COLUMBIA, MO. • Playing again without its star freshman, the Missouri basketball team avoided a disaster Monday at Mizzou Arena, holding off Division II Emporia State 67-62. Kassius Robertson’s three free throws in the final 24 seconds gave the Tigers just enough breathing room to escape what would have been among the worst losses in the program’s history.
Normally this would be an exhibition game for Missouri, but first-year coach Cuonzo Martin elected to play two closed exhibitions against Division I teams rather than bludgeon a Division II team for all to see.
It turns out, this team from Kansas, hardly a Division II superpower, was more trouble than the Tigers (3-1) could have imagined.