The Missouri Tigers shot 36.7% from the 3-point line in the 2024-25 season, good for 40th in Division l college basketball. After three-point leaders Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates both moved on to the NBA after last year’s end, questions arose as to whether that number would change for the Tigers this season.
So far, it has, but in the right direction. Missouri is currently shooting 44.2% from beyond the arc, ranking first in the Southeastern Conference and 17th in Division l.
Junior guard Anthony Robinson II, a career 30.5% 3-point shooter before this season, is leading the way for the Tigers from deep so far. Robinson is shooting 8-for-12 from three, sporting a 66.7% 3-point percentage, ranking 14th in the country in percentage and second on the team in 3-pointers made.
The Florida native is on track to shoot 93 threes this season, shattering his previous career high of 50. For Robinson and the Tigers, this has been an intentional uptick in volume.
“I’ve been working with Coach (Dennis) Gates on, you know, my form and technique still,” Robinson said. “Just me being more comfortable out there, not thinking about it, getting out my head, just letting it go … ‘Just shoot the ball’ is what I’ve been told.”
The impact from downtown hasn’t just been from one player. Graduate forward Jacob Crews leads the team with nine 3-pointers made, and junior forward Luke Northweather and senior guard Jayden Stone are shooting career-highs of 60% and 41.2% from downtown, respectively. While numerous Tigers have shown flashes from three over their careers, this team-wide development proves this stretch isn’t just lightning in a bottle — Missouri has flat-out improved from beyond the arc this season, and it’s showing.
Missouri’s shooting ability from three will only get more important as the team plays harder competition, and we got a little glimpse as to why in the Tigers’ Nov. 12 matchup against Minnesota. While the box score might paint the game as nothing more than a blowout, the Tigers found themselves at a mere 12 points scored and down by seven to the Golden Gophers at the midway point of the first half, a result of their inability to get anything going down low.
Missouri has been dominant in the paint thus far this season, largely due to the ability of players like senior forward Mark Mitchell and senior center Shawn Phillips Jr. simply overpowering their lesser opponents at the rim. Before the matchup against the Gophers, Missouri had scored at least half its points in the paint and doubled its opponents’ points inside in all three games. Knowing this, Minnesota decided it wouldn’t get beat in the paint, doubling big men and anyone that tried to get going downhill, stifling Missouri’s offense early on.
Eventually, the Tigers realized how to get things going: they would have to kick out on paint touches and lean on their shooting for any hope of success. That’s exactly what happened — Missouri hit a season-high 11 threes in the game and shot 60% from downtown in a 50-point second half.
As the Tigers gear up towards tougher, bigger and more physical opponents over the next couple of weeks, the odds they keep up the domination down low are slim. Especially with the attention a strictly postgame player like Mitchell has garnered early on as a top scorer, the team’s ability to keep up its efficiency and volume from three will heavily weigh on the team’s success. The looks will be there — the Tigers will just have to see it and capitalize.
Make no mistake, the season is young, but right now, it’s safe to say that Missouri’s 3-point shooting is no longer a question mark, but a strength.
