Mizzou hoops hangs on for an upset over No. 19 Vanderbilt
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou men's basketball managed to hang on, despite a late comeback from No. 19 Vanderbilt, for an 81-80 win on Norm Stewart Court, on Wednesday night.
Vanderbilt was actually the team that hit the ground running out of the gates, opening up the game on a 9-3 scoring run. However, once Mizzou got within four points, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-11 lead over the No. 19 Commodores.
Once head coach Dennis Gates' squad had that lead in hand, they never looked back.
Guards T.O. Barrett and Jayden Stone lifted MU to a six-point lead at halftime, each scoring 12 points apiece in those first 20 minutes. Barrett and Stone would go on to combine for 35 points in the win over Vanderbilt, with Stone finishing with a team-best 19 points.
After halftime, Mizzou kept its foot on the gas, building up a lead as large as 21 points, thanks to a lights out shooting performance. The Tigers shot at a 44 percent clip from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. The group's 78 percent outing from the free throw line also helped lead them to an upset.
Five Tigers finished in double-figures, on Wednesday night. With forward Trent Pierce (14), forward Mark Mitchell (11) and guard Anthony Robinson (12) joining in on the effort.
However, the win didn't come without some adversity. A couple of Mizzou turnovers and couple of 3-point plays for Vanderbilt cut the Tigers' lead to just 10 points with 6:43 to go on Norm Stewart Court. Even after Gates called a timeout to talk it over, his team still couldn't crack the code, as a 14-3 scoring run put Vanderbilt within eight of MU's lead.
Despite giving Mizzou fans a little bit of anxiety towards the finish, the Tigers did manage to close it out with a win.
Overall, Coach Gates' team didn't necessarily obliterate Vanderbilt in any statisical category. In fact, the two teams were about even in most of them, only out-rebounding the Commodores by three and scoring just six more points in the paint.
Up next - Mizzou will hit the road for a big test in Fayetteville. The Tigers tip off against No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.
