Mizzou hoops dismantles Mississippi State on the road for 10th SEC win
STARKVILLE, Miss. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou men's basketball team scored the most points it has in regulation of an SEC game this season, demolishing Mississippi State in a 88-64 win at Humphrey Coliseum, on Saturday.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 20-9 overall and 10-9 in Southeastern Conference action in a victory that will prove important in the team's NCAA Tournament aspirations. Coming into Saturday's matinee, Mizzou was projected to get one of the Last Four Byes in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. The win against State will only help them, even more.
From start to finish, head coach Dennis Gates' squad dismantled Mississippi State, beginning with the best first half that the Tigers have played all season long.
Mizzou went into halftime up by 31 points, the team's largest halftime lead in SEC action this year, courtesy of a 20-8 run to open up the game. That was a deficit that the Bulldogs could never recover from, as MU kept its foot on the gas.
The Tigers shot 61 percent from the field in that opening 20 minutes, led by a game-high 14 first-half points from 7-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr. Meanwhile, Coach Gates' team also forced 12 turnovers in the opening half.
Out of locker room, Mississippi State looked to make some adjustments to climb back in. Head coach Chris Jans and company started the period on a 7-2 run, which prompted a timeout from Coach Gates. After that break, Mizzou kicked it back into gear, responding with a 12-2 run of its own.
It was, by far, the most complete game that MU has played all season, never letting the Bulldogs even sniff a chance of a lead.
The Tigers ended shooting 50 percent from the field, led by 17 points from forward Mark Mitchell. Four of his teammates also joined him in the double-digit points club, on Saturday: Phillips Jr. (16), guard Anthony Robinson (13), forward Trent Pierce (10) and guard T.O. Barrett (10).
Mizzou hammered Mississippi State in just about every statistical category, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 38-26, as MU grabbed a total of 14 offensive rebounds and scored 14 points off of them.
Coach Gates' team was also active in forcing turnovers. State ended with 18 in the game, as Mizzou capitalized with 27 points off of turnovers in the victory.
Up next - Mizzou will wrap up its regular-season road slate with a clash against Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday, March 3rd. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
