Missouri uses long-range shooting to beat Baylor

By The Sports Xchange

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Fourth-ranked Missouri couldn't match up inside against Baylor. Instead, the Tigers stayed outside.

The Tigers hit five 3-point field goals over a five-minute span in the second half, turning a one-point game into a double-digit lead.

Missouri went on to a 72-57 victory.

Missouri (23-2, 10-2 Big 12) led by four points at halftime, despite being outrebounded by the Bears 23-8. Baylor (21-4, 8-4) had more offensive rebounds than Missouri had total rebounds in the first half, and finished the game with a 40-27 edge.

However, Missouri's 3-point shooting picked apart Baylor in the second half, mitigating that edge and giving the Tigers a sweep of the Bears this season. Missouri beat Baylor in Waco on Jan. 21.

After Ricardo Ratliffe scored 27 points against Baylor in the previous matchup, Scott Drew said he game planned to stop Missouri's forward.

"At the end of the day, when you play Missouri, you're going to give up something," Drew said. "We decided we were going to give up the 3. We didn't do as good a job challenging shots like we wanted to, but credit them for making them."

Missouri made 14-of 28 3-point attempts. Phil Pressey, Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon each made four.

"I just think that once everyone around the perimeter started hitting threes," Dixon said, "it opened up. Once Marcus mainly started hitting 3s, it opened up me and Phil's shots.

"That's what they were giving us, and that's what we were taking and making today."

Pressey had his most efficient offensive performance of the season, leading Missouri with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He went 4-of-7 from 3-point range, his first game over 50 percent since Nov. 21.

Pressey had scored in double figures just once in four games since Jan. 28, and had seven points total in the past two games.

According to Pressey, it was a teammate that gave him the confidence to continue shooting on Saturday.

"Marcus (Denmon) in particular talks to me every game, telling me to take my shot," Pressey said. "I work on those shots every single day, just like Marcus, Mike (Dixon), the rest of our teammates."

It was a change of pace for the usually distribution-oriented guard. Pressey had no assists in the first half and finished with three, half his season average. However, the sophomore from Dallas turned the ball over only once and added four rebounds.

Early on, Missouri had no answer for Baylor forward Quincy Miller. The freshman scored nine of Baylor's first 13 points, and finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. However, no other Baylor player scored in double figures. Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy combined for 11 points, far short of their collective average of nearly 27 points per game.

"We understood they would come out with a high energy level, coming off of their loss," Denmon said. "They would try to take advantage of their length and athleticism on the boards. We kind of let them take advantage of that early, and at halftime, we understood it was obvious what we needed to do.

"It was more personal to each one of us in the second half."

Missouri outrebounded Baylor 19-17 in the second half.

Denmon finished with 16 points, moving ahead of former Missouri guard Jon Sundvold into 10th place on the Tigers' career scoring list.

The Bears lost their second straight game by more than 10 points, as they fell to Kansas by 14 on Wednesday at home. All four of Baylor's losses have come against the Tigers and Jayhawks. In January, Baylor lost to Kansas and Missouri in consecutive games.

"When Missouri is on, there is nobody in the country that's as good as them offensively," Drew said. "Period."

With the win, Missouri once again moved slightly ahead of Kansas in the race for the Big 12 regular season title. The Jayhawks were scheduled to play later Saturday against Oklahoma State.

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