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Missouri basketball runs by ranked Auburn for big victory

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 28: Javon Pickett #4 and Dru Smith #12 of the Missouri Tigers celebrate after a basket during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mizzou Arena on January 28, 2020 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 28: Javon Pickett #4 and Dru Smith #12 of the Missouri Tigers celebrate after a basket during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mizzou Arena on January 28, 2020 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Duo of guards lifts Missouri basketball to biggest win of the season.

The 2019-20 Missouri basketball season will have plenty of highlights if nothing else. One of those gems will be an upset win over the No. 11 Auburn Tigers.

Missouri’s Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson each scored 28 points to lead the Mizzou Tigers over Auburn 85-73 on Saturday at Mizzou Arena. With the win, Missouri scored a signature victory for the year after coming close against a number of ranked teams earlier this season.

Mizzou (12-13, 4-8 SEC) and Auburn (22-3, 9-3) went back and forth over the first 13 minutes of the game before Pinson’s layup put Mizzou on top by one point at the 6:48 mark. That put the score at 23-22, and from there on, Mizzou led.

Missouri basketball cruised to a halftime 45-32 lead, finished off by a Pinson 3-pointer at the buzzer. Auburn cut the deficit to five points and that was the closest it got.

Pinson was 10 of 12 with five assists. Smith was 7 of 14, and knocked down 12 of his 13 free-throw attempts. Both guards knocked down two 3-pointers. Freshman Kobe Brown led Missouri inside, collecting nine rebounds to go with 10 points.

Where Missouri separated itself most at was the 3-point line.

Auburn, which was on a seven-game win streak, knocked down just one triple for the evening, and finished 1-for-17. Mizzou shot better than 50 percent, sinking 7 of 13 tries from outside. Auburn shot a massive 46 free throws, which would have helped take the road game had it made more of those attempts. But the team fighting for the SEC conference title only made 30 of its attempts. Missouri was 22 of 29 from the charity stripe.

The win puts the Missouri Tigers in a tie with Arkansas and Ole Miss for a spot outside of the last four teams. If the Tigers can avoid that far down the standings, they can get a bye in the SEC Tournament. The win also gives Mizzou its first victory over a ranked team this season, where Missouri had Xavier and LSU on the ropes before those teams eventually escaped.

Mizzou also has wins against Illinois, Florida and Arkansas. For a team below .500, Mizzou looks like it is a tough out down the stretch.

Next up for Mizzou is a home game against Ole Miss. That game is Tuesday night, and a win would give Missouri its first win streak in conference this season.

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