So far on the young season, the Tigers have not struggled too much with the competition that they've faced. That proved no different on Thursday night, with Mizzou defending their home court well, in a 102-68 rout of North Dakota.
Despite different leading scorers each night, injuries, and inconsistency on both sides of the ball, one thing has stayed true: the impact and depth of the Tigers bench. Head coach Dennis Gates has at least five guys he can count on, night in and night out.
Agaisnt the Coyotes, Jacob Crews and Jevon Porter were his guys. Both of them played heavy, starter-level, minutes, and made a serious impact. It was needed with the injuries to starting big Shawn Phillips Jr., as well as Trent Pierce and Trent Burns, who haven't played yet this season.
However, those three didn't seem to be needed, as the Tigers started hot, and didn't slow down at all throughout the contest.
They were up nine at the break, but came out of the break with their best half of the season, quickly jumping up to a 20-plus point lead, and extending that beyond 30, before the clock hit zeros.
As a squad, they shot 64% from the field, and 55% from deep. Crews and Stone were the only two bench players to take a triple, and they shot a combined 4-8 from the mark.
The duo proved to be a consistent spark in the Tigers offense, and also impacted the team defensively, notching a pair of steals each, while only turning the ball over once.
Stone played slightly more minutes, and it showed, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds - all of them defensive. He shot 3-5 from the field, and only missed one free throw in his six attempts.
By far one of the best games so far this year from the fifth-year senior, playing on his third team.
Crews led the bench in scoring, and was third overall on the squad, with 15 in the game. He went 4-7 from the field, hitting 3-5 attempts from beyond the arc, and going perfect from the charity stripe on four attempts.
The Florida native also recorded two rebounds and an assist, with pretty good defense throughout the contest as well. He'll look to make more of an overall impact as the season continues.
Another fifth-year senior on his third team, Crews has really found his role and his home as a three-point specialist in Columbia. He's already shown to expand his game offensively from just deep to inside the arc as well, and fans are hopeful he'll continue to develop as the year goes on.
T.O. Barrett, Nicholas Randall and Annor Boateng also played meaningful minutes Thursday night off the bench, and combined for seven points on perfect, 3-3 shooting. These pieces are always trustworthy and ready to make more of an impact at any given moment.
Thursday night was Boateng's first matchup of the year, after an injury kept him out for an extended period of time. Once the team is healthy, the expectations will only continue to rise for this talented team.
Mizzou is now off until next Tuesday night, when they host the 0-5 South Carolina State Bulldogs, at 7 p.m. ct, and the Tigers are hungry to open the year at 7-0.