The Missouri Tigers clawed out their 30th consecutive homecourt victory, 84-78, over the previously once-beaten and 10th ranked Kansas State Wildcats in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Mizzou used a 15-2 run to close out the first half with a 36-33 lead and then rallied down the stretch with timely 3-point shots, made free throws and forced turnovers.
K-State went on a 14-2 spurt of its own in the second half, taking advantage of MU's cold-shooting from outside and from the line. Marcus Denmon single-handedly kept the Tigers in the hunt, canning two huge threes during an otherwise long second-half drought from the field. As the game clock ticked inside a minute, Zaire Taylor answered a Jacob Pullen 3-pointer with one of his own with 33.3 seconds left to give the Tigers a 3-point lead. Then, with the shot clock off, KSU's Pullen fired another bomb, this one an air ball that Dominique Sutton put back to close the gap to one.
The 'Cats fouled J.T. Tiller who made the first of two charity tosses. When his second effort bounced off the right side of the rim, Laurence Bowers snagged the rebound, was fouled and sank both gratis shots, putting Mizzou up by four with 13 seconds on the clock. As K-State desperately raced to their end, Keith Ramsey stole the ball and whipped a pass to Bowers, who punctuated the win with a 2-handed reverse slam dunk as the clock ticked away.
Missouri's frenetic pace in a foul-plagued contest finally rattled K-State just often enough to give MU the edge. The Tigers dodged the proverbial bullet, hitting only 28 of 43 free throws and committing 20 turnovers while forcing 21 KSU miscues. The Wildcats had their own trouble from the free throw line, hitting just 20-30.
The whistle-happy officiating crew called 56 fouls in the game, many of which were greeted with jeers from both sides of the court. Given the nature of MU's pressure-cooker defense and K-State's physical style, the zebras had a tough game to call; but, as usual, they were so inconsistent that it was difficult for the players to adjust to the calls. Pullen gave Mike Dixon a forearm shiver that sent Dixon to the bench with his fourth foul in just six minutes of play. Pullen also knocked Kim English into the press table when both were racing for a loose ball. That's right: foul on English. Late in the game, another Wildcat leveled Tiller, who lost the ball out of bounds. Possession to KSU. I'm sure K-State coach Frank Martin saw a few go against his team, too.
Despite the rough edge to the game, the victory gives the Tigers a signature win on any future NCAA resume. Defending the home court in Big 12 Conference play will be critical to making a strong run toward tournament time. This was a game I had as a loss in my post-Illinois analysis. Missouri still needs to pick up road wins against the weaker North Division and steal one on the road against a South Division foe to finish at .500 or better in the league.
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