Mizzou Holds on to Early Lead with Tight Grip, Takes Down Arkansas

COLUMBIA, Mo. — John Calipari let his hands fall from his head, putting his arms down slack.

There was no point in creating an outburst over an errant pass from his Arkansas Razorback team in their second-half comeback attempt. The Razorbacks were never able to claw back after the Missouri Tigers created a 20-4 lead in the first seven minutes of the game.

In front of a sold-out Mizzou Arena, Missouri won for just the second time over Arkansas in the last nine matchups. The 83-65 win puts Missouri at 15-3 on the year and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The Razorbacks leave Columbia still on the hunt for their first conference win this season.

Jan. 18 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates and Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari walk on the sideline during a game a game at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/Missouri On SI

Missouri scored 18 unanswered points in the first six minutes. A dunk from Arkansas' Jonas Aidoo was about the only life the Razorbacks saw early on. Missouri not only avoided falling in a slump early, but might as well have secured the game in those opening minutes.

Despite starting conference play with now five straight losses, Arkansas has put together some fast starts. Against Florida, the Razorbacks took a 11-2 lead. Against Ole Miss, Arkansas started the game leading 10-1.

"We knew that they had gotten out to strong starts in the past few games," Missouri forward Mark Mitchell said. "We knew they were gonna come out and try to punch us and that's what we tried to do right back to them."

Arkansas started the game shooting one for 12 from the field, while Missouri made seven of their first 10, including four shots on six attempts from three-point range. After the run of 18 unanswered points from Missouri at the beginning of the half, the Tigers didn’t sustain a scoring run of more than two scores.

But the early domination provided enough more than enough of a cushion. After the opening six minutes, Arkansas was able to claw back, but never within less than nine points. The Razorbacks made zero trips to the free-throw line in the half and shot 21.4 percent on three-point shots.

Arkansas looked to be forging a comeback with 5:27 remaining in the half, going on a 6-2 scoring run to cut the Missouri lead to 24-37.

But the momentum was disrupted by two straight three-point makes from guard Caleb Grill, one at the 5:12 mark and the other at 4:24. When Grill checked in at the 5:50 mark after Missouri had missed each of their last four shots, the Tigers knew the boost Grill would provide.

"That's just who he is," guard Tamar Bates said of Grill. "I mean, every game that he's just started or checked into, he's put his footprint on the game immediately. ... We just know what he's going to give us."

With the success of Grill, Bates and others from deep, Missouri continued to outperform Arkansas in three-point range. The Razorbacks were effective inside, with 42 of their points coming inside the paint. But the Razorbacks only made five of their 23 attempts three-point shots on the day.

The successful nights from Grill and Bates powered both to reach the career milestone of 1,000 points in the game, scoring 17 and 15 respectively.

Jan. 18, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) leaps to attempt a three-point shot against the Arkansas Razorbacks. | Amber Winkler/ Missouri On SI

Each time Arkansas looked to be clawing into the Missouri lead in the second half, the Tigers responded with a more efficient and cleaner product to create separation.

Arkansas went on two 8-0 scoring runs in the first 11 minutes of the second half, but neither brought the game within less than 10. The first lasted from the 17:05 to 15:29 mark and was answered by more sparks from Grill with a successful jumper and layup

"I thought our guys responded, no matter what haymaker Arkansas threw," Missouri head coach Dennis Gates sad.

Missouri led for all but the opening 21 seconds of the game, with Arkansas trailing by at least 10 for the entirety of the second half.

The lack of trips to the free-throw line continued for Arkansas into the second half, only making eight attempts from the line all game. Missouri's defense played clean while still out-rebounding Arkansas 39 to 38.

"Our guys were in stances, they were prepared, they were talking, they were pointing, they were doing all the things that we demand," Gates said of the defensive play. "I just think our guys did it without fouling and they did it with a concious effort."

By the three-minute mark, Missouri was already playing keep away. Even then, Anthony Robinson II sunk a three-point shot to extend the lead to 16. Caleb Grill put the icing on top with a with a fast-break dunk with 1:13 remaining.

Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) slams down a dunk for Missouri's final points in an 83-65 victory over Arkansas — Jan. 18 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) slams down a dunk for Missouri's final points in an 83-65 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/ Missouri On SI

Missouri will again hit the road Tuesday to take on Texas for the first time since 2012.