COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tyasha Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan scored 16 points apiece on Monday night and No. 19 South Carolina defeated No. 25 Missouri 79-65 in a game that started with both teams gathering at midcourt to defuse any lingering tension from a testy game last season.

A minor scuffle broke out during the game last February and afterward a Missouri player said South Carolina fans spit on the Tigers. Missouri’s athletic director Jim Sterk said racial epithets were directed at the Tigers and said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley promoted the atmosphere.

Sterk was fined by the Southeastern Conference and Staley sued for defamation. Sterk apologized and Staley received an out-of-court settlement.

Leading up to the game, Staley and Missouri coach Robin Pingeton downplayed the past and said the focus should be on the battle for second place in the SEC. The players and coaches circled midcourt and held hands during the national anthem, though the teams didn’t intermingle.

There was one minor incident in this game Missouri never led and was down by double-figures from late in the second quarter.

A personal foul was called on Missouri’s Sophie Cunningham with 2:39 left in the third quarter. She was defending South Carolina’s Lele Grissett on the low block and Missouri’s Akira Levy doubled down on Grissett, grabbing for the ball as the whistle blew and both were given questionable technical fouls. At that point, the Gamecocks were up 57-44. The lead reached 24 in the fourth quarter.

Bianca Cuevas-Moore and Alexis Jennings added 14 points for South Carolina (13-5, 5-1).

Cunningham had 21 for the Tigers (15-5, 4-2), Amber Smith added 16 and Levy 12.

— Associated Press —

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Missouri hadn’t yet hit the panic button in Southeastern Conference play, but the Tigers’ fingers were getting awfully itchy.

“We needed this one bad,” Missouri forward Jeremiah Tilmon said following the Tigers’ 66-43 thumping of Texas A&M on Saturday. “We started off in the SEC real slow so this was a big confidence builder.”

Jordan Geist scored 17 points and Tilmon added 14 as Missouri dominated A&M over the game, quieting an already subdued crowd in a half-full arena. Missouri (10-6, 1-4) won its first league game while A&M (7-9, 1-4) lost its fourth consecutive home game.

“Our guys did a great job from start to finish of being locked in,” Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin said. “We just had to muster up the energy to get back to the basics, and here we are.”

Geist made 6 of 7 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, in the Tigers’ largest margin of victory on the road in SEC play since 2013. Nearly halfway through the second half, the Aggies had made only six field goals, as the Tigers poured it on with the outcome no longer in doubt.

“I want to apologize to our fans and the 12th Man for our effort,” said coach Billy Kennedy, who’s in his eighth season at A&M. “It was obviously poor. And obviously I’ve done a poor job getting our guys to play at the level I think we’re capable of playing.”

Josh Nebo led A&M with 12 points and Jay Jay Chandler added 11. Kevin Puryear had 10 rebounds to help Missouri earn a 39-33 advantage.

“My mission today was just to give this team a spark,” Puryear said. “And we’re a lot better at the posts than a lot of people give us credit for.”

The Tigers overwhelmed the Aggies in points in the paint (28-10), and Missouri shot 48 percent from the field (25 of 52) while the Aggies shot a season-low 26 percent (13 of 50).

“You can’t sit here and dwell on this, you just keep moving forward and figure it out,” Nebo said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers needed this one in the worst way, following three consecutive losses to start SEC play (that followed six straight wins entering conference action). The Tigers also avoided losing four straight games for the first time under Martin, who’s in his second season.

A&M: The Aggies have largely been mediocre to middling in Kennedy’s eight seasons, but their two NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three seasons have been successes with Sweet 16 appearances.

Saturday might be rock bottom for the Aggies under Kennedy — at least they’re hoping so — considering he’s this deep into his A&M tenure.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

The Missouri players were the only ones in the arena who jumped out of their seats in excitement, especially when Reed Nikko skied over Aggie rebounders for a follow-up dunk to lift the Tigers to a 21-14 lead with 7:46 remaining in the first half.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Aggies’ 43 points were their lowest this season by 21 points, and their lowest total since losing 66-41 to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the 2017 SEC Tournament.

