Tiger basketball opens up the season 1-0 at Howard

A long offseason finally concluded on Monday night, as head coach Dennis Gates and the Missouri Tigers traveled to Washington, D.C., to face the Howard Bison to begin the year.

Mizzou came into the contest as 19.5 point favorites, and quickly showed why that is. They wasted no time taking advantage of an inexperienced program, exposing their defense early and often.

Seven-footer Shawn Phillips Jr. had a nice first half. The transfer, who formally played for Arizona State and LSU, had eight points and five rebounds, while shooting a perfect 4/4 from the court early into the game.

Gates's roster looks a lot different this season, with a number of new transfers that can really bring the depth the team sometimes lacked last season. In fact, four Tigers cashed in triples in the first nine minutes alone.

The bench combined for half of the Tigers's 42 points in the opening half of the season.

Senior Jacob Crews was a delight to watch, picking up where he left off with seven early points, nailing his first triple of the season. He also added three rebounds and a block in the half, showing the versatility he brings for the squad.

The team meshed very nicely in the first half, which just goes to show the chemistry they've built up throughout the offseason.

The Mizzou defense limited Howard to just 26 first-half points. The Tigers shot 52% overall, including a strong 46% from deep.

The Tigers opened up the second half with a couple of buckets, one by Phillips which brought him to the first double-digit scoring night for the team this season.

Apart from Bryce Harris, who had 12 points in the first half alone, the team defended the Bison pretty well, which pointed to the reasoning for their large lead, and how they dominated much of the contest.

Harris and Cotton combined for ten three-pointers and 46 points throughout the night, as their hot hands kept Howard in the game. The Tigers were forced to call a timeout and slow the game down, after Harris's fourth three of the game cut the lead to single digits.

A couple of Tiger veterans struggled in this one, with Anthony Robinson II, and Mark Mitchell, two NBA draft prospects and anchors to the squad, turning the ball over and failing to find the bottom of the basket throughout the game.

They combined for 17 points, shooting 5/12 from the field, with a turnover each. Not a strong showing from the duo that's supposed to lead this team to the promised land.

Mizzou was able to close out the contest, despite a strong run from Howard partway through the second half. The team was able to provide consistent offense in a plethora of ways.

Jayden Stone had himself a strong second half, connecting on a trio of three-pointers. He finished the night with 13 points on 5/6 shooting, also adding four rebounds, three assist, and a steal, though he turned the ball over three times as well.

Him and Crews were the two bench players to break into double-digits.

The other two who notched minutes off the bench, junior transfer Luke Northweather and sophomore T.O. Barrett added seven each.

Even with a few late runs from the Bison, Mizzou was able to contain, and close this one out. The team broke 80 points, a nice mark that shows a good offensive performance at an away game.

The Tigers won 88-67 and improve to 1-0 on the year. They looked pretty good on both sides of the ball, and closed out strong.

Phillips had himself a great start to his Mizzou career, putting up a career high 16 points on 8/9 shooting, adding 11 boards.

Defensively the team looked fantastic, and they'll have to look to build on this as they travel home for their next matchup, versus Southeast Missouri State on Friday evening.