Kentucky Won This Game in 154 Seconds

Mark Mitchell scored 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting, put up 23 in the second half alone, and gave Missouri a 70-69 lead with 2:34 remaining. Then Kentucky outscored the Tigers 9-2 the rest of the way and Missouri never made another field goal. That 154-second stretch is the game. Rewind it. After Mitchell's go-ahead bucket, Denzel Aberdeen immediately answered with two free throws to reclaim the lead. Then Otega Oweh forced an airball on Missouri's next possession and drove for a tough layup on the other end — 73-70 Kentucky with 1:13 left. Oweh was not done. He knocked the ball off Mitchell's leg for a turnover — Mitchell's fourth of the night — and Aberdeen received the inbound pass with the shot clock dying, pump-faked, drove the lane, and banked in a contested floater for 75-70 with 22.5 seconds left. Two more Aberdeen free throws made it final at 78-72. Now zoom out. Kentucky led by 16 with 14:33 remaining and went nearly five minutes without a field goal. Missouri ripped off a 10-2 run to cut it to 60-57 at the eight-minute mark, then Mitchell dragged them all the way back. But the Tigers turned it over 15 times and Kentucky converted those into 17 points. Mitchell had four of those turnovers himself, including the backbreaker with under a minute left. Missouri out-rebounded Kentucky 35-27, with T.O. Barrett grabbing six offensive boards on his own, and still lost because they could not hold the ball. On the other side: Collin Chandler went 5-for-6 from the floor, 2-for-3 from deep, 3-for-3 at the line for 15 points with 3 steals — the most efficient offensive game of anyone on the court. Aberdeen finished with 16 points and 7 assists, going 7-of-8 at the stripe. The frontcourt produced 9 blocks as a team: Brandon Garrison came off the bench for nine minutes, did not score, and swatted 4 shots. Malachi Moreno added 3 blocks in 32 minutes. Kentucky shot 18-of-23 from the line at 78 percent; Missouri shot 15-of-23 at 65 percent. In a game decided by six, that 13-percent gap at the stripe was worth every bit of the margin. Record moves to 21-12. The defending national champions are next.