Had Missouri blown its 24-point lead against a startlingly disjointed Kansas squad, the gut-wrenching loss would have hung ominously over the Tigers' season -- and perhaps the entire Dennis Gates regime.

Mizzou had to take advantage of the special opportunity at hand Sunday. It just did.

And despite suffering some knee buckling in the second half, the Tigers succeeded. They held off No. 1 Kansas 76-67 in a raucous Mizzou Arena for a much-needed signature victory.

This changes everything for this team. The program that failed to win a Southeastern Conference game last season can move forward with confidence in this campaign.

Now the 8-1 Tigers can set making the NCAA Tournament a realistic goal. They will face nothing but tough games in Southeastern Conference play, but they have no bad losses and they will have ample opportunity to score Quad 1 victories.

Page names St. Louis County prosecutor, bucks Bailey suit to block move Missouri lawmaker wants to put a bounty on migrants in country illegally BenFred: The Cardinals are shopping Nolan Arenado, and no one is freaking out Powerful St. Louis personnel director facing disciplinary charges, hearing Buyer was promised 'quality' apartments in St. Peters. It found mold, rot, suit says Amid backlash, insurer shelves plan to limit anesthesia coverage in Missouri Funeral for CBC hockey player draws crowd. 'God apparently needs a star right defenseman.' Two more managers leave St. Louis Public Schools amid leadership turnover BenFred: Trust in Mizzou's Drinkwitz as QB transfer portal chaos begins Cardinals continue collecting depth with minor moves, sign former Rockies 2nd-round pick Have the Kansas City Chiefs really surpassed Cardinals in St. Louis popularity? Media Views E. coli cases genetically linked to Andre's and national outbreak, St. Louis County says St. Louis tower, once a 'monstrosity,' is now downtown's top office Prosecutors earn thousands in St. Louis County, and thousands more in muni court side jobs Mizzou signs 17 recruits in 2025 class, including top in-state prospects, premier quarterback

In Gates' pivotal third season, the program has moved back onto the right track. Successful recruiting in the transfer portal and the high school/grass roots level has translated to this revival on the court.

Now Missouri's lead players -- Tamar Bates, Mark Mitchell and Anthony Robinson II -- are firmly established as the go-to guys for the rest of the season. (Early-season standout Caleb Grill is still in a neck brace, so presumably he is at least weeks away from returning.)

Now this team has an identity, just as the 2022-23 Tigers did in Gates' successful first season. Now its fan base is energized again, after suffering through that 2023-24 fiasco.

Meanwhile Illinois suffered a rough start to Big Ten play while losing 70-66 in overtime Friday at Northwestern. The Fighting Illini built a 10-point lead in the second half but failed to finish off the potential road victory.

"It's to be expected in the Big Ten," coach Brad Underwood said. "It's what this league looks like. I commented during the preseason if [the Wildcats] were picked 15th or 16th that meant we were getting 15 or 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament."

Elsewhere in the region, SIU Edwardsville scored a nice non-conference victory over Ball State Sunday and shorthanded SLU mustered a strong second half against unfortunate Chicago State.

Here is how the region's Division I teams stack up:

MISSOURI (8-1)

The basketball gods smiled on Truman Sunday. With the Tigers teetering in the second half against Kansas, Josh Gray threw in a long two-point jumper. He also hit a couple of late free throws. Mind you, shooting the basketball is not his strength. Those unexpected points added to Gray's 10 rebounds and his energetic defense during his pivotal performance. Then there was a line-drive corner 3-point jumper by Mitchell with the game in the balance. Those moments offset Missouri's late-game slippage that put the game in peril. Ultimately, the Tigers toughed out a huge victory after nearly letting it slip away. Now the Tigers have one warm-up game, against mismatched Long Island University, before facing a big challenge against Illinois in the Braggin' Rights game. Suddenly the stakes for that game are much higher. Who would have guessed that a week ago?

