COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arkansas forward Justin Smith missed out on his first chance to play Missouri.
He made up for lost time in the rematch, scoring 19 points to help the Razorbacks beat the 10th-ranked Tigers 86-81 in overtime on Saturday.
Smith had ankle surgery the day before the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 2 and could only watch as Arkansas (16-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) lost that game. The grad transfer from Indiana is healthy now, and it showed. He shot 6 of 10 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists.
“He came back with vengeance this time,” said teammate Moses Moody, who scored 16. “He had a different look in his eye.”
On Saturday, it was Missouri (13-5, 6-5 SEC) missing a key player. Standout forward Jeremiah Tilmon missed the game because of a death in the family. Tilmon had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the teams’ previous meeting, and without him, the Tigers leaned heavily on 3-pointers, making 13 of 32 from beyond the arc.
Xavier Pinson led the Tigers with 23 points, and Dru Smith added 15. Missouri erased a four-point deficit in the final minute of regulation. Parker Braun sent the game into overtime when he scored a reverse layup off a nice feed from Dru Smith to tie the game at 73 and then blocked Devonte Davis’ shot on the other end.
Justin Smith opened overtime with a layup and then delivered a thunderous dunk on an alley-oop pass from Jalen Tate.
“Justin Smith, I think he was looking into the basket when he dunked it,” said Missouri’s Torrence Watson.
This was Justin Smith’s fourth game since returning from his injury, and his production has increased with each. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman called it Smith’s best game as a Razorback.
“Justin Smith was just absolutely incredible tonight,” Musselman said.
FROM REJECTION TO ELATION
With 18 seconds left in overtime, Missouri briefly took a one-point lead when Tate was called for goaltending on a Dru Smith layup attempt. However, officials checked the replay and saw that Tate blocked the shot before it touched the backboard.
The points came off the board, but that wasn’t much consolation to Musselman. The Razorbacks had rebounded the blocked shot, but the ball is dead when goaltending is called, so Missouri was awarded the ball based on alternating possession. But it all worked out in the end, when Moody stripped the ball from Braun on the ensuing possession and converted two free throws after he was fouled.
Tate, who scored 14 points, also had four rebounds and four assists.
“All those little intangible winning plays is what he’s all about,” Musselman said.
VANOVER COMES UP BIG
Connor Vanover is hard to miss at 7-foot-3, but he was absent in the first half. He played just four minutes and didn’t score. In the second half, Vanover came alive to help turn a 35-31 halftime deficit into 58-51 lead with 11 minutes left in regulation. He scored 12 points.
Vanover hit two 3-pointers, which wasn’t a big surprise, but he also posted up and scored down low. Missouri covered Vanover with guards because he so rarely plays inside.
“Connor going down on the block was something other teams haven’t seen us do,” Musselman said. “How would they? We haven’t done it before. … We threw it in to him and ran a play about four straight times that we haven’t run one time this year. We had to diagram it in a timeout.”
Vanover had a dismal game the last time against Missouri, going 0 of 11 from the field. This time, he made 5 of 7 shots.
“I was really looking forward to this game,” Vanover said. “Not only was it a Top 10 team, but it was redemption.”
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: The NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed its current top 16 teams on Saturday, and the Tigers received a No. 4 seed as the No. 16 team overall. Missouri earned that spot thanks in large part to victories over two No. 2 seeds (Illinois and Alabama) and one No. 3 seed (Tennessee). Consecutive losses, though, raise some concerns that the team is trending in the wrong direction late in the season.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks won their sixth straight SEC game — sandwiched around a nonconference loss to Oklahoma State — and this one should come in handy on their NCAA Tournament résumé. Missouri is the first AP Top 25 opponent Arkansas has beaten this season.
Check wholehogsports.com later for more coverage from Arkansas' 86-81 win over No. 10 Missouri
EARLIER
FINAL, OT — Justin Smith added two more free throws and Arkansas wins 86-81 at No. 10 Missouri. Smith scored a team-high 19 points, Moses Moody added 16 and Jalen Tate 14.
Arkansas has now won six in a row in the SEC. We'll have much more from today's game later on WholeHogSports.com.
:13.6, OT — Moses Moody comes up with a steal and is fouled. Moody will be at the line when play resumes. Missouri called for time. ... Moody hit both free throws. Hogs up 84-81.
