Friday marked the second consecutive season in which Mizzou basketball opened its season by beating Kansas State in an exhibition game. This time, the Tigers beat Kansas State 71-67 in Manhattan, Kansas, propelled by 21 points from five-star freshman Jason Crowe Jr.
It was, after all, an exhibition game, so by no means is this a heavy indicator of what's to come for the rest of Missouri's season. Regardless, here's everything you need to know from the Tigers' win.
Lineups
Perhaps more than anything, lineups should be taken with a grain of salt. Coach Dennis Gates deployed a starting five of Crowe, Kennard Davis Jr., Trent Pierce, Toni Bryant and Bryson Tiller. Mark Mitchell, who was granted a temporary injunction Oct. 16 to be temporary eligible, came off the bench with the first round of substitutions a little over 4:00 into the game.
With the exception of the 3:11 that 7-foot, 5-inch Trent Burns was on the court, Bryant and Tiller spent the most time at the center spot for the Tigers — Jaylen Carey and Nicholas Randall did not play. Fifth-year guard C.J. Gunn, who is currently operating under a temporary restraining order that grants him eligibility, and senior guard Jordan Crawford also did not play.
Top-50 transfer and sophomore wing Jamier Jones started the game on the bench and did not sub in until there was 12:00 remaining in the first half. He played just 7:32 of action, having an impressive and-1 finish and another alley-oop finish before "tweaking" his ankle and sitting the rest of the game.
Missouri went on a 13-0 run to open the second half with a lineup of Crowe, Chronister, Pierce, Mitchell and Tiller. Crowe scored or assisted on 8 of those points. As the broadcast pointed out, Missouri has been largely unsuccessful under Gates when trailing at the half, so coming out hot to storm back for a victory is a positive sign.
Missouri ended up closing the game with a lineup of Crowe, Cord Stansberry — a captain who played 20:17, the most of any Missouri bench player — Davis, Bryant and Tiller. Crowe and Tiller were the only Tigers to play 30:00 or more.
Box score notables
Missouri struggled as a whole from 3-point range, with Pierce and Stansberry being the only Tigers to shoot better than 25% from three. The Tigers also logged more turnovers (15) than assists (14) — you don't need me to tell you that's not good.
Crowe shot 7-for-18 from the field but seemed to be at his best when driving to the rim. When committing to the drive, he didn't shy away from contact, but did settle for perhaps a few too many jumpers early on. Overall, Crowe had a positive Missouri debut and was the driving factor in helping the Tigers break loose. He looked calm and in control for the majority of the game, which is far more than can be said for many freshman point guards.
Tiller manned down the center spot admirably, anchoring Missouri's defense with a game-high nine rebounds and five blocks, including the game-sealing block on Isaiah Abraham with seconds left. As strong as his defense was, though, Tiller's offense left much to be desired and some to be concerned. He was relatively weak with the ball, turning the ball over a game-high five times and often settling for soft finishes or mid-range jumpers instead of powering to the rim.
Chronister, although not making many, had a clear green light from 3-point range, attempting a team-high seven triples, many of which were quick-release off the catch.
Mitchell went scoreless on the night, missing his three shot attempts and four free throws. He also had a made layup waved off due to an offensive foul.
In a way, exhibition games are meant to be ugly and get the bad out of the way before the regular season starts. Missouri showed a bit of everything — good, bad and ugly — against Kansas State on Friday, and has one more exhibition game against UNLV at 9 p.m. Oct. 29 before beginning its regular season by hosting Cleveland State at 7 p.m. Nov. 3.
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