Mizzou Basketball: Studs and Duds vs Ole Miss

The Missouri Tigers followed their upset win over Auburn with another home win against Ole Miss. The Tigers fought a late comeback attempt to beat the Rebels 71-68.

Missouri succeeded in carrying momentum from their big win on Saturday into their contest with Mississippi. The Tigers win and an Arkansas loss propelled Mizzou into 10th place in the SEC.

Xavier Pinson set a career high in scoring for the third time in four games to lead Missouri to the win. Dru Smith added 17 points and four assists as well.

Studs vs Ole Miss

Stud #1: Xavier Pinson

Pinson scored 32 points on 9/13 shooting and 4/4 shooting from deep. He was 10/11 from the charity stripe and only turned the ball over twice.

Every time Missouri’s offense looked sluggish, Pinson was there to knock down a big shot and maintain momentum for the Tigers. The career game is his third 20+ point game in the last four games.

Stud #2: Dru Smith

Smith only shot 4/14 from the field and he failed to connect on any of his three-point attempts, but he was 9/10 from the free throw line and snatched two steals.

The aggression he played with was great to see, even if his shot wasn’t falling. He created looks for others and scored 17 of his own points.

Stud #3: Parker Braun

Parker Braun quite possibly played the best game of his young career against Ole Miss. He scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds, and rejected four shots.

Braun saw an increase in minutes due to the Rebels’ athleticism, and he took full advantage.

Getting minutes will be crucial for Braun down the stretch as he looks to cement a role on the team for next season.

Duds vs Ole Miss

Dud #1: Reed Nikko

Reed Nikko got exposed against Mississippi for his lack of pick-and-roll defense. He couldn’t keep up with the more athletic bigs and he wasn’t making a huge impact on the offensive end.

While he can’t improve his athleticism soon, hopefully he can improve his ability to defend the screen game.

Dud #2: Mitchell Smith

Mitchell Smith really just failed to make much of an impact on the Mississippi game. He didn’t make any shots and had more fouls (3) than rebounds (2). Smith has played some vital minutes this season for Mizzou, but he wasn’t very active against the Rebels.

His energy was up as always, but Mizzou can be much better if Smith cleans the glass and knocks down some shots.

Dud #3: Kobe Brown

Coming off of a solid game against Auburn, Kobe Brown failed to do much against Ole Miss. He only mustered two rebounds with zero points and zero assists to go with his four fouls.

After a solid start to SEC play, Brown declined quickly. His performance against Auburn inspired hope for the remainder of the season, but he took another step back.