
The Tigers move to 3-1 behind a suffocating all-around effort.
In a game that was never actually particularly close, Mizzou laid a 111-39 smackdown on Mississippi Valley State that tied the program record for largest margin of victory (72).
Every player on the roster except T.O. Barrett, Trent Burns and Tony Perkins saw the court.
“Great to see some of our young guys play the minutes that they played,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “Get some nerves and jitters away from ‘em, and (they’ll) ultimately continue to grow in experience.”
Mizzou Arena reached peaked nervousness in the opening minute of the game. Mark Mitchell had a layup blocked out of bounds with 0.1 seconds left on the shot clock; the Tigers didn’t execute the ensuing baseline out-of-bounds, and Alvin Stredic knocked down a jumper on the other end for the game’s first points.
That’s about as high on the mountain as the Delta Devils got, as Mizzou proceeded to rip off a 14-0 run and never looked back. MVSU couldn’t do much of anything on either end of the court, as the Tigers proved to be too much from a skill and physicality standpoint.
Seven players scored in double-figures for Mizzou, with Marques Warrick leading the way with 16 points.
“(Coach Gates) gave me that green light from the recruiting process,” Warrick said. “Since day one, he’s told me to let it fly.”
One positive development for MU amidst the blowout victory was its strong three-point shooting. Not only did Mizzou finish 15/32 from beyond the arc, but the rain came from several different clouds, as six different players knocked down at least one three-pointer.
Entering Thursday, Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates were a combined 15/34 from downtown; the rest of the team, however, was 5/30. Bates and Grill were stellar, shooting 3/4 and 2/4 from beyond the arc, respectively.
Warrick, who was 0/5 from three in MU’s first three games, had his best shooting game as a Tiger with his foursome of longballs. Crews also hit a pair of triples.
“These two guys up here to my left and right,” Gates said, motioning at Warrick and Crews in the postgame press conference, “I want them to shoot the ball with confidence.”
Since his arrival to Columbia, Dennis Gates has preached having as positive of an assist-to-turnover ration as possible, and the Tigers turned in their best performance of the season in that department. The ball was popping all night long on offense, as Mizzou racked up 19 assists; MU also turned the ball over just five times.
“Being able to swing the ball one more (time) is a level of unselfishness, but the other unselfish play is those guys being able to cut and sprint and open up opportunities and put pressure on the basket,” Gates said. “I just thought that allowed us a presence to have that assist-to-turnover ratio that I’ve been looking for the past three games.”
The Tigers also did an exceptional job of getting to the free throw line once again, registering 35 attempts from the charity stripe. But the one major negative for MU on the night was its ability to convert once it got to the line, as it only made 22 of those attempts.
“I love the free throw attempts,” Gates said. “I don’t like the execution on the free throw line.”
All in all, the Black & Gold had their way for most of the night. 12 different players scored, Mizzou won the rebound battle 42-26 and converted 24 more field goals than the Delta Devils. It was a good ol’ fashioned team-driven beatdown of an MVSU team ranked dead last in KenPom.
“Everybody wants what’s best for everyone here,” Crews said. “There’s no jealousy or anything like that. Everybody is just happy for everyone.”
The Tigers will have an eight-day break before hosting Pacific (3-1) next Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST.
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