‘I just felt untouchable:’ How Mizzou’s Xavier Pinson dominated Mississippi
After Missouri guard Xavier Pinson hit what was his final three-pointer of the night on Tuesday, he shook his head.
It started to feel like one of those nights.
“I just felt untouchable,” Pinson said.
While Pinson said he doesn’t count his points, he said there was a certain air to his performance about midway through the second half. And he was right. It was just his latest scoring outburst in recent weeks.
After 24-point and 28-point outings in his last two home games, Pinson outdid himself, this time with a career-high 32 points on Tuesday. The Chicago native dominated Mississippi as Mizzou pulled off a nailbiting 71-68 victory at Mizzou Arena.
“I feel like just keep our foot on the neck, keep being aggressive and keep playing hard,” Pinson said, “then we can look up at the end of the game and see what you got and what the score is.”
Pinson was nearly flawless in every facet offensively. When he drove towards the basket, he was efficient on layups while drawing fouls. He shot 10 for 11 from the free throw line, including six straight makes in the final minute to close the win.
He coupled that with perfect 4 for 4 three-point shooting, punishing the Rebels whenever they left him open. It’s why when he made his final three-pointer, all he could do was shake his head.
Once Pinson was red-hot from deep, it left the Rebels with limited options defensively. They could either sag off Pinson to protect the drive or play up close to stop the threes. While Mississippi was creative on defense, it wasn’t enough.
“If he’s hitting (three-pointers) like he was tonight, in my opinion, it’s almost impossible to guard him,” Mizzou guard Dru Smith said of Pinson. “He’s so hard to stay in front of. If he’s hitting those that consistently, teams are going to not let him catch the ball.”
While Pinson didn’t record an assist Tuesday, his scoring explosion opened up other shots for his teammates. With Pinson so dangerous with the ball, Mississippi defenders elected to face-guard him for stretches.
Once Pinson realized Mississippi’s game plan, he turned to Smith. Because the Rebels were denying Pinson the ball, it allowed Smith to come off screens and attack without any help from Pinson’s defenders.
While Smith wasn’t efficient at 4 for 14 shooting, he still scored 17 points, aided by Pinson’s gravity on offense.
“Today was just a lot of selflessness and try to get my teammates involved and everything,” Pinson said. “It worked out for everyone.”
While Pinson weaved through the Mississippi defense, he played just 27 minutes on Tuesday. He was relegated to seven minutes in the first half, stuck to the bench after he was called for an early technical foul.
Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said he didn’t chew out Pinson, but he played sparingly early. Pinson saw all 20 minutes of play after halftime though.
“It was a good call by the ref because he didn’t really know what was going on in my head,” Pinson said of the technical. “But there was nothing there.”
For a player as confident as any, the past four games have been an explosion for Pinson. He’s averaged 22.3 points per game over that stretch, clearly embracing his role as Mizzou’s attack-first point guard.
With the Tigers (13-13, 5-8) jostling for position in the SEC, their hot streak is tested next with a pair of road games, where it’s been a season-long struggle. But Martin said they’re looking forward game-by-game.
“It’s the best ball that people have seen,” Pinson said. “But we still have a lot more to come.”