In Mizzou and VMI’s first ever meeting on the court, the Tigers displayed their strength as they reached triple digits in an 106-68 victory over the Keydets. The team moves to 3-0 on the season with a clean track record over opening week.
The game started in favor of VMI with the Keydets maintaining the lead for the first five minutes of the game. Nothing seemed to fall for Mizzou, layups would bounce off the rim and a three-pointer wasn’t drained until eight minutes remained in the half.
Around the
halfway mark of the first half, the tide seemed to change. With 10:37 on the clock, T.O. Barrett connected for a second-chance layup to give Mizzou the lead and they settled in. The Tigers found a rhythm on offense and didn’t lose the lead after that possession. On the defensive side of the ball, they matched VMI’s scrappiness to hold the Keydets to multiple scoring droughts.
“We’re not accustomed to playing against size and strength like that, and they took us out of rhythm, and we struggled to get stops within our zone,” said VMI Head Coach Andrew Wilson. “So credit to Missouri.”
It felt as if Mizzou could’ve led by more than just ten at the break had they connected from the free throw line. While the Keydets shot 100% from the line, the Tigers struggled in their third straight game when it came to free throws, shooting 68.2% over the course of the first twenty minutes.
The Tigers forced VMI to commit a multitude of fouls, resulting in double bonus for a majority of the half. However, Mizzou wasn’t able to fully capitalize on the opportunity given the struggles.
Other than the free throw line, Mizzou dominated in other aspects of the game, including bench points, points in the paint, points off turnovers, rebounds, and fast break points.
The combination of facets pushed Mizzou to a 50-40 lead at the half. Mark Mitchell led the group not only with 16 points, but also the highest amount of rebounds (6). Anthony Robinson was right behind the senior, collecting twelve points. Robinson was perfect from field goal range and behind the arc.
Also making his Tiger debut in the first half was Nicholas Randall.
“I think [Randall] is going to be a heck of a player,” said HC Dennis Gates. “He and Aaron Rowe are going to be great players for us at some point, and I think that his opportunities will continue to come, no different than the rest of our guys. So he had great minutes defensively. He did a tremendous job in ball screen defense, where he got a couple of deflections.”
The momentum stayed with Mizzou throughout the second half, as they opened the scoring with a fast break dunk from Mark Mitchell. The senior forward led the Tigers to a roaring second half as they expanded the lead to 38, the largest margin of the game.
With 16 points, Jayden Stone reached double digits in his first three games, making him the first Tiger to do so since Nick Honor in the 2022-23 season.
Second half free throw shooting improved for the Tigers, they struggled in a new area: beyond the arc.
The Tigers shot a measly 28.6% from three in the second half, only collecting 12 points off four baskets, two of which were thanks to Robinson. Fortunately, the Keydets cooled down with their hot shooting from three, going 6-20, after making nine threes in the first half.
Gates mentioned how the team was able to turn things around at halftime.
“Obviously at halftime, you can make your adjustments and everything with how they’re playing. And we did,” said Gates. “We just stayed more aggressive, communicated on switches, and trusted each other and stayed attached to the hot man.”
To make up for the pourous three point percentage, Mizzou excelled in the paint. The group scored 38 points around the rim, including 20 second chance points. They were also a perfect 6-6 on dunks.
“I think we again, executed very well on what we were trying to do,” said Gates. They went to their zone and everything like that and he kind of opened up the middle for us. The free throw line extended and everything. And we just started cutting and just communicating on what we were doing.“
Gates noted this style of play was easy to maintain due to the aggressiveness of Mark Mitchell who opened up many opportunities for the team.
The smaller Keydets did not produce a dunk over the entire course of the game.
While the game may have started in a slow manner for the home team, once they found their groove, the Tigers proved why they received pre-season top 25 votes in the AP poll. The game alluded to the type of domination this seasons ensemble will look to continue down the road.
Mizzou will play their first Power conference opponent this Wednesday against Minnesota.
