Mizzou takes down Mississippi Valley State in dominant fashion

A complete game is all any fan of Mizzou men's basketball team could've want to see on Thursday night. Mizzou controlled all 40 minutes of the contest against Mississippi Valley State, picking up a 111-39 victory.

The starting lineup remained the same as that of Monday night's contest against Eastern Washington.

Annor Boateng got the nod over Caleb Grill, who had the hot hand last game. Grill would check in quickly and make an immediate impact, along with sophomore Trent Pierce, who didn't see any action on Monday but registered 14 minutes of play on Thursday.

The Tigers got things started quickly, after going down 2-0 to start the evening, they countered with 14 unanswered points in the following five minutes.

Mark Mitchell play an aggressive game, specifically in the first couple of minutes, in which he drew multiple fouls and four early free throws attempts. Mizzou went 12-19 from the stripe in the first half, which is better than the past, but still can be improved in future contests.

The Tigers forced 8 turnovers in the first half, wreaking havoc on the ball.

The deep shooting was good too, as the Tigers shot exactly 50%, allowing just one to fall for the Delta Devils in the first half of play.

Freshman center Peyton Marshall also facilitated well, attracting multiple defenders on a post-up move before dishing to a cutting Pierce for an easy deuce.

Senior Jacob Crews also notched a pair of triples off turnovers, including one that would extend the lead to 26 as the crowd erupted.

Mizzou took a 51-19 lead into the break, exploding on offense and turning its defense into easy layups on the other end.

The scoring didn't slow in the second half, and neither did the defense.

Mississippi Valley State turned the ball over four times in the opening six minutes of the second half. On a steal and dunk by Grill, the lead opened up to 50, a feat that hasn't occurred for the Tigers since a 2021 contest against Missouri-Kansas City.

In the end, six different players for Mizzou hit three-pointers, with five of them hitting multiples times from behind the arc.

With just over five minutes to play, Crews converted a left-handed layup for the 100th point of the night from the Tigers. They ended the game with 111 points, which is the 8th most in school history, allowing Mississippi Valley State to score just 39 points. The 72 point margin of victory is tied for the largest in school history.

Northern Kentucky transfer Warrick led the way with 16 points off the bench, shooting 6-9 from the field, and 4-4 from deep.

Theres quite a lot that Mizzou can take away from this game. The shooting, defending, ball movement, and overall start-to-finish effort from the entire roster, however, its important that they don't get complacent with a difficult schedule ahead.

The Tigers head into an eight day break following the win, and next play against the Pacific Tigers at 6:30 p.m. next Friday at Mizzou Arena.