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LEAD STORY: Missouri Erases 19-Point Deficit, Survives Howard in Overtime
Missouri's women's basketball season is one game old, and the Tigers have already authored a comeback for the ages. Down 76-59 with 6:41 remaining in the fourth quarter of Monday's opener at Mizzou Arena — a position ESPN's win probability meter scored as a 0.3% chance — Missouri ripped off an 18-2 run and outlasted Howard 91-88 in overtime in front of 2,910 fans.
Freshman Natalya Hodge tied the game at 82-82 on a putback with 36 seconds left, the first level score since the first quarter, and Nevaeh Caffey took over from there. Caffey scored seven of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, then delivered a free throw and two layups in overtime to account for five of Missouri's nine points in the extra period. Tanyuel Welch went 4-of-5 at the line in overtime and iced it with two free throws at the buzzer after Howard's Jada Kendrick had cut it to 89-88 with a second to play.
McKenzie Mathurin led all scorers with 29 points, while freshman Khloe Ford posted a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double — eight boards on the offensive glass — in her first collegiate game. Missouri shot just 37.2% from the field but won the game at the stripe (27-of-42 to Howard's 15-of-24) and on the break (23-9). A five-player small lineup of Caffey, Hodge, Ford, Welch and Mathurin played the final 12:20 without a substitution and outscored Howard 34-14. The Tigers, now 1-0, visit Little Rock on Friday.
QUICK HITS
- Georgia sweeps SEC defensive honors. Per Dawg Sports, Chris Cole was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Gabe Harris SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after the Bulldogs' defense stymied a Florida offense that entered ranked fourth in the SEC. On the injury front, Georgia's head coach said Dwight Phillips is "probably more tired than hurt" and that Ellis Robinson "looks good" and is hopefully good to go.
- First CFP rankings drop tonight. The initial College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Georgia sits No. 2 in the AP poll behind No. 1 Miami, and the committee's handling of two-loss Ohio State, one-loss Wake Forest, undefeated Utah and UCLA, and surging Kentucky will frame the stretch run.
- No. 9 LSU gymnastics-score blowout — on the hardwood. The ninth-ranked LSU women opened their regular season with a staggering 129-35 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
- Vanderbilt rolls in its opener. The Commodores' men's team dismantled Bellarmine 93-47 on opening night, with Tyler Tanner and Sebastian Williams-Adams among those meeting the media afterward.
- Georgia hoops doubleheader at the Steg. The Bulldog men beat NC Central 78-62 despite a 6-of-26 night from three, and the Georgia women bullied West Georgia 92-53 to open the 2026-27 season.
PORTAL WATCH
A quiet 12 hours on the transfer front — no new portal entries or commitments to report. With the football regular season entering its final stretch, expect that to change quickly once the calendar flips toward the winter window.
RECRUITING BUZZ
No new commitments came in overnight. The recruiting trail takes a back seat today to the sport's first official pecking order: tonight's initial CFP rankings always reverberate in living rooms, and contenders like Georgia will be selling their positioning to prospects all week.
GAMES TO WATCH
No SEC games are scheduled today, making tonight's 7:00 p.m. ET College Football Playoff rankings reveal on ESPN the day's main event. Looking ahead, the marquee matchup of the week is Saturday in Baton Rouge, where the LSU Tigers host the Alabama Crimson Tide in Death Valley. Both teams enter at 6-2, neither can afford a loss, and LSU comes in rested off a bye with home-field advantage — a genuine elimination-stakes afternoon for two playoff hopefuls. On the hardwood, Missouri's women look to carry Monday's comeback magic into their first road test Friday at Little Rock.
