Missouri Tigers guard Kobe Brown makes a tackle and Mississippi State forward Javis McKinnis defends during the first half at Mizzou Arena on March 4, 2023.
USA TODAY Sports
Missouri basketball didn’t make it easy on itself. Still, after a second half that seemed much more difficult than it needed to be, the Tigers were able to pull out an 82-77 victory at home against Ole Miss on Saturday.
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The Rebels entered the second half swinging. After Ole Miss went down late in the first, it wasn’t going down without a fight.
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Missouri’s offense struggled early on, and Ole Miss took advantage, regaining the lead in a half that went back and forth.
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Gates took a timeout with 1:22 left and MU leading 74-72 after D’Moi Hodge made a three-pointer to give the Tigers the lead. After the stoppage, DeAndre Gholston made one of his patented contested shots, giving MU a four-point advantage with 1:02 left.
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The Rebels then cut it to 76-74 with 55.5 seconds to play. On the ensuing possesion, after Gates called a timeout with seven seconds remaining on the shot clock, Noah Carter got the inbound, then made a nice play under the basket to make a layup and get a foul call.
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He made the free throw, but after a three-point play at the other end, it was still a two-point game with 20.9 seconds left. Then MU closed it out, with Nick Honor hitting two free throws to extend the lead to four, and Hodge capping it off with a foul shot of his own, sealing the five-point victory that earned MU a double-bye in the SEC tournament.
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Kobe Brown led the Tigers with 17 points and seven rebounds.
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A patchy first half
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Missouri’s start wasn’t perfect, but it certainly was better than the Tigers’ beginning to the LSU game. Brown beat the shot clock and splashed a three-pointer for the first points of the game, then the two sides began to trade buckets.
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Coming out of the under-16 timeout, Brown hit two free throws to give MU a one-point lead. The advantage was short-lived, as the Tigers looked out of sorts and Gates took a timeout with 13:48 left in the half.
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Eventually, the Tigers were able to pull things together offensively. Sean East didn’t score in the first half but provided a spark MU needed on defense, getting two steals and throwing a perfect pass to Hodge for an assist.
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Later in the first, it became the Gholston show. The guard, playing his final game at Mizzou Arena, was making every shot, contested or not, for a stretch. He finished the half with 12 points, leading all scorers. Brown was second on the team, with nine, despite missing a portion of the half and heading to the locker room before returning.
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Honor also made an impact, with a nice three-pointer. At one point, inbounding under the Ole Miss basket, he bounced the ball to himself off a Rebel defender’s back and scored a layup.
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The Tigers got out to an 11-point lead with 3:30 left in the half, but the Rebels were able to reel them in a bit. Missouri went to the locker room up 41-36.
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What’s next for Mizzou?
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With the win, Missouri guaranteed itself a double-bye in the SEC tournament. The Tigers were aided by an Auburn win over Tennessee.
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MU could have been the third overall seed in the tournament had things fallen completely perfectly. However, Kentucky was able to hold off Arkansas on the road, which locked MU in to the No. 4 seed.
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Alabama had already locked up the first seed in the tournament entering Saturday. The Crimson Tide lost to the No. 2 seed, Texas A&M, in College Station on Saturday.
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The SEC tournament begins on Wednesday in Nashville. The Tigers will not play until Friday at 2 p.m., with the game being aired on ESPN.
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Missouri finished its 2022-23 regular season 23-8, 11-7 in SEC play.
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The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.