Though it's just Harris-Stowe State College, Mizzou basketball appears to have picked up where they left off. The Tigers had five players score in double digits on their way to a 114-60 victory over Harris-Stowe.
Laurence Bowers was the leading scorer in the game with 23 points and six boards in just 18 minutes while Kim English put up 18 in 20 minutes, including 4-of-6 on three pointers. Phil Pressey did what Mizzou expects him to do with 12 points and seven assists and another newcomer, Ricardo Ratliffe, had 15 points and 10 boards.
There's not much you can take away from a game like this but at least Mizzou did what they were expected to do. Actually, they may have done a little more. As the KC Star points out, Mizzou averages a 41-point victory in exhibition play under Mike Anderson so the 54 point victory was above and beyond.
The Hornets were no Truman State, the school that holds the dubious distinction of losing by the widest spread in the Anderson Era. Truman fell by 63 points, 96-33 in last season’s MU exhibition opener at Mizzou Arena.
But the 54-point margin of victory was tied for the third highest in an exhibition game under Anderson. The 114 points were an all-time high in an exhibition.
Games like this early on are more about getting the new guys worked into the lineup -- like Ratliffe -- and making sure everyone is on the same page. It appears that's the case in Columbia, Mo.
A big but not surprising win for Mizzou in the exhibition season. They'll open the regular season next week and it appears they're running at full speed.