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.