HE SAID IT

“I’m not doing a good enough job of getting them ready, and secondly, you have to have guys who want to be coached, and that starts in practice,” Kennedy said.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers are at Arkansas on Wednesday.

Texas A&M: The Aggies are at Florida on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball picked up its 15^th win of the season, beating Georgia, 61-35, at Mizzou Arena Thursday night. The Tiger defense was dominant all night long, holding Georgia to just 35 points, the lowest total ever allowed by Mizzou in conference play.  It was also the lowest point total for the Bulldogs since they were held to 26 back in the 2014-15 season by Auburn. The Tigers now move to 4-1 in SEC play with the win.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was fantastic again for the Tigers, scoring 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds and snagging five steals, leading the team in all three categories. Junior forward Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) and freshman guard Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) also had quality outings against Georgia, as Smith went for nine points and five boards, while Levy racked up seven points and five assists.

TURNING POINT

The Tigers and Bulldogs both struggled to score in the early going, as the team’s only combined for nine points midway through the first period. Then, Mizzou turned it on, going on a 21-8 run that spanned the second half of the first period and all of the second quarter.

Cunningham, Smith and redshirt freshman guard Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) led the charge during the game-changing run, as the trio combined for 20 of the Tigers’ 25 first half points. The run was highlighted by a late shot clock heave from Troup that dropped in from about 35 feet and by Cunningham’s layup at the first half buzzer that stretched the lead to 12 going into the intermission.

TOP TIGERS

• Cunningham finished the game with 23 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five steals. It was Cunningham’s seventh 20-point game of the season, and her seventh game of 18+ points in the last 11 games.
• Senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) continues her upward trajectory since returning to the court, scoring eight points, while grabbing five rebounds.
• Smith put up another balanced line, going for nine points, five rebounds three assists and a steal.
• Levy scored seven points and recorded a season-high five assists.

NOTES

• Mizzou held Georgia to 35 points, the fewest points ever scored against Mizzou in a conference game.
• It was the fewest points allowed by the Tigers since Nebraska scored 35 during the 2016-17 season (11/14/16).
• Those 35 points were also the Bulldogs’ lowest total since they were held to just 26 against Auburn during the 2014-15 season (2/22/15).
• Mizzou had 15 assists against Georgia, the 10^th time this season the Tigers have registered at least 15 helpers.
• Cunningham dropped 20 points for the 40^th time in her career against Georgia.
• Cunningham registered 23 points and eight rebounds, her sixth performance this season with at least 20+ points and 5+ rebounds.
• Cunningham also snatched five steals, a new career-high.
• With her 23 points, eight rebounds and five steals, Cunningham is just the third Tiger in the last 21 seasons to record such a stat line, joining Jordan Frericks (27 points, 17 rebounds, six steals at Bradley, 12-6-14) and Christine Flores (25 points, 14 rebounds, five steals vs. Eastern Illinois, 12-7-11).
• Levy had five assists in the game, the most in her young career.

UP NEXT

Mizzou next travels to Columbia, S.C., where they will take on the Gamecocks at on Monday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is set to tip at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Avery Johnson Jr. scored 14 points to lead Alabama to a 70-60 road victory over Missouri on Wednesday.

Johnson — the son of Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson — shattered his season high of four points. Johnson shot 5-for-10 from the field and compiled his highest points total since his career-high 23-point performance against South Carolina in February of 2017.

Alabama (11-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) took early control of the rebounding battle, and outrebounded the Tigers 37-29. The Crimson Tide has now outrebounded opponents in 15 of its 16 games this season.

Donta Hall scored 12 points and hauled in 11 boards, good for the senior forward’s fifth double-double performance in his past six games. Hall leads SEC players with eight double-doubles this season.

