Missouri and Vanderbilt entered Saturday’s matchup with the same goal in mind. To win their first SEC conference game. The Commodores were the team that accomplished that mission, defeating the Missouri Tigers, 66-63.
Vanderbuilt’s six point victory resulted by a multitude of scoring droughts, most notably a 29-9 spell for the Tigers against a team that’s sub -180 in KenPom. A high quality shooting day for the Commodores also played a factor in their victory.
The Tiger’s offensive play was highlighted by Noah Carter, who started off the game hot in the first seven minutes, scoring all nine of Mizzou’s points to start the game. After the first TV timeout, the Tigers led 15-6.
A decline for Missouri on both ends of the floor resulted afterwards, with Vandy going on a 10-0 run. Mizzou was up 20-9 in the first half and ended down, 32-29.
The second half started off with more of the same for Missouri, going down 38-29. The dry spell from the field also continued with the Tigers missing 18-21 shots leading to Missouri being down eight at the under sixteen mark of the second half.
The Tigers kept the game under single digits for the whole of the second half but weren’t able to take advantage of multiple opportunities to take the lead. A second chance three from Bates kept the Tigers in the single digits but the second half was largely a fight in the mud for both teams, with the shooting being 3-21 for the Tigers at the under 10 mark and the Commodores shooting 5-23 respectively.
At the under five mark, Missouri made a push, making five of six shots. The game stayed on possession until a Noah Carter game tying three clanked off the side of the rim at the 1:30 mark.
This game felt like a make or break for the Tigers in terms of finishing off an SEC game. The Commodores ended the team who didn’t break.
Two straight stops by the Commodores and a score on three consecutive possessions left the game at a six point advantage for Vanderbuilt. Another chance for a first SEC victory slipped out of the balance once again for the Tigers.
Missouri (8-14, 0-9 SEC) will face Texas A&M in Columbia next Wednesday Feb. 7 and the Commodores will take on ranked Kentucky on home court next Tuesday.