Mizzou basketball blows out Alabama on Senior Day, earns bye in SEC Tournament
The Missouri Tigers blew out the Alabama Crimson Tide 69-50 on Saturday and earned a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers (15-16, 7-11 SEC) won their regular season finale as they honored forward Reed Nikko for Senior Day at Mizzou Arena. While it was a close game early, Mizzou separated from the Crimson Tide (16-15, 8-10) following a 12-1 run in the second half.
“Run, run, run,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said. “You have to run. I was looking forward to the fact, they get out and run, let’s get out and run. We’re better at transition baskets. It’s always hard to score in the half court.
“We defended the way I thought we could throughout the season.”
The win boosted Mizzou to the No. 10 seed as the Tigers won the tiebreaker over Arkansas. The tournament opens Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee and the Tigers will take on No. 7 seeded Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Thursday for a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded Auburn.
Neither team found any offensive consistency early. The Crimson Tide, a three-point happy team, couldn’t find their shot from long range. They finished at 16% on threes, missing often when Mizzou built its lead.
For the Tigers, they went through their own drought, missing their first 12 three-point attempts. But the Tigers made 5 of their last 7 three-pointers.
When the Tigers went on their decisive run, they did so with well-timed three-pointers and getting to the free throw line often. From there, Mizzou cruised to victory to snap a two-game losing streak.
After a slow start, Mizzou guard Dru Smith impressed with 17 points, including a stellar 9 for 10 from the free throw line. Mark Smith also had 13 points while Mitchell Smith added 10 points. Jeremiah Tilmon was also crucial with eight points and nine rebounds, including five offensive boards.
Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr. led the Crimson Tide with 18 points.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 3:47 PM.