Mizzou’s Aidan Shaw defends a pass by Kentucky’s D.J. Wagner during Tuesday’s NCAA men’s basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri (8-7, 0-2) | 42 | 35 | 77 |
| #6 Kentucky (12-2, 2-0) | 47 | 43 | 90 |
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON, KY — The University of Missouri men’s basketball team put up a tough fight, but was not able to stay with the nation’s sixth-ranked team. The Kentucky Wildcats, winners of six straight, emerged with a 90-77 victory inside Rupp Arena on Tuesday night. The Tigers are now 8-7 on the season and 0-2 in SEC play, while the Wildcats improve to 12-2 and 2-0 versus conference foes.
Senior forward Noah Carter led Mizzou with his first 20-point game of the season as three Tigers totaled at least 18 in the contest. Fellow senior Sean East added 19 points, with junior Tamar Bates scoring 18 of his own.
Kentucky used a strong start to the contest to race to a lead it would not relinquish. The Wildcats made 12 of their first 17 field goals, which included 5-of-7 from 3-point range to pull in front by 14, 35-21.
Mizzou, however, would fight back and used five-straight makes of its own during a 13-2 run to pull within three, 37-34. Kentucky would then head into the intermission with a five-point edge, 47-42.
The Tigers pulled to within three to start the second frame but Kentucky answered with back-to-back baskets to quickly pull back in front by seven. For the next 15-plus minutes, the UK lead would bounce between seven and 11 points as neither team had more than a 4-0 run for the remainder of the game. Mizzou had a chance to cut into the deficit but missed 13-straight field goals after the 10-minute mark as Kentucky secured the 90-77 victory.
Mizzou made 42.6 percent of its field goals on the day with an 8-of-28 performance from 3-point range. Kentucky, meanwhile, connected on 50.0 percent of its attempts, which included 7-of-23 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats also made 27-of-32 from the free-throw line in the winning effort.
The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, when they’ll host South Carolina at Mizzou Arena. First tip for the SEC matchup is set for 2:30 p.m., and will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
Missouri 77
| # | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Noah Carter | * | 29:52 | 6 – 12 | 3 – 7 | 5 – 7 | 0 – 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
| 55 | Sean East II | * | 32:19 | 7 – 12 | 1 – 2 | 4 – 5 | 0 – 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
| 2 | Tamar Bates | * | 28:33 | 6 – 12 | 2 – 6 | 4 – 4 | 2 – 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 10 | Nick Honor | * | 34:09 | 2 – 10 | 2 – 8 | 2 – 2 | 0 – 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 23 | Aidan Shaw | * | 15:44 | 1 – 3 | 0 – 1 | 0 – 0 | 1 – 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 75 | Connor Vanover | 13:48 | 2 – 4 | 0 – 1 | 0 – 0 | 1 – 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 13 | Jesus Carralero Martin | 18:57 | 2 – 4 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | John Tonje | 11:46 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 2 – 2 | 0 – 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 4 | Curt Lewis | 6:09 | 0 – 4 | 0 – 3 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 45 | Mabor Majak | 8:00 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 2 | 0 – 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Jackson Francois | 0:40 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200:00 | 26 – 61 | 8 – 28 | 17 – 22 | 6 – 21 | 27 | 22 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 77 | ||
Kentucky 90
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Mitchell,Tre | * | 40 | 6-11 | 2-6 | 6-6 | 2-12 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Wagner,D.J. | * | 30 | 5-8 | 1-2 | 5-7 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 12 | Reeves,Antonio | * | 29 | 3-9 | 0-5 | 8-8 | 0-6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 02 | Bradshaw,Aaron | * | 30 | 5-9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 01 | Edwards,Justin | * | 20 | 2-7 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 00 | Dillingham,Rob | 19 | 6-7 | 3-3 | 8-10 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 23 | |
| 15 | Sheppard,Reed | 24 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 33 | Onyenso,Ugonna | 8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | Burks,Jordan | 0+ | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-56 | 7-23 | 27-32 | 9-33 | 42 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 90 |
2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | #5 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. |