In what was a big week for Mizzou men’s basketball, the Tigers wrapped up a 10-game homestand this past Tuesday night with a matchup against Jacksonville State. And the narrative that this team struggles to start games resurfaced, as Mizzou held only a slim one-point lead at halftime. Despite forcing five turnovers in the first half, the Tigers struggled to capitalize on them, which disrupted their momentum early on.
Tony Perkins got the Tigers off to a strong start, scoring the team’s first eight points. However, after his hot start, Perkins was quiet for the remainder of the game, finishing with just eight points. Coming off a career-high 24 points against LIU, Trent Pierce continued his sharp shooting, knocking down two quick three-pointers to keep Mizzou in the game during the first half.
While this wasn’t Mizzou’s most polished performance of the season, it may mark the breakout game for Jacob Crews as a Tiger. Crews shot 6-for-10 from the field, including an impressive 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, and his play proved to be the spark the team needed in a gritty contest. Throughout the second half, Crews made clutch shot after clutch shot, propelling the Tigers to an 83-72 victory and extending their winning streak to 10 games.
What looked good vs. Jacksonville State:
- Forced 12 turnovers and this defense looks to be legit
- Shot well from 3 (12/25)
- Jacob Crews was automatic and he was the guy to buckets when this team needed them the most
- Anthony Robinson II continues to be the guy on this team defensively.
What looked bad vs. Jacksonville State:
- The effort shown by the team as a whole
- Allowed 16 offensive rebounds
- Tamar Bates looked off all night and never really got going
- Free throw shooting (15/22 from the line)
In one of the biggest games on Mizzou’s schedule, the Tigers traveled to St. Louis to face Illinois in the “Braggin’ Rights” game—and it did not disappoint. Since Dennis Gates took over as head coach at Mizzou, he had gone 1-1 in this storied rivalry, and the third game under his leadership lived up to the hype.
From start to finish, the two teams went back and forth in a contest that epitomized college basketball. The game was chippy from the opening tip and featured 40 straight minutes of intensity and scrappy play. For the Tigers, point guard Anthony Robinson II spent much of the game on the bench due to foul trouble, logging only 15 minutes.
In a game defined by its gritty nature, the guard tandem of Tony Perkins and Tamar Bates shone for Mizzou, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Despite their strong performances, the story of the game was Mizzou’s struggles from the free-throw line down the stretch. Both Mark Mitchell and Trent Pierce missed crucial free throws late in the game, each going 0-for-2 in pivotal moments. As a team, Mizzou shot 28-for-37 from the line but missed four of their last eight attempts in crunch time.
What looked good vs. Illinois:
- Despite going down by 10 points in the second half, this team continued to fight and even led at points
- Forcing 17 turnovers
- Started off the game very well and forced Illinois to hit big shots early into the game
What looked bad vs. Illinois:
- Free throw shooting down the stretch
- At times, the offense never will look to get open looks from beyond the 3 point line
- Anthony Robinson has gotten into foul trouble in both of the Tigers’ biggest games (Kansas and Illinois)
- Failed to really capitalize off the 17 Illini turnovers (only 12 points off turnovers)
Takeaways from the week:
- This team is much different from last year, playing with a level of fight that last years team did not have
- The defense is legit, over the last 5 games, they have forced 15.6 turnovers per game
- This team needs to become more consistent offensively, but they can really score (averaging 87.8 points per game as a team)
Next Game:
Monday (12/30): Home vs. Alabama State (6:30pm CST)