How Mizzou basketball earned its first SEC road win in defeating Vanderbilt
For the Missouri Tigers, the SEC road losses slowly piled up. Mizzou couldn’t get over the hump, playing competitive away games but coming up just short near the end.
It was at the point where Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin thought it affected his team mentally. For a coach who speaks of “stealing” wins, his Tigers weren’t doing that, entering Wednesday’s game at Vanderbilt 0-7 in SEC road contests.
The Tigers’ skid ended Wednesday. They defeated the Commodores 61-52, keeping hopes of postseason play alive at Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium.
“We didn’t finish well,” Martin said of past road games. “What we did tonight as opposed to the previous two road games, we finished defensively well. We did a good job defensively down the stretch.”
Before Wednesday’s win, Mizzou’s road efforts were either missing the whole picture or the final piece. There were the blowout losses early in the conference season. While the Tigers’ play picked up in recent weeks, they were still coming up short in their upset efforts.
Mizzou (14-14, 6-9 SEC) left little to doubt as it defeated Vanderbilt, this time keeping the home team from getting over the hump.
“It was just kind of getting the monkey off our back,” forward Reed Nikko said. “We try to say we don’t think about it, but at some point, it’s hard to ignore. So to get that first one out of the way, even this late in the season, is big for us.”
Mizzou’s journey to that elusive away win started sloppy, allowing Vanderbilt to build a nine-point lead late in the first half. After relatively smooth offensive play the past few weeks, shots weren’t falling for the Tigers.
So they turned to their trusty, shifty weapon: guard Xavier Pinson. After playing just eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Martin unleashed him at the beginning of the second half.
The Chicago native — playing in front of Scottie Pippen, who was watching his son play for Vandy — was explosive after the break. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds in just 20 minutes.
“I just see my open spots and try to stay as aggressive as much as possible,” Pinson said. “It worked out really for us. If I wasn’t open, somebody else will be. So I just try to stay aggressive and control the tempo.”
While the Tigers returned Jeremiah Tilmon (foot) and Mark Smith (lower back) from injury, it was Nikko who stole the show. He was perfect on Wednesday: 5 for 5 on field goals and 4 for 4 from the free throw line for 14 points and five rebounds.
Martin said Nikko was battling his own back injury, which almost kept him out of the Arkansas loss. While Nikko won’t use it as an excuse, there was a reason why he only scored six points and grabbed zero rebounds against the undersized Hogs. He almost didn’t play against the Commodores.
But Nikko earned an impressive bounce-back game, often open and converting every time the Tigers needed him.
Whenever Vanderbilt looked like it was going to string a run together to challenge Mizzou, the Tigers stood strong. They held onto their lead, never relinquishing it for the final 17 minutes.
With the Tigers back at the .500 mark, it leaves their postseason hopes still alive. Next up is a rematch against Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena as the Tigers look to continue their hot streak.
“We have to continue to do a better job of finishing games,” Martin said. “In the past, we didn’t finish well. We gave ourselves a chance. But we have to continue doing a better job.”