Anthony Robinson II and Jacob Crews each recorded 18+ points in the victory
The Mizzou Tigers took care of business at home, bringing down the Alabama State University Hornets by a score of 85-77. While the game wasn’t complete in all areas, it did put the Tigers back in the win column after an 0-2 week.
Anthony Robinson II led the offense as they established momentum right out of the gate. The guard opened the game with a jumper in the lane before Jacob Crews exploded for four three pointers only eight minutes in.
Robinson finished the night with 19 points, five assists and two steals. It was the junior’s second-highest scoring performance this season and he found himself back in double digits for the first time in five games.
At first, the Hornets stuck around. Later, they looked like they were searching for a missing puzzle piece as they went four and a half minutes without a single bucket.
When the offense was clicking, it seemed impossible to stop. Mizzou took advantage in the lane, drawing fouls and creating thirty points in the paint. Additionally, they had a varied shot selection filtered with good backdoor looks and cuts. Then, the offense would go dry and soon an 18 point lead had minimized to 13 at half.
The second half opened stagnant, however, and the streakiness continued.
Missouri head coach Dennis Gates ultimately had to call a timeout nearly seven minutes into the second half after ASU was able to claw back to within nine points of the Tigers. The defense simply did not have an answer for Asjon Anderson and his twenty-plus points.
The Tigers also got beaten with the deep ball and even opted for a zone defense, which did not have the desired outcome.
Likewise, on the offensive side of the ball, the team was still without a solution. The field goal success rate dropped as the Tigers shot north of 70 percent in the first half, but were nearly fifteen percent less successful and couldn’t get the same amount of shots off in the closing half. Only seven threes were attempted over the course of the latter half. After connecting for four threes in the first half, Jacob Crews slashed his that in half.
Another harmful bout for Mizzou was the amount of turnovers committed, as the group misplayed the ball 11 times. The Hornets were only able to muster up three points off turnovers, a facet not fully taken advantage of that could have flipped the game on its head.
The sloppiness eleven games into the season did not go unnoticed.
In a game where Mizzou was predicted to win by plus-twenty, an eight-point victory doesn’t provide much hope to walk away with. However, it was a needed victory as they head into a Braggin’ Rights game after a lackluster week against other power opponents.
Before Illinois, the Tigers will face another SWAC opponent, Bethune-Cookman, on Sunday afternoon at 1pm at Mizzou Arena.
Category: General Sports
