12/9/2023 basketball Edit

Mizzou unable to overcome big Kansas run, falls 73-64

Drew King • PowerMizzou

Basketball Writer

LAWRENCE, KS--For about 14 minutes of the first half and almost all of the second half, Mizzou looked like a squad that could hang with the No. 2 team in the country.

Going up against Kansas in one of the most heated rivalry matchups in college basketball on Saturday, the Tigers managed to make life difficult for the Jayhawks in front of a sold-out Allen Fieldhouse crowd of 16,300. They held Kansas’ leading scorer, senior big man Hunter Dickinson, far below his season average with just 13 points. They forced the hosts to cough the ball up 16 times, the second-most for the Jayhawks in any game this year. They led by as much as nine in the first half and outscored their opponent in the second, 35-32.

It still wasn’t enough to take Kansas down. A 20-2 run for the Jayhawks in the final 6:11 of the first period ended up being too much to overcome as Missouri fell for the third consecutive time in the renewed Border War series, 73-64.

“I thought our guys played unbelievable first half outside of the middle 10 minutes of the entire game,” Tigers head coach Dennis Gates said. “Overall I thought we did some things and we executed the right way. You know, I'll have to watch more of the film … Excellent, excellent game plan. We just weren't able to put the entire 40 minutes together.”

The visitors’ defense helped set the tone for the majority of the evening. MU’s forwards did their best to front Dickinson in the post and deny him any entry feeds. Kansas head coach Bill Self that Mizzou rarely had two defenders outside of the paint and that he couldn’t even run a pick-and-roll for Dickinson without someone staying attached to him. Dickinson had just two field goal attempts during the opening period, making just one of them.

The Jayhawks (9-1) struggled to find another answer for a while, allowing the Tigers to establish an early edge. By the under-12 timeout, Kansas had shot just 2-12 from the field and committed four turnovers, giving Missouri a 15-6 lead, its largest of the game. The visitors stayed in front up until the final four minutes of the half.

Graduate senior guard Sean East II led the way on the offensive end, producing 12 points and four assists during the first.

“We were just attacking the mismatches,” East said. “Going into the game, we knew that (Kansas wings Nick) Timberlake and (Johnny Furphy), they weren't as good of defenders as other people on the floor. So we were trying to get the iso or matchup and just exploit it. And that's what we did a little bit.”

“We were just creating for one another. We wanted to use the drag ball screens effectively. I feel we're two guys who can create for ourselves and others. So I feel like we were doing that well. And then, kind of, our defense turns into our offense as well. So just playing how we play, it was a good 14 minutes. But we gotta learn how to play for that full 40.”

The Tigers slowly saw their lead shrink as Kansas found its footing. A jumper from East kept them ahead at 27-21, but the visitors would score just once more before halftime.

The Jayhawks started running more of its offense through junior forward K.J. Adams Jr. Mizzou’s defender typically sagged off on Adams, as he hasn’t flashed much range outside of the paint in his career. But he began making the team pay for ignoring him, hitting back-to-back push-shots that ignited Kansas’ run. The hosts tied the game at 27-27, but Tigers graduate senior center Connor Vanover got a layup to regain the lead. Freshman guard Elmarko Jackson countered at the other end, knocking down an and-1 triple and free throw for a four-point play to put Kansas ahead for the first time. The Jayhawks made three more field goals to extend the lead to nine before senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. was fouled on the final possession of the half and hit all three foul shots to push it to 41-29 heading into the break.

The Tigers outplayed Kansas in the second half, but not by a large enough margin to rally back, never trimming the deficit down below eight before ending with the 73-64 loss. East finished the night with a game-high 21 points to go with three rebounds, six assists and two steals. Honor chipped in another 17 points, two assists and two steals.

It was a game that was a massive improvement from Missouri’s efforts in the previous two meetings, in which it lost to the Jayhawks by a combined 65 points. But there’s still work to be done for the Tigers to get to the places they want to go this season.

“I want to see the next time a team leads in this arena for 14 minutes to start the game,” Gates said. “I don't know when that will take place but I thought Kansas did a good job of not panicking and those guys made great shots … But now you look at extra points that we gave them off the fouls, those are things that you can't — you can't make those mistakes. So I'm proud of those 14 minutes, very proud of them. They were an excellent 14 minutes, we were able to silence the crowd a little bit.

“These guys (East and Honor) played unbelievable ... We'll have to just figure out what's next in terms of what we can do to keep getting better.”

Vanover provides second-half spark

The Jayhawks could’ve ran away with the game if it wasn’t for Mizzou’s 7-foot-5 big man.

Vanover had a decent impact during the first half, helping to slow down Dickinson and altering shots in the paint against Kansas’ drivers. He ended the period with two points, one rebound and two blocks. The team wanted to see him be more productive, though.

“I think his teammates challenged him in the right way,” Gates said. “Sean and Nick challenged Connor in the second half and he was able to keep going.”

Throughout the Tigers’ cold spell to end the first and early on in the second, the team needed someone to step up aside from East to be a contributor on the offensive end. Vanover ended up being the answer.

Gates sent the Oral Roberts transfer into the game with 11:07 remaining and the visitors down 54-38. Two possessions later, Vanover drew a foul and went 1-2 at the free throw line. Vanover hit a jumpshot over Dickinson, tipped in a lob from East and made another shot from the post over the next couple of plays to go on a single-handed 7-0 run to cut the hosts’ lead to 10. He continued to be a presence on the defensive end as well, coming up with a steal and pulling down another board.

The head coach will continue to look for Vanover to keep up his high level of play.

Grill out with wrist injury, Carter exits early

During Missouri’s game against Wichita State last weekend, graduate senior guard Caleb Grill was fouled mid-air on a drive to the rim and fell to the floor hard, having to come out of the game briefly before re-entering. Though Grill said he felt “fine” after the win, he ended up injuring his wrist and requiring surgery that the team announced will keep him sidelined for the next 5-7 weeks.

“Unfortunately, Caleb suffered an injury to his wrist on his non-shooting hand Sunday after a hard fall,” Gates said in a statement released 90 minutes before Saturday’s game against Kansas. “I’m happy to report that he had a successful surgery earlier this week and is on track for a five-to-seven-week recovery with a chance of returning sooner. As a key piece of our team this season, Caleb will certainly be missed but we look forward to him making a full recovery and contributing to our success during the second half of the season.”

Without Grill, the Tigers heavily relied on graduate senior forward Noah Carter to come up with boards, as he produced a team-high seven. Carter didn’t have his best shooting night, going 3-8 from the field and finishing seven points, but also didn’t have a chance to redeem himself late in the game. Carter fell to the floor in pain with roughly eight minutes on the clock, was subbed out at the 7:51 mark and did not return.

“He caught a cramp, a typical cramp in his in his leg. He did a great job rebounding, he ended up with seven rebounds in 25 minutes. You know, I look at the rebounds per minute, that is a good stat to have,” Gates said. "I just thought ultimately he wasn't able to knock down some wide-open looks that he normally knocks down, especially in a crucial part of a run. And you know, it's a learning experience. This is his first time here as well.”

Up next

The Tigers (7-3) will have a week to recover as they’re set to face Seton Hall at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m., the game airing on ESPN.