Mizzou Men's Basketball Wins by 23 Over South Carolina State Despite First-Half Struggles

Missouri Tigers men's basketball went on a 22-0 run early on in the second half against South Carolina State to overcome a disappointing first-half performance.

What started out as a demoralizing performance for Missouri men's basketball against South Carolina State turned into the Tigers' highest margin-of-victory of the season. Despite trailing by 16 in the first half, momentum would swing for Missouri to win 82-59 on Wednesday night.

When coach Dennis Gates called for his second timeout of the night, his Missouri Tigers seemed lifeless. South Carolina State's Omar Croskey had just scored off of a fast break opportunity thanks to the Tigers' fourth turnover the night. The Bulldogs were already leading 29-13 with 7:45 remaining in the first half.

"I'm not happy about it, nor am I excited about what we had to do to get to the point of winning the game," Gates said. "We dug ourselves a hole ... We played 30 minutes of basketball, we didn't play the first 10 minutes at all."

Following the timeout, center Connor Vanover was inserted into Missouri's lineup. The 7'5" Oral Roberts transfer would instantly provide for life Missouri by making the Tigers' first three-point shot of the game and bringing a much-needed shift to Missouri's energy and physicality that would carry the Tigers to their fourth victory of the season.

Despite this series from Vanover, Gates was unsatisfied with his performance.

"It's not good enough," Gates said. "I expect more from Connor and he knows that. I look at when I subbed him back in and he gave up an offensive rebound. I look at him not blocking the shot when maybe a guy physically was trying to go through his chest. That's what I look at. And ultimately he came away with zero fouls. That's not good enough. It's not good enough. So I want him to continue to grow and get better in those situations."

Gates was clearly disappointed in the entire performance. Some might call him a perfectionist. Most good coaches are.

"A pat on the back is two inches away from a kick on the butt," Gates said. "Tonight we dug ourselves a hole. So rather it doesn't matter who we're playing. The biggest opponent is ourselves. The person in the mirror is the biggest opponent and we got to continue to conquer that person."

Two players who stepped up to help Missouri avoid a 'kick on the butt' were freshman guard Anthony Robinson and sophomore forward Aidan Shaw.

Robinson scored three straight field goals in just one minute during the second half to kickstart a 22-0 run. The guard ended the night with a career-high of 10 points along with three rebounds and two assists.

Shaw was a menace on the defensive end for Missouri, grabbing seven total rebounds and blocking five shots. He formed this impressive stat line in just six minutes of playing time.

With Shaw leading the way, Missouri broke the school record for the most blocks in a single game with 12. With 47 blocks in the first seven games of the season, Missouri is well on pace to break the school's record of 171 for the most blocks in a season.

Offensively, Missouri was able to turn it around due to success from behind the three-point line. Vanover's first-half make would be the first of nine successful three-point shots for Missouri, with five of them falling in the Tigers' dominant second half. 

With South Carolina State's strengths mostly lying within their physicality in the paint ,the Bulldogs were only successful on two three-point shots. 

Leading Missouri in scoring for the fourth time in the 2023 season was graduate guard Sean East II with 21 points. East also added four assists and four blocks for Missouri.

The Tigers will continue their season this Saturday when they host Loyola (Maryland) at Mizzou Arena at 11 a.m. 

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