Led by senior guard Kobe Brown and senior guard D’Moi Hodge, the Tigers earned a 78-61 win to improve to 16-5 and 4-4 in SEC play.
On the Jan. 28 Star Wars Day game at Mizzou Arena, the Missouri “Jedi” Tigers dueled the Sith-like Iowa State Cyclones and won the battle.
The No. 12 ranked Cyclones entered the game from an 80-76 win against the No. 5 Kansas State Wildcats, so the Tigers took the court against a seemingly formidable opponent.
Instead, it was Missouri men’s basketball who laid down an impressive performance, dominating the game on both ends of the floor en route to a 78-61 win.
The first half opened with a hot start for Missouri, 8-2. The Tigers made eight of their first 12 shots, getting Mizzou Arena to rock early. Senior guard Kobe Brown went down with an ankle injury midway through the half but was able to check back into the game shortly after and finished the half with 14 points on 4-7 shooting.
Senior guard duo D’Moi Hodge and Nick Honor also had a solid first half, scoring 6 points each on 2-4 shooting. Hodge’s defense also stood out, as he was able to grab a steal, poking at every defender he matched up against.
Missouri again opened the second half with a hot start, as Honor drained two 3s and Mosley hit a floater and step-back 3. Though Iowa State was the top-ranked defense in the Big 12 Conference — allowing only 59.5 points per game, it could not seem to slow down the Tiger offense.
Missouri’s trio of Brown, Honor and Hodge went on to combine for a dominant 49 points.
The Tigers also saw significant contributions from senior guards DeAndre Gholston and Isiaih Mosley, who scored 10 and 8 points, respectively. The Missouri defense put up a strong performance — holding Iowa State to just 61 points in its fifth loss of the season — and showed improvements from previous matchups.
A win against a top-12 team in the country proved to be a big momentum boost for Missouri, which it will look to carry into its next stretch of games. Next up for the Tigers is a home game against LSU on Feb. 1, followed by a road trip to Starkville, where the Tigers will face Mississippi State on Feb. 4. Tipoff against LSU will be at 8 p.m.
Edited by Matt Guzman | mguzman@themaneater.com