It’s not often a college basketball team scores over 100 points, and it’s not often that they win by over 70 points.

The Missouri Tigers were able to accomplish both of those feats on Thursday night, defeating Mississippi Valley State 111-39. After a hot start in which it led 24-6 with 10:57 remaining in the first half, they never let up from there.

This is the largest margin of victory Missouri has gained since the hire of coach Dennis Gates, as well as a tie for the largest in program history. By limiting turnovers and shooting a high percentage on 3-point attempts, it quickly became a very simple win.

A total of seven Tigers finished in double digits with points. Marques Warrick led the pack with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-of-5 shooting from behind the arc.

Here are three takeaways from the 72-point win:

Of the many stats that Missouri won by the end of the game, the turnover category might’ve been the most impressive.

The Tigers only turned the ball over five times throughout the night, consisting of two from Tamar Bates and one from both Marcus Allen and JV Brown, along with a team turnover. They managed to keep the ball tightly secured from the Delta Devils and total 19 assists.

On the flip side, that was a huge struggle point for Mississippi Valley State. They turned the ball over 23 times, and Missouri was able to capitalize by scoring 45 points off them. That’s 40% of its points, and if the Delta Devils were just able to cut it in half, the loss wouldn’t have looked near as historic.

By being able to make smart plays on offense and execute on the defensive end, the turnover battle was an easy win for the Tigers. Gates had been looking for an assist to turnover ratio to the level that it was last night, and the unselfishness and pressure on the basket that his players committed to helped that search come to an end.

Three members of Missouri’s freshman class — Annor Boateng, Marcus Allen, Peyton Marshall — saw increased opportunites given the circumstances of the final score.

Although Boateng had started in the previous two games, Thursday was different. Instead of the four minutes he received against Eastern Washington, the guard received 25. Through that, he recorded 10 points and two steals on 3-of-7 shooting

Marcus Allen also dropped 10 points, but on 3-of-3 shooting and in only 14 minutes. Playing time has been pretty consistent for him so far, but he had far more of a green light to attack and look to score.

The last of three, Peyton Marshall, made a strong defensive presence. Despite only scoring a single point, his three steals and two blocks in 14 minutes were noticeable. He was given more action than Josh Gray, who received 11 minutes as the starting center.

Even with Trent Burns nor T.O. Barrett suiting up for a game yet, it’s clear that the Tigers’ freshman class is talented. All three that did play against Mississippi Valley State made a distinct impact.

“These freshman just need to continue to get better. We got to make sure that they have no breaks in practice, so they can just get with what it takes to be a division one athlete,” Gates said. “It gives them a foundation of where they want to continue to build upon, and I just thought it was seamless based off practice.”

Before the game had even started, it was clear that this was a team Missouri should beat handedly. The Delta Devils had lost to Iowa State by nearly 40 points in their season opener, and moving to SEC play wasn’t going to get any better.

With the amount of talent the Tigers have at their disposal, this being a blowout should be the outcome. Of course a 72-point win is historic for the program and a much further margin of victory than what was expected, but a win by 30 less points wouldn’t have proved any less.

Missouri has taken care of business in its last three non-conference games since losing to Memphis in it season opener, which is a postive sign. Last year it took a loss to Jackson State early on, which spelled the ultimate doom that was its regular season finish.

It’s still tough to judge and evaluate how good the Tigers will be this season until it plays tougher competition, which doesn’t happen until California on Dec. 3. Until then, it’s just a matter of winning the games they should and experimenting with rotations to figure out the best way they can position themselves for a bounce back season in the SEC.

The win doesn’t really show much for Missouri, but getting the win in the fashion that it did at least proves it shouldn’t worry about dropping games its the obvious favorite in. It was a dominating display on both ends, and if it can continue to make strides in efficiency and lessening turnovers, the momentum will carry on.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Dozens of trees in St. Paul were destroyed and vandalized, with some being thrown into the Mississippi River. 

What we know

According to the St. Paul Parks and Recreation, 60 trees were destroyed and vandalized Shepard Road in the city overnight.  

Officials say that several of the trees were thrown into the Mississippi River.

The trees were planted over the MEA break by local high school students with Tree Trust, a local nonprofit, to help green up the community.

Park officials said they were working with local law enforcement to learn more about the incident, which they said caused about $40,000 in damages.

What we don’t know

There was no suspect information provided, and it is not known what led up to the trees being destroyed.

No arrests have been made.

What they are saying

“While we are disappointed in this act and the negative impact it has on the neighboring community and our urban forest, we are working closely with Tree Trust to determine next steps for replacing the damaged trees and will provide more information when it is available,” St. Paul Parks and Recreation said in a post on social media.

