3 Takeaways from No. 15 Mizzou's Statement Win Over No. 4 Alabama

What to learn from the Missouri Tigers' impressive victory over the Crimson Tide.

Feb 19, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) leaps up for a layup during a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

The No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers again proved to have all the makings of a team poised to do some damage in the NCAA Tournament in a win over No. 4 Alabama.

The win moves Missouri to 20-6 on the season and 9-4 in conference play, putting the Tigers in great position for SEC Tournament seeding with five regular season games remaining.

The 110-98 win was an offensive shootout, as Missouri's 110 are the most points scored by a team in a Southeastern Conference game this season.

Missouri sent plenty of messages with this win. Here's three to takeaway.

Electric Start

In Missouri's loss against No. 10 Texas A&M on Feb. 8, the Tigers fell to a 12-0 deficit in the opening five minutes. Even though the difference in that one was just a 3-point shot by Wade Taylor IV in the final three seconds, the early hole put Missouri in catch-up mode for the rest of the first half.

"We can't allow ourselves to have a start like we did a couple games ago against Texas A&M," Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said in a press conference Tuesday. "I thought we played 35 minutes of great basketball. The first five, that's where we dug the hole.'

Wednesday night, the Tigers avoided a similar fate by doing the exact opposite, taking a 12-0 lead on Alabama. And they only needed 2:28 to do it. With Missouri starting the game shooting 5 for 7 from the field, and Alabama 0 for 3, Mizzou Arena had plenty of reason to start the partying early.

"I credit our crowd," Gates said after the game. "It was electric inside of Mizzou Arena and our guys just continued to feed off of it as you can see the first couple minutes of the game."

Alabama called a timeout with 17:32 remaining in the half after Trent Pierce drove inside for a tough layup. The wave of energy Alabama had to fend against was already intimidating.

"We helped with that, giving up the 12-0 run, but they got the crowd into it," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.

Feb. 19, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard/forward Jacob Crews (35) celebrates with forward Trent Pierce (11) after Pierce made a layup in the first half of a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri kept their foot on the gas for the rest of the first half, creating an environment so tense for Alabama that head coach Nate Oats slammed his clipboard down, drawing a flagrant foul at the 5:03 mark.

The Tigers went into halftime leading 59-46, marking the highest-scoring first half of a conference game for the program since 1996.

On top of giving Missouri a good cushion to start the game, it allowed the Tigers to control the pace against a fast-paced Alabama offense.

Endurance

The flip side of that chaotic start is being able to maintain it. Alabama certainly did eventually wake up to look much closer to the No. 4 team in the country.

The Crimson Tide started off the second half making 4 of their 6 attempts on 3-point shots. One from star guard Mark Sears with 9:51 remaining brought the difference to just six points after Missouri had led by 12 less than a minute earlier.

But the word "response," has been one of the Missouri's favorites this season. Being able to punch back has been a key part of the Tigers' identity this season, with Wednesday being another showing of that.

In the two-minute stretch after Sears' 3-point make to bring it within two possessions, Missouri would go on to score nine unanswered points.

"They gave us their best punch," Gates said. "I just thought our guys were counter punchers. And we're sort of in a defensive mode and was able to punch back again."

Feb 19, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) fights with Alabama's Jarin Stevenson for a loose ball during a game at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Being able to hold onto an early lead against a top-5 team is something Missouri was unable to do just two weeks ago against No. 5 Tennessee. Despite leading 30-23 at one point in an impressive first half, Missouri slipped in the second half, falling 85-81.

But against Alabama, Missouri stacked two of their best halves of the season on top of each other.

Missouri has proved this season it is not just a team who wins with random spurts. It doesn't rely on lucky minutes within games, nor should its other impressive wins over the likes of No. 5 Florida be considered flukes.

That level of play is now what the Tigers have set the standard at for themselves.

Dictating the Pace

Under Oats, Alabama has built an offense centered around fast-pace play. Missouri is in the same boat under Gates.

Gates and Missouri weren't going to bow down though to the highest-scoring offense in the country.

"I'm not changing the way we were playing," Gates said Tuesday. "I'm not going to ever do that. We're going to continue to have our guys play with confidence.

Missouri seemed to have an abundance of confidence Wednesday night. They were active on defense to start the game, forcing 11 turnovers in the first half alone. In total, Missouri 21 points off 12 steals. Additionally, the Tigers scored 13 fast-break points.

"We didn't do a great job preparing our guys for their pressure, and they [Missouri] do a good job," Oats said.

Feb. 19, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) celebrates with guard Caleb Grill (31) during a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

Missouri played a complimentary game, with its 18:8 assist:turnover ratio evidence of that, especially compared to Alabama's 16:14.

Missouri's offensive production came from all over the court, going 25 for 35 on 2-point attempts, 9 for 23 on 3s, and 40 total points in the paint. The all-around offensive ability is what was required for an offensive shootout against the best scoring team in the country, and what will likely be nessecarry through the NCAA Tournament.

Against Alabama, Missouri proved it can play to its own rules, to a certain extent. They have good reason to be confident in their own offense to match the flammability of one of the best in the nation.

Missouri will next take the court Saturday, traveling to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (15-10, 4-8 SEC). The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Fire Starts at Mizzou Arena After Win Over Alabama, Quickly Extinguished
Why Dennis Gates Urged Fans Not to Rush Court After Win Over Alabama