ILLINOIS (6-2)

The loss at Northwestern came down to shooting percentage. The Illini missed 20 of their last 26 shots from the floor. "You can't turn the ball over, and most importantly you can't miss lay-ups," Underwood said. Also, the Illini could have helped themselves by getting more second shots. "The biggest thing I was probably the most disappointed in was our offensive rebounding," Underwood said. "We've been really good at it." Perimeter shooter Ben Humrichous never got going in this game. missing 8-of-9 shots from 3-point range. The Illini need his shooting to balance up their offense. Once again Kasparas Jakucionis played like an NBA lottery pick (20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Tomislav Ivisic had 15 points and 12 rebounds, but they needed more help against the Wildcats.

SLU (6-3)

The injury/illness curse that plagued the Travis Ford regime has extended to the Josh Schertz Era. Gibson Jimerson, Isaiah Swope and Kalu Anya have been steady forces for the Billikens, but the other Billikens have been on and off the court for various reasons. That explains why the visit from perennial Division I doormat Chicago State Sunday didn't provide much relief. The winless Cougars pulled within one point with just over 15 minutes left to play. The Billikens finally pulled away to an 85-62 victory with all five starters scoring between 13 and 19 points. Schertz has work to do as he tries to get by without guard Josiah Dotzler (season-ending knee injury) and forward AJ Casey (ankle injury) for the longer term and Larry Hughes II (bruised back) in the near term).

MISSOURI STATE (5-4)

After making a strong non-conference showing, the Bears opened Missouri Valley Conference play by suffering an 80-77 loss to Indiana State at home Saturday. Dez Whitte scored 30 points and dished five assists and overachiever Michael Onsei-Bonsu had 13 points and 10 rebounds. But the Sycamores shot 57.1 percent from the floor while outlasting Missouri State. White has scored 88 points in his last five games, so Bears coach Cuonzo Martin has his go-to scorer.

SIU EDWARDSVILLE (6-4)

Ray'Sean Taylor got regained his stroke with 27 points as the Cougars pulled away from Ball State 82-69 in the second half. Ray'Sean shot 7-for-15 in 3-point range Sunday after shooting 2-for-11 from beyond the arc during the loss to North Florida in his previous game. Ring Malith (24 points, 10 rebounds), Brian Taylor (13 points) and Arnas Sakenis (14 rebounds, three blocks) also had strong performances against Ball State.

SIU CARDONDALE (4-6)

After suffering an 83-60 loss at home to Bradley on Tuesday to open MVC play, the Salukis bounced back to dispatch Southern Indiana 73-70 on Saturday. Forward Jarrett Hensley scored 28 points and pulled down 23 rebounds in the two games. Ali Dibba scored 19 points against Southern Indiana after being held to a season-low five points by Bradley. Our Town's Kennard Davis Jr. (Vashon) scored 11 points in 26 minutes Saturday; he has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.

SEMO (3-6)

The Redhawks suffered a road misadventure this week while falling 78-60 at Lipscomb Thursday and 73-53 at Murray State on Sunday. Rob Martin and Braxton Stacker combined to shoot 3-for-17 at Lipscomb. Trey Cole Jr. had 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, but that was about it for the positives. SEMO played Murray State even for a half, but the Racers outmuscled the Redhawks in the second half. Brendan Terry and Teddy Washington Jr. scored 12 points each for the Redhawks.

LINDENWOOD (3-6)

The Lions got to empty the bench during their 100-45 victory Wednesday at home over East-West University, a United States Collegiate Athletic Association team from Chicago. (You probably have never heard of the USCAA, and for good reason.) Anyway, Lindenwood used 13 players, with 12 getting nine or more minutes and 11 scoring points. Then the Lions went to Ole Miss on a fundraising trip Saturday and suffered an 86-53 loss. Lindenwood pulled within four points early in the second half before the Rebels pulled away. Reggie Bass had 10 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench.

0 Comments