Second half adjustments help spark Mizzou basketball comeback against California

On Tuesday night, Mizzou faced its toughest opponent since traveling to Memphis in the first game of the season.

It was a hard-fought battle throughout the contest. In the end, it was the Tigers who battled back from as much as 18 points down. The first half was a struggle for Mizzou, as it had trouble finding shots and couldn’t get much scoring from the bench, largely due to the absence of the Tigers' highest scorer this season, Caleb Grill, who comes off the bench.

At one point, Cal surged ahead with a 17-0 run late in the first half, thanks to constant turnovers that led to easy buckets for Cal. Mizzou trailed by 16 points at the end of the first half.

It wasn’t just the offense that struggled in the first half; Mizzou couldn’t force turnovers and had a hard time scoring off the ones they did get. Points off turnovers are key to winning against competition like the Golden Bears, and the Tigers couldn’t capitalize on them in the first half.

Andrej Stojakovic was a constant bright spot for Cal, as the son of NBA shooting star Peja Stojakovic finished the night with 26 points, hitting 3 of his 4 three-pointers.

Adjustments needed to be made by head coach Dennis Gates at halftime, and he clicked all the right ones as the Tigers came out looking like a completely different team, putting together their best half of the season.

Right away, it was an 8-0 run that led to Mizzou cutting the lead in half. This run was highlighted by point guard Anthony Robinson II, who played a strong first half, hitting multiple shots around the wing. However, foul trouble limited his minutes in the first half.

The sophomore guard scored or assisted on 6 of those 8 points right off the bat. He finished with a career-high 29 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a very respectable 13-of-15 from the line, along with 6 assists and 2 steals. He did all of this in 28 minutes without a single turnover.

Cal shot just 47% in the second half and a disappointing 31% from three, after starting the game shooting 55%.

Guards Tamar Bates and Marques Warrick scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, giving Mizzou a much needed boost.

Senior Bates didn’t shoot well from three but continued to show his leadership, playing the most minutes on the team and defending well, forcing 3 steals and one block against Cal.

Warrick led the bench in scoring, shooting an efficient 4-of-5 from the field, while also facilitating and defending well, as he has all season.

Mark Mitchell rounded out the squad down the stretch, playing 24 minutes while adding 5 rebounds and a steal.

Other major adjustment came defensively, with bigs Josh Gray, Peyton Marshall, and Aidan Shaw getting extended minutes. They contributed to defending inside the paint while also creating scoring opportunities on the other end.

The win is huge and should be celebrated, but the Tigers must quickly turn their focus to the next game, which is sure to be the most exhilarating one yet.

The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks travel to Mizzou Arena this Sunday at noon, as Mizzou has a chance to play spoiler against its biggest rival.