National Basketball Association
Missouri 81, Arkansas 68
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 2, 2021
Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Officials:
# Doug Shows, # Terry Wymer, # Gerald Williams
Attendance:
4400
By Field Level Media
Jeremiah Tilmon scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the No. 12 Missouri Tigers to an 81-68 road victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in a Southeastern Conference matchup on Saturday.
Xavier Pinson added 23 points for the Tigers (7-1, 1-1 SEC), and Mark Smith contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.
JD Notae scored 19 points and Moses Moody added 18 points and pulled 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks (9-1, 1-1).
Arkansas played without starting power forward Justin Smith, who will miss multiple weeks after ankle surgery. That gave Missouri, the SEC's tallest team, an advantage in the paint -- and the Tigers outrebounded the Razorbacks 51-36.
The game matched contrasting offenses. The fast-paced Razorbacks started the day ranked 11th in the nation with an average of 90.8 points. They became the first SEC team in six seasons to open their season with nine double-digit victories. The Razorbacks scored 50 or more points in a half five times, and they trailed in just 36:35 minutes of play.
Meanwhile the Tigers struggled in their previous two games. They shot just 32-for-107 (29.9 percent) from the floor -- including 6-for-37 (16.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Given those trends, the Tigers were able to get the choppy, foul-marred game that favored them on the road.
The Razorbacks forced five Missouri turnovers in the first 5:25 of the game, but they suffered a cold 3-for-16 shooting start while falling behind 14-7 by the 11:55 mark.
Arkansas finally responded a 12-3 surge to take a 19-17 lead at 9:16.
The Tigers answered with a 13-5 run to move ahead 30-24. Pinson highlighted the run by hitting Missouri's first 3-pointer of the game at 6:03.
Both teams struggled offensively late in the first half, combining to score just nine points during the final 5:28. Pinson's free throw with 6.8 seconds left gave Missouri a 33-30 lead at the break.
Dru Smith hit two 3-pointers in an 18-8 run that expanded Missouri's second-half lead to 55-43 with 7:59 to play. The Tigers led as many as 18 points while closing out the victory.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was ejected from the game with 3:51 for arguing with the officiating crew.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Missouri |
|
Arkansas |
|
Jeremiah Tilmon 25 |
Scoring |
JD Notae 19 |
|
Drew Buggs 4 |
Assists |
Desi Sills 2 |
|
Jeremiah Tilmon 11 |
Rebounds |
Moses Moody 10 |
|
Xavier Pinson 12 |
Free Throws Made |
Moses Moody 6 |
|
Dru Smith 2 |
Steals |
Davonte Davis 3 |
|
Dru Smith 1 |
Blocks |
Connor Vanover 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Missouri
|
81 |
47.1 |
5-19 |
28-39 |
14 |
46 |
1 |
3 |
21 |
| Arkansas
|
68 |
26.8 |
7-28 |
23-34 |
7 |
32 |
5 |
13 |
9 |
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