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Four players scored in double digits, strong perimeter defense traveled effectively and No. 21 Missouri overpowered Georgia behind a dominant second half on Saturday afternoon in a basketball game in Athens, Ga.

The Tigers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) beat the Bulldogs (16-10, 4-9) 87-74 to functionally lock in their spot in the NCAA Tournament. And in doing so, Mizzou pushed Georgia to the periphery of the tournament bubble. 

MU point guard Anthony Robinson II busted his recent slump with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds. He fouled out during garbage time but was the best player on the floor for a key part of the second half in which MU assembled a 15-0 run.

Guard Caleb Grill (15 points), guard Tamar Bates (13) and forward Mark Mitchell (14) joined Robinson as double-digit scorers.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman forward Asa Newell, who scored 23 points on an efficient 11-15 shooting performance.

Mizzou trailed 41-38 after a first half in which the Bulldogs leaned into post scoring while the Tigers won the offensive glass. Neither team led by more than six or scored more than seven straight points in a competitive opening half.

Georgia shot 61% from the field to MU's 36% field-goal percentage at the break, but the visitors' rebounding kept things close. 

The Tigers' offense evened out with a 7-7 start to the second half from the field, including a statement dunk from guard Tamar Bates, that gave them a 55-47 lead — their biggest advantage of the day to that point. 

That grew to as much as 19 behind Missouri's big second-half run.

Takeaways

The game tipped off in very odd fashion  With Georgia leading 1-0 after shooting a technical free throw before tipoff. Mizzou had been called for an administrative technical foul before the game because it submitted an incorrect starting lineup. Initially, MU said it would start freshman center Peyton Marshall over Mitchell, but reverted to its usual starting lineup just a few minutes before the start of the game. 

• Missouri's defense is happy to switch matchups inside of any given possession, often with no regard for positions, switching 1-5. That became a problematic philosophy against Newell, who found himself continually guarded down low by an MU guard in the second half. When that happened, the Bulldogs were quick to funnel him the ball, and the star freshman punished Mizzou for allowing the mismatches. 

Key moment

As Mizzou's offense stabilized early in the second half, its defensive system began to cause more havoc on the perimeter. That sparked a 6-0 run, allowing the visiitors to take a double-digit lead with 12 minutes to go. Robinson stole the ball and flushed it away on the other end to put his team up 64-54 with 12:13 on the clock.

On the Tigers' next possession, they ran a designed lob play from Robinson to Newell. Then Robinson stole the ball once more for a dunk that came exactly 60 seconds after his last one and bagged a 3. What wound up a 15-0 run gave Missouri a decisive edge.

Key stat

36-27:ÌýThat's Mizzou's total rebounds secured compared to Georgia's — the eighth SEC game in which the Tigers outrebounded their opponent. MU also earned an edge on offensive rebounds, grabbing 17 of those to the Bulldogs' 10.

Up next

The Tigers host No. 2 Alabama at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a game to be televised by SEC Network, their toughest opponent left on the regular season schedule. The Crimson Tide lost at home to No. 1 Auburn 95-85 in Saturday's marquee college basketball matchup.