Mizzou topples Alabama, eclipses century mark for first time in SEC game
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 15 Mizzou Men's Basketball has tied its program record for most wins over AP Top-5 teams in a single season.
The Tigers (20-6) knocked off No. 4 Alabama (21-5) inside Mizzou Arena 110-98, marking the program's third win over a top-five ranked opponent this season. Wednesday's win also marked the first time that the program had surpassed 100 points in an SEC contest.
You can watch extended highlights from the win in the video player below.
Head Coach Dennis Gates' group never trailed in this game, holding the lead for 39:28 against the No. 4-ranked team in the nation.
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Coach Gates in the video player below.
MU was guided to victory by an excellent first half. The Tigers scored 59 points and shot 61.1% in the first 20 minutes alone to build a 13-point halftime lead, which the Crimson Tide could not overcome.
MU started the game on a 12-0 scoring run, sparked by a pair of triples from Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II on the team's first two offensive possessions. Mizzou held Alabama without a field goal for nearly the first three minutes of the contest.
The Crimson Tide trailed by double-digits for the majority of the first half, and the Tigers stretched their lead to as many as 20 points, following a slam dunk from Mark Mitchell off an Alabama turnover at the 3:58-mark of the first half.
Alabama started to rally in the second half, using an 8-2 scoring run to cut its deficit down to just six points with less than 10 minutes left on the clock. However, MU answered with nine straight points to push its advantage to 15 points ahead of the second half's third media timeout.
Head Coach Nate Oats' squad sparked one last run at the lead, following the final media timeout. The Crimson Tide strung together a late 8-1 scoring run to make it a two-score game with less than a minute left, but MU evaded Alabama's full court pressure and handled business from the charity stripe to win by double-digits.
Mitchell set a new career-high in scoring for a second straight home game, finishing with 31 points and 11-for-15 from the field.
Caleb Grill added a double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Wednesday's contest marked the sixth time this season that Grill had scored 20 points or more in a single game.
Robinson II (14), Tamar Bates (13) and Tony Perkins (10) also cracked double figures and each of them shot 50% or better from the floor.
Offensively, Mizzou hit 60% of its shot attempts and 39% of its three-pointers, out-performing Alabama from the field. The Crimson Tide ended the game with a .538 field goal percentage and connected on 42% of their three-point attempts.
Defensively, MU forced 14 takeaways, including 12 steals, and turned those turnovers into 21 points. Bates (4), Robinson II (3) and Grill (3) combined for 10 of the team's total steals.
Up next - The Tigers will seek to sweep their season series with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tipoff at Bud Walton Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
