Mizzou basketball excites in blowout win over Cleveland State

Tuesday marked the day that anticipation stopped and actuality began for Missouri basketball. After building a highly anticipated roster that featured the program’s second-highest ranked freshmen class in history, three four-star transfers and a few key returners, the stage was set against Cleveland State at Mizzou Arena.

Five-star freshman point guard Jason Crowe Jr., the main attraction of the show, was met with a roar of cheers from Mizzou Arena upon completing his first act: a step-back 3-pointer that hit the bottom of the net to put Missouri up 7-0 just over 1 minute into the game.

The showman lived up to the hype, scoring 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting to guide Missouri to a 111-50 victory in his opening night. He put the ball in the net in all sorts of ways, ranging from middies to finishes through contact and triples, helping the Tigers reach a higher point total than it did in any game in 2025-26.

Fellow five-star freshman Toni Bryant was right alongside Crowe for the pair’s debut. The 6-foot-10 swatted two shots on the Tigers’ first defensive possession and finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Four-star transfers Jamier Jones and Bryson Tiller each made impacts with their athleticism. Tiller, who earned the start at center, scored his first points of the game courtesy of a drop-step dunk. He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and one block on the night, a positive sign after struggling against UNLV.

Jones raced up and down the court in transition all night. Jones also converted three and-1’s on the night, embracing physicality to score 13 points, snag five rebounds and pile up a combined three steals and blocks on the night.

Kennard Davis, a fellow four-star transfer out of St. Louis who played last season at BYU, poured in 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including four triples.

Fifth-year forward Mark Mitchell was one of two returners to play 15 or more minutes on the night and one just five to see the floor at all. Seeing Mitchell in the No. 25 jersey was a familiar sight, but the way he operated was entirely different.

On Monday, Missouri coach Dennis Gates explained how Mitchell had to "uncomfortably” be the leading shot-taker and sometimes only source of Missouri’s offense last season. The fifth-year Missouri coach highlighted Mitchell’s playmaking as a strength of his game that he wishes to be amplified in the upcoming season.

Mitchell found Bryant for an alley-oop in the third quarter to mark his 10th assist of the night, setting a new career high in the department. Mitchell accounted for nearly half of Missouri's 22 assists while the Tigers turned the ball over just four total times.

He and fellow returning forward Trent Pierce each scored 11 points.

Every Tiger that was active for the contest got in the game. Freshman Aidan Chronister suffered an injury to his left hand during Monday’s practice that will keep him sidelined for at least one month. Senior forwards Luke Northweather and Jaylen Carey also did not play — Carey is suspended for a violation of team rules and Northweather sat out for precaution. Junior Annor Boateng remains out for the season, and once-prospective Tiger C.J. Gunn was ruled ineligible by the SEC, although he was on the team’s bench in street clothes.

After handling business against a lowly Cleveland State program out of the Horizon League, Mizzou (1-0) will hit the road to play a talented Saint Louis squad at 6 p.m. Friday at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.

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