Missouri Tigers give up late 3, fall in overtime to Vanderbilt. Here’s the recap
It often looked like a repeat of the last time the No. 14 Missouri Tigers were on the road.
There were turnovers, inefficiency in the paint and a halftime lead that slowly slipped away, leading to a back-and-forth final few minutes.
And then a sequence in the last 15 seconds of regulation where Mizzou went from up four to tied ... and headed to overtime in an eventual 97-93 loss.
The Tigers led 79-75 with 21 seconds to play after Anthony Robinson made two free throws. Vanderbilt’s Jason Edwards (17 points) drilled a 3 to make it a one-point game with 12.3 seconds left.
Caleb Grill again built the lead for Missouri, hitting two free throws to put the Tigers up 81-78 with nine seconds to play. But Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel answered, blowing the roof off Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville with a tying 3-pointer with four seconds left.
The Tigers (21-8, 10-6) never recovered from Nickel’s shot. They never led in overtime, and Vanderbilt (20-9, 8-8) made its free throws to close out the win Saturday.
“It’s a hard-fought game in an unbelievable atmosphere,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “I thought our guys did a good job fighting in and out. We had a lead for over 30 minutes of the game, but credit to Vandy for executing, and obviously I have to do a better job in putting our guys in an organized-defense situation.”
Grill had his best performance in SEC play, scoring 28 points on 9-19 shooting (7-for-7 from the free throw line), and Mark Mitchell added 20 points (12-of-15 on free throws). But that wasn’t enough to mask where the Tigers came up short.
The turnover bug bit the Tigers on the road for the second time in a week. It was a major key in the loss in Fayetteville, with 18 turnovers against the Razorbacks leading to 30 points. Against the Commodores, MU committed 13 turnovers that led to 24 points.
And again, the Tigers struggled to defend the paint, with 48 Vanderbilt points coming from inside. The Razorbacks gashed the Tigers for 44 points in the paint a week ago.
The Commodores also beat the Tigers in one area they controlled against Arkansas: the glass. Vanderbilt won the rebounding battle 36-25. The Commodores recorded 18 offensive rebounds, and collected 12 second-chance points.
Missouri had 12 offensive rebounds, nine second-chance points.
The Tigers kept this game close in regulation with their ability to get to the free throw line. Mizzou went 25-for-31 on free-throw attempts while drawing 21 fouls in regulation. MU led by as many as nine, which was the halftime margin.
For the game, counting overtime, MU went 28-for-35 at the line. But Vanderbilt was especially efficient in the extra period, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 7-for-9 from the line.
“We played good enough to win the game, we just didn’t come out down the stretch executing,” Gates said. “It’s the madness in March. That’s all it is.”
Chris Manon led Vanderbilt with 23 points, 11 rebounds. AJ Hoggard added 21 points, six assists.
Joining Grill and Mitchell in double figures for Mizzou were Tamar Bates (16 points) and Robinson (16 points, five assists).
The Commodores added a ranked win to a resume that was already close to NCAA Tournament-worthy. It was the third consecutive win over an AP-ranked opponent for the Commodores.
Next up: The Tigers close out their road schedule on Wednesday with a trip to Norman. Tipoff against the Oklahoma Sooners (17-12, 4-12 SEC) is slated for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM.
