Initial Reaction to Mizzou's Important Win Over Mississippi State

Missouri basketball reporters give their thoughts on the Tigers' close win over the Bulldogs.

Jan 31, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (12) dribbles the ball as Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (0) defends during the second half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri managed to escape with an 84-79 win over Mississippi State to sit at 5-4 at the midway point of SEC play. Just about every game is a "must-win" for the Tigers for the remainder of the season.

Following the game, Missouri basketball reporters Joey Van Zummeren and Michael Stamps gave their thoughts on what they learned about the Tigers in the win. You can watch their analysis with the YouTube link below.

After several games with slow starts offensively, Missouri started Saturday's game hot, jumping to a 21-11 lead. In the first eight minutes of play, forward Trent Pierce, guard T.O. Barrett, forward Mark Mitchell and forward Jacob Crews all made 3s.

It was the first start of the season for Pierce, who ended the game with 13 points, shooting 3-for-6 on 3s. He also grabbed three rebounds. His insertion in the starting lineup fueled the quick start for the Tigers.

"In practice, we've been working on just our transition and our offensive stuff, our offensive execution," Pierce said. "We were able to do that in the first couple minutes."

In his third start on the season, Barrett finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal.

"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.

3-point shooting was one of a number of areas where Missouri had a massive bounce-back from their blowout loss to No. 23 Alabama on Tuesday. In that opening stretch, the Tigers already made five 3s after making just four on 21 attempts against the Crimson Tide.

What was even worse for Missouri's offense against Alabama was free-throw shooting, where the Tigers shot 34.8 percent on 23 attempts compared to 88.5 percent for Alabama.

But against Mississippi State, Missouri's clutch free-throw shooting was crucial in earning the win. Mississippi State was put in desperation mode in the final minutes, sending Missouri to the line for 12 shots in the final two minutes. The Tigers made all but two of those attempts to hold on. On the day, the Tigers shot 75.8 percent from the line, marking its second best performance from the line in SEC play.

Missouri will have the week off before returning to play on Feb. 7, traveling to take on South Carolina.