.
How about that top three – Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Mizzou? That’s the upside of what NIL can do for increasing parity around the sport!
- In yesterday’s Morning Commute, Sammy discussed how prolific the SEC has been so far in hoops season, along with highlighting Rock M articles on football, hoops and gymnastics…
SEC Basketball continues to get better and better. A total of nine teams in the league are ranked in the latest version of the AP Top 25 that was released on Monday.
When Mizzou joined the SEC prior to 2012, the league suffered from a poor outside perception when it came to men’s hoops. How times have changed!
- Over at Rock M+: Bracket Projection from Matt Watkins, where Mizzou is currently a 10 seed. Plus, some more NFL Mock Drafts for LB3 and Membou.
Rock M Radio: Dive Cuts Reviewed Mizzou’s SEC hoops start
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