Mark Smith and Javon Pickett each added 13 points to lead Missouri (9-6, 0-3) in scoring. Smith — who entered the game shooting an SEC-leading 47.3 percent from 3 — drilled four of nine 3-point attempts. The Tigers also came into the contest leading the SEC shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. They converted seven of 20 3-point tries.

Missouri’s reliable weapon Jordan Geist scored just nine points on 4-for-11 shooting, including 0-for-5 from 3.

BIG PICTURE

Alabama: After a second-half collapse against Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide picked up a much-needed road victory ahead of a difficult stretch in its schedule. Alabama needed a pick-me-up ahead of its next two matchups, which come against No. 3 Tennessee and No. 18 Mississippi.

Missouri: The Tigers have now lost three in a row following a promising six-game winning streak. This was a game Missouri really needed, as it now hits the road in conference play.

UP NEXT

Alabama stays on the road to play (No. 3) Tennessee on Saturday.

Missouri kicks off a two-game road trip Saturday against Texas A&M.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — No one else might have believed in South Carolina as they entered Southeastern Conference play as the only team with a losing record, but Gamecocks coach Frank Martin made sure his team didn’t lose faith.

Keyshawn Bryant scored 15 points and Chris Silva added 14 points as South Carolina (8-7, 3-0 SEC) continued its surprising league start with an 85-75 win over Missouri on Sunday. It’s only the third time in 28 seasons the Gamecocks have won their first three SEC games.

“Young guys, man,” Frank Martin said when asked what has happened to a South Carolina team that went 5-7 in non-conference with losses to Stony Brook and Wofford. “Being a good team is not like flipping a light switch.”

On Sunday, it was a combination of the freshman Bryant’s 7-of-9 shooting and Silva’s taking advantage after Missouri’s big man, Jeremiah Tilmon, fouling out with 12:57 left trying to post up on Silva.

“It doesn’t matter what situation we are in — coach always believes in us,” Silva said.

The Gamecocks led the entire second half, but the Tigers (9-5, 0-2) kept hanging around. Three times Missouri cut the lead to three but couldn’t get closer.

The last time came on Javon Pickett’s 3-pointer with 3:17 left. But Felipe Hasse and A.J. Lawson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put South Carolina ahead 79-70 with 2:03 to go.

Hasse added 14 points and six rebounds for the Gamecocks.

The freshman Pickett led all scorers with a career-high 21 points. Mark Smith and Jordan Geist each added 14 for the Tigers.

The game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but Columbia, Missouri received about a foot of snow Friday into Saturday, and the Tigers couldn’t make it out of town until Saturday.

TILMON’S TROUBLES

It’s been a rough three games for Tillmon. The sophomore has fouled out of three games in a row, and his 13 minutes Sunday was his longest outing of the three.

Tillmon was disqualified in 12 minutes against Morehead State and nine minutes versus Tennessee.

Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said Tillmon’s troubles Sunday were more on him than on a veteran all-SEC preseason first team player like Silva taking advantage of him.

“It’s him looking in the mirror and figuring out his next move,” Martin said of Tillmon.

RARE START

The other two times South Carolina has started 3-0 in the SEC have been special seasons.

In 1997, they started 11-0 and won their only SEC regular season title.

In 2017, South Carolina opened 5-0 in the SEC and went to their only Final Four.

A DAY LATER

Both Cuonzo Martin and Frank Martin said delaying the game by a day wasn’t a factor in the outcome. Missouri couldn’t get out Friday because the snow came faster and harder than forecast.

“It’s a part of it,” Cuonzo Martin said. “You make adjustments.”

Frank Martin said he learned winter weather can mess up plans quickly during his years coaching at Kansas State and the safety of a traveling team needs to always be first over any inconvenience of postponing a game.

“I lived out there, so I understand travel gets complicated sometimes,” he said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers turned the ball over 20 times, their second-worst performance this season. South Carolina had 16 turnovers, but the Gamecocks outscored Missouri 33-17 off the miscues.

