3 Takeaways from Mizzou's Bounce-Back Win Over Auburn

Analysis from the Tigers' third win of SEC play.

Jan 14, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Keshawn Murphy (3) fouls Missouri Tigers guard Mark Mitchell (25) while he’s shooting during the first half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri grabbed its third win of SEC play Wednesday night, taking down Auburn in a 84-74 win. 

Missouri has now started SEC play 3-1, including two wins over Final-Four teams from last season.

Midway through the second half, it looked as if Missouri would be able to sail to victory, holding a 13-point lead with 4:16 remaining. But Auburn didn't make it easy in the final minutes.

Here’s our three takeaways from the game.

Allowing, then responding to a late scare

Jan 14, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Jayden Stone (17) shoots as Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) defends during the second half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Missouri apparently decided it wanted more drama for the final minutes.

All four of Missouri's first SEC games have required late efforts. Though, against Auburn, Missouri put itself in the gutter. After holding a lead of 10 or more points for more than two minutes, Missouri allowed seven unanswered points in a span of 90 seconds, giving Auburn oxygen for a comeback attempt.

After the run for Auburn, Missouri's 13-point lead was quickly cut to just six with 2:44 remaining. That span included Missouri sending Auburn to the free-throw line four times.

Auburn then cut Missouri's lead to just four points with 1:46 remaining. Missouri managed to hang on by handling business at the free-throw line and making key shots in the late moments.

Though Missouri's free-throw shooting struggles continued through the game overall, it did go 4-for-5 from the line in the final 90 seconds of the game.

Though Auburn made Missouri slip, Gates didn't see it as his team doing anything "bad," instead seeing Missouri's response as the important part of the final minutes.

"I saw our program respond to what we knew was going to happen — a team fighting back late in the game and trying to find a way that's SEC conference play," Gates said. "It's going to go possession by possession. We knew that we had a double-digit lead. But there's no doubt about it, they put themselves in a great situation."

Pierce bounces back in big way

Trent Pierce proved how much of a difference he can make in his first three games of the season, but Wednesday was his most impactful performance of the year after missing all of non-conference play with an injury.

Pierce scored 12 of Missouri’s 38 first-half points, including three makes on four 3-point attempts. Pierce ended the day 5-for-7 on 3s. The 71% mark from 3 is a career high for Pierce in games with at least six attempts from behind the arc.

It was a bounce-back performance for Pierce from 3 after he shot 2-for-8 from deep on Saturday at Ole Miss.

"Little frustrated the past couple games," Pierce said. "So like this game, I wanted to take quality shots, and I felt like my teammates found me when I was open."

Jan 14, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Trent Pierce (11) dunks the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the first half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

He built up a flood gate after Auburn scored seven unanswered points, scoring on a fast-break, and-one dunk, followed by a 3. 

In the second half, Pierce hit what was close to a dagger shot, sinking an uncontested 3 to put Missouri up 67-55 with 6:33 remaining.

Perimeter shooting was one of the biggest flaws of Missouri when Pierce and Stone were sidelined with injury, but the return of those two have reinvigorated that aspect of the offense. Stone also added nine vital points in the final 2:30 of the game to help Missorui separate to hold to the lead.

Pierce revealed after the game that though he's been able to average nearly 25 minutes per game in his first four games of the season, he's still working himself back into game shape. If he can continue to be as efficient from 3-point range as he was Wednesday night, it would add a lot to the Missouri offense.

Barrett able to step up for career night

Jan 14, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard T.O. Barrett (5) celebrates after scoring against the Auburn Tigers during the first half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

T.O. Barrett contributed some of his best minutes of the season in the win, playing at +18 in 22:30 of play. He shot 4-for-5 from the field and 5-for-6 on free throws for a career high of 13 points. He also grabbed four rebounds.

There's been ups and downs to Barrett's sophomore season after a promising freshman year, but Wednesday was the best showing so far of what he can contribute to this year's team.

"I've just been trying to get back to myself," Barrett said. "I feel like I've been letting my team down a little bit and just not focused on the details and the little things. And just doing that, it makes you like more locked into the game. So that was really my focus tonight, and the game worked in my favor."

Gates has specifically wanted Barrett to be able to step up when Anthony Robinson II isn't having his best night. Gates mentioned he wanted Barrett to be able to step in more in the loss to Ole Miss, where Robinson shot 2-for-9 and fouled out.

"When Ant Robinson is not doing something, he has to be the one to fill in the gap," Gates said. "And we don't know night in and night out what that is."

Wednesday night's win was another opportunity for Barrett to step up on a down night for Robinson, who scored five points while shooting 1-for-5 from the field. Barrett took full advantage this time.

"When Ant Robinson has a bad game, he (Barrett) can't afford to have a bad game," Gates said. "That's when he should be taken advantage of the opportunity, and I thought tonight, he took advantage of the opportunity, and he left no doubt that he belonged. He left no doubt that he helped his team win."

After the rough stretch to end conference play, Missouri's hot start to conference play has been fueled by development that has needed to happen in between games. Some of that has come in the form of Pierce and Stone returning to the court. The continued improvements of players like Barrett will be crucial for the remainder of Missouri's season.

"What you see is a group of guys, a group of kids, continuing to get better day by day," Gates said.

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Missouri will hit the road again Saturday, traveling to take on LSU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.