COLUMBIA, MO. — No. 19 Mizzou Men’s Basketball shot a season-best 58.3 percent and beat South Carolina, 81-70, on Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou dished 16 assists as a team and finished with 40 points in the paint and 20 fastbreak points as the offense buzzed for all 40 minutes.
Mizzou set the tone with a 10-0 run to start the game. The Tigers never trailed and led for more than 39 minutes in a dominating effort.
Senior Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr. continued his torrid stretch, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, and two assists. Tilmon has four double-doubles in his last six games. Senior guard Mark Smith sunk three 3-pointers en route to 18 points, his most in league play thus far.
Mizzou held the SEC’s leading scorer A.J. Lawson to five points on 2-of-9 shooting. South Carolina committed 13 turnovers and shot just 29 percent from beyond the arc.
Turning Point
Mizzou raced out to a 10-0 lead within the first three minutes. South Carolina used a 7-0 run midway through the first half to get back within two possessions, but Mark Smith’s offensive spurt helped Mizzou regain a double-digit advantage. The Tigers pushed in front by as many as 18 at one point, and held at least a 10-point edge for most of the second half.
Top Tigers
- Jeremiah Tilmon put up a game-high 19 points, while shooting 8-for-11 from the field. He added 10 boards, a pair of dimes, and a trio of both blocks and steals. Mizzou is now 10-0 when he reaches 16+ points in his career.
- Mark Smith chipped in 18 points, half of those coming from beyond the arc. He also tallied three boards and a steal.
- Dru Smith tossed in 16 points on an efficient six shots and added three assists on the night.
- Drew Buggs scored a season-high six points and added four assists and two steals in 19 strong minutes off the bench.
Game Notes
- With the win, Mizzou improved to 9-2, the best 11-game start for the Tigers since the 2013-14 season, in which they started 10-1.
- Jeremiah Tilmon, Jr., tallied his fourth double-double in the last six games. He had six double-doubles in his career entering his senior campaign.
- The Tigers’ 58.3 percent clip from the field marked their highest since 1/11/2020 against Florida.
- After Tuesday Night’s performance, the Tigers have had multiple players scoring in double digits in 10 of 11 games this season, and 3+ Tigers in double digits in nine of 11 games this season.
- In the first half, the Tigers shot 61 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc, both of which marked season highs.
- Tilmon, Jr., is the first Tiger with three blocks in back-to-back games since Jontay Porter in 2018 (3 vs. Kentucky and 5 vs. Ole Miss.) Tilmon is just the fifth Tiger in program history to post an 18-point, 3-block, 3-steal game. In his last four games, he’s averaging 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals.
Up Next
Mizzou hits the road for a two-game swing at No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday and at Auburn on Tuesday. The Tigers and Volunteers tip off at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
