With just 17.9 seconds left on the clock, Missouri men's basketball pulled off one of the most electric finishes of the season - an alley-oop dunk that stunned Texas A&M and sealed an 86-85 road win at Reed Arena. It wasn’t just a highlight-reel play; it was a momentum-defining moment for a Tigers squad that’s suddenly heating up at just the right time.
That win marks Missouri’s third straight, and they’ll carry that streak back to Columbia for a Saturday showdown against a Texas team riding its own wave of momentum. The Longhorns have also won three in a row, their first such streak since 2024, and are coming off a strong finish against Ole Miss - a game they closed with a 14-0 run in the final 3:35 to secure a 79-68 victory. That kind of closing power is something any coach would love to bottle up and bring on the road.
“(Winning against A&M) was a big one for us, but we got a big one at home against Texas,” said Missouri junior guard/forward Trent Pierce, who played a major role in the Tigers’ latest win.
Both teams enter the matchup hovering just above the .500 mark - Missouri at 7-4, Texas at 6-5 - but the stakes are rising with March right around the corner. This one’s not just about momentum; it’s about positioning, confidence, and proving you can win when it matters most.
Missouri’s frontcourt duo of Pierce and senior center Shawn Phillips Jr. will be a handful for Texas to deal with. Against the Aggies, the two combined for 17 rebounds, and both made their presence felt on both ends of the floor.
Pierce was especially efficient, dropping 23 points on 67% shooting from the field and hitting half of his looks from beyond the arc. Phillips Jr. may not have lit up the stat sheet, but his 12 points included the one that mattered most - the game-winning dunk.
“A big thing for me was just getting offensive rebounds,” Pierce said. “I had a lot of putbacks, a lot of offensive rebounds, and that really helped me get going.”
Texas will counter in the paint with sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, who’s coming off a near-career night. He poured in 27 points against Ole Miss - his best scoring performance in SEC play - and showed significant improvement in his discipline, cutting his fouls from five in the previous game down to just two. That kind of bounce-back effort didn’t go unnoticed by head coach Sean Miller.
“Matas (Vokietaitis) coming off of South Carolina, that might have been the worst SEC individual performance he had,” Miller said. “We talked a lot the last couple days about that with him, and he played his best game of the SEC season today.
Matas was the difference in the game. … It was great to see him bounce back.”
While the frontcourt battle will be key, both teams are also waiting for a couple of their top wings to rediscover their scoring touch. For Texas, junior guard/forward Dailyn Swain has been a go-to option all season, averaging 25 points over a recent five-game stretch.
But he cooled off against Ole Miss, managing just seven points in a quieter outing. Missouri’s Mark Mitchell, a senior guard/forward, found himself in a similar spot.
After averaging 18.6 points over his previous five games, he was held to just nine against Texas A&M.
Still, even in off nights, both players found ways to contribute - rebounding, defending, and facilitating. And with a full week between games, there’s a real chance for them to reset.
“What I said to Dailyn (Swain) is (that) he needs a break,” Miller said. “We haven’t really had that (bye week). … This week comes in at an ideal time for him where he can get his feet under him, get healthy, not have the burden of another game coming and for us to get better and for him to be at his best next weekend (against) Missouri.”
Saturday’s clash at Mizzou Arena won’t just be about who has the hotter hand - it’ll be about who can impose their style, win the battle on the boards, and close out in crunch time. With both teams trending upward and postseason implications beginning to take shape, this one has all the makings of a statement game.