Missouri, D’Moi Hodge coast to comfortable win over Utah State in NCAA Tournament

Missouri certainly showed why it can be a dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament as it tangled with Utah State in a 7-10 matchup on Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers built an 11-point lead multiple times as they shot 51% from the field, and prevailed 76-65.

Mizzou was largely fueled by a big game from D’Moi Hodge, who poured in 23 points. There were 4 Tigers in double figures, including Kobe Brown with 19 points and 8 rebounds, DeAndre Gholston had 11 points, and Noah Carter added 10. It’s Mizzou’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2010.

Another story in the game was Mizzou’s 3-point defense, as Utah State was just 4-for-24 from long range in the game. Utah State didn’t make a 3-pointer in the first half.

It was a dramatic turnaround for a program and first-year coach Dennis Gates after the Tigers were 12-21 last season, and improved this season to 25-9.

Mizzou will play the winner of Princeton-Arizona on Saturday.

The steal and pull up 3️⃣ and the Mizzou lead is now 11 ?#MarchMadness @MizzouHoops pic.twitter.com/0Z04DsyNSU

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2023

D’Moi Hodge breaks up the pass and then hits the C&S 3 for Missouri pic.twitter.com/KBs3aqBv9W

— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) March 16, 2023

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.