The Missouri Tigers traveled over 900 miles to Howard University for their season opener, and fended off a scrappy Bison squad 88-67 to begin the season 1-0. Missouri is now 3-1 in season openers under head coach Dennis Gates, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Memphis in the 2024-2025 season.
Shawn Phillips Jr. led Missouri with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting, while hauling in 11 rebounds in the process. Jayden Stone followed suit with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists on 5-for-7 shooting, and Jacob Crews dropped 10 points in just 12 minutes of action.
Team captains Anthony Robinson II and Mark Mitchell relatively struggled.
Robinson scored six points while shooting 1-for-6 from the field, but racked up four fouls in 27 minutes of play. Robinson struggled with foul trouble last season, did so again in the season opener.
Mitchell scored just nine points on 4-for-6 shooting, much lower than his 2024-2025 season average of 13.7 points per game.
While Missouri won by 19 points, that doesn't tell the story of how close the game *actually* was.
Howard's full-court pressure and high 3-point volume kept the Bison in the game, cutting the lead to as close as 10 points in the second half. There weren't times when Howard looked favorited to beat the Tigers, but there were certainly scares.
Senior guard Bryce Harris dropped 27 points in his return to action, after missing the majority of last season with a foot injury. The Bison as a whole knocked down 12 3-pointers, setting the tone for their high-octane offense which has led the Mid Eastern American Conference in 3-point makes and attempts for the last six seasons.
The Tigers had a few players miss the game with injuries, as Trent Pierce and Annor Boateng were ruled out with lower-body injuries. Pierce missed the exhibition game against Kansas State, but Boateng's injury is a new development. Redshirt freshman Trent Burns also missed the game, and is recovering from surgery in response to a right foot stress reaction, with an original timetable to return in what would be the week of Nov. 10.
Freshmen Aaron Rowe and Nicholas Randall also did not play, but that was the decision of Missouri's coaching staff.
Missouri will return to Columbia Friday for its home opener against Southeast Missouri State. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena, and will mark the start of a seven game home stretch against non-conference opponents.