South Carolina: The key to the Gamecocks surprise SEC start comes on offense. Teams typically score less once league play starts, but South Carolina is averaging 81 points in tis three SEC games, eight more points than non-conference play.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers host Alabama on Wednesday.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks are on the road against Vanderbilt, who has opened 0-3 in the SEC.

— Associated Press —

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball dropped its first conference game of the season Sunday, as the Tigers fell to Florida, 56-54, at Exactech Arena. The Gators closed the game on a 17-3 run, and outscored the Tigers, 22-11 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Mizzou shared the ball well in the game, as the Tigers assisted on 73.9 percent of its made field goals (17-of-23) in the game, its second-highest percentage of the season behind 89.5 percent (17-of-19) against Duke (Nov. 25). Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) led Mizzou in assists in the game with eight, which match a season-high (St. Louis, Dec. 9) and was one off from a career-high.

TURNING POINT

Florida outscored Mizzou 22-11 in the fourth quarter to capture the win. The Gators ended the game on a 17-3 run, and retook the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a layup from Delicia Washington with 2.2 seconds remaining. Mizzou had a chance to respond on its side of the floor, but was unable to get a shot up as the Gators escaped with the win.

TOP TIGERS

• Junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) paced the Tigers in points and rebounds with nine and seven, respectively.
• Cunningham scored five points and matched a season-high with eight assists, raising her season average to 3.3 per game.
• Junior guard Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) scored nine points and matched a career-high with three three-pointers made, equaling her total from a Dec. 10, 2017 game against SIUE.

NOTES

• Mizzou assisted on 17 of 23 of its made field goals, (79.3 percent), the second-highest percentage of assists to field goals this season, behind only the 89.5 percent (17-of-19) against Duke (Nov. 25).
• Cunningham dished out eight assists, matching her season-high from the eight dimes she passed out against Saint Louis (Dec. 9). The Tiger senior has now recorded five or more assists in four of her last five games.
• Since being inserted into the starting lineup on Dec. 17 against Texas State, Roundtree has score eight or more points in five of seven games. During that stretch, Roundtree has raised her scoring average from 1.8 to 3.8 points per game.
• Mizzou sank 42.1 percent (8-for19) of its shots from the three-point line, its 12^th game this season with seven or more made threes. The mark was Mizzou’s fourth game shooting 40 percent or better from deep this season, and its third in the last four games.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will return to Columbia for its next contest, as the Tigers host Georgia on Thursday, Jan. 17. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball handled Arkansas at Mizzou Arena on Thursday night, beating the Razorbacks 71-53. With the win, Mizzou has started SEC play 3-0, marking the best conference start for the Tigers since the 2005-06 season. The Tigers used a hardnosed and gritty formula to extend their win streak to six games, holding the Razorbacks to a season-worst 53 points while outrebounding the Hogs by 17.

Mizzou was led by its frontline, getting a 15-point and 12-rebound double-double from junior forward Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.), while getting 13 points off the bench from sophomore forward Emmanuelle Tahane (Bondy, France), which tied a career-high. Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) also chipped in with 11 points, moving into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Mizzou scoring list (1,830 points) with her first made basket of the game, passing Sharon Farrah (1,820 points, 1975-79).

The Tigers entered the second quarter with a six point lead, as Arkansas was able to hang around by forcing the Tigers into some early turnovers. However, in the second frame, Mizzou began to take the ball to the post, and the Razorbacks simply had no answer for the Tigers’ size down low.

In the quarter, Mizzou’s bigs were able to take advantage in a big way, as Tahane, Smith, senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) and junior forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.) all scored at least one basket during a 19-5 Tiger run. Even when initial shots weren’t falling, the Tigers were able to secure offensive rebounds which led to second chance points. Combined with the team’s excellent defensive performance in the quarter, in which they allowed only two made field goals on 15 shot attempts, Mizzou was able to put the game out of reach early.

