Mizzou's incredible ride continues to get better

This incredible University of Missouri football season just keeps getting better and better.

And it might wind up with a national championship.

The Tigers' improbable campaign continued Saturday night with their 36-28 win over previously unbeaten and second-ranked Kansas.

MU's impressive triumph -- quarterback Chase Daniel directed the offense masterfully, as usual, and the defense was rock-solid most of the way -- lifted the Tigers to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll released Sunday.

More importantly, the 11-1 Tigers are also now on top of the all-important BCS standings.

That means MU controls its own destiny regarding the national title.

If the Tigers beat Oklahoma in Saturday's Big 12 championship game, they will then play for all the marbles.

So the Tigers are two wins away from the program's first-ever national championship.

Who would have ever thunk it?

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Former Hayti standout William Moore is certainly proving to be a big-time player for MU.

Moore, a junior safety, tied the school single-season record with his seventh interception against Kansas.

And it was a key pick, coming near the goal line as the Jayhawks appeared on the verge of getting an early touchdown.

I'd say that Moore has some definite NFL possibilities after he's done playing for the Tigers.

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The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team has so far been a model of inconsistency.

Tuesday's impressive win over Evansville was followed up by Friday's double-overtime loss to a mediocre -- at best -- Coppin State squad during the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

At least the Redhawks were able to leave the Chicago area with a win Saturday as they beat first-year Division I program Longwood.

The Redhawks (3-3) have two more nonleague games this week to try and iron out some of their problems before Ohio Valley Conference play begins next week.

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The Southeast women's basketball team's hopes of entering its showdown against 13th-ranked Baylor undefeated ended with a thud Friday.

A solid Texas State squad hammered the Redhawks 80-47 in the New Mexico State Thanksgiving Classic.

Things didn't get any better the following day as Southeast lost to Northern Colorado 60-49.

And if the Redhawks (4-2) thought the trip to New Mexico was rough, things are about to get a lot tougher for the two-time defending OVC champions.

Southeast will be the underdog in its next two games, starting Thursday night when 2004-05 national champion Baylor visits the Show Me Center.

After that, the Redhawks hit the road for a Sunday contest at No. 22 Purdue, which like Baylor is a perennial NCAA tournament participant.

It's virtually unheard of for a nationally prominent program like Baylor to play a road game against a program from a lower-level conference.

That's why it will be embarrassing if a really good crowd isn't on hand Thursday night to see if the Redhawks can continue their impressive home-court resume.

The Redhawks are riding a 17-game winning streak at the Show Me Center, where they are 64-8 over the last five-plus years.

To continue that trend will require a major upset, and a major bounce-back after Southeast was pounded in New Mexico.

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It was business as usual for OVC football teams during Saturday's opening round of the Division I-AA playoffs.

League champion Eastern Kentucky and runner-up Eastern Illinois were both routed on the road, Eastern Kentucky losing 31-14 at Richmond and Eastern Illinois falling 30-11 at Southern Illinois.

OVC squads have lost 10 straight playoff games, and a current conference member has not claimed a postseason victory since Murray State in 1996.

The last playoff win by an OVC squad came in 2000, when former conference member Western Kentucky prevailed.

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Tennessee-Martin junior guard Lester Hudson recently made NCAA Division I men's basketball history.

During the Skyhawks' 116-74 win over Central Baptist College on Nov. 13, Hudson recorded the first quadruple-double on the Division I men's level.

Hudson, a transfer from Southwest Tennessee Community College, had 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals.

For the season, Hudson leads the OVC in scoring with a 27.2 average.

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Saxony Lutheran product Lauren Lueders scored a career-high 14 points Sunday to help No. 25 Vanderbilt beat Iowa State 62-53 in the championship game of its own tournament.

Lueders, a sophomore guard, is averaging eight points per game for the Commodores (5-1). She has started three times.

Last year as a freshman, Lueders averaged 3.2 points per game while making 12 starts.

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Former Jackson High School football star Mario Whitney recently earned second-team all-conference honors on the NAIA level.

Whitney is a junior tailback at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, which competes in the Midwest League.

Whitney rushed for 794 yards (5.8 per carry) and scored 11 touchdowns in just eight games.

As a Jackson senior in 2001, Whitney was rated among the nation's top recruits. He began his career at Missouri, where he saw limited action during an injury-plagued freshman season before leaving the program.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.