COLUMBIA, Mo. – If the nation hadn’t noticed the Missouri men’s basketball program, they have now. In front of one of the most raucous crowds in college basketball this season, the No. 15 Missouri Tigers navigated one of its toughest matchups of the season against No. 4, Alabama, outpacing the Crimson Tide to a 110-98 victory.
The Tigers’ 110 points marked only the third time a team scored at least that many against a top-5 opponent in men’s college basketball history.
Despite another high-profile win on his team’s resume, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates provided a warning for future teams thinking the Tigers showed all of their cards.
“I still don’t think our team has played its very best, and they would say the same,” Gates said. “But we are going in a direction; steady, slowly, patiently, and we are not leaving details behind, and you can see our team growing.”
Even if Wednesday night’s performance wasn’t Gates’ version of perfection, it was for the sold-out crowd in attendance.
After a quick start where Missouri jumped out to a 12-0 lead, Tiger fans made themselves known. Mizzou Arena reached noise levels that hadn’t been heard in some time. From then on, the matchup became a game of chase, with the Crimson Tide trying and failing to catch up with the Tigers’ overwhelming firepower. Alabama did not lead once, trailing wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game going back to Saturday’s matchup against Auburn.
Missouri’s Mark Mitchell and Caleb Grill provided personal displays of brilliance on the night, scoring 31 and 25 points respectively. Yet, similar to their coach, they offered a mixed review of the Tigers’ performance.
“I mean we gave up 98 points, so we need to start there.” Grill said. “We’ve got to do a better job of rebounding, and then still there’s small details that we maybe missed out on.”
Alabama proved to be dangerous up until the final buzzer. Senior guard Mark Sears offered all he could with 35 points, and the Crimson Tide nailed 13 triples on the night. On almost any other night, those numbers would’ve been enough to win. Wednesday against Missouri, they weren’t. Twice in the second half Alabama cut the lead to six, but both times, someone on Missouri’s roster had an answer.
Ultimately, it was that roster’s balanced scoring that proved to be the difference maker. On a night when senior guard Tamar Bates wasn’t the key offensive force, he still chipped in 13 points, four coming in the final minute of the game. Known for his ability to force turnovers sophomore guard Anthony Robinson added 14 points on top of his three steals. Simply put, Missouri’s team proved to be too much for the Crimson Tide to handle.
It’s evident Missouri has things it wants to shore up before post-season play comes around in March. Though getting to the line has been no trouble for the Tigers, making good on those opportunities remains a question mark. Only hitting 31 shots on 47 attempts allowed Alabama to hang in the game, especially when the rest of its offense went stagnant for brief stints in the second half.
In the end, Missouri claimed victory, moving to 20-6 overall and 9-4 in SEC play. They now sit tied with Texas A&M in fourth place in the conference standings. Should the Tigers finish fourth place or higher, they’ll receive the coveted double bye heading into the conference tournament. That’s the prize the Tigers are after with only five games left to play in their regular season schedule.
Missouri returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they matchup again with Arkansas, this time in Fayetteville.