:21, OT — Dru Smith adds a layup. Officials called Arkansas for goaltending. Looked like a clean block. Officials are reviewing it. Missouri leads 83-82. ... After review, no goaltending, but Missouri has the ball because of the possession arrow. Arkansas up 82-81.
:32, OT — Devo Davis scores at the rim after a great find from Moses Moody. Razorbacks lead 82-81. Missouri calls for time. Big, big possession upcoming for Arkansas.
:58, OT — Moses Moody fouls Mark Smith on a drive to the rim. Smith made both to give the Tigers an 81-80 lead.
1:17, OT — Moses Moody is fouled on the perimeter and hits two free throws. Razorbacks’ up 80-79. Moody has 14 points today.
1:53, OT — Devo Davis missed a layup, Jalen Tate rebounded it and got fouled. He split the pair and Arkansas is down 79-78.
2:15, OT — Devo Davis called for a cheap foul on Xavier Pinson. He splits the pair at the line, and Missouri’s lead is 79-77. Pinson has 23 points to lead all scorers.
2:51, OT — Xavier Pinson scores at the rim plus a foul on Connor Vanover. He hits the free throw and Missouri leads 78-77. Jalen Tate then commits a turnover.
3:19, OT — How good has Justin Smith been today? He’s up to 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting after a dunk puts Arkansas up 77-75. Jalen Tate picks up the assist, his fourth today.
3:26, OT — Parker Braun drew a foul on Connor Vanover after a Moses Moody turnover, but Braun missed both free throws. Connor Vanover bricked a three from the left wing the next trip down, but Devo Davis knocked the rebound off Xavier Pinson's foot. Razorbacks ball. Still tied at 75.
3:56, OT — Devo Davis fouled Xavier Pinson and he hit two free throws to tie the game 75-75. Pinson is up to 19 points, a game high.
4:38, OT — Justin Smith scores at the rim and gives Arkansas a two-point lead to open the extra period. Mitchell Smith is hit with a block call on the play. Smith misses the free throw, though.
:00.0, 2H — Parker Braun gets a layup to go and we’re headed to overtime tied 73-73.
:42, 2H — Mitchell Smith adds a layup off an offensive rebound. Missouri down 73-71. Devo Davis missed a short jumper on the other end.
1:20, 2H — Justin Smith adds a layup to push Arkansas’ lead to four. Smith has 13 points today. Great find by Connor Vanover. Arkansas forwards have combined for half of the team’s 16 assists. Smith and Jaylin Williams have three, Vanover with two. Arkansas up 73-69. Missouri ball out of a timeout.
2:18, 2H — Moses Moody was just hit with a charge on a play in which he drove the lane and threw a lob for Connor Vanover. He slammed it home, but the dunk doesn’t count. Razorbacks still up two.
2:56, 2H — Connor Vanover hits a shot in the lane and pushes Arkansas’ lead to five. Missouri, though, answers with a three from Xavier Pinson. It’s a 71-69 game.
3:41, 2H — Moses Moody hits both free throws coming out of the break. Arkansas’ lead is 69-66. Moody has 12 points today.
3:40, 2H — Great drive and left-handed scoop layup from Devo Davis. Razorbacks up 67-64. Missouri then added a layup on the other end. Arkansas simply can’t pull away. It has a 67-66 lead at the final media timeout of the game. Moses Moody will be at the line when play resumes.
5:50, 2H — Justin Smith buries a left-corner three to give Arkansas a 65-62 lead. He has hit two jumpers today. It would be pretty wild if those shots were the difference today.
6:19, 2H — Jalen Tate posts up following a baseline out of bound play and gets to the line. He hits both free throws to tie Arkansas a 62-60 lead. But Dru Smith adds a layup of his own on the other end. Tied at 62-62.
6:44, 2H — Xavier Pinson picks up his fourth foul trying to block out Connor Vanover under the rim. Pinson exits the game with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting — 4 of 6 from three. Arkansas will be at the line the rest of the way on the Tigers’ next foul. Tie game at 60-60.
7:40, 2H — Dru Smith with another three-pointer and we’re tied 60-60. He is 2 of 4 from deep, and Missouri has hit 12 of 25 attempts today. The 12 threes are a season high for the Tigers.
9:25, 2H — Justin Smith just threw down a big-time dunk to put Arkansas up six, but Dru Smith added a left-corner three on the other end moments later. Tigers won’t go away easy today. Arkansas’ lead is 60-57.
10:34, 2H — Xavier Pinson ends Arkansas’ run with a right-corner three. He has 14 points today on 4 of 5 from deep. Missouri is now 10 of 23 from distance.
