There will be no rest this holiday season for Missouri coach Brian Smith and company. The 10th-ranked Tigers downed #15 North Dakota State Tuesday before heading to Chattanooga, Tenn., to ring in the new year the Southern Scuffle.

What then lays ahead over the final two months of the season is a stacked in-conference sprint before taking the six-hour trip southwest to Tulsa for the conference tournament, where the Tigers will look to defend their 2022 conference title.

The uber-competitive schedule is the fruit of Smith’s labor in returning to the Big 12. Always a proponent of stacking the regular season schedule with as much high-quality competition as possible, Smith wants his team to be as battle tested as possible for when the calendar flips to March.

“You’re learning how to battle through tight matches,” Smith said. “You have to learn how to do what’s best for you – your best techniques. I don’t like to lose, but I also know that we’re winning matches. We’re right there and we’ll be a really good team at the end [of the season].”

Thus far, Mizzou has been on the losing end of two tight duals against teams that will inevitably be in contention for a team trophy at the national tournament in Arizona State and Virginia Tech.

Against the #10 Hokies, the short-handed Tigers fought through the final match but two losses by major decision were the difference in the dual. Mizzou was without #17 Noah Surtin at 125 pounds and #13 Jarrett Jacques at 157 pounds, both of whom Smith expects to be available by the time the calendar flips.

Ringing In The New Year

The Tigers will send split squads to both the Midlands and the Southern Scuffle. All 17 wrestlers at the Scuffle will wrestle attached as Mizzou looks to defend its tournament title.

Mizzou will also send 10 wrestlers to the Midlands. That group includes a handful of attached wrestlers, as well as unattached wrestlers who are utilizing this season as a redshirt year.

Notable among the Scuffle group will be 184-pounders Colton Hawks and Sean Harman, who have split time in the starting lineup thus far this season.

The unattached wrestlers at the Midlands include 2022 national qualifier Josh Edmond and Trey Crawford, who both spent time in the starting lineup last season.

Two No. 1’s In Town

For the first time since the 2014-15 season, Mizzou has the chance to bring multiple #1 seeds into the national tournament.

Sophomores Keegan O’Toole and Rocky Elam are both atop the 165-pound and 197-pound rankings, respectfully.

O’Toole entered the season as the returning national champion and has yet to relinquish the top spot in the rankings. He has ranked wins over #4 Dean Hamiti Jr., #5 Peyton Hall, #14 Danny Braunagel and #20 Tony Negron, as well as honorable mentions Connor Brady and Evan Barczak.

Elam began the season at #4, but with external movement at the top of the rankings and a show-stopping win over Jacob Warner at the NWCA All-Star Classic, Elam took over as the top dog in the weight class.

While it looks good on paper, Smith stressed that the top of the rankings are more arbitrary when March rolls around. After all, O’Toole was the #2 seed at the NCAA Championships last season.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, it’s where you finish,” Smith said. “Some people get caught up on the #1 ranking and all that, but our guys seem to handle it fine and just go about their business.”