Over the first four-and-a-half minutes of action on Saturday, LIU was going toe-to-toe with Mizzou.
The Sharks were getting the Tigers out of position defensively. The road underdogs made four consecutive shots to take an early 8-7.
And then, the blitz happened.
Mizzou dominated LIU the rest of the way, ultimately taking home an 88-61 victory. MU has now won more games in just over a month (9) than it did all of last season (8). It also marks just the second time since the 2014-15 season that the Tigers started a season 9-1 (they did it in 2022-23).
MU was led by an unexpected source on offense, as Trent Pierce caught fire in the first half. In just eight minutes, Pierce scored a career-high 17 points in the first half, knocking down four three-pointers. He'd finish with 22 points, almost doubling his previous career-high of 13 points.
Elsewhere on offense, the Tigers got to the free throw line early and often, registering 10 attempts in the first 12 minutes of action. They would finish with 19 attempts; however, efficiency continued to be an issue, as they converted just 12 of those attempts.
Although he finished 1/5 from the free throw line, Mark Mitchell scored 15 points on an efficient 7/9 shooting from the field. Like many opponents that Mizzou has faced so far in the young season, the Sharks didn't have much of an answer for Mitchell on the interior. Marques Warrick contributed 16 points of his own on four made three-pointers.
MU continued the good times on offense in the second half, hitting 12 of its first 16 shots from the field, including five of its first seven attempts from beyond the arc. That included a 16-0 Mizzou run that ballooned its lead from 17 to 32 less than halfway through the final frame.
Anthony Robinson II didn't fill up the stat sheet very much on offense, scoring just eight points on four field goal attempts. However, Robinson registered six of Mizzou's 10 steals on defense, bringing his total to 24 on the season.
Mizzou will play the final game of its 10-game homestead on Tuesday, when it hosts Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m.