Relentless Offensive Attack Puts No. 15 Mizzou Past No. 4 Alabama in 5th Upset Win

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Once the No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers won the tip-off against the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide Wednesday night in Mizzou Arena, one could hardly hear themselves think.

A quick 12 unanswered points to start the contest opened up a staggering 59-point first half for Missouri, culminating in a 110-98 upset victory — a 100-plus point tally that it hasn't reached since Nov. 24 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

But then again, with the way the Tigers have played throughout play in the Southeastern Conference, the way in which they handled the Crimson Tide couldn't have come as a complete shock.

Alabama led the country with 90.3 points per game ahead of the matchup, but the commitment to keeping up a high offensive pace pushed Missouri by over 19 points ahead of that number. Regardless of how, it found a number of different ways to score to end with the most points scored by a team in a SEC game this season.

The Tigers dominated the paint with 40 points, had a solid night from the 3-point arc with 9-of-23 shooting and created 21 points off 14 forced turnovers. Their 31 made free throws were inefficient though high, and even when they started to hit slow points in the second half, they found ways to quickly respond and prevent the Crimson Tide from extending runs.

"I think we just have a lot of weapons," Mark Mitchell said. "I think we can beat you inside. We can obviously beat you outside, and I think that's probably a hard thing for teams to game plan. We knew some coverage that they might show us and some different looks that they might give us. We never panic, just because it just because coach (Dennis Gates) prepared us so well."

Last time Mitchell played at Mizzou Arena (a victory over the Oklahoma Sooners), he stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points and seven rebounds. This game was no different, as the forward recorded a new career-high of 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, paired with three rebounds and three assists.

"I got some easy ones early to get me going," Mitchell said. "We ran a couple of sets to give me easy ones, and once you get going, it open it up and you just have a feeling you can get anything you want."

Not too far behind was Caleb Grill, adding 25 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Though the 3-point specialist only shot 3-of-9, his attack in the mid-range and paint on plenty of fast break opportunities allowed him to get separate from the face-guarding of recent games.

Mark Sears was no easy cover for Missouri, accumulating a whopping 35 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field that gave the defense issues all game. Alabama also won the 3-point battle with 13-of-31 makes, but its proneness to turnovers and 16-point disadvantage at the free-throw line weren't enough despite the high point tally.

After all that it might've been expected for the Tigers to be satisfied, but that wasn't entirely the case. Gates has remained consistent in his opinion that they haven't played their best game as a unit yet — mostly in line with some defensive struggles.

"I'm proud of the direction we're going in as it relates to getting better," Gates said. "I still don't think our team has played its very best, and they would say the same, but we're going in a direction, steady slowly, patiently, and we're not leaving details behind. You can see our team growing."

Missouri came out with a relentless energy that put Mizzou Arena in a frenzy. It scored 12 unanswered points in the first 2:28, forcing Alabama to call an early timeout. Trent Pierce started the run with a 3-pointer off a second chance rebound from Tony Perkins, and ended it on a fast break layup.

Even after the timeout, the socring didn't stop. Mark Sears got the first two points for the Crimson Tide shortly after, but a Perkins free throw and 3-point make from Mitchell extended the score to 16-4 at the 16:29 mark. The crowd was loud, and the makes just kept on coming.

Alabama started to find some offensive momentum, but the Tigers didn't slow down. They continued to execute opportunities off turnovers, as a Grill steal off a loose ball from Sears resulted in a triple for Bates with 14:37 remaining, extending the lead to 24-9.

Whether it came from behind the arc, driving to the basket or flashy ball movement — it didn't matter for much of the first half. Thanks to a stretch of three straight layups from Mitchell — including a free throw make — Missouri pulled away even further with a 42-25 lead at the 6:04 mark.

By the end of the first half, however, the Crimson Tide found a way to get themselves in a better position. The Tigers still had the 59-46 advantage as Mitchell led the team with 18 points, but 14 from Sears and matching them with six 3-pointers helped Alabama not be completely shut down offensively.

Exiting out of halftime, Missouri couldn't afford to slow down its foot on the gas. The intensity might not have been to the level that it was early in the first half, but it continued to keep things rolling. Mitchell added five more points by the 16:21 mark, making the score 67-54.

Just when the Crimson Tide might've thought they'd embark on a big run, the Tigers largely thwarted those opportunities. Grill knocked down a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to bring the lead to 72-57, but Alabama was able to cut it to 79-69 after Sears and Jacob Crews traded buckets twice with 10:26 remaining.

Shortly thereafter a Sears 3-pointer brought deficit to just 79-73, but Missouri quickly responded. The trio of Mitchell, Grill and Trent Pierce went to work, putting the team right back in the same position with a 88-73 at the 7:51 mark.

For the rest of the contest, the Tigers kept a far enough distance with Crimson Tide to put a stop to any late-game scares. With 1:59 remaining, a free throw from Mitchell put Missouri to the 100-point mark, which carried it through the final result.

The Tigers will head down to Fayetteville, Ark., at 7 p.m. Saturday to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in an effort to extend their winning streak to four.