Missouri point guard Sean East scored 21 points to lead the Tigers to a season-opening win, Monday night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-1) | 40 | 39 | 79 |
| Missouri (1-0) | 57 | 44 | 101 |
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, MO — The University of Missouri men’s basketball team opened its 2023-24 season with an absolute roar, in front of 11,486 fans, as the Tigers romped past Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 101-79, Monday night at Mizzou Arena.
Five different Missouri players scored in double figures, led by senior point guard Sean East II, who had 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting, which included two three-pointers. Teammates Nick Honor and Tamar Bates each scored 18 points, while Noah Carter and Caleb Grill added 15 points apiece.
“It was a good start,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said. “A lot of guys played. A lot of guys played well. We’re excited about this group and excited to finally get going.”
The Tigers looked excited right from the tip off, as they jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead. East was at the center of nearly all of that, as he began the game with back-to-back three’s, added an assist on a lay-up by Carter, then added a couple of lay-ups of his own.
Mizzou led by 17 points at halftime, with a good portion of that coming from open three-pointers and finding open teammates for other shots by East, Carter, or Honor simply gesturing like they might shoot a three.
“Our team revolves around those three,” Gates said. “But they are so unselfish that they’ll take a step back and allow someone else to be able to lead. They’ll always find the hot hand even if it’s not three’s, they’ll always try to make the extra pass, they’ll always try to be so unselfish.”
Fans in the arena seemed particularly excited to see Bates, a junior transfer from Indiana, who put an exclamation point on the first half by scoring 10 straight points, which included a spectacular step-back three and a roof-raising driving dunk that brought the entire building to its feet.
“When he plays with his instincts and he’s not thinking, he’s at his best,” Gates said. “I didn’t see him think, I didn’t see him hesitate, I didn’t see him pause. I didn’t see him do anything but instinctively read the game.”
With momentum built up from the end of the first half, Missouri continued to roll into the opening minutes of the second half. The Tigers began the half hitting 4-of-4 shots, increasing their to lead to 64-44.
The Tigers’ advantage reached as many as 32 before finishing off the 101-79 victory – scoring in triple figures in a season opener for just the fourth time in school history.
Missouri shot 56.3 percent from the field in the winning effort with a 12-of-30 clip (40.0 percent) from 3-point range. The Tigers held the Golden Lions to 40.4 percent from the field with an 8-of-29 mark from behind the arc.
“Our guys, our depth, we did it by committee,” Gates said.
“We just always got fresh legs out there,” Bates added. “We just know that we’re gonna max out every time we check in the game.”
Mizzou will go for win No. 2 when it hosts Memphis at Mizzou Arena on Friday. That contest will tip off at 8 p.m., and will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 79
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Milton,Kylen | * | 35 | 8-10 | 3-5 | 15-20 | 1-4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 34 |
| 30 | French,Joe | * | 40 | 10-27 | 4-14 | 6-6 | 3-3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30 |
| 05 | Williams,Rashad | * | 24 | 2-11 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | Martin,Lonnell | * | 19 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 45 | Plet,Ismael | * | 18 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | McColley,Kaine | 18 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 00 | Ware,Trejon | 27 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 22 | Lewis ,Robert | 16 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 02 | Reinhart,Zach | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-57 | 8-29 | 25-31 | 11-18 | 29 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 9 | 79 |
Missouri 101
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | East II, Sean | * | 21 | 7-8 | 2-3 | 5-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 10 | Honor, Nick | * | 32 | 6-14 | 4-10 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| 35 | Carter, Noah | * | 29 | 7-12 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 31 | Grill, Caleb | * | 22 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 8-9 | 1-6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 13 | Carralero Martin, Jesus | * | 10 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 02 | Bates, Tamar | 24 | 7-9 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |
| 23 | Shaw, Aidan | 23 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 2-7 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | |
| 00 | Butler, Jordan | 5 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 14 | Robinson II, Anthony | 14 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 01 | Brown, Kaleb | 11 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 11 | Pierce, Trent | 7 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | Lewis, Curt | 2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 36-64 | 12-30 | 17-19 | 11-27 | 38 | 26 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 101 |
2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 10, 2023 (Friday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Memphis | Mizzou Arena |  |
| November 13, 2023 (Monday) | 7 p.m. | Home | SIU-Edwardsville | Mizzou Arena |  |
| November 16, 2023 (Thursday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. |  |
| November 19, 2023 (Sunday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Jackson State | Mizzou Arena | |
| November 22, 2023 (Wednesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | South Carolina State | Mizzou Arena | |
| November 25, 2023 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Loyola | Mizzou Arena | |
| November 28, 2023 (Tuesday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pa. |  |
| December 3, 2023 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Wichita State | Mizzou Arena |  |
| December 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 4:15 p.m. | Away | Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. |  |
| December 17, 2023 (Sunday) | 4 p.m. | T-Mobile Center | Seton Hall | Kansas City, Mo. | |
| December 22, 2023 (Friday) | 8 p.m. | Enterprise Center | Illinois | St. Louis, Mo. |  |
| December 30, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Central Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon | Home | Georgia | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 9, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | |
| January 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | |
| January 20, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | Florida | Mizzou Arena | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| January 23, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon CT | Away | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| January 31, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Texas A&M | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. | |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Tennessee | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Away | Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Ole Miss | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | |
| March 13-17, 2024 (Wednesday) | TBA | Bridgestone Arena | SEC Tournament | Nashville, Tenn. |