Against Mississippi State, Mizzou Continued to Survive the 'Wire'

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri has been swimming against the current for since the start of SEC play after going 1-3 against its four power-conference opponents in non-conference play.

Through the first half of SEC play, Missouri has taken steps forward and some backward. On Saturday against Mississippi State, the Tigers took a step forward with a 84-79 win.

Pressure was again put on the Tigers after a blowout loss to No. 23 Alabama on Tuesday. Every game feels like a do-or-die situation to preserve any hopes at a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The path through the second half of SEC play will still be long and treacherous for the Tigers, but the first step forward was taking care of the Bulldogs.

“We take it one game at a time,” guard T.O. Barrett said after the win. “So whatever's going on, we're in the practice gym, we're in there putting in work, we're thinking about the next game. I don't think stuff like that is on our mind.”

The most important stretches of the game were the bookends.

Slow starts offensively have been a significant, recurring problem for Missouri throughout SEC play, but that was the opposite case for Saturday. The Tigers jumped to a 13-4 lead in the first 3:40 of the game, making three 3s in that span. Missouri was able to play effectively with its preferred fast-pace style.

“We just played with a pretty fast pace at the start of the game, we wanted to get going, and we found our open shots,” Barrett said of the start.

The quick start was fueled by Trent Pierce earning his first start of the season. The junior forward made two 3s and a fast-break dunk to contribute to the Tigers’ first 13 points.

“Teammates found me while I was open,” Pierce said of the fast start. “Ultimately, I feel like just in practice, we've been working on just our transition and our offensive stuff, our offensive execution, and we were able to do that in the first couple minutes.”

Gates the decision to insert Pierce into the starting lineup minutes before tip off. His impact has been substantial since returning to the court after missing all of non-conference play with an injury. But his entrance into the starting lineup allowed him to get the Tigers instantly on the right foot.

“Trent Pierce had an amazing start, as I predicted,” Gates said. “He had a great practice, so that's what kind of went into that decision.”

The 30 minutes was the highest Pierce has appeared in since returning from injury, making steady progress back toward in-game condition. Gates believes Pierce took a significant step forward in conditioning in the win over the Bulldogs.

Pierce ended the game with 13 points, shooting 5-for-8 and also grabbing three rebounds. He led Missouri in 3-point makes, shooting 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

“He hasn't seen a shot he didn't like, and that's what I love the most about him,” Gates said of Pierce. “Because his freshman year, he was second guessing himself. And now you look at the mental growth, the fortitude that he has, the resilience that he has.”

Jan 31, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Trent Pierce (11) celebrates after scoring against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

In addition to Pierce’s, Missouri’s offensive attack in the opening minutes of the game was more diverse than it has been through most of SEC play.

Guard T.O. Barrett, who was 2-for-13 from 3-point range in SEC play entering Saturday, started the game by making two in the first six minutes. Forwards Mark Mitchell and Jacob Crews also added 3-point makes in the first 10 minutes.

Missouri built the quick start into a substantial lead early in the second half, looking as if it would coast to victory after taking a 16-point lead with 13:58 remaining. An exclamation point was put on that lead after sophomore guard Annor Boateng slammed down a put-back dunk with 11:03 remaining.

On the possession after the dunk though, Boateng slipped and fell on his back. He lied on the ground for several minutes before a stretcher carried him out.

“Me personally, it kind of messed me up a little bit mentally, just seeing my brother go down like that,” Barrett said of the injury. “You can see the pain on his face, like the facial expressions he made. But ultimately, we kept pushing through. We stayed together.”

Jan 31, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Annor Boateng (6) signals to fans as he is carted off the court by medical personnel after an injury against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

In the nine minutes following his exit, Missouri was outscored 19-8, having an 11-point lead shaved down to just three with 2:22 remaining after Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard made a 3 along with a free-throw shot that came along with it.

“We gave them opportunities,” Gates said of Mississippi State being able to climb back into the game. “Empty opportunities on the offensive end led to easy baskets and 3-point plays.”

But following the Hubbard 3, Mississippi State had two empty possessions. The Bulldogs sent the Tigers to the free-throw line for 12 shots in the final two minutes. Missouri made 10 of those attempts to seal the game.

“Wire to wire is a tough position to be in, but I'll take it any day of the week,” Gates said. “We knew that Mississippi State was going to fight back.”

Missouri has lived on the wire in just about every game in conference play. Besides the loss to Alabama, all of the Tigers’ eight games have come down to the final minutes. In games, Missouri has to an extent found comfort walking that wire. They’ll now have to do that with the final five weeks of the regular season.

“That's what this SEC conference is about,” Gates said, “being able to get wins, take care of home court, but know that you'll have possession-by-possession games, and the situations are definitely allowing us to continue to get better.”

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