In the 237th meeting between the Missouri Tigers and Iowa State Cyclones, the Tigers grabbed their 151st win of the series in a sold-out, tiger striped, Mizzou Arena. The home crowd brought the energy the entire game and was rewarded with a dominating performance in a 78-61 Tiger’s win.
“Mizzou Arena is a magical place. Our student body, unbelievable. I just want to thank everybody for being available and sacrificing to be here,” said Missouri Coach Dennis Gates.
Missouri basketball alumni, past coaches, and past basketball staff members were in the building as the Tiger’s wore their Block M throwback jerseys. The Tigers wore these uniforms from 1973-1996 in their Big Eight days.
Kobe Brown was the games leading scorer, with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Brown was dominant in the paint, getting whatever he wanted.
“He [Brown] was so physical and aggressive, demanded the ball on the spot, and was terrific on the glass. They had seven offensive rebounds and he had five of them. He just asserted his dominance,” said Iowa State coach TJ Otzleburger.
Otzleburger and Gates have known each other for over 20 years, and both said they have tremendous respect for one another. Missouri Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois actually hired both coaches. She was formerly the athletic director at UNLV, where Otzleburger coached before he left for Iowa State. Gates was Francois’ first big hire during her time at Missouri.
Missouri has lived and died by the 3 this season, and tonight it was raining 3s in Mizzou Arena. The Tiger’s shot 14-30 (47%) from behind the arc, which was instrumental in them maintaining their lead even while going on multiple field goal droughts.
D’Moi Hodge was hot from the three point line, finishing the game with 5 threes and 17 points. At one point in the beginning of the second half, Hodge was 4-4 from behind the arc.
Iowa State led for a total of 44 seconds the entire game. Missouri took a ten point lead before halftime and never looked back. Despite the wide margin of victory, Gates was not satisfied with how the team played.
“I don’t think we played well, to be honest with you. You guys know I have a different expectation for myself, my staff and for our players and it’s not result based. It’s the quality,” said Gates.
While Gates was not happy with how the team played, the Tigers were able to put up 78 points on a team whose opponents were averaging 59.5 points per game. Making threes was a big part of the Tigers’ success on offense, but the Tiger’s 49% from the field and 86% from the free throw line also contributed to the win.
Missouri’s press defense did not let Iowa State develop any rhythm offensively and made the Cyclones look uncomfortable. The Cyclones turned the ball over 19 times, much more than their season average of 12.5. Iowa State found themselves struggling to get a shot up on time, and multiple of their turnovers were shot clock violations.
Iowa State was not able to get to the free throw line often, and when they did they did not take advantage, finishing 3-8 from the line. Missouri shot 86% from the free throw line; above their season average of 76%.
With the win, the Tigers moved to a perfect 15-0 on the season when scoring above 70 points. The Tiger’s will look to continue this streak when the LSU Tigers visit Mizzou Arena on February 1.