Missouri Tigers dominate paint to win last home men’s basketball game of 2025
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Missouri beat Bethune-Cookman 82-60, closing 2025 home slate with a 22-point win.
- Team dominated inside, producing 50 paint points versus its 36-point season average.
- Jacob Crews (20) and Mark Mitchell (19) led scoring; Tigers outrebounded Wildcats.
The Missouri Tigers have played their last game of 2025 at Mizzou Arena, and they finished the year on a high note with an 82-60 win against Bethune-Cookman.
For Mizzou, it was a much-needed blowout after the way the Tigers’ last three games unfolded.
The Tigers struggled to put away Alabama State on Thursday but survived to snap a two-game skid — which featured losses to Notre Dame and Kansas. MU’s 22-point win Sunday builds some momentum ahead of the Dec. 22 Braggin’ Rights game against Illinois at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center.
Three Tigers scored in double-digits, led by 20 points from Jacob Crews and 19 points, seven rebounds from Mark Mitchell.
“It was a game of runs,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates told reporters in Columbia. “(But) I thought our defense stood out the most.”
The Tigers held the Wildcats, who came toe-to-toe against Auburn earlier this season in what Gates called “not an easy task” in his postgame press conference, to 42.2% shooting.
The Tigers also totaled 10 steals against the Wildcats, their most since the Notre Dame game. Mitchell led those efforts with four.
“I think today was ... one of our best defensive games just from start to finish,” Mitchell told media in Columbia. “Just trying to keep the intensity the whole time, I think we did a pretty good job.”
Mizzou scored 50 points in the paint Sunday, an improvement after averaging of 31 in the KU and Notre Dame losses, and even better than the 46 they put up against Alabama State.
Crews made his second straight start for the Tigers. He went 8-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and has now scored in double-digits in five straight contests.
Anthony Robinson added 15 points and created numerous opportunities for teammates offensively while grabbing seven rebounds. It was his second straight game in double-digits — he had 19 points against Alabama State, along with five assists.
“Collectively, we saw a lot of guys being able to contribute,” Gates said. “The stat lines speak for itself ... Ant Robinson being able to have back-to-back games like that ... and Jacob Crews taking advantage of the starting opportunity, 20 points in itself and shooting at a high rate, that attention helps our spacing.”
Overall, the Tigers outrebounded the Wildcats 34-20.
Sophomore guard Annor Boateng also showed improvement as a 3-point shooter in the win, making two of his four attempts. He previously had just three made 3-pointers this season but made his third consecutive start for Mizzou on Sunday.
“I think he’s done a good job,” Gates said. “I think he allows the game to come to him and not chase the game. Those shots he received were opportunity shots that he was prepared to knock down.
“Defensively, it’s a lot of things that he does well on that end of the court. I want to see him rebound a bit more, but also from a ball pressure standpoint, you see deflections that he was able to get.”
Boateng and three defensive rebounds and a steal against the Wildcats. He also had two steals against Kansas, totaling four defensive rebounds.
“He just gives us versatility on both sides of the ball,” Gates said.
This story was originally published December 14, 2025 at 3:34 PM.
