Mizzou maintains undefeated record with win over Minnesota
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou Men's Basketball remains unbeaten through four games.
The Tigers (4-0) rode a balanced scoring effort to a 83-60 victory over Minnesota (2-1), which is the team's largest margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent in program history. Seven different players on Mizzou's roster recorded at least six points in Wednesday's win.
You can watch extended highlights of the win in the video player below.
MU's four-game winning streak represents its best four-game start to a season since head coach Dennis Gates' debut campaign in Columbia (2022-23).
Despite trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, the Tigers erased that deficit with a 13-3 scoring run in the final eight minutes before halftime, highlighted by five points in the paint from Mark Mitchell and a three-pointer from Anthony Robinson II to force a Minnesota timeout.
However, Mizzou did not allow its opponent to stay within striking distance in the second half. The Tigers outscored the Golden Gophers 51-30 in the last 20 minutes, turning a two-point halftime lead into a 23-point victory on their home court.
Mitchell led the team in scoring with 18 points, followed by Jacob Crews (14), Sebastian Mack (14), Jayden Stone (13) and Robinson II (10).
"I saw unselfishness," Coach Gates said. "Next man up mentality, guys cheering for each other, who were not subbed into the game. I made an adjustment in certain ways with substitution patterns. I kept shooters on the court because of their defense from a pack-line standpoint. We were able to then open up some lanes and alleys for Mark Mitchell because we knew they were gonna heavy dig. Ultimately, I just think our guys were able to execute that game plan and it just speaks about our depth. The depth of our team and even the strength of our team is in the numbers. These guys are always cheering and always being ready."
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Gates, Crews and Stone in the video player below.
Collectively, the Tigers posted a .592 field goal percentage, marking the fourth consecutive game that the team has shot 50% or better from the field. MU also hit 11-of-22 attempts from three-point range.
Up next - Mizzou will host Prairie View A&M on Monday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
