Grill and No. 20 Missouri use long-distance scoring to beat No. 14 Mississippi State 88-61
Missouri guard Caleb Grill (31) passes the ball around Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Starkville, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Caleb Grill shot 6 for 11 from 3-point range and scored 20 points as No. 20 Missouri beat No. 14 Mississippi State 88-61 on Saturday.
Tamar Bates scored 14 points and Josh Gray added 10 for Missouri (17-4, 6-2 SEC), which hit 15 of 32 shots from distance.
Josh Hubbard scored 24 points for Mississippi State (16-6, 4-5). KeShawn Murphy had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Missouri led by 14 points at halftime and used a 15-0 run early in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Takeaways
Missouri: The Tigers broke an eight-game losing streak in road games at Mississippi State.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have dropped consecutive games for the second time in SEC play.
Key moment
Missouri closed out the first half with a 12-1 run and led 45-31 at the break. The Tigers shot 52% in the opening half and made 9 of 19 shots from distance. Missouri also outrebounded Mississippi State 20-14 in the first half, including seven offensive boards.
Missouri guard Caleb Grill (31) shoots a three-point shot past Mississippi State guard Riley Kugel (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Starkville, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis
Key stat
Missouri shot 55% from the field and was 7 for 10 from the foul line in the game. The Tigers finished with a 39-31 rebounding edge. Mississippi State shot 36% in the game and made eight of 26 shots from 3-point range.
Up next
Missouri is at Tennessee on Wednesday, while Mississippi State travels to Georgia on Saturday.
