Missouri Basketball Opens Season With Convincing Victory Over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
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COLUMBIA, MO. - The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team have taken a unique path to build their 2023 team that opened up the season with a 101-79 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday evening. Of the Tigers' 18 rostered players, five are freshman and another five are transfers. Many of these new faces were significant contributors in Missouri's win, including Indiana transfer Tamar Bates.
Bates was one of the Tigers' leading scorers with 18 points. The junior's most impressive run came in the final minutes of the first period when he grabbed two rebounds and seven consecutive points, giving the Tigers' a 17-point lead heading into halftime.
"Coach (Gates) always emphasizes guys that come up off the bench being a spark," Bates said. "I just felt a sense in that point in that game ... It was just the right time in that moment for me to attack and be aggressive."
The Tigers would quickly build off of Bates' late first-half run by outscoring Arkansas-Pine Bluff 25-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half, giving the Tigers a 80-50 lead.
Along with Bates, Iowa State transfer Caleb Grill provided some important shots for the Tigers, scoring 15 points, including one three-point shot and a slam-dunk in the second half.
The Tigers also received crucial contributions from two of their returning starters; Sean East II and Nick Honor.
East, who played at three different schools (UMass, Bradley, and John A. Logan CC) before arriving to Columbia in 2022, led Missouri with 21 points. The graduate guard also provided momentum early on for the Tigers, scoring two consecutive three-pointers in the opening two minutes.
Honor added 18 points along with four rebounds and four assists. The graduate guard saw the court more than any other Tiger, playing for 32 minutes.
While Honor might of seen the court the most, he was only one of 12 players that saw playing time through the game on a deep roster. In the first 12 minutes of play, 10 different players for Missouri had already received playing time.
"We can sub in the game and play as hard as possible," Bates said. "If you get tired, sit down and we just always got fresh legs out there. So that's what we see in practice and that translates to the game."
Missouri will look to continue their strong start to the season on Friday at 7 p.m. when they host one of their toughest opponents of the non-conference slate, the Memphis Tigers.
