Live Blog of Mizzou's Matchup with Auburn

The Missouri Tigers once again had a game in the Southeastern Conference go down to the wire, walking away with an 84-74 victory over the Auburn Tigers. Missouri improved to 13-4 and 3-1 in conference play.

Missouri looked good in a lot of different ways. It found a variety of avenues to score the basketball and also forced Auburn into various dry spells. Yet, the visiting Tigers still found ways to hang around as the night progressed.

Dennis Gates’ squad was relentless, moving downhill on offense, getting to the free-throw line at will. Not only was it a major source of offense for his team, but it also desynced the Auburn offense.

It was junior forward Trent Pierce who broke through in the scoring column for Missouri, finishing the night with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting, while also going 5-for-7 from the perimeter. His three-point shooting was crucial despite an efficient offensive game for Missouri.

Mark Mitchell also dominated the game in his typical fashion. He attacked the rim all night, finishing with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also went 6-for-14 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds to his stat line.

The aggressiveness of Mitchell was crucial in getting his team into the bonus early in the second half. It allowed Missouri to shoot from the free-throw line, but it didn’t always take advantage of those trips. Missouri went 21-for-31 from the free-throw line, an area in which it’s struggled at since the start of SEC play.

Sophomore guard T.O. Barrett had a nice night for Missouri, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, along with two steals. His energy and effort on defense were crucial in the victory.

Barrett had one of his best games as a Tiger against Auburn, regardless of the scoring. He was steady as a ball-handler in a quiet night for Anthony Robinson II, while also finding his way into a double-digit scoring night.

Missouri’s defense was operating at a high level all night, forcing Auburn into a 40.7% shooting night and forcing 11 turnovers. The number of free-throw trips the home team took definitely made Auburn’s offense lose some cohesion, but Missouri really did clamp down.

Auburn made a late push, giving Missouri a taste of its own medicine. It went to the free-throw line time after time late in the game to get the score under 10 points, truly giving Missouri a scare.

Leading the way for Auburn in the scoring department were Elyjah Freeman and Kevin Overton, who both finished with 13 points. Freeman did it on 4-for-8 shooting, while Overton went 4-for-10.

Missouri’s next matchup is against LSU at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, on the road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Live Updates

Second half

Barrett just did an excellent job of busting Auburn's press and Stone made a layup with the foul. That stopped a huge Auburn run and has their lead back to seven points.

A crucial out-of-bounds call is being reviewed right now with 2:03 to play. Missouri leads 74-68 and if the challenge fails, Dennis Gates' team would lose possession.

Auburn has cut the lead to only nine points with 3:08 to play. Auburn has taken a page out of Missouri's playbook by attacking the rim and getting to the free-throw line.

To nobody's surprise, Mitchell is continuing on his tear. His layup with the foul has his team up 70-57 and he's up to 20 points.

Mitchell just forced a fourth foul on starting Auburn forward Sebastian Williams-Adams. Missouri's been in the bonus since around the 12 minute mark of the half and it leads 60-52.

Missouri's defense is starting to lock down, which was evident after a steal from Mitchell and fastbreak dunk from T.O. Barrett. The Tigers are starting to crack down.

Pierce and Mitchell have accounted for half (28) of Missouri's points so far. It leads 56-48 with 12:32 to play.

Auburn has hit three triples to start the half, quickly narrowing its deficit. Missouri leads 48-45 at the first timeout of the half.

Missouri is once again struggling at the free-throw line. With 16:41 to play, Missouri is shooting 7-for-16 from the charity stripe. It leads 44-39 currently.

Mark Mitchell starts the scoring for Missouri in the second half, followed by a forced turnover. Mitchell currently has 10 points.

First half

Missouri leads 38-34 heading into the halftime break.

Missouri has found some rhythm on offense and is starting to knock down some shots, but so is Auburn. The home team leads 35-32 with around two minutes to go in the half.

Trent Pierce has nine points so far for Missouri and it leads 23-22 with 6:04 to play.

Anthony Robinson II's deep triple ties things up between Missouri and Auburn with 7:42 to play in the half, which was followed by a stop and a layup from T.O. Barrett to give Missouri a lead.

Trent Pierce ended a four-minute scoring drought for Missouri with a fast-break dunk. Those were welcome points for Missouri, which has a lid on the basket right now.

Auburn is in the middle of a 7-0 run, going up 12-5 at the 13:36 mark. Missouri is struggling to get good looks on offense and Auburn is simply getting more shots to fall on offense.

The first Missouri points of the game come from Jacob Crews, tying things at three points apiece with 17:50 to play.

Missouri wins the tip to start the game.

Pre Game

Starting Lineups

Missouri	Auburn
Anthony Robinson II, G	Tahaad Pettiford, G
Jayden Stone, G	Kevin Overton, G
Jacob Crews, G	Keyshawn Hall, F
Mark Mitchell, F	KeShawn Murphy, F
Shawn Phillips Jr., C	Sebastian Williams-Adams, F

Injuries

Missouri

Forward Jevon Porter will be out for a fifth straight game due to a leg injury he suffered in practice leading up to the game against Illinois.

Auburn

Two reserve players — Abdullahi Bashir and Emeka Opurum — will be out.

How to Watch

Who: Missouri (12-4, 2-1 SEC) vs. Auburn (10-6, 1-2 SEC)

What: Missouri's fourth SEC matchup of the 2025 season.

When: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m.

Where: Mizzou Arena at Missouri

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Tiger Radio Network (Play-By-Play: Mike Kelly Color: Chris Gervino)

SiriusXM: Missouri - 385, Auburn - 384

Series: Auburn leads 11-6.