Texas-sized task

OKLAHOMA CITY — At Monday’s practice at the Cox Convention Center, Bryan Mann wasn’t thinking about jump shots or hustling.

He was thinking about barbecued bologna.

Mann, the strength and conditioning coach for the Missouri women’s basketball team, is from Jay, Okla., and had a hankering for the regional delicacy.

“Grill it up, put some barbecue sauce on it, cut it up, big slices, big chunks, man it’s good,” Mann said. “You wouldn’t know it’s bologna.”

The entrée could be found, Mann said, on menus even at the nicest restaurants, but remembered having it in his youth.

“We used to make it as an appetizer until my grandpa’s cholesterol got too high,” Mann said.

While Mann was thinking about his dinner, the Tigers were able to get in a 40-minute practice Monday before they will play Texas at 6 p.m. today in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Missouri coach Cindy Stein said the energy level was good at the shortened practice, and said the team even had a good practice before they left Columbia that morning.

“We feel like we can beat anybody,” Stein said. “We can lose to anybody, we can beat anybody. This is a really tough conference, but we’re ready. I feel good about the team. They’ve had good attitudes.”

Missouri, which is seeded 10th in the tournament, played Texas on Jan. 10, but lost in overtime, 79-77. Senior center EeTisha Riddle had a career-high 31 points against the Longhorns. Texas is seeded No. 7.

"Everyone’s really excited, it’s something we have to win," senior Blair Hardiek said. "Intensity in practice has been really high. Everyone wants to get on the court, and people are hitting shots and everyone’s cheering for them."

“It’s about being confident in yourselves and trusting your teammates. That’s the key word we’ve been thriving on, is trust.”

What has plagued the Tigers (17-12, 5-11 Big 12) has been starting games, not finishing them. In three games this season, Missouri was down by nearly 20 points before coming back in the second half to keep the games close.

“We’re pumped, and we’re switching things up this game, so it will be interesting,” Hardiek said. “We’re practicing with a little different style and bringing something into the game that hasn’t been there before.”

Stein said the lineup for today’s game would change, but didn’t know exactly who would make the starting five.

“We just got to get a little more punch off the bench,” Stein said. “We haven’t started out great, might as well look at changing things up a little bit. People are playing hard. We’re not demoting anybody. We’re trying to get a little different chemistry and bring in possible starters off the bench.”

The Tigers have lost to every team in the Big 12, and have not won a game against the Big 12 South the entire season.

The team has spent the past few days watching plenty of Texas game film, and will do so again today before the game. Senior guard Tiffany Brooks said she is a little nervous, but she is also ready to get started.

“We played Texas really well at home,” Brooks said. “It was just the ball didn’t go our way. It’s going to be a pretty intense game.”

BROOKS MENDED: During Thursday’s loss to Kansas, Brooks went sliding for a loose ball and immediately ran to the bench, where she was treated for a cut above her right eye and a chipped front right tooth.

With a tiny bandage over the cut at practice Monday, Brooks said Betsy Hanneman, mother of freshman forward Amanda Hanneman, repaired her tooth Saturday after practice.