COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri men’s basketball team had been blown out each time it faced a formidable opponent this season. So, down two players and coming off a week disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak, it seemed almost certain it would be more of the same against No. 15 Alabama.
But college basketball has a magical way of defying what’s expected. And that’s exactly what happened Saturday, in no small part thanks to Kobe Brown, as the Tigers pulled off a massive 92-86 upset over the Crimson Tide at Mizzou Arena.
“I thought our guys did a tremendous job against a very talented team,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I told our guys, don’t get concerned with what happened in the past as far as learning and growing and taking your lumps, but learn from it. ... You have to dig deep and you have to believe that you’re good enough.”
Mizzou (7-7, 1-1 SEC) hadn’t played a game in 10 days. The Tigers had a few players test positive for COVID-19 last weekend, and those cases combined with contact tracing forced them to postpone a contest against Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Tigers were limited in practice throughout the week, not even able to practice five-on-five because of health and safety protocols.
The COVID-19 issues carried over to Saturday as well. The Tigers were missing two of their primary ball handlers in Amari Davis and Anton Brookshire, making the upset all the more impressive. “Boogie” Coleman started at point guard and freshman Kaleb Brown played 18 minutes off the bench.
“I just wanted to go out there and play how I usually do, try to make my shots when I had them and then just get everybody involved,” Coleman said. “They were out, we missed them, but it was just next man up. Like Kaleb came in, showed a lot of poise, and he helped us out down the stretch.”
Missouri entered the contest shooting 23.8% from beyond the arc on the season — the second-worst three-point percentage among all 358 Division-I teams — but made 9 of 24 (37.5%) 3-pointers against Alabama (11-4, 2-1 SEC). The Tigers scored more points than they had in any game this season and also had a season-high 19 assists.
“I think it was good ball movement. But it’s also — again, you can’t turn back the hands of time — but if you’re able to make shots, then your spacing is better,” Martin said. “You look at all the best teams, they make shots — that’s why their spacing is good. If you don’t make shots then the defense tightens up, now you struggle. But when you start making shots, that thing opens up, now guys are able to drive the ball and make plays.”
Kobe Brown led Mizzou with a career-high 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting, along with 13 rebounds and four assists for his fifth double-double of the season.
“I didn’t know how many points I had until the TV interview and they told me,” Kobe Brown said. “So really just playing, staying within what we’re doing and making the most out of it.”
Coleman had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while guards Javon Pickett and DaJuan Gordon each scored 15 points.
Mizzou has struggled in first halves throughout the season, but that surely wasn’t the case Saturday.
The Tigers went on a 9-0 run to start the contest, with six of those points coming from Kobe Brown.
The Crimson Tide missed a lot of easy shots in those opening minutes, making just one of its first eight from the floor. But once Alabama found its groove, the Tide quickly demolished Missouri’s lead. Alabama went on 14-2 run in a little over three minutes and took a 14-11 advantage with around 14 minutes left in the half.
The first 10 minutes of the half proved to be a back-and-forth affair of runs, as Mizzou struck back with a 8-0 spurt.
But the Tigers’ surefire shooting start wavered throughout the half, and Alabama only continued to get hotter. The Crimson Tide made eight of 10 shots across the last seven minutes.
Missouri trailed 43-40 at the break, but was right in it with one of the best teams in the SEC.
Sensing the chance for a big upset, the Tigers were aggressive to open the second half. And they were back on top within a few minutes.
Around five minutes into the period, Pickett maneuvered around multiple defenders and scored on a hook shot in the paint, drawing a foul in the process. Once the shot fell through, Pickett, a senior, proceeded to dance in celebration, waving imaginary guns in the air.
He then made the shot at the line, capping off a 7-0 run and giving Mizzou a 57-49 lead.
“The crowd was tremendous today,” Pickett said. “They did a great job of cheering me on, so I kind of just fed into that.”
A few minutes later, Pickett grabbed a loose ball on the defensive end and sprinted down the court to create a fast-break opportunity. He threw a bounce pass into the paint to Kobe Brown, who scored an easy layup that gave Missouri its biggest lead at 61-51.
By the under-12 timeout, the Tigers had a 13-point advantage. They scored an impressive 1.857 points per possession in the first eight-plus minutes of the half.
Missouri had tapped into a level of confidence and ease on offense that had been nowhere to be found for much of the season.
Alabama made a push late, bringing the game to as close as four points in the final seconds, but Mizzou was able to hold on for the victory.
“It’s a good feeling, you feel me,” Coleman said. “We definitely [have] had some lows during the season. But I feel like ... this ain’t too much out of us, like I’m not surprised too much by it. We just had to get things going. And the only thing you gotta do is just build on it, really.”
Next up for Missouri is a road game at Arkansas, set for Wednesday. The contest is set to air at 8 p.m. Central time on the SEC Network.
