Trent Pierce’s return changed the shape of Missouri’s season.
That sounds dramatic, but the timing backs it up. When the Tigers hit that ugly stretch in late December, they were stumbling through a 2-3 month after opening 8-0.
The wins had come against 318th Alabama State and 240th-ranked Bethune Cookman, while the losses included a rough one to Notre Dame and blowouts against Kansas and Illinois. Missouri had holes everywhere, and with nearly two weeks between the Illinois loss and the start of SEC play, the staff had to rework things.
Pierce wasn’t part of the initial answer because he was still dealing with a hip injury. Jayden Stone also missed time.
But once Pierce checked in 3 minutes and 27 seconds into the first half of his first game back, the Tigers looked different. He played 19 minutes that day, scored 10 points, and knocked down a pair of threes.
More important, his versatility gave Missouri a much-needed patch over the roster’s weak spots.
Before he returned, Missouri’s NCAA hopes were basically hanging by a thread. The Tigers had wasted their limited Quad 1 chances and looked outclassed in rivalry games.
After Pierce got back on the floor, the equation made more sense. He played only 42% of the season’s minutes overall, but once he was available, he was tough to take off the court.
His 28.4 minutes per game ranked third on the team behind Mark Mitchell and Stone.
The biggest story, though, was Pierce’s growth. He finished with 10.4 points per game, improved as a rebounder, and shot 38.4% from three and 75% at the line.
He had long flashed as a shooter, but the results hadn’t always matched the promise. This season, they finally started to line up.
There were still a couple of rough nights. He went 0-1 in the loss to Texas and 0-4 against Alabama.
Outside of those games, though, he hit a three in every contest. Strip those two out, and he was a 40% shooter from deep.
That kind of timely scoring mattered. Against Florida, Pierce finished with just 10 points, but 8 of them came in the final 12 minutes.
His three and a driving two were both essential baskets. His size on the wing created matchup problems, and Missouri often turned to the backdoor lob when he had the edge.
Gates built a lot of clean looks for Mark Mitchell, using Mitchell as a facilitator, and Pierce was frequently the one finishing the possession.
He also became more than a stationary shooter. Pierce was coming off screens more often and making 11 of his 36 three-pointers on the move.
That was a big jump from his sophomore season, when he made just two of his 32 threes off movement. He only hit one three off the dribble, which somehow fits his game perfectly.
That’s the kind of player college basketball seems to produce less and less now: a freshman who barely plays, a sophomore who starts for a good team, a junior who takes another leap and becomes a leader. By the time Pierce reaches his senior season, he’s the kind of guy you can’t picture Missouri without.
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Mark Mitchells path to Missouri took another turn in the courtroom, where the Kentucky Court of Appeals declined to halt a temporary restraining order tied to his bid for a fifth season of eligibility. For the Tigers, the ruling matters because Mitchell is not just another addition to the roster, but a player whose presence helps define how high this team can climb after he backed out of a prior commitment to Kentucky and enrolled in Columbia.
The legal fight is far from over, though, and the next step is a hearing before a three-judge panel at an unscheduled future date. For Missouri, that leaves the situation in a familiar holding pattern: Mitchell is in place for now, but the question hanging over one of the programs most important pieces is still when, and how fully, the final word will arrive. [Read more 🡒]
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The opener also offered a quick reminder that Missouris defensive playmakers are ready to tilt games, too, with safety Elijah Dotson adding three tackles and forcing a fumble. It was a comfortable win on paper, but for the Tigers, the more meaningful part may have been the way several key pieces answered routine questions before the schedule tightens up and Kansas looms. [Read more 🡒]