The 61-point victory marks Missouri's biggest win since the 2024-25 season, easily surpassing last year's biggest victory 106-68. Missouri particularly thrived shooting the ball, shooting 61% from the field and 45% from three on 14 3-point makes.
Seven Tigers ended in double digits and Crowe led the team with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting and four made 3-point shots.
Following Mitchell's career-high assist, he secured a jam to become the seventh Tiger in double figures. Missouri now has a lineup of all bench players in the game, including Kennard Davis Jr. who is up to 19 points after a smooth stepback 3-point shot.
On an alley-oop to Bryant, Mitchell delivered his career-high tenth assist. Mitchell's previous career high was nine assists in a 2025-26 season that he averaged 3.6 assists per game.
The six-foot-seven guard has put his slashing ability on full display in the season opener, converting three layups through contact. Jones became the fifth Tiger with double digits after converting an and-one. He has 11 points, three rebounds, a block and two steals.
After two Kennard Davis triples, the BYU transfer is up to 13 points and becomes the fourth Tiger in double digits. Mitchell found Davis on one of his deep shots and then delivered another assist to Mizzou's leading scorer Crowe. Mitchell has nine assists, matching a career high in just 19 minutes of play.
Returning starters Mitchell and Pierce each opened the second half with emphatic slams to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night. Pierce becomes the third Tiger in double digits with 11. Also of note, Kennard Davis Jr. started the second half instead of Toni Bryant.
The Tigers are up by 38 as they stroll into the locker room on pace to surpass their largest margin of victory, 72 points. Crowe and Bryant lead the Tigers in scoring, Crowe with 13 and Bryant with 11. Pierce has added nine points, Tiller leads the team with five boards and Mitchell leads Missouri with seven assists. Outside of besting Cleveland State in every shooting statistic, the Tigers lead the Vikings 25-15 in rebounds and have just two turnovers compared to the Vikings' eight.
Both Crowe and Bryant are off to strong debuts in the black and gold. Bryant has 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks, showcasing his two-way impact and dominance all over the floor. Crowe, on the other hand, has 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, knocking down multiple triples and staying active in attacking the glass.
On two fast breaks, the Tigers converted two steals into slams. First, off a Tiller steal, the sophomore transfer found Pierce in the air for a one-handed dunk. And then, Pierce found Crowe off a steal as the freshman sprinted down the floor for his first dunk as a Tiger.
Cleveland State takes the first non-media timeout of the contest after the Tigers hold Cleveland State scoreless for two minutes. Missouri had four transfers in Cord Stansberry, Bryson Tiller, Jamier Jones and Kennard Davis Jr. on the floor. Trent Burns was the center in this lineup, getting his first minutes of the season.
Mitchell's drive-and-kicks to Bryant defined the first five minutes of the contest, but the Tigers have since found success on offense from a variety of players and ways. In between the media timeouts, Crowe delivered an and-one, Tiller nailed a smooth jumper and Jamier Jones came in and had an immediate impact with a slashing layup and two athletic rebounds.
The Tigers' five-star freshman opened the season with nine points on three made corner 3-point shots in the first five minutes. Bryant is also impacting the ball on the other end of the court, adding two early blocks for Missouri. Mark Mitchell is commanding the offense alongside Jason Crowe Jr. and has four early assists, including three to Bryant.
Missouri basketball tips off its season at 7 p.m. against Cleveland State at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers went 1-1 in exhibition play, defeating Kansas State 71-67 and falling to UNLV 81-90. Cleveland State, on the other hand, did not play any exhibition matchups leading up to the opener.
This is the second ever matchup between Missouri and Cleveland State after the Tigers defeated the Vikings 86-59 last year. Missouri jumped out to a 46-24 first half lead at Mizzou Arena and continued its dominance in the second half.
On Tuesday, Missouri will be without three Tigers: Jaylen Carey, Luke Northweather and Aidan Chronister. Carey and Northweather's status was updated Monday, when coach Dennis Gates said Northweather would be "sitting out for precaution," and that Carey was suspended indefinitely due to a "violation of team rules."
Carey didn't appear in any of the Tigers' exhibition matchups after transferring from Tennessee, where he averaged 7.4 points and six rebounds off the bench. His return timeline and team status is currently unknown.
Missouri announced Chronister's status on X at 5:05 p.m., reporting that he suffered an injury to his non-shooting hand at practice and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The four-star freshman played 31 total minutes in two exhibition games, totaled nine points and shot 3-for-9 from distance.
Without CJ Gunn, who was ruled ineligible Monday, and the three other absences, Missouri has 12 available players Tuesday. All five of its starters in the last exhibition game are expected to play: Jason Crowe Jr., Toni Bryant, Trent Pierce, Bryson Tiller and Mark Mitchell. Five-star freshmen Crowe and Bryant will make their official debut for Missouri Tuesday along with Kansas transfer Tiller.
Transfer guards Kennard Davis Jr., Jamier Jones, Cord Stansberry and Jordan Crawford are anticipated to make their debut in black and gold as well.
Who: Mizzou vs. Cleveland State
When: Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Mizzou Arena in Columbia
TV: SEC Network Plus
Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Series: Missouri leads 1-0
Missouri fell in its second exhibition game of the season, losing to UNLV 90-81 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Thursday. Crowe was one of three Tigers to score in double figures, reaching a team-high 25 points on 6-for-18 shooting while Bryant and Davis each scored 10.
The Vikings did not play a public exhibition game this season and will instead begin its season against Missouri.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/missouri as Live blog of Mizzou basketball's season opener against Cleveland State .
