Two growing teams, No. 14 Missouri and Gritty Vanderbilt, will set their momentum against each other as they square Saturday in an important Southeastern Conference game in Nashville, Tenn.
Missouri beat Vanderbilt 75-66 at home earlier this season and owns a 10-8 edge all the time against Commodores. A total of 15 out of 17 matches between the programs have won by the home team, with a neutral plate competition.
The tigers (21-7, 10-5 sec) travel to Nashville after a 101-71 home mantle by South Carolina on Tuesday. Caleb Grill led Missouri with 22 points while Anthony Robinson II had 14 points and eight assists, Mark Mitchell and Tony Perkins poured into 13 points per piece, Tamar Bates got 11 and the Jacob crews added 10.
It was the first time Missouri had six players in double-digit points in a Sec game and 30-point victory was its largest in league games since he also beat Arkansas with the same amount on March 5, 2013. The tigers shot 63.5 percent from the field for their second highest total all the time in a Sec game.
“It was just a complete team effort and it’s the hardest to beat,” Grill said. “When we click, it makes us really hard to beat. I don’t think we have played our best game yet. I don’t think we have found our best rhythm yet and I think we will find the stretch that arrives. Every game we get a little better, and we just have to keep stacking games like it.”
Missouri has won four of his last five games, with his 10 wins through 15 matches, the most as a member of the league in 2013.
Vanderbilt (19-9, 7-8 SEK) goes home after a 86-84 victory on No. 12 Texas A&M on Wednesday. It was Commodore’s second straight victory over a ranked team and the fourth over a squad ranked in the top 25 in Sec Play.
Commodores, which led by 10 points with 3:33 to play, was shaken by foul problems and late sales but kept on Tyler Nickel’s 21 points on a career-high seven 3-points. MJ Collins added 16 points and Jason Edwards had 15 for Vanderbilt.
“Many times as a coach you want to win when you deserve to win and I felt we did, but A&M almost pulled it from us,” said Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington. “Proud of our guys. It’s one of our best winnings this year, perhaps the best win, beat a good team like this on the road at the end of February. It was important to us.”
The win, in combination with Commodore’s victory over then-no. 24 Ole Miss on February 22, probably Vanderbilt assured a place in the NCAA tournament. Commodores has games against Unransked Arkansas and Georgia after Saturday’s visit from Missouri.
“The games are important now,” Byington added. “You want to play meaningful games at the end of February, play meaningful games in March and we are. We have had moments where I feel we are sometimes better, but you have to win. We take it any way.”
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