3 Takeaways from Mizzou's Massive Victory Over Pacific

The Tigers secured its fourth straight victory over the Pacific Tigers, the second in a row in blowout fashion.

Nov 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Marques Warrick (1) shoots the ball during the first half against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Missouri Tigers picked up another blowout victory in its fifth game of the season, beating the Pacific Tigers 91-56 and improving to 4-1 on the season. After its first loss to the Memphis Tigers in a frustrating manner, the Tigers look much improved and are having players carve out defined roles.

Against Pacific, Missouri got out to a slow start and looked ugly to begin. It wasn't until around 10 minutes into the game that the home team began to pull away but once they did, there was no looking back. Missouri

Pacific boasted five former high-major basketball players and presented a genuine threat to give Missouri a scare. Clearly, that was not the case. Here are three takeaways from Missouri's fourth-consecutive win of the 2024 season.

Grill Finding Consistency

A captain for this Missouri squad, senior sharpshooter Caleb Grill started his season in miserable fashion. He went 0-for-7 in his first two games and scored six total points. As a player whose primary skill is perimeter shooting, his start was disappointing. Since the conclusion of the Tigers' victory over the Howard Bison, Grill is a combined 17-for-23, good for 73.9% from the perimeter.

Against Pacific, Grill had another flamethrower game. He shot 7-for-9 from outside and 9-for-12 in total, posting 25 points for the Tigers and finishing as the leading scorer. He was at the forefront of a high-level outside shooting performance and combined with his leadership in his captain position, Grill is starting to find his footing.

Grill suffered an injury last season that sidelined him for most of the season and in the time he played, he never truly looked comfortable. It appeared as if that carried over to start the season but now that the jitters are out of the way, Grill is leading the Tigers in scoring per game. His scoring has proved vital to good offensive production early on in the season and again

Forced Turnovers

The Tigers only allowed 56 points to Pacific, who was averaging 76.8 points per game up until this point. A key factor in Pacific's inability to score came from the 14 turnovers they committed. So far this season, the Tigers rank No. 17 in the country in forced turnovers per game with 17.5.

It's clear a major part of head coach Dennis Gates' defensive game plan is to gamble and play aggressive defense. Early on, it has paid off. The Tigers scored 24 points of its opponent's give-ups and played with a high level of intensity all night. Pacific only averaged 12.7 turnovers per game until this matchup, another clear display of Missouri's defense thwarting Pacific.

Statistically, Missouri did everything right on defense. They made Pacific commit more turnovers than average and they scored fewer points than its usual average as well. Missouri added nine steals as a team to its box score also. On nights where shots haven't fallen in its first five games, Missouri's defensive intensity has rarely wavered. Making it a staple of the defensive plan, as of now, truly seems to be effective.

Perimeter Shooting

Grill was the leading force behind Missouri's 14-for-30 three-point shooting performance against Pacific, but he wasn't the only one who contributed. He made half of the teams' triples but still had the assistance of the rest of his team to make seven others.

The Tigers received triples from four players off its bench including Grill. They came from guard Marques Warrick and forwards Trent Pierce and Marcus Allen. Warrick only made one on five attempts and Pierce one on three attempts.

As for the starters, every starter besides freshman forward Annor Boateng made one from outside, including center Josh Gray. That was Gray's first made three in his college career, a decision that left some puzzled but pleased. Anthony Robinson II made his only attempt and the other two made one on three attempts. The Tigers have plenty of players capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter, but Grill was the one heavily relied on.

There are no doubts that Grill has found more consistency from the perimeter, but he still needs to show he's someone who can be relied on each night. Missouri would have found a way to win without Grill's 21 perimeter points. Counting on Grill to do that every game simply won't work and other players will have to contribute from the perimeter as the season progresses.

Read More Missouri Tigers News:

Players Believe Mizzou Basketball is Inching Toward Cohesion
Diverse Three-Point Attack Powers Mizzou Basketball Over Pacific
Talented Tiger Underclassmen Emerging in Mizzou Rotation