Mizzou basketball downs SEMO to remain perfect heading into Border War clash vs. Kansas

Missouri was far from flawless — particularly defensively — in its final game before the return of the Border War, which will take place in front of a sold-out Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Missouri’s record, however, remains without a blemish.

The Tigers, who earned a gritty overtime road win at Wichita State on Tuesday, improved to 9-0 with a 96-89 win over Southeast Missouri State on Sunday. The Redhawks actually led by a point nearing the end of the first half, but the Tigers closed the period on an 11-0 run (50-40 halftime score) and remained firmly in control in the second half.

The usual offensive excellence of the fast-paced Tigers was on display, as they eclipsed the 90-point mark for the fifth time in nine games. The Tigers — ranked No. 14 nationally in offensive efficiency and No. 3 in tempo, per the popular hoops rankings site KenPom.com — shot 55.7% from the field and 40.7% from three-point range.

Kobe Brown made 9 of 12 shots to finish with a team-best 25 points. He added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Reserve guard Sean East, who broke out with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win over the Shockers, had a career day off the bench. He finished with 21 points (8-of-12 shooting), six assists, four rebounds and four steals in 28 minutes.

Southeast Missouri State was paced by 26 points from third-year sophomore Phillip Russell and 21 more from senior guard Israel Barnes.

Perhaps a sign of concern, Missouri allowed SEMO to hit 13 threes on 26 tries (50%) and was bailed out by the Redhawks making only 8 of 15 free throws (53.3%). However, the Missouri defense did impose its will in forcing 18 turnovers, with 14 of them coming via steals.

The Tigers also led fairly comfortably throughout the second period — certainly more than the final score would suggest. Missouri led by as many as 19 points in the second half and maintained a double-digit advantage from the 18:59 mark in the period until Barnes cut the deficit to nine on a three-point make with 2:48 to play.

SEMO led for all of 19 seconds in a game played in front of a listed crowd of 8,873.

Expect close to double that, perhaps over Mizzou Arena’s listed capacity of 15,061, come next Saturday.