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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Gary Pinkel is providing few clues as to who's winning the competition to start at quarterback this fall.

Returning starter James Franklin began spring camp March 12th listed atop the depth chart, but Corbin Berkstresser and Maty Mauk have also taken snaps with the top offense ahead of Saturday's Black and Gold game.

Pinkel says he's in no rush to make a decision.

The Missouri Tigers roller coaster ride of a season is over. It came to a crashing halt Thursday night in Lexington, Kentucky in the opening of the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou fell to Colorado State 84-to-72 . The 9th seeded Tigers season has ended with a record of 23-and-11. It was the third straight year that Missouri has lost it’s opening game of the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, The Saint Louis University Billikens easily handled their first round matchup against New Mexico State Thursday afternoon, winning 64-to-44. They move on to play Oregon on March 23rd.

After winning the A-10 tournament 62-56 over VCU Sunday, the Saint Louis University Billikens are the #4 seed in the Midwest for the NCAA tournament. They'll take on #13 New Mexico State on Thursday.

The Missouri Tigers also got a ticket to the big dance. Mizzou is the ninth seed in the Midwest. They'll face the No. 8 seed Colorado State on Thursday.

If Mizzou and SLU make it through the first two rounds of the tournament, they would face each other in the Elite 8.

After an up and down season, the Fighting Illini made it into the tournament with a No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed Colorado in the Eastern Region on Friday.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Hundreds of University of Missouri students are signing a petition asking administrators to reconsider a plan to move the spring honors graduation ceremony from historic Francis Quadrangle to Mizzou Arena.

School officials say there's no longer enough room on the quad.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Laurence Bowers had 24 points and 11 rebounds in his final home game, contributing to a rough evening for old coach Mike Anderson's first appearance as a visitor and helping Missouri finish unbeaten at home with a 93-63 rout over Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Fellow senior Jabari Brown helped finish off the Razorbacks early with 13 of his 23 points in a dominant first half with the Tigers (22-8-11-6 SEC) leading 48-22. The third senior, Alex Oriakhi, had 10 points and eight rebounds and topped 1,000 career rebounds.

BJ Young had 27 points for Arkansas (18-12, 9-8), which shot just 31 percent in the first half while going 1 for 15 from 3-point range. The Razorbacks surrendered a season high in points.

Missouri finished 17-0 at home for its second unbeaten slate in five years. The Tigers shot 58 percent in the first half and 57 percent the rest of the way.

Mizzou will be back in session Wednesday.

University officials say all roads, sidewalks, and building entrances have been cleared. If anything changes in the forecast, the university will make an announcement prior to 6 a.m.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Laurence Bowers had 17 points plus 10 rebounds and Missouri erased a 13-point deficit in the second half to rally past No. 5 Florida 63-60 on Tuesday night.

Phil Pressey added 10 assists, seven points, six rebounds and three steals for Missouri (19-7, 8-5 SEC). The Tigers didn't have Bowers a month ago in a 31-point blowout loss at Florida.

Mike Rosario had 14 points for Florida (21-4, 11-2) but missed a 3-point try at the buzzer. The Gators had won 13 of 14 and led 49-36 with 10:51 left, then hurt themselves at the foul line.

Florida missed five straight free throws in the second half, three times on the front end of one-and-ones. The Gators made six of 12 foul shots overall, while Missouri was 12 of 15.

The Tigers improved to 15-0 at home this season. They are 30-1 the last two seasons under coach Frank Haith.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A new cancer center at a Columbia hospital will be named for former Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart and his wife, Virginia.

Boone Hospital Center officials announced Monday that construction of the Virginia and Norman Stewart Cancer Center is expected to begin this year.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the $7.2 million center will include 32 private patient rooms. It is expected to be ready for patients by March 2014.

The Stewarts have been active in raising awareness and money for cancer prevention.

Stewart, who battled colon cancer in the 1989-90, established the "Coaches vs. Cancer" program, which has grown to a national program that has raised about $87 million for cancer research and education.

Stewart was Missouri coach from 1967 to 1999, winning 634 games.

 

  

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The University of Missouri has ended a search for a leader for its College of Education after controversy over a finalist's background as a psychologist at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the school is appointing the head of its faculty search committee as an interim replacement rather than hire retired Army Col. Larry James, or a second finalist from the University of Minnesota.

James is dean of professional psychology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. His 22-year military career includes two stints overseeing interrogations at the U.S. military detention centers.

Faculty and student critics said James was involved in abuse of detainees. He denied the charges.

James had also coordinated mental health resources at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Mizzou Football fans who are still hungry for recruiting talk, can have their appetites sated over the next couple of weeks, as recruiting reception events are planned across the state.

The tour gets underway Tuesday in Kansas City. Then it heads to Columbia Wednesday morning and St. Louis Wednesday evening, before wrapping up in Springfield on Thursday.

The annual Mizzou Tiger Club of St. Louis recruiting event will be held at the Edward Jones Building near I-270 and Manchester. A private dinner is set for 5:00 p.m., with a public social hour beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The festivities will move to the auditorium at 7:00 p.m. for the review of video by Tiger coaches.

For reservations on the private dinner, contact Curt Sawyer at curt@sawcap.com or call 636-530-3696.

The public portion of the evening is $5 at the door. Those 19 and under are free.

For more information, visit the club website at www.mizzoutigerclubstl.com.