Mizzou didn’t just beat SIUE on Tuesday night. The Tigers cleared the number with room to spare, rolling to a 96-58 non-conference win that outpaced the projection by 12 points.
That kind of margin usually comes with a clean, efficient night, and Missouri had plenty of that. The Tigers scored 1.47 points per possession, held SIUE to 0.89 points per possession, and got a record-setting performance from Jason Crowe, Jr., who set a Mizzou mark for the most points scored by a freshman in a game.
Still, the game never quite felt like a full-throttle performance. Missouri looked less locked in than it did in its last home game, and Mark Mitchell’s early exit after taking a shot to the face may have had something to do with that. He was gone after the opening minute, and the Tigers went on without him.
Even so, the result never really felt in doubt. SIUE is a tough, connected team under Brian Barone, and while the Cougars don’t shoot it especially well, they compete hard and play together.
Missouri just kept nudging the lead wider and wider. There wasn’t one massive breakaway run.
Instead, the Tigers stacked smaller bursts - two 8-0 runs in the first half and a 7-0 spurt in the second - and slowly pulled away.
The shot-making numbers backed up the overall dominance. Missouri opponents are shooting 32.2% from three on the season, and the recent sequence has been all over the map: 12.5%, 56.0%, and 16.7%. That’s the kind of range that makes the season-long average feel a little strange, but the Tigers won’t complain about the results.
Defensively, Missouri also spent a lot more time in its 1-3-1 zone than it has at any point since Gates took over. The Tigers have used it as a changeup before, but this looked more deliberate.
It wasn’t airtight. SIUE found the ball around the free throw line too often and created some 2-on-1 situations from there.
But it was clearly something Missouri wanted to get a real look at.
The zone, along with SIUE’s effort on the glass, helped explain why Missouri lost the rebounding battle. Some of those misses on the boards were pure effort plays, and a few came when Tigers bumped into each other and gave the Cougars second chances. It wasn’t a strong rebounding night.
Missouri did, however, post a 4-to-1 BCI, which is excellent. The Tigers also probably left a few turnovers on the table, with three or four miscues that could have been avoided. Even so, the ratio was still outstanding.
The three-point shooting and assist numbers lined up nicely, too.
Jason Crowe, Jr., Toni Bryant, and Jamier Jones all hit trifectas, and Crowe was the headliner. After a rough shooting night against SLU, he answered with a much cleaner performance here.
He missed just once inside the arc and shot 50% from deep. By the count here, he only forced one, maybe two, questionable shots.
That matters even more when Mitchell is unavailable.
Bryant continues to flash the kind of tools that make scouts lean in. He’s not finished yet as a player, but his rim power is obvious, and now he’s knocking down corner threes too.
That combination makes him the type of prospect the NBA likes. If he wanted to stay another year, though, that would be welcomed too.
Jones keeps trending toward efficiency. His shot profile is almost all at the rim, and BartTorvik.com’s new shot chart feature shows just how concentrated it is: of his 20 field-goal attempts, only three came from outside the circle around the rim in the paint.
Missouri also had a few stretches where the lead slipped a bit, though nothing that changed the outcome. A 38-point advantage got trimmed to 32, and later a 34-point lead dipped to 27.
One of those runs started when Jones, Trent Pierce, and Bryson Tiller let a rebound get away from them, then Kennard Davis, Jr. forced a heat-check three and Tiller turned it over after leaving his feet at the free throw line without a plan. The other came during a cold spell from deep.
Both happened with Aaron Rowe on the floor, and neither was really on him. That’s another reminder that raw plus-minus can be a blunt instrument.
Rowe, in fact, may have turned in his best minutes of the season. On the possession where Missouri gave up that offensive rebound, Rowe had already applied strong ball pressure and forced a tough long two. If he keeps defending like that and takes care of the ball, he can help.
Trent Burns showed some real value as a passer, maybe even the best passing big man on the roster, but the rest of his game still needs work. At 7-foot-5, he should be more of a force on the glass and more intimidating as a shot blocker.
The passing is beautiful. The rest has to get better.
There was plenty to like overall, especially considering Missouri played most of the game without Mitchell. But the feeling afterward was still a little flat compared with the Cleveland State game, and that probably has a lot to do with the loss in St. Louis sitting in the middle of these results.
Quad 4 blowouts are useful, and Missouri has reasons for scheduling them. But the real test is coming.
There are a lot of Q1 games ahead, and the Tigers need to start winning some of them. Sunday against Marquette would be a good place to begin.
In Other News...
Mizzou Got The Bounce-Back It Needed But A Bigger Worry Emerged
Missouri got the kind of response it needed after a rough stretch, rolling past Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 96-58 behind a breakout night from freshman Jason Crowe Jr. Crowe poured in a career-best 34 points and set a single-game freshman scoring record for the program, while Toni Bryant added 18 points and six rebounds as the Tigers shot 12-for-23 from three-point range and turned defense into offense by forcing 14 turnovers.
The bigger concern came much earlier than the final buzzer, when star forward Mark Mitchell left with a face injury and did not return. Missouri had plenty to like in the win, especially the way its young guards and wings helped carry the scoring load, but Mitchells status is the part that will matter most as the Tigers move into the next stretch of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Suddenly Has A Mark Mitchell Concern Before Marquette
Missouris win over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville was the kind of early-season result that can still tell you something about a teams depth, even in a lopsided game. Jason Crowe Jr. stole the spotlight with a team-high 34 points and a freshman scoring record, while coach Dennis Gates mixed in multiple defensive looks and got useful minutes from Toni Bryant and Trent Burns.
The bigger concern came when Mark Mitchell left early because of a facial injury, and his status now becomes part of the buildup to the next test against Marquette. Missouri has enough momentum from the blowout to feel good about where it is, but Mitchells availability matters because the Tigers are already heading into a matchup that will demand more than just scoring punch. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Crowe Answered Mizzou's Setback As A New Concern Emerged
Missouri got the bounce-back it needed at home, rolling past Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 96-58 after taking its first loss of the season. The response came with freshman Jason Crowe Jr. delivering a record-setting performance, pouring in 34 points for a Mizzou freshman while doing it with efficient shooting and giving the Tigers the kind of offensive lift they were looking for.
Mark Mitchells night, though, ended much earlier than Missouri would have liked. The fifth-year forward left with a facial injury and did not return, turning a comfortable win into a reminder that the Tigers may have a new concern to monitor as they move forward from the setback they just answered. [Read more 🡒]