• With her 11 points tonight, Cunningham has now scored at least 11 points in her last four games. She is averaging 16.3 points over that span.
• Smith, who led the game in both points and rebounds, with 15 and 12, respectively, now has seven double-double in 17 games this season.
• Porter played her best game since returning to the hardwood, chipping in with nine points and seven rebounds.
• Tahane tallied her second 13-point game this season against the Hogs. Her other such performance this season came at Saint Louis (Dec. 9).

• With 11 points, Cunningham has now scored 1,830 career points and moves into fourth place on Mizzou’s all-time career scoring list, surpassing Sharon Farrah (1,820 points, 1975-79). Cunningham also moved into a tie with Sierra Michaelis (2013-17) for third place all-time in career three-pointers made (185).
• Mizzou matched its best conference start in program history, and recorded its best start in conference play since joining the SEC prior to the 2012-13 season. Mizzou is now 3-0 in conference play, a feat which has been accomplished five times prior (1979-80, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1988-89, 2005-06).
• Mizzou shot 50 percent from the field (27-for-54), its third best mark of the season. The Tigers have shot 45 percent during every game of its six-game winning streak.
• Tahane matched a career high with her 13 points, equaling her total from Mizzou’s win over Saint Louis (Dec. 9).
• With her 15 points and 12 rebounds, Smith has now recorded nine career double-doubles. It was her first double-double since recording three consecutive between Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. Smith’s 12 rebounds were one shy of her career best of 13.
• The Tigers held a sizable advantage in the paint, outscoring the Razorbacks, 48-14, in the paint.

Mizzou heads back out onto the road, traveling to Gainesville for a trip with the Gators. That game is set to tip at 2 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball alum Nancy Rutter was named to the Southeastern Conference 2019 Class of Women’s Legends on Thursday, announced by the conference office. Rutter and representatives from each of the 14 SEC institutions will be honored at the 2019 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 6-10 in Greenville, S.C.

A four-time letterwinner for Mizzou in the 1970s, Nancy (Rutter) Huerd was an integral part of Mizzou’s early women’s basketball teams. Rutter saw Mizzou achieve groundbreaking success in her career, as she played on the initial Mizzou women’s basketball team in 1974-75, and by the end of her career, her team had finished as Big Eight Champions in 1978.

Rutter’s name is still etched all of the Mizzou record book, as she still holds the program records for most points on an opponent’s floor (40 at Graceland – Jan. 5, 1977), the most free throws made in a career (481 FT) and the most free throws made in a single-season (211 FT, 1976-77). She also ranks second in rebounds per game in a single season (10.2 rpg, 1975-76), second in total rebounds in a single season (356 rebounds), third in career rebounds per game (8.8) and fifth in all-time scoring (1,641 points).

Rutter helped lead Mizzou to a Big Eight Conference Tournament title in 1978 and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Rutter is a 1991 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and a 2018 inductee in the Women’s Basketball League Hall of Fame for her participation in the WBL Trailblazers, the first women’s professional basketball league.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) is one of 25 athletes named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list, as announced by ESPN on Wednesday. The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2019 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year, presented by Wendy’s, the nation’s top individual honor.

Last season, Cunningham was named to the Wooden Award preseason top 30, midseason top 25, late season top 20 and the national ballot.

A top 20 list will be announced later in the season, followed by a list of 15 finalists which will be revealed before the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the Wooden Award will be announced April 12 at the College Basketball Awards.

Through 16 games, Cunningham is Mizzou’s leading scorer and ranks in the top-20 in the SEC in both scoring and rebounding, as her 16.0 points per game ranks ninth and her 5.9 rebounds per game ranks 19th. Cunningham has reached 20 points six times this season, and has reached 18 points in six of her last eight, including a 20 point performance in Mizzou’s road win over No. 10 Tennessee on Sunday. Cunningham also dished out six assists against the Lady Volunteers, her ninth career game of 20+ points and 5+ assists, the most by a Tiger since the 2000-01 season.

