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Mizzou and Ole Miss met on Saturday in a crucial top-25 showdown for both squads. And immediately after tip-off, it looked scary for the Tigers.
Ole Miss came firing right out of the gate with a quick 8-0 run to open the scoring. However, that run didn’t last long.
Mizzou would respond by scoring the next 12 points, including 10 from Tamar Bates, and it was game on from there. The Tigers would carry a 38-31 lead into halftime and had the answer every time Ole Miss threatened in the 2nd half.
In the end, Bates’s hot scoring night (he led all players with 26 points) and an 11-for-25 shooting night from 3-point range powered Mizzou to the 83-75 win. Caleb Grill was instrumental off the bench with 22 points and converting on 5-of-9 attempts from 3-point range.
The 3-point line was also instrumental in a different way for Ole Miss. The Rebels shot just 6-for-20 from deep (30%) and were outrebounded in the loss to the Tigers.
Malik Dia led Ole Miss with 17 points and 8 rebounds while Sean Pedulla, Jaemyn Brakefield and Matthew Murrell all reached double figures. Bench points played a factor with the Rebels registering just 9 points off the bench to 31 for the Tigers.
The win moves Mizzou to 15-0 at home this season. That’s the 5th-longest active D1 home winning streak in the country with the Tigers also improving to 5-2 in SEC play.
Dennis Gates’s squad is also now 3-1 against AP Top 25 teams this season with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Auburn. That mark will be tested with Saturday’s game the first of 4 straight against ranked opponents.
On the other side of things, Ole Miss was wrapping up its own 4-game stretch against ranked opponents, including 3 of those games on the road. The Rebels went just 1-3 in those contests and will now look to rebound from a 3-game losing streak against Texas.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
