Missouri Finds Its Groove on the Road with Dominant Win Over South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Road wins in college basketball don’t come with asterisks. They come with relief, momentum, and sometimes, a little swagger.
Missouri’s 78-59 win over South Carolina on Saturday may not have been the flashiest victory on paper, but make no mistake - it was a statement. And for a team that hadn’t tasted success away from home in a month, it was exactly what the Tigers needed.
Mark Mitchell, now a seasoned veteran in his fourth year of college hoops, knows better than most how tough it is to win on the road - regardless of the opponent’s record.
“I’ve been in college with some really good teams. Winning on the road is always hard, no matter who you’re playing,” Mitchell said postgame. “Anytime you can pick up some momentum on the road and get a good team win, it’s always really good.”
Missouri certainly picked up that momentum early and never let it go. After taking a 4-2 lead less than two minutes into the game, the Tigers never trailed again.
From the opening tip, they imposed their will - especially on the glass. Senior big man Shawn Phillips Jr. won the tip, and while T.O.
Barrett missed three straight layups on the first possession, Mizzou grabbed every offensive rebound until Mitchell finally tipped it in. That sequence set the tone for a long afternoon for the Gamecocks.
By the final buzzer, Missouri had outrebounded South Carolina 44-28 and doubled them up on second-chance points, 16-8. The Tigers secured nearly half of all available offensive rebounds - their fourth-best mark of the season and their best in SEC play. That kind of effort on the boards doesn’t just show up in the box score - it breaks opponents’ backs.
“Crashing the glass is always something we want to do,” Mitchell said. “We knew it was one of (South Carolina’s) weaknesses, too.
So, we were just crashing the glass hard. We got some good opportunities, some good tip-ins.
The ball kind of bounced our way and we made the most of it.”
Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. After jumping out to a 21-8 lead midway through the first half, Missouri got a little careless.
Six turnovers in six minutes let South Carolina claw back into it with a 13-3 run. By halftime, the Tigers had coughed it up 11 times and saw their lead trimmed to just four, 34-30.
But credit to Dennis Gates’ squad - they cleaned it up in the second half. Just three turnovers after the break allowed the offense to settle in and find rhythm.
And when Missouri’s offense is flowing, it’s a handful. Mitchell, Barrett, and Jayden Stone all hit double figures in the second half, as the Tigers shot a blistering 59.3% from the field to pull away.
Mitchell was the engine, finishing with his third double-double of the season: 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, a block, and a steal. It wasn’t just the numbers - it was how he impacted the game at both ends and how he handled the extra attention from the defense.
“He played aggressive,” Gates said. “I thought when we went on that (15-3 run early in the second half), we were able to execute some quick plays and Mark Mitchell was at the center of it. But to have a guy draw the attention that he drew, and then also be able to facilitate how he’s able to facilitate with five assists and only one turnover - that was impressive.”
Mitchell, for his part, kept it simple.
“I just took what the defense was giving me,” he said. “I saw the doubles, I saw a lot of different coverages, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before. So I’m just taking it game after game with the coverage I see, the way they play me and seeing how I can impact the game.”
While Mitchell was the steady presence, Stone was the spark. The grad senior guard poured in a team-high 22 points on an ultra-efficient 7-of-9 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Barrett chipped in 14 points, seven boards, and a little bit of everything else. Phillips and Jacob Crews also made their presence felt on the glass, grabbing seven and eight rebounds, respectively.
The win keeps Missouri firmly in the top half of the SEC standings and gave their KenPom efficiency rating a healthy bump, jumping them 10 spots to No. 52. That’s not just a number - it’s a sign of a team trending in the right direction as February heats up.
“That's a great team that we played,” Gates said. “Hopefully, you know, we continue to move in a direction that is suitable for us to compete in this conference for a championship.”
Up Next:
Missouri (16-7, 6-4 SEC) heads back on the road for a Wednesday night showdown with Texas A&M (17-5, 7-2) in College Station.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Another tough road test - and another chance for the Tigers to prove they’re built for the grind.