Cunningham is the SEC career active scoring leader with 1,819 points, and ranks sixth in career rebounds (591) and seventh in steals. Among program records, Cunningham currently ranks third in free throw percentage (.828), fourth in three-pointers made (184), fourth in career three-point percentage (.397), fifth in scoring (1,819 points), fifth in career points per game (16.5) and fifth in assists (342).

Last season, Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention and All-SEC First Team honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159).

Mizzou returns home to Mizzou Arena to face Arkansas on Thursday, Jan. 10. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena will be at 7 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tennessee coach Rick Barnes told Kyle Alexander to stop thinking about scoring and concentrate only on defense and rebounding.

Since the talk last week, the points and rebounds have come in bunches for the 6-foot-11 senior forward.

Alexander scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds as third-ranked Tennessee routed Missouri 87-63 Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. It was Alexander’s second straight double-double in Southeastern Conference play.

“He’s telling you everything you don’t want to hear, but you need to hear,” Alexander said of his talk with Barnes. “Those are kind of like the father-son meetings, the talks with your dad. They’re beneficial, but you don’t always want to hear what he has to say.”

The Volunteers (13-1, 2-0 SEC) displayed their depth against the Tigers (9-4, 0-1 SEC). Grant Williams entered as the conference’s leading scorer at 19.9 points per game, but he scored just four before fouling out.

No matter. Jordan Bowden came off the bench and scored 20 points for the second straight game, Jordan Bone added 17 points and Admiral Schofield finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman guard Xavier Pinson scored 14 points and Jordan Geist had 12 first-half points for Missouri. The Tigers were playing for just the second time since Dec. 22, and they began with a flurry. Led by the scoring and passing of Geist, they took a 27-18 lead when Geist made a nifty feed to Kevin Puryear for a dunk with 7:04 left in the first half.

But Jeremiah Tilmon and Mark Smith — two of Missouri’s top three scorers — sat most of the first half with foul trouble, and the Tigers couldn’t sustain their early surge.

“We had good momentum, good energy, but you have guys out there playing extended minutes that aren’t used to playing that many minutes in those situations,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.

The Volunteers finished the half on a 24-4 spurt to take a 42-31 lead. The advantage grew quickly in the second half as Alexander helped Tennessee hold a 38-29 rebounding edge.

Alexander, who has packed on 30 pounds since arriving at Tennessee as a wispy 195-pound freshman, controlled the paint.

“I used to struggle to get a point up on the board my first two years,” Alexander said. “The fact I scored 14 and I didn’t really even make a post move, that’s crazy.”

Alexander’s defense — he blocked three shots — and rebounding pleased Barnes most.

“He’s making the extra effort to use his length and tip the ball to himself and go get it,” Barnes said. “That’s what he’s doing, and you’ve got to give him all the credit.”

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers like to run their offense through Jeremiah Tilmon in the post, but his inability to stay on the floor because of foul trouble makes that a dicey proposition. The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward committed an offensive foul trying to bull through a double team with 17:45 left in the first half and compounded the mistake with an angry reaction that drew a technical foul. He sat the rest of the first half. He committed his third foul 46 seconds into the second half and finished with three points in nine minutes before fouling out.

Tennessee: Junior guard Lamonte Turner missed nine of Tennessee’s first 12 games with a shoulder injury. In his second game back, he scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range against Missouri. He played 29 minutes before fouling out.

“With the addition of Lamonte, that changed the game for them,” Martin said. “He’s just as fast as Bone, and he can shoot the ball and is an aggressive shooter from 3. They were already good, but he takes them to another level.”

UP NEXT

Missouri: Visit South Carolina on Saturday.

Tennessee: Tries to stay perfect in the SEC on Saturday at Florida.

— Associated Press —