11:02, 2H — Jaylin Williams picked up his third assist by finding Desi Sills in the open floor for a layup. Devo Davis then hit a midrange jumper on the left side of the floor. Razorbacks up 58-51.
11:50, 2H — Moses Moody just hit a three from the right wing to give Arkansas a 54-51 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Moody now has 10 points. That was his first bucket since the 14:55 mark of the first half. Justin Smith tied the game moments earlier with a pair of free throws. Connor Vanover has a team-high 10 points since the break on 4 of 5 shooting and 2 of 3 from deep. Arkansas is plus-8 with Smith on the floor today. You had to know his presence and production would loom large in this game.
13:19, 2H — Drew Buggs lulled Arkansas’ defense to sleep and slipped a quick layup under the arm of Connor Vanover. Missouri leads 51-49. Buggs has six points off the bench today, five in the second half.
14:14, 2H — Connor Vanover with another three, this one from the right wing. Torrence Watson then answers for the Tigers. We’re tied 49-49. Vanover has 10 points today, second on the team to Jalen Tate (11).
15:13, 2H — Connor Vanover missed a three-pointer as the shot clock wound down, but Jalen Tate grabbed the miss and laid it in. Razorbacks led 46-43 before giving up a three-ball in the left corner.
15:41, 2H — Justin Smith finds Connor Vanover for a three-ball on the left wing. Vanover is 3 of 3 from the floor with seven points. Smith is tied for the team lead in assists with three. He has 18 assists since returning from injury. Xavier Pinson hit a three-pointer just before the media timeout. Razorbacks lead 44-43. Pinson is the first player in double figures with 11.
16:52, 2H — Jalen Tate hits a short midrange jumper to push Arkansas’ lead to 41-38. The Tigers, though, respond with a Dru Smith layup. He has seven points.
18:04, 2H — Devo Davis with a great drive and feed to Connor Vanover for a dunk. Razorbacks lead 37-35. Missouri answers to tie the game again, but Vanover adds another bucket at the rim. Razorbacks back up by two.
18:15, 2H — Justin Smith knocks down a rare midrange jumper, and it pulls Arkansas within 35-33. Smith has four points and four rebounds. Jalen Tate then drives into the lane and hits a floater. We’re tied at 35-35.
HALF — Missouri overcame 11 first-half turnovers by hitting six threes. It leads Arkansas 35-31. Xavier Pinson leads the Tigers with eight points and Torrence Watson/Mitchell Smith have six each.
Moses Moody scored a team-high seven points for the Razorbacks, but his final bucket came at the 14:55 mark of the half. Desi Sills pitched in six points and Jalen Tate has five. Justin Smith and JD Notae were the lone Razorbacks who were not net negatives the first 20 minutes.
:16.5, 1H — Missouri calls for time to get the final shot of the half. JD Notae just drove into the lane and tossed up a contested floater that missed everything. He has really struggled to finish, especially since January.
1:06, 1H — Vance Jackson saw one three-ball go down and he then pulled two more that I don’t think Eric Musselman was happy with. His second miss led to a runout for Missouri and a pair of free throws. Tigers up 33-29.
2:11, 1H — Vance Jackson sighting. Jackson knocks down a three-pointer from the left wing and pulls Arkansas within 31-29. He is now 5 of 9 from three-point range over the last five-plus SEC games.
3:15, 1H — We just saw the most aggressive move from Desi Sills since the Auburn game a couple of weeks ago, and he finished nicely at the rim. He has six points today, second only to Moses Moody’s seven. Arkansas trails 31-26. Sills then takes a charge on the other end.
3:48, 1H — Desi Sills cuts Arkansas’ deficit to 29-24 with a pair of free throws. But Missouri immediately answers with a score over Vance Jackson at the rim.
3:49, 1H — Jaylin Williams picked up his third foul going after a Devo Davis miss near the rim. Eric Musselman subs Williams out and Desi Sills in. The Razorbacks have four guards and Vance Jackson on the floor right now. Moses Moody and Justin Smith also have a pair of fouls. Missouri leads 29-22 at the under-4 media timeout.
5:05, 1H — Devo Davis just dove on the floor for a loose ball in the backcourt that would have belonged to Arkansas, but he didn’t care. Sitting on his backside, he found Justin Smith near the top of the key and he drove to the rim and got fouled. Smith then hit a pair of free throws. He surpassed 1,000 career points on his second free throw. Razorbacks down 27-22.
