After 11 days off, one could have worried about a rusty performance from Missouri men’s basketball as it began conference play Wednesday night, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Missouri (11-3, 1-0 SEC) dominated South Carolina on the road in a 79-68 win, the first game of its 2018 Southeastern Conference schedule. It was also the first road conference win for Missouri in its last 32 games; the Tigers’ last SEC win away from Mizzou Arena came at Arkansas on Jan. 28, 2014.

Missouri had no problem with a South Carolina defense that came in with a stingy style similar to Illinois, whom Missouri lost to in its last game.

In the first half, Missouri got off to a hot start shooting the ball, draining nine 3-pointers while recording just two 2-point field goals. Senior forward Jordan Barnett hit four of those 3-point shots and recorded 14 of his 19 total points in the first half.

Missouri led 39-27 at the half and didn’t let up. The Tigers struggled to get anything going inside in the second half, largely due to freshman forwards Jontay Porter and Jeremiah Tilmon both fouling out of the game. That didn’t matter, however, as Missouri again turned to perimeter scoring. The Tigers shot 47 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3 on the game.

Senior guard Kassius Robertson led all scorers with 23 points. Though he was limited inside, Porter chipped in 19 points and a career-high five 3-pointers.

Missouri will be back in action on Saturday in a home contest against the Florida Gators. Tipoff is scheduled for noon CT.

_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_