A never-ending possession: 40 seconds of Mizzou hoops that steamrolled Minnesota

With less than 10 minutes left in Wednesday night’s home game against Minnesota, the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team rattled off a 45-second — and seemingly never-ending — possession.

The Tigers were up 53-47 when Luke Northweather hit a corner 3-pointer that changed the momentum of the game, which ended in an 83-60 MU victory over the Gophers at Mizzou Arena.

The shot had the entire arena on its feet, roaring, and both the energy and the possession were kept alive by an off-ball Minnesota foul.

Next came the baseline out-of-bounds play to Mark Mitchell, the same play that continuously fell flat for the Tigers the half before. This time, Mitchell secured the rock and backed down the Gophers' defender under the hoop before swinging around and laying the ball in the basket.

A whistle accompanied the sound of the ball hitting the court after its trip through the net, sending Mitchell to line for a potential six-point run for the Tigers before the Gophers played another offensive possession.

The crowd held its breath as Mitchell released the ball from the free throw line. The ball bounced once off the rim, chances of a six-point possession seemingly out of reach.

"Tweet!"

Another whistle blew, announcing a foul on the rebound. The possession lived on.

Mizzou pounced on the opportunity to push its lead even farther, finding Crews at the top of the key and ready to fire. Just slightly off center, Crews released an uncontested 3-pointer that had an electrified crowd frozen in anticipation.

Swish.

The Mizzou team that played after that eight-point possession looked entirely different from the way it played in the first half.

Missouri looked like a different team in the last 10 minutes of the second half. Gone were the Tigers who were out-rebounded 24-11 by Minnesota in the first half. The longest possession transformed the hesitant, unorganized Missouri team into a squad capable of scoring 51 points in the second, 40 in the last 10 minutes alone.

Thanks to that big scoring swing spearheaded by long shots from Northweather, Crews and Anthony Robinson II balanced with Mitchell dominating the inside, the Tigers pulled away. The Gophers were defenseless to the roar at Mizzou Arena that added to the Tigers' high, only scoring 13 points after the eight-point possession.

"That one stretch … I mean, that ended up kind of being the nail in the coffin," Minnesota coach Niko Medved said.

Despite the final score, the play in the first half was not indicative of the outcome against the Gophers. The Tigers severely lost the rebound battle and were forced to overcompensate for their defensive mistakes with desperate offensive tactics to stay in the game.

Junior Sebastian Mack held down scoring in the first, putting in work getting in the lane and shots from the perimeter. He opened up the Tigers' scoring with a floater just outside the lane and then drained two deep 3s. Mack led Mizzou in scoring in the first half and was the only players in double digits for the Tigers.

"Lord knows where we would be at this moment if (Mack) had not stepped up and do what he can do well and score the basketball," Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said. "I thought he allowed the game to come to him and he took the opportunities that was presented."

The Gophers locked down Mitchell throughout the first, forcing the Tigers to lean on other offensive options. He ended the half with seven, but gained more traction in the second, adding 11 more.

"I just fed off Mark, honestly, because they were so keyed in on him," guard Jayden Stone said. "It just makes it so easy for Crews and I to get catch and shoot shots."

Stone and Crews ended the night with 13 and 14 points, respectively, with the latter finishing 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Stone went 1-for-4 from 3-point range, but created traction for the Tigers with two steals and three rebounds through the contest.

T.O. Barrett led in steals on the night, finishing with three. Barrett stepped up to fill Robinson's role after the latter got in early foul trouble. He ended the game with eight points and two assists.

"What I like most (about Barrett) is his versatility defensively," Gates said. "He can obviously, with his size, deflect passes. I truly believe he's one of the better passers on our team."

On the whole, the Tigers had an explosive second half that saved their sub-par performance in the first to carry them to a dominant win over Minnesota.

Mizzou will be back in action at 7 p.m. Monday against Prairie View A&M at Mizzou Arena.

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 4:44 PM with the headline "A never-ending possession: 40 seconds of Mizzou hoops that steamrolled Minnesota."