Mizzou basketball overcomes turnover troubles in ugly win against Marquette

Missouri basketball still has a lot of work to do.

The same sentiment was apparent in the Tigers' 90-84 loss to Saint Louis, but against Marquette, it became even more obvious. At least through the first 33 minutes.

The Tigers had a season-high 24 turnovers in the 69-64 win, their most since the 2018-19 season. Missouri's turnover woes looked to be its crux with just over seven minutes remaining as the Tigers trailed 52-41, but a 28-point scoring barrage boosted the Tigers to a 3-1 record heading out of Chicago.

Jason Crowe Jr., who had two first half points, came alive to close the game, scoring 15 points in the final 6:19. Crowe ended with a team-leading 17 points and six assists. He also added six turnovers.

Missouri's difficulties began halfway through the first half, in which the Tigers had nine turnovers in the final 11 minutes of the frame. Crowe added four of those turnovers and looked out of sorts in the first half, shooting 1-for-6.

Crowe spent nearly seven minutes on the bench before checking in to close the game. He was dealing with a bit of foul trouble, stretches of poor defense, turnovers and missed shots. Still, when he came back in the game with just over seven minutes left, he continued to attack the rack and perimeter, resulting in an improbable victory.

After a strong rebounding game against the Billikens, Missouri also struggled on the glass, giving up 16 offensive rebounds to Marquette, 10 of which came in the first half. Trent Pierce was an active rebounder for Missouri with a team-leading eight rebounds. Pierce also recorded a team-high seven turnovers, two in the last 16 seconds, but secured the game-winning steal and score.

The Tigers originally struggled to contain Marquette's Nigel James Jr., who was coming off a zero-point performance, but ended up holding last year's Big East Rookie of the Year to 5-for-18 shooting. James finished with 11 points, 11 assists and six turnovers.

Missouri switched between zone and man-to-man defense throughout the course of the game, and with that came ebbs and flows. They forced 16 turnovers, but struggled with perimeter defense. Although the Tigers gave Marquette many open looks from the perimeter, the Golden Eagles couldn't convert many of them, going 6-for-23 from three.

Freshman Toni Bryant made some standout plays defensively for the Tigers, ending with three blocks, to pair with 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting. Kennard Davis Jr. was inserted in the starting lineup in replace of Mark Mitchell, who was out due to a concussion suffered Monday, and made a substantial impact on both sides of the floor as well. He scored 12 points, going 2-for-3 from distance include a huge make down the stretch.

Jamier Jones provided a spark off the bench, contributing highly athletic plays, particularly on offense. Jones finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes.

Missouri basketball returns home for a matchup against Alcorn State at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Tigers then have three more bye games in November before their nonconference schedule significantly ramps up.

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