In a game where Mizzou only had eight scholarship players eligible to play, and only one player above 6’10”, forwards Kevin Puryear and Ryan Rosburg put on career performances as Mizzou fell on the road to Alabama, 80-71.
Before Saturday’s contest between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, it was announced on Friday that Mizzou forwards Russell Woods and Jakeenan Gant were suspended from the team after receiving citations for possession of drug paraphernalia. This already set the Tigers down a few big men, until about a half hour before game time it became known that sophomore forward D’Angelo Allen did not travel with the team due to strep throat, meaning the only forwards available for Kim Anderson’s Mizzou squad were Rosburg, Puryear and walk-on Adam Wolf.
Mizzou was led in scoring by Puryear, whose 22 points (9-17 FG, 2-3 3pt) were a career high, along with Rosburg’s career high 17 points (7-12 FG). Puryear and Rosburg combined to make 16 of the team’s 24 field goals, as another poor shooting performance (24-57 FG, 3-16 3pt) is ultimately what did the Tigers in again. Despite the fantastic play from Puryear and Rosburg, no one else on the team seemed to find a consistent shot, as usual scorers Terrence Phillips, Namon Wright and Wes Clark combined to shoot 4-19, including 0-8 from beyond the arc.
Alabama was led by the tremendous play of Retin Obasohan, whose 16 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 3pt) were second most on the team only behind forward Riley Norris, who scored 18 points (5-11 FG, 3-8 3pt) for the Crimson Tide. Five members of the Tide scored in double-digits, as the team shot 25-53 from the field and 9-28 from three-point land. The Tide outrebounded the Tigers 38-30, and had nine blocks to Mizzou’s zero.
Mizzou will be in action next on Wednesday as they travel to Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tennessee to take on Wade Baldwin IV and the Vanderbilt Commodores.