Missouri Tigers score signature win, stomp Iowa State in SEC/Big 12 Challenge

For fans of nostalgia, Mizzou Arena was the place to be on Saturday. From a group of Missouri basketball alumni being honored at halftime to the debut of a throwback uniform look to the renewal of an old Big Eight rivalry, the building held a little bit of everything for MU fans with long memories.

On that final note, head coach Dennis Gates’ Missouri team did a reasonable job helping the sellout crowd remember the best of times. Missouri won 78-61 against an Iowa State squad that entered the game ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press media poll and No. 13 in the coaches poll.

The game represented a signature win for Gates and company, who have likely locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament barring a total collapse late in the season. It also showed the Tigers can compete against some of the better teams in the nation, which they had not proven up until Saturday.

“They’re having a tremendous year and it’s only going to continue to get better,” Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger said after his team’s loss. “They’re a good team. Really well-coached team.”

Sure, Missouri had beaten ranked teams this year. However, Illinois and Kentucky were in shambles during their games against the Tigers and quickly fell out of the top 25 after losing.

Even Arkansas, a team MU went 1-1 against this year, has teetered at the edge of the rankings. Against teams that were unquestionably among the nation’s best, Missouri had been badly beaten twice at home, against Kansas and Alabama.

Saturday’s win showed the Tigers might not be a top-10 team, but they certainly can hang with them, given the right circumstances.

“For us to have that ‘Quad 1’ victory is very important,” Gates said. “Not only on Selection Sunday, but just for us in our growth to recognize who we are.”

Kobe’s big day

Kobe Brown doesn’t always have to be the best player on the floor this season. It’s been a year of sharp contrast to 2021-22 when Missouri didn’t win if he wasn’t at the top of his game.

The 2022-23 Tigers have more options. Those have opened things up for Brown, letting Isiaih Mosley, D’Moi Hodge and others have big games to help carry the team.

Still, at his best, there might not be a Missouri player who can impact a game like Brown does. On Saturday, he had one of those games.

“He was so physical and aggressive,” Otzelberger said. “Demanded the ball in spots, was terrific on the glass.”

Brown started hot, hitting a three-pointer in the first three minutes. Throughout the first half, he continued to dominate the contest.

He showed off his ability to finish at the rim, moving defenders out of his way on the way to one rim-rattling dunk. A few minutes later, Brown missed a shot off the glass, which looked oddly like a pass to himself after he split the defense to grab the rebound and slam the ball home.

When Brown stepped off for a few minutes to take a breath on the bench, it showed. The Cyclones were able to go on a quick run and MU had trouble matching it offensively.

He quickly returned, and the Tigers finished the first half hitting four field goals in a row, heading to the locker room up 42-32. Brown led the team with 16 points and five rebounds in the first half.

More than that, he avoided his tendency to get into foul trouble, something that has occasionally driven him to the bench. Brown finished the half without fouling.

In the second half, Brown didn’t need to be as involved offensively, with his teammates helping shoulder more of the load. Still, he made his presence known on the boards, moving into double-double territory and helping MU lock up the victory.

Brown finished with 20 points and 12 boards.

“I feel like the shots going in is what helped me get the rebounds,” Brown said. “Because when they didn’t go in (Iowa State) just assumed they were going in, so it was a lot easier.”

The shooting touch

In the past several games for Missouri basketball, the calculus has been as simple as possible: If shots went in, the Tigers won. If they couldn’t find the net, things weren’t going their way.

After a few rough showings against Texas A&M and Florida, it seemed MU had things figured out in a win at Ole Miss.

Before the game on Friday, Gates had joked that what dictated the pace was the same thing that dictated which coaches were good at scheming things up: whether or not shots went in.

In the return home, the shooting looked like it had fully recovered. Sure, the Tigers had some bad misses from deep early on, but they quickly recovered.

“We hang our hat defensively on the things that we do and for them to shoot 49% and 47 from three, we need to be better defensively,” Otzelberger said. “But I give a lot of credit to them: how they space the floor and were able to drive it.”

At the start of the second half, Missouri started to blow the doors off of the Cyclones from beyond the arc. Nick Honor showed seemingly limitless range, drilling three-pointers from increasingly deep distances.

Isiaih Mosley, who made his first home start for his hometown Tigers, also made some noise from deep, hitting two from long range. D’Moi Hodge seemed to be fully back after struggling mightily against Texas A&M and Florida. He made 5 of 10 attempts from deep to finish with 17 points

Missouri finished the game hitting 49% from the field and 14 of 30 attempts from three.

The Tigers (5-4 SEC) moved to 16-5 on the season with the win. They’ll be back in action at Mizzou Arena on Wednesday, taking on LSU in a game scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.