Takeaways from Mizzou Basketball's Victory Over SIUE

Missouri Tigers men's basketball bounced back from a loss against Memphis on Friday by defeating the SIUE Cougars at Mizzou Arena on Monday.
Takeaways from Mizzou Basketball's Victory Over SIUE
Takeaways from Mizzou Basketball's Victory Over SIUE /
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Mizzou men's basketball moved to 2-1 on the 2023 season with a 68-50 win over SIUE on Monday. The victory comes days after a disappointing 70-55 loss to Memphis on Friday. Here's three takeaways from the Tigers' second win of the season.

Nice to Meet You, Anthony Robinson:

Freshman guard Anthony Robinson gave Mizzou fans the first real taste of his abilities. He didn't score a single field-goal, but he did draw seven fouls that allowed  him to score five points off of free throws. The three-star recruit played 19 minutes while contributing a team-high five assists.

"I love Anthony Robinson," graduate guard Sean East II said. "He's willing to learn always and always asking questions but he's just brings a spark every time he's in the game ... He just always brings good energy and executes coaches directions well. As a freshman, that's good ... He's just happy to be out there."

Head coach Dennis Gates commented Robinson's competitiveness, saying "You look at his level of competitiveness, ... he's an everyday guy and no matter what, everyday guys are going to be rewarded."

How the Second-Half Tables Have Turned:

Mizzou's last two games (Memphis, SIUE) have followed the same script; a close first half of play ends with both teams within 10 points going into the second half. A team named the Tigers then takes over in the second half while the other has a very bad half of shooting.

On Friday against Memphis, Missouri was on the wrong side of the second-half, going 5 for 26 from the field in the final 20 minutes. This led to Mizzou losing 70-55 against the Tigers from Memphis.

Against SIUE though, the script was flipped. 

The Cougars went 14-for-49 on shots and we're outscored 27-10 in the second half. A strong defensive performance from Mizzou that saw the Tigers block eight total shots in the game caused the shooting woes for the Cougars.

Missouri Avoided Losing to Memphis Twice

No matter how bad Missouri's second-half was against Memphis, an early-season loss to a team coming off of a NCAA tournament season is acceptable. However, if Missouri followed last Friday's loss up with a loss to a team that finished eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022, the skies in Columbia would be growing dark early in the season.

But, as Dennis Gates hoped, the Tigers turned losses into lessons. Falling short at home against Memphis did not hang over the heads of Mizzou longer than it needed to, allowing the Tigers to successfully bounce back.

"It's an emotional game and the emotions can get the best of you if you don't handle them the right way," Gates said after the victory. "We want to learn as soon as we get the opportunity to learn. We don't want to repeat certain actions we want to be able to move forward and make sure guys are able to execute those game plans."

The Tigers will continue their season this Thursday when they travel to Minnesota to take on the 2-0 Gophers at 3M Arena.

'Losses Into Lessons': How Mizzou Learned to Execute to Send SIUE H-O-M-E


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Joey Van Zummeren
JOEY VAN ZUMMEREN

Joey Van Zummeren is a sports journalist from Belleville, Ill. He's currently a freshman at the University of Missouri studying journalism, and joined MizzouCentral as an intern in 2023. His beats include football and basketball.