Even if you were to take Jackson’s water woes out of the equation, drinking water and waste water throughout Mississippi are still in dire need of improvement.

“Jackson is really just the canary in the coal mine,” said Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, chair of the 2024 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure. “The failures that are happening in Jackson are not just simply happening in Jackson. They are happening across the state. So, even if we were to take Jackson out of the equation, we would probably see the same grades (across the state). Maybe a little higher, but not much.”

Water was just one part of the equation as the Mississippi Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released the 2024 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure Thursday in front of the state capitol in Jackson.

It includes 12 categories of infrastructure that received an overall grade of “C-,” which the ASCE said is a one-step increase from the 2020 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure and matches the national average on the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. A “C-” grade means Mississippi’s infrastructure is in fair condition and requires attention to ensure it remains reliable in the future.

Four of the 12 infrastructure categories (Bridges, Dams, Rail and Solid Waste) saw their grades increase compared to the previous 2020 Report Card, while two categories (Drinking Water and Wastewater) saw their grades drop one level compared to the 2020 Report Card.

The individual rankings:

• B: Rail
• B-: Ports
• C+: Solid Waste
• C: Aviation
• C: Energy
• D+: Bridges
• D+: Dams
• D: Inland Waterways
• D: Levees
• D-: Drinking Water
• D-: Roads
• D-: Wastewater

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By comparison, according to the last testing results for neighboring states, Mississippi’s results are similar.

Alabama had an overall score of C- in 2022. Arkansas had a C- in 2021 and Tennessee had a C in 2021. Meanwhile, Louisiana was rated with a D+ in its last grading in 2017.

While the C- may only be an average score, it does represent a significant improvement from the last report card in 2020 when Mississippi scored just a D+.

The uptake is that overall Mississippi could be worse, but still has work to do, particularly in a few areas.

“Mississippians have witnessed the consequences of underinvestment and deferred maintenance in infrastructure systems, especially when it comes to our most valuable, life-sustaining resource, the water we all need to survive,” Ziegler said. “We cannot continue to kick the proverbial can down the road, regardless whether it is water or roads or bridges.”

The only two categories to see grade decreases in the 2024 report card were drinking water and wastewater. Both fell from a “D” in 2020 to a “D-” in 2024.

However, Ziegler expects an improvement in those grades for the next testing period in 2028 because of significant investment from the federal government in the last 18 months.

“We are already seeing signs that would lead us to believe the grades on water will go up,” Ziegler said. “It just will not show up officially for some time.”

Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons said that while there needs to be improvement for roads and bridges, there needs to continue to be more investment from the legislature.

Mississippi’s bridges saw a two-step grade increase to a “D+” according to the 2024 report card, compared to a “D-” in 2020. Over the last four years, the percentage of bridges in poor condition dropped from 9.8% to 6.3%. However, in this same timeframe, the percentage of bridges in good condition fell from 58.4% to 56.1%, and the number of bridges that have limits on the weight they can carry grew by more than 400. The grade for roads in Mississippi is unchanged in the 2024 report card at a “D-.”

Simmons said that while the 18-cent gas tax has not been increased since it was implemented in 1987, the decision in 2018 to add funds through the lottery bill has been helpful in getting more resources into the transportation system.

“These grades are not where we want them to be, but good research, good information and good data is good for us to have,” Simmons said. “Resources are very important. We have been very fortunate to get new money into our system the last few years.”

He went on to say, however, that roads and bridges need a total $650 million in recurring money to maintain what Mississippi already has without talking about improvements and additions.

The report suggested four key areas to focus on so as to improve the state’s score for the next reporting period.

• Ensure that infrastructure investment is strategically focused on efforts that maximize good-paying jobs, promote the state’s economic competitiveness, and enhance usability so that all Mississippians continue to proudly call our state home.
• Increase funding for state agencies to ensure these critical agencies can carry out their mandated missions. Insufficient funding for decades has resulted in a lack of proper staffing, leading to delays in permitting, necessary approvals and project execution, causing delayed or missed economic investments across the state.
• Design, operate, maintain, and expand Mississippi’s infrastructure systems using consensus-based codes, specifications and standards that reduce the potential loss of jobs, economic opportunity and critical natural resources. This includes advancing resiliency and mitigation measures to ensure better long-term use of taxpayer dollars.
• Invest in programs for technical career training — especially in the drinking water and wastewater sectors. Not only can investment help retain Mississippi’s talent and prevent continued “brain drain,” but it can also help mainstream tools for data-driven decision-making, such as the use of asset management software and life-cycle cost analysis to inform affordable rate structuring for the use of our infrastructure systems.

Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.