5:56, 1H — Devo Davis gets on the board today with a pair of free throws. He hit the offensive glass following a JD Notae miss in the lane. Davis has a rebound and an assist in his eight minutes. Arkansas needs him to infuse some life into this team.
7:18, 1H — Missouri leads 26-19 at the under-8 media timeout. The Tigers have hit 6 of 11 from deep. They made eight total in Wednesday’s loss at Ole Miss. Xavier Pinson has eight points and Torrence Watson/Mitchell Smith have six. Arkansas, meanwhile, is scoring at a .818 point-per-possession rate and has committed six turnovers. Moses Moody has two of them.
7:30, 1H — Jalen Tate has added five quick points on a dunk off a feed from Jaylin Williams and a left-wing three-pointer. Arkansas cut its deficit to 20-15 but gave up another three-pointer to Torrence Watson. Then Xavier Pinson buried another three. Tigers lead 26-18.
9:45, 1H — Torrence Watson and Xavier Pinson have hit back-to-back threes for Missouri, and the Tigers’ lead is 18-9. Desi Sills is still the only Arkansas player to score outside of Moses Moody. But right now, Arkansas’ three-point defense is really lacking. That's a bigger concern in my eyes. There is very little urgency from the Razorbacks in their close-outs.
11:02, 1H — Dru Smith picked the pocket of Vance Jackson and drove to the other end and got fouled. Jalen Tate half-heartedly tried to take a charge and was hit with a block. Smith hits both free throws to snap Missouri’s scoreless streak. Tigers lead 12-9.
11:36, 1H — Pretty good defensive stretch from the Razorbacks. They did not allow a score between media timeouts, but they still trail 10-9. JD Notae airballed a 3 from the left wing prior to the break. Moses Moody has seven points for Arkansas and Desi Sills has the other bucket. Missouri has turned the ball over five times and missed its last five shots. This has not been a pretty game to watch.
13:10, 1H — First bucket from a Razorback outside of Moses Moody comes from Desi Sills. He cut baseline and Jaylin Williams found him under the rim. Williams has really good vision for a big. Missouri’s lead is 10-9. Tigers have not scored in 4:40 following a shot clock violation.
14:55, 1H — Moses Moody continuing to play well today. He buries a right-corner three and is now 8 of 11 from that area of the floor since the beginning of January. Razorbacks trail 10-7.
15:53, 1H — Missouri is on an 8-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers from Mitchell Smith, the Tigers forward from Van Buren. Smith had not made multiple threes in a game this season prior to today. Xavier Pinson also added a dunk in-between the perimeter jumpers.
Moses Moody has all four of Arkansas’ points. The rest of the team is 0 of 4 from the floor.
18:25, 1H — Dru Smith shot faked an Arkansas defender off his feet and scored around the rim. Moses Moody then beat his man off the bounce again and scored near the rim. Good start for Moody. Razorbacks up 4-2.
19:43, 1H — Moses Moody hits his first shot of the game, a leaner in the lane on Arkansas’ first possession. Connor Vanover then blocks a shot on the other end.
Pregame
Arkansas’ starting lineup: Jalen Tate, Moses Moody, Davonte Davis, Justin Smith and Connor Vanover.
The Razorbacks have won five consecutive conference games for the first time since 2017. Moody is leading Arkansas in scoring in league games, averaging 15.8 points on 40% shooting. JD Notae is second at 13.1 per game, and Jalen Tate is adding 12.3.
Vanover has blocked 16 shots in the last five games and has the No. 3 block rate in the SEC at 8.9%. He has made a three-pointer in three straight games for the first time since mid-December.
Arkansas is No. 3 in the SEC in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and No. 1 in the league in limiting offensive rebounds.
Missouri’s starters: Xavier Pinson, Mark Smith, Dru Smith, Kobe Brown and Mitchell Smith.
The Tigers have won six of their last eight games overall, but are coming off a 21-point road loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday. Missouri is No. 10 in the latest Associated Press top 25.
Dru Smith and Pinson lead the Tigers in scoring at 14.2 per game and Jeremiah Tilmon is next at 12.8 points. He also leads Missouri in rebounding at 7.8 per game.
According to Mitchell Forde, Tilmon will miss today's game due to a death in his family. Tilmon had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the first matchup between the two teams.
Missouri is in a two-way tie with Florida for third place in the conference. Arkansas is in a three-way tie for second place.
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