COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Southeastern Conference heavyweight matchup at Mizzou Arena turned into an early knockout on Wednesday. Tennessee, looking underrated as the nation’s No. 7 team, blitzed No. 12 Mizzou from the opening tip and suffocated the life out of the Tigers' unbeaten start, handing MU a 73-53 loss to open SEC play.
In a matchup of the SEC’s only ranked teams through the first month of the season, the Volunteers (7-0, 1-0 SEC) never trailed and led by at least 20 points for most of the second half. The Tigers (6-1, 0-1) finished with more turnovers (21) than field goals (16) and shot just 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Xavier Pinson led Mizzou with 11 points and was the Tigers' only player in double figures.
Four different Tennessee players reached double figures, led by Santiago Vescovi's 15 points.
Tennessee had taken complete control by the the second media timeout in the first half, using a 15-0 run to grab a 23-4 lead. UT made its first seven shots of the game, while the Tigers missed nine of their first 11, including seven consecutive shots during a 6-minute scoreless stretch. The Tigers rarely looked comfortable in the halfcourt, especially with shot-blocking specialist Yves Pons lurking everywhere near the paint, and couldn’t get its transition game started with all the Vols’ made baskets.
Kobe Brown gave the Tigers a brief spark with back-to-back buckets midway through the half, but in the final minute, with a chance to trim the lead to 10, Pinson missed a rushed 3-pointer in transition, spoiling a chance to take some momentum into the locker room.
After falling behind 38-25 at halftime, the Tigers fell into a deeper hole in the second half with a string of early turnovers. UT's lead reached 28 points, briefly threatening the largest margin of defeat Mizzou has suffered in coach Cuonzo Martin's four seasons, a 34-point loss at Auburn two years ago.
