Missouri basketball blows out Chicago State to end 2019

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 12: Torrence Watson #0 of the Missouri Tigers looks to pass the ball around Paul Scruggs #1 of the Xavier Musketeers during the second half at Cintas Center on November 12, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 12: Torrence Watson #0 of the Missouri Tigers looks to pass the ball around Paul Scruggs #1 of the Xavier Musketeers during the second half at Cintas Center on November 12, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Missouri basketball ends the calendar year 8-4, but more importantly, the Tigers are heading to conference basketball now.

The non-conference schedule isn’t completely over, but the conference season is set to begin as Missouri basketball wrapped up the calendar year with a 91-33 romp over Chicago State on Monday at Mizzou Arena.

Mizzou picked up 24 points from sophomore Torrence Watson. He was 8 of 14 on fields goals, including 8 of 13 from the 3-point line. That’s great to see as Watson hasn’t been hot from the 3 as he was last year. Hopefully the reserve guard can keep that type of shooting up as Mizzou faces tougher competition.

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The Tigers now have four-consecutive wins as they move on to a game against Kentucky on Saturday. Missouri will play in-conference games throughout January until it takes a break toward the end of the month for a final non-conference matchup against West Virginia. That game is set for Saturday, Jan. 25 in Morgantown.

Before they look that far ahead, Mizzou has its SEC opener coming up against the top team in the conference. The Tigers play their SEC opponent on the road Saturday. That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff and will be televised on SEC Network.

On Monday, Mizzou broke out early and took a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes. The Tigers continued to rally and had a 45-14 lead by halftime. The bench cleared out in the second half as the Tigers dropped 46 to hit the 91-point mark. Dru and Mark Smith added double-digit point totals for Mizzou. Chicago State dropped to 4-11.

The Tigers were without center Jeremiah Tilmon, who missed the game with soreness in his right foot. Coach Cuonzo Martin expects Tilmon to return for Saturday’s game.