Slump, busted.

Not without a little bit of sweat, mind you.

Missouri forward Mark Mitchell had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Missouri basketball defeated Howard 77-62 on Friday night at Mizzou Arena to end a 20-game losing streak that spanned the entire calendar year 2024.

Mitchell was nigh-on unstoppable for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference visitors in the first half, driving into the paint at every given opportunity and usually making it work. He ended the night with a 4-for-7 mark from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 night from the free-throw line.

Just as well: The Tigers were having a horror show from 3-point land.

Mizzou went 1-for-11 from behind the arc in the first half. The lone made 3 came from Tamar Bates to beat the half-time buzzer and give MU a 12-point lead. The Tigers followed that up by going 2-for-11 from deep in the second half. Again, the only 3s came from Bates, who finished the night with a game-high 17 points.

That let Howard back into the game and made the latter stages of the contest nervy. The Bison cut the Mizzou lead to four points heading into the game’s final 3 minutes, 30 seconds, as they had connected on 10-of-19 shots from 3.

But Mizzou pulled through. Bates fed a delightful bounce pass to freshman Marcus Allen for a simple layup to bump MU’s lead back to six points. Anthony Robinson II immediately followed up with a steal and an and-1 to all but close the door. The Tigers ended the game on a 14-3 run.

With that, a streak dating to Dec. 30, 2023, is finished.

Missouri basketball vs Howard score updates

This section will be updated when the game begins.

Buckle in for testy final few minutes

Missouri is not making life easy on itself. Howard has cut the lead to four points with 3:34 remaining.

Remember, Mizzou has not won in 20 games.

Howard cuts Mizzou lead to 7

The visitors are hanging around because Missouri simply will not stop missing 3s. The Tigers are 2-of-20 from deep, which is a mind-bogglingly bad mark. Gates likes his teams to shoot, but it's probably time to give it up for the evening lest this one get too close. It's 59-52 with 7:18 to play.

3-point struggles continue

It's probably time to abandon the 3-point attempts altogether for Mizzou. The Tigers are 1-of-15 from behind the arc with 11:51 remaining in the game. They have a 54-41 lead, and 32 of those points have come from the paint and 19 have come from the free-throw line. I'm not great at math, but that's almost all of 'em.

Aidan Shaw rebound, Josh Gray dunk

Loudest cheer of the night just came for a gritty Aidan Shaw rebound that he fed to Tony Perkins, who assisted Josh Gray for a wide-open dunk. Howard had just grabbed a steal and two offensive boards with a chance to cut Missouri's lead to single digits, so that was timely.

Mizzou is still struggling from 3 here. Caleb Grill lofted one of the more bizarre attempts of the season so far under heavy pressure with 19 seconds left on the shot clock. It missed the mark by a solid six feet, and that's not an exaggeration.

Howard, meanwhile, is sticking around because of its efforts from deep. Bison are 7-of-14, and with 15:25 left in the game it is Mizzou 46, Howard 36.

Tigers head into half with 12-point lead

For what it's worth, that's two points better than MU's halftime lead at Memphis.

Tamar Bates beats the buzzer with a 3 to give the Tigers their first make from deep in 11 attempts tonight. Not a bad time to do it. Mark Mitchell has been just about everything that was billed with 14 points and five boards.

With 20 minutes to play, it's Mizzou 40, Howard 28.

Mizzou can't get a 3 to fall

Mizzou is off to an 0-of-9 start from deep. Looks like the Tigers have adjusted, though. In the past few minutes, all but possession turned into a drive to paint, which they're having a lot more success with. Howard, meanwhile, is 5-of-9 from behind the arc, which has kept the Bison in this game.

MU 31, Howard 22 with 3:21 to go in the first half.

Lineup experimentation from Dennis Gates

We're seeing a lot of combinations from Missouri head coach Dennis Gates in the first half here.

The Tigers have gone with a bigger look, with Anthony Robinson, Tamar Bates, Mark Mitchell, Trent Pierce and Josh Gray on the court at the same time. Before that, it was much smaller with Annor Boateng, Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill, Tony Perkins and Aiden Shaw. We'll see what sticks as this game goes on.

Howard has cut the lead to six points with 7:24 remaining in the first with some 3s beginning to drop.

Mark Mitchell impressing early for Mizzou

Howard made its first shot from the field at the 12:40 mark of the first half, as the Mizzou defense has essentially put the clamps down on the visitors.

Case in point, we just got one of the better sequences of the Mizzou season so far. Tony Perkins stepped in front of a pass, drove into the lane, lofted it up and Mark Mitchell met it at the rim for a dunk. That was Missouri basketball at its best, and exactly how it wants to play on both ends. Mark Mitchell has been stellar so far, with eight points and four boards at the Under-12 media timeout.

Mizzou opens with 6-0 run

The first points of the game courtesy of freshman Annor Boateng on a driving layup, and then Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell followed suit in back-to-back possessions as Mizzou has run out to a 6-0 lead.

Pregame updates for Missouri basketball versus Howard

6:57 p.m.: Expected the Mizzou freshmen to get some minutes, but I did not expect Annor Boateng to play right off the bat. That adds a layer of interest to the early stages of this game. Boateng was the No. 33-ranked player in his class, per 247Sports, which made him MU's top-ranked recruit since Michael Porter Jr. Two-time Gatorade Arkansas Player of the Year. Should be fun.

6:49 p.m.: Starters are out, and there's a debut for highly touted freshman Annor Boateng:

- G Tamar Bates

- G Tony Perkins

- G Annor Boateng

- F Mark Mitchell

- C Josh Gray

6:29 p.m.: The player to watch on the Howard side tonight is freshman guard Blake Harper. He put up 16 points on Kansas on Monday. Also in the realm of interest: Tramel Raggs is a Howard assistant coach, which is worth pointing out because he is a University of Missouri alum who went on to become a Washington Post sports reporter covering the Bison. Now, he's on their staff. Pretty cool.

5:59 p.m.: Missouri, not that we need to remind any of you, is on a 20-game losing streak entering tonight's matchup. The current betting odds, courtesy of BetMGM, have the Tigers as an 18.5-point favorite to break the slump tonight.

5:27 p.m.: Good evening from Mizzou Arena. We've got some players out for some early warmups on Norm Stewart Court. Earlier today, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that 7-foot-5 Mizzou freshman Trent Burns will miss his second straight game with illness. Burns is in the building but not dressed or actively warming up, so that should confirm that report.

What time does Missouri vs Howard begin? 

• Date: Friday, Nov. 8

• Time: 7 p.m. CDT

• Location: Mizzou Arena in Columbia

What channel is Missouri vs Howard on?

• TV channel: NA

• Streaming: SEC Network+ via ESPN+ 

• Radio: Sirius XM 386 / SXM App 976

Missouri’s game will stream live on SEC Network+, which is accessible via ESPN+. KOMU’s Ben Arnet will be the play-by-play announcer for the game, and former Missouri forward Kevin Puryear will be the on-air analyst.

The game will not air on a cable network, but if your cable subscription has SEC Network included you can access SEC Network+ for free.

Watch Missouri vs. Howard live with ESPN+

Missouri vs Howard prediction

Missouri 92, Howard 74

We say the 20-game losing streak ends Friday, as is expected. High-profile transfers Mark Mitchell and Tony Perkins should have much more dominant evenings than was the case in Memphis, and Mizzou’s five highly touted freshmen ought to get some minutes late in the game.

Missouri injury and availability updates

As of Thursday evening, no availability updates had been made public by the team. On Monday, 7-foot-5 freshman Trent Burns missed the Tigers’ season opener. No word has been provided on if he will be available to play Friday.

Missouri basketball full 2024-25 season schedule

Home games are listed in bold.

Neutral-site game listed with an asterisk (*).

All times listed in CDT.

Missouri basketball team news

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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri basketball score: Mizzou survives Howard, ends 20-game slump