Caleb Grill, No. 20 Missouri pull upset at No. 14 Mississippi State

Caleb Grill scored 20 points in 22 minutes off the bench to lead No. 20 Missouri to an 88-61 upset of No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

Tamar Bates added 14 points and Josh Gray had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (17-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference).

Josh Hubbard scored 24 points and KeShawn Murphy had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-6, 4-5 SEC).

Missouri made 15 of 32 shots (46.9 percent) from 3-point range, with seven different players hitting shots from beyond the arc. Grill led the way with 6-for-11 shooting from distance.

Overall, the Tigers shot 55 percent from the floor and got points from 11 of the 13 players they deployed. The Bulldogs shot just 36.4 percent from the floor and missed 18 of 26 shots from 3-point range.

Missouri raced to a 10-2 lead with Tony Perkins and Mark Mitchell hitting 3-point jumpers to start the game.

Hubbard reversed the game's momentum by knocking down two 3-point jumpers as Mississippi State surged ahead 13-12.

Jacob Crews triggered a 7-0 run with a 3-point jumper as the Tigers built a 19-13 edge. The Bulldogs cut their deficit to 19-18 on RJ Melendez's 3-pointer, but they didn't pull ahead again in the first half.

Missouri expanded its lead to 45-31 by closing the first half with a 12-1 run. Trent Pierce and Grill hit 3-point jumpers and Gray converted a put-back shot in the final 1:51 of the half.

The Tigers hit nine of 19 jumpers (47.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the 20 minutes and shot 51.6 percent overall.

Mississippi State outscored Missouri 6-2 in the first 2:11 of the second half to cut the margin to 47-37. But Tamar Bates hit a 3-point for Missouri to stem the tide, and the Tigers flummoxed the Bulldogs with their match-up zone defense.

The Tigers pushed their advantage to 62-37 with 13:14 left as Grill hitting two more deep 3-pointers. The Bulldogs got no